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The Orphan Master’s Son is a grim book with a high gross-out factor, so if you don’t tolerate torture and gore well, it wouldn’t be for you. But if you enjoy the creativity of trying to depict sheer horror, it’s … Continue reading
Tag Archives: satire
This sci-fi novel is addressed to “young adults” defined as aged 14 and up. It was recommended to me for reasons I can no longer remember. I don’t read or write YA fiction, so I have to give allowance for … Continue reading
Ta-Nehisi Coates Meets Thomas Pynchon “Who am I? And how can I be that person?” Those were the questions the main character’s father always asked and which the narrator, Bonbon Me, holds dear. They’re also the meta-questions he poses about … Continue reading
A 75-Page Novel Shteyngart, Gary (2010). Super Sad True Love Story. New York: Random House. This is my second attempt to read Shteyngart, a darling of the literary fiction world these days. Earlier, I had attempted to read Absurdistan and … 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
Collapsed of its Own Weight Jess Walter (2012). Beautiful Ruins. New York: Harper-Collins The first five pages of this book contain dozens of ecstatic reviews from major newspapers and published authors. I wonder how Harper-Collins accomplishes that for an undistinguished … Continue reading
Light Satire From a Thin Story Kunzru, Hari (2004). Transmission. New York: Penguin. Arjun Mehta is a computer nerd in India who is hired by a recruiting firm to work as a programmer in America, his life’s dream come true. He … Continue reading