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 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 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 →
City of Night by John RechyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars When I picked this book to write about this morning, I noticed that a lot of my friends have written about it, which is natural, since this is an … Continue reading →
In the Sparrow Hills: Stories by Emile Capouya My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book was published in 1993 and I read it shortly after, a gift from my editor at Algonquin Books. Emile Capouya led one of those … Continue reading →
Hangsaman by Shirley JacksonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Shirley Jackson occupies a territory that lies between so many kinds of writing that her books are hard to categorize, and our world does not deal well with anything that can’t … Continue reading →
The Hat of My Mother by Max Steele My rating: 4 of 5 stars Max was one of my writing teachers at Chapel Hill, a tall man with an enormous head, a golden voice, and a penchant for messing with … Continue reading →
The chronicle of retirement has been convoluted and eventual and it is not over yet. I am still testing out the days to discover how best to use them. There is the overarching fact of my mother who shares the … Continue reading →
Tell Me a Riddle by Tillie OlsenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars There are only a handful of writers who could write four stories, collect them into a book, and have the book become essential. Tillie Olsen did write a … Continue reading →
Fire from Heaven by Mary RenaultMy rating: 4 of 5 stars When I started this book I was sixteen or seventeen, had checked it out from our high school library, and read it with interest because I was already enamored … Continue reading →