I’m pretty stoked for this movie in the fall. Naturally, I figured I would sate my excitement by reading the book, which seemed like a great plan at the time. And I really, really wanted to like it…unfortunately, I didn’t.
Short Yet…Underwhelming
The unnamed narrator of this novella is a small time con artist who specializes in aura reading and sensual massage at Spiritual Palms. When Susan Burke hires her to cleanse her Victorian home of negative energy, which she believes is driving her teenage stepson Miles to violence against his new baby brother, our protagonist sees it as a way to make an easy buck and potentially gain some new clients. But after several harrowing experiences in the Burke home, the psychic realizes that she might […]
A Beautiful Debut
This is a slow, quiet novel that captures readers at the start with its intensity. The stakes are high for everyone, even before we discover the tragedy that has befallen Kyung’s family. In the beginning, Kyung is already faced with the necessity of swallowing his pride and moving back in with his parents. But when Kyung’s mother shows up in his backyard, beaten and battered, Kyung knows who is to blame before the accusatory words escape her mouth. He suspects that his father, who has […]
Snow White Is Badass and I Love It
The fairy tale is such an underrated genre for adults. I think sometimes when we talk about fairy tales we forget just how twisted the genre was at the beginning, and that many of the original stories weren’t intended for children. This one isn’t quite so grotesque, and while there isn’t anything that would automatically rule it out as a book for children (sex, violence, the usual), it’s clear that Gaiman wrote this with an adult audience in mind. It all starts with Snow White, […]
Gillian Flynn is the M Night Shyamalan of Literature
Because boy does she love her plot twists, and throwing plot twists in the middle of her plot twists. I probably would have enjoyed this book more when it came out, or before I had read any of Flynn’s other stories. Or before Gone Girl, and anyone who hadn’t read her books could remain ignorant of this reputation. But I have read some of her other stories, and I know all about her love of plot twists. I wasn’t really on the lookout for the […]
Jane Austen Meets Fantastic Beasts
I basically fell in love with this book as soon as I saw its cover. As a kid, I had very well-worn copies of Dragonology and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that are probably to blame for my love of fictional memoirs, histories, and the like from fantastical settings. As such, I was pretty stoked about this book, and committed to it from the start. Imagine my pleasant surprise when it exceeded even my own very biased expectations. Read the rest at Women […]
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