I’m a fan of writers who tackle a famous work of literature from a new vantage point (for example, Gregory McGuire in Wicked or Jean Rhys in Wide Sargasso Sea) and do it in such a way that the end result fundamentally changes the way you view the original. Longbourn worked for me in that respect because by giving the servants in the background of Pride and Prejudice back stories and names, Jo Baker makes me see the gaps in Jane Austen’s narrative (and I […]
Read Richard Russo’s Straight Man and then Have this Book for Dessert
I can’t remember the last epistolary novel I read though one of my claims to fame (if you can call it that) is having plowed through to the end of the unabridged edition of Clarissa in my undergraduate 18th century novel class—something I don’t recommend. That particular novel of letters resembled a phone book, so in contrast, Dear Committee Members is refreshingly brief—almost too brief. I would have happily read more. Though readers from any occupation might find this book funny, I think it will […]
My Kind of Fan Fiction
I finally get the appeal of fan fiction—especially if one of the “fans” happens to be the creator of the series (because don’t you think that Rob Thomas is one of Veronica Mar’s biggest fans?). This is the second book in the series—the first, The Thousand Dollar Tan Line, started where the Veronica Mars movie ended—with Veronica deciding to leave a promising legal career to work as a PI, like her dad. Mr. Kiss and Tell picks up not long after the first book and […]
Beauty and Brutality in Equal Measure
Like The Dog Stars, which I adored, this book isn’t exactly what I expected. Heller tells the story of Jim Stegner, an artist whose star has been rising for years, but who can’t seem to shake the darkness around him. Coming from working class roots, Stegner came to painting in his twenties and he has had a well-earned reputation as a bit of a wild card—getting into fights, not suffering the fools of the art world graciously, and all that. As the novel opens, Stegner […]
Rising Above the Cliches or The Wrong Book Worked Out
So here’s the thing. I accidentally read the wrong Jojo Moyes for my book club; you can’t blame me because the covers all look really similar. My book club had chosen The Girl You Left Behind but somehow I ended up reading the eBook version of Me Before You from my local library. And I enjoyed it. The story of Louisa “Lou” Clark, a girl from a small town in England with a seemingly “small” life, who takes on the job of caring for quadriplegic […]
Pass the Sun Tan Lotion
Thanks to the Cannonballers who raved about this book. After reading two rather serious pieces of nonfiction (death, death, and more death), this novel set in Australia was just the light but compelling read that I needed. Not that there isn’t some serious and grim stuff at the center of Big Little Lies, but there’s also a great deal of humor and heart. Moriarty pulls us into the lives of three mothers, whose children are all starting the same kindergarten class. There’s Madeline, the former […]
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