And so concludes my Great Austen Re-Read of (Mostly) 2016. This will be my last review in this format for a while, so I’ll try to make it good. This is the seventh in my series of classic book reviews wherein I write them in the form of letters to the characters. I tried to read all of Jane Austen’s books in 2016, and only missed by one. But reading Persuasion is as good a start to 2017 as I can think of, so perhaps ’tis a happy accident (she says only […]
Dear God, let me be something every minute of every hour of my life.
Francie Nolan grows up in the tenements of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York in the early years of the 20th Century. The granddaughter of German and Irish immigrants, Francie and her younger brother Neeley (real name Cornelius) grow up dirt poor, but thankfully don’t really realise it until they get older. Their mother, Katie, works hard as a janitress to make sure they have a place to stay and food on the table. Their father, Johnny, is handsome and charming, a gifted singer, and a […]
I wish I’d read this book years ago
After little Patrick’s father dies, he is left to the care of his eccentric and adventurous aunt, Mame. His childhood goes from one of routine and order to one rather more unusual, and over the course of his adolescence and early adulthood, his colourful Auntie Mame keeps providing him with amazing anecdotes. Each chapter starts with the author reading about some saintly spinster from New England who took in an orphan, leading to his own recollections of his life with his aunt. Suffice to say, […]
What in the world is the purpose of this book? I am genuinely curious.
This review will contain spoilers, so if you want to avoid knowing all the details of the sparse and meaningless plot, maybe skip the first couple of paragraphs. Holden Caulfield is a self-important, spoiled and worthless little shit. At the start of the book, he is cooling his heels at the fourth boarding school he’s been expelled from because he just can’t be bothered to even try to apply himself (having failed four out of five subjects completely), and generally bitching about how phony his […]
What if your educational voyage does not teach you anything?
A few words in advance This is my second attempt to do the cannonball read. My first was rather short-lived because I could not find the time to write reviews anymore and I hope I will make it this time. Bear in mind that English is not my first language, which means I will make mistakes. Feel free to point them out to me in the comments. The Book Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg) is set before World War I. Hans Castorp, scion […]
Lizzie and Darcy, Jane and Bingley in audio form
Is there anyone, from barely discovered tribes in the South American rainforests, to nomadic tribes on the Mongolian steppes, who doesn’t actually know the gist of the plot of this book? Just in case there are any people who have lived in a barren cave their entire life, I will attempt to summarise it the major plot beats. Jane and Lizzie are the two eldest, prettiest and most sensible of the five Bennett sisters. Their mother is a silly and easily upset woman who wants […]