Category: Novel

Book Review, European Literature, Fantasy, Fiction, German Literature, Novel, Translation

The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky

A child is born during a very cold winter in early 20th century Germany. Her parents, a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, are not in the best of marriages. He is unable to rise above the 11th salary rank at work due to prejudice against his Jewish wife. She has been declared dead by her monied grandfather who actually sat shiva for her because … Continue reading The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky

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Book Review, Classic, English Literature, featured, Fiction, Novel

Wise Children by Angela Carter

I’m going to come out and say it, I think Angela Carter is one of the most under-rated authors of the 20th century. Up to now, I’ve known her work through her wonderful short stories and their various adaptations. Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves based on Ms. Carter’s The Bloody Chamber was rewatched so many times, my VHS copy faded away. Years ago, I … Continue reading Wise Children by Angela Carter

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Book Review, Fantasy, featured, Fiction, Japanese Literature, Novel, Science Fiction, Translation

The Emissary by Yoko Tawada translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani

I don’t really understand this book. But I enjoyed it; it touched me; it’s my new favorite book. The story concerns Yoshiro and his great-grandson. They live near Tokyo in the not-too-distant future. Things have gone wrong. Not one big thing, but many small things over a period of generations. Honestly, I can’t tell you what happened to society, but things are a mess. Japan … Continue reading The Emissary by Yoko Tawada translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani

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American Fiction, Book Review, California, Classic, featured, Fiction, Noir, Novel

The Road to Los Angeles by John Fante

The narrator in John Fante’s The Road to Los Angeles kept reminding me of Ignatius J. Riley in John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces. But without the heart. Both characters are really incapable of functioning in the world. Both live at the bottom of society, relying on the good graces of their mother for support. Both are convinced of their own genius and not … Continue reading The Road to Los Angeles by John Fante

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American Fiction, Book Review, featured, Fiction, LGBT, Novel

Cleanness by Garth Greenwell

Cleanness by Garth Greenwell is a very dirty book. I confess, I was a bit shocked. Maybe more surprised than shocked, but still. Mr. Greenwell’s depiction of sex is probably more detailed than what most of us expect to find in a random book from the public library. Which is what Cleanness was for me. Cleanness is not a new book, so I must have … Continue reading Cleanness by Garth Greenwell

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American Fiction, Book Review, California, Classic, featured, Fiction, Noir, Novel, Thriller

The Expendable Man by Dorothy Hughes

The greatest American crime novelist you’ve never heard of is Dorothy Hughes. Unless, of course, you’ve already heard of her. Ms. Hughes wrote some 14 crime novels in the 1950’s and 60’s, then retired from the scene to become a leading critic of the genre. She’s something of a writer’s writer, long admired by those working in crime fiction but not widely known. You may … Continue reading The Expendable Man by Dorothy Hughes

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American Fiction, Book Review, California, featured, Fiction, Film, History, Novel

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra is a lot of fun. I can’t say that it’s great literature, or that it has changed my life, but I had a terrific time reading it and I highly recommend it. The story concerns the behind-the-scenes workers at a poverty row film studio in 1940’s Hollywood. Before the war the studio survives on money made from making Italian … Continue reading Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

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African Literature, Book Review, featured, Fiction, Novel

Glory by Noviolet Bulawayo

Glory is my third book from this year’s Booker Prize shortlist. I’ve read and reviewed two others so far: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan and Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout. Spoiler alert! My favorite is still Small Things Like These. In fact, as far as Glory goes, you’re own your own. It was too much for me. I didn’t get very far at … Continue reading Glory by Noviolet Bulawayo

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American Fiction, Book Review, featured, Fiction, Novel

I Digress: Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout — Booker Prize Short List, Book Two

So, I thought this book was going to be about Olive Kitteridge. I had it in my head that it was a sequel to one of Ms. Strout’s earlier books, but it turns out this one is another book about Lucy Barton whom we met in 2016’s My Name is Lucy Barton. You don’t need to know anything about the earlier book to enjoy Oh, … Continue reading I Digress: Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout — Booker Prize Short List, Book Two

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Book Review, featured, Fiction, Irish Literature, Novel, Novella, Rants, Uncategorized

I Almost Cried Three Times. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Small things can contain worlds. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is literally small. 114 pages of a fairly large font, you’d be right to call this a novella. I read it cover to cover in a sitting. The lives Ms. Keegan portrays here are also small. The central character, Bill Furlong, goes about his days running the small coal distributor that keeps his … Continue reading I Almost Cried Three Times. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

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Book Review, European Literature, Fiction, Italian Literature, Noir, Novel

Murder and Glass in Medieval Venice. “The Eye Stone” by Roberto Tiraboschi, Translated by Katherine Gregor

First an admission. This book opens with the life of a 12th century cleric who spends his days copying the books in the monastery’s library reading them in his spare time. This is something of an escapist fantasy for me. That’s my confession. I’m betting that I’m not alone. It’s not something I would want to do for life, but for a long weekend… Sounds … Continue reading Murder and Glass in Medieval Venice. “The Eye Stone” by Roberto Tiraboschi, Translated by Katherine Gregor

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American Fiction, Book Review, Fantasy, featured, Fiction, Novel, Western

Enough Already: The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin

Classification can be a challenge. The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu is clearly a western. The hero travels from Utah through Nevada to California in the 1860’s riding a horse. So, clearly a western. He’s doing this to get revenge on the five men who separated him from his wife. So, revenge fantasy plot. Think The Revenant. But throw in a healthy dose of magical … Continue reading Enough Already: The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin

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