This novel appeared on several 2013 “best novels” lists and it seems to fit into a genre that’s very popular these days, featuring a narrator whose truthfulness and mental well being are unclear. As I read, I was reminded of novels like The Other Typist and The Dinner, but The Woman Upstairs carves out its own place. The narrator comes across as abrasive yet sympathetic, a flawed human deserving compassion and yet somewhat self-involved, too. This contradiction compelled me to stay with the story and find out […]
Romance and Tragedy
“What’ll become of us? All of us?” “In the end, only one thing.” The Invisible Bridge is a novel about one young man’s journey from adolescence into manhood, on the eve of World War II. I cannot remember who recommended that I read this book, so I am unable to thank them for the recommendation! Although, I would have asked why they failed to mention the book’s length, which is over 700 pages. That was probably not the smartest book to start with for a […]
Fiat.Luxury #CBR6 #2: Middlemarch
I picked up Middlemarch as part of The Toast’s Middlemarch book club, since I somehow had gone 31 years without reading any George Eliot. So much has already been said about this book that it’s difficult to know where to start with my humble review! I enjoyed this novel immensely. It’s rare that an author describes so many characters in such loving, realistic, and sometimes harsh detail. Although I related to some characters more than others, there wasn’t a single one I couldn’t relate to […]
Heartwarming tale of a girl and her dog*
*Per the post title, technically not a dog but a half-man genetically engineered with dog/tiger/etc DNA to make him a cold-blooded mercenary who actually kills a lot of things.
Mieville Gets Weird(er) – On God-Squids and Paranoia
Kraken is the first China Mieville book I’ve read aside from his celebrated Bas-Lag books: Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Iron Council. And while no one would ever doubt the fecundity of his imagination, his plotting has always left a bit to be desired. My overwhelming impression after finishing Perdido Street Station, in fact, was that I would kill to be able to play a Bas-Lag MMO (well, that, and a desire to find out where Mieville buys his drugs). But of course, there’s […]
He’s baaaaack!
With Sycamore Row, John Grisham is back not only with his characters and location from A Time to Kill, but with his story telling.