The Difficulty of Being Funny Lipsyte, Sam (2010). The Ask. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. A book universally acclaimed as “hilarious” is usually disappointing. There are some funny lines and scenes in The Ask, to be sure, and it is … Continue reading
Glimpse Of Another World Silko, Leslie Marmon (1977). Ceremony. New York: Viking. Hailed as a masterpiece of Native American literature, this novel has endured over decades and is still a good read. In part that is because the situation of … Continue reading
Words as Tools Addonizio, Kim (2009). Ordinary genius: A guide for the poet within. New York: W.W.Norton. Poet Addonizio describes her process of creating poetry, supplemented with description of other possible methods, and plenty of fine examples. She recommends everyone … Continue reading
Life in The System DeLillo, Don (1985). White Noise. New York: Viking/Penguin. “White noise” is a hissing sound, similar to static on a radio or the sound of ocean surf. Don DeLillo’s White Noise takes that phenomenon metaphorically. The noise is the incessant … Continue reading
Pouty Financial Analyst Goes Home Hamid, Mohsin (2007). The Reluctant Fundamentalist. New York: Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Most novels are written in either third-person or first-person voice Second-person is rare, and there is a good reason for that: it’s clunky. Hamid’s Reluctant Fundamentalist is … Continue reading
Ruins, Anyway Walter, Jess (2012). Beautiful Ruins. New York: Harper-Collins The first five pages of this book contain ecstatic reviews from major newspapers and published authors. I have to wonder how Harper-Collins managed that for an undistinguished novel like this. … Continue reading
Amateur Detective with Tourette’s Lethem, Jonathan (1999). Motherless Brooklyn. New York: Random/Doubleday. The “Motherless” of the title is a group of four teenage boys living in an orphanage in 1979 Brooklyn. They are hired out for odd jobs of questionable legality … Continue reading
Life is Poetry; Poetry is Life Woolf, Virginia (1928). Orlando. Orlando, FL: Harcourt This is one of Woolf’s most popular novels, partly because of its fascinating story. A young English boy (Orlando) loves poetry and adventure. The dying Queen Elizabeth … Continue reading
Adams, W. A. (2006). Is There A Knife That Can Cut Itself? [Review of the book, Subjectivity and Selfhood]. PsycCRITIQUES- Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, September 20, 2006 Vol. 51 (38), Article 18. Retrieved September 20, 2006 from the PsycCRITIQUES … Continue reading
Hidden Story of A Hidden Tomb Phillips, Arthur (2004). The Egyptologist. New York: Random. The epistolary novel is a difficult form, because written language uses a different diction from conversation, and is inherently less alive than real-time dialog and narration. Since … Continue reading