So I found Susanna Kearsley a few years ago thanks to a dear friend and roommate. She loved The Winter Sea and as my reading buddy I gave it a try. In less than 24 hours I was raving to all who would listen about how fabulous and wonderful it was. And it is. If you like historical fiction with strong romantic elements go read it. Now. I’ll wait. Since then I’ve been slowly working my way through her library, but not too quickly as […]
The Daylight Gate is Dark
Jeanette Winterson’s work is known for postmodernist lyrical prose. She has never flinched away from darkness and gore, exploring various aspects of being human, and the human past. However, this novella is not lyrical; there is no beauty in the writing to alleviate the heaviness in the lives of the characters. It’s not that the writing is poor, only that it is straightforward. In this piece historical fiction, Winterson weaves the aftermath of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot into the 1612 Pendle witch trials, with brief […]
Look! A Good Sequel!
You guys, I think I have a problem. I really, really enjoy reading super depressing books that make me feel horrible about everything. I’m pretty sure this is not normal or healthy, but I can’t stop. Books that make me cry, books that make me curse, books that make me want to scream. Even about things that happened seventy years ago. I still want to get mad and yell. Rose Under Fire is a sequel (of sorts) to Code Name Verity, which I read and love. This […]
Not as transformative as its predecessor, but beautiful nonetheless
About a year ago, I picked up a stunning book that quickly became my go-to book recommendation. Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Gilead was about an elderly, dying pastor. Desperate to leave something of himself behind to his young son, Reverend John Ames composed letter after letter to the boy, talking about his life, his insecurities, his love of family, his faith in God, and his unshakable belief that the world was a beautiful gift. Astonishingly written, Gilead was a meditation on what it meant […]
If Tom Riddle Lived
The novel Yamada Monogatari: To Break the Demon Gate opens and closes as “Moon Viewing at Shijo Bridge” from the collection Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter. Even though I loved that short story collection, this made the novel a slow start because, having already read the short story, the word-for-word repeat was not interesting. Especially not for 50 pages. I am glad I kept going though. Between Yamada and Kanemore figuring out Princess Teiko’s death and Yamada’s final few paragraphs of contemplation, this story presents a […]
I have succumbed to the world of Outlander
It’s hard to exist in a reader world and not be at least obliquely aware of Outlander, Diana Gabaldon’s epic series – currently 8 books and counting, not including the companion novels and novellas. Best I can recollect, I gave serious consideration to embarking on this series around the time of fellow Cannonballers embarking on rereads in preparation for the publication of book 8, and the release of the show based on the books on Starz last spring. I made the decision once I asked […]
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