Bleeder by Shelby Smoak
Bleeder: A Memoir by Shelby SmoakMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I gave a blurb for this book when it was published, before I met Shelby at a meeting of a hemophilia support group in North Carolina. I suffer from … Continue reading →
Jim Grimsley
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have read the Seidensticker translation three times and this one by Royall Tyler once. The novel itself is superb and deserves its reputation in every way. … Continue reading →
The Story of the Stone by Xueqin Can
The Golden Days by Xueqin CaoMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is also called Dream of the Red Chamber in English, with other variants like that. I have read several translations of this book, nearly all of them … Continue reading →
Parade’s End by Ford Madox Ford
Parade’s End by Ford Madox FordMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Ford is a puzzle for me; he has such a sublime sentence gift, and he maintains it at such a level. The series of books here is masterful in … Continue reading →
Have Space Suit-Will Travel by Robert Heinlein
Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert A. HeinleinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This was the first book I ever bought. Our elementary school library had a sale every year, and I was wild to own a book,\ and found … Continue reading →
Maurice by E.M. Forster
Maurice by E.M. ForsterMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Of the writers whom I admired most when I was younger, Forster is one whose luster has dimmed in peculiar ways. I know perfectly well that he wrote fine novels and … Continue reading →
It’s Late, What to Do? (Doubts)
Between projects. I am always wondering what to do next. I have so many partial projects that I took to the point that I understood them and stopped; there is always a book I can pick up, look at, wonder … Continue reading →
In a German Pension: 13 Stories by Katherine Mansfield
In a German Pension: 13 Stories by Katherine MansfieldMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I encountered Mansfield’s stories when I read The Garden Party some years back and have decided to read more. This is her first collection of stories, … Continue reading →
Guests on Earth by Lee Smith
Guests on Earth by Lee SmithMy rating: 4 of 5 stars While I can’t claim to have read all of Lee Smith’s books – she is terrifically prolific – I found this one to be a quietly powerful read. She … Continue reading →
The Oblique Place by Caterina Pascual Söderbaum
The Oblique Place by Caterina Pascual SöderbaumMy rating: 4 of 5 stars A woman who is part Spaniard and part Swede grew up in a household in which a portrait of Hitler was a prominent and honored feature of the … Continue reading →