Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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And Now For Something Completely Bonkers

The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington

March 30, 2024 by elderberrywine 2 Comments

Well, this is certainly one hot mess of a novelette, and it is deliciously illustrated in sketchy (in all meanings of the word) drawings by the novelist herself, a surrealistic painter.  The heroine, nonagenarian vegetarian Marian Leatherby, starts off as quite deaf, but is then gifted with an old school hearing trumpet that lets her hear everything.  But seemingly no one notices it, even though in the drawings it looms over her head like a conning tower.  She has been placed by her children in […]

Filed Under: Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Featured, Fiction, Religion Tagged With: Amazing drawings, leonora carrington, Mexican setting but not really, polar bears, Randy abbesses, surrealism, Total head trip

elderberrywine's CBR16 Review No:7 · Genres: Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Featured, Fiction, Religion · Tags: Amazing drawings, leonora carrington, Mexican setting but not really, polar bears, Randy abbesses, surrealism, Total head trip ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

The Winter of Our Discontent

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

October 8, 2023 by Pooja Leave a Comment

In Bliss Montage, a woman and her family live in the same house as her one hundred ex-boyfriends, women trapped in a toxic friendship take a drug that makes themselves invisible, and a pregnant woman must caretake the protruding arm of her fetus as she awaits giving birth to the rest of it. The distance from everyday life that fantasy brings us can be used to magnify reality, and Ling Ma takes takes ample advantage of this in Bliss Montage, a short story collection that examines […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction, Short Stories Tagged With: #fantasy, ARC, audiobook, family, Immigration, Ling Ma, magic realism, NetGalley, short stories, surrealism

Pooja's CBR15 Review No:73 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: #fantasy, ARC, audiobook, family, Immigration, Ling Ma, magic realism, NetGalley, short stories, surrealism ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Literary Hub Made Me Do It

Hôtel Splendid by Marie Redonnet

Rose Mellie Rose by Marie Redonnet

Forever Valley by Marie Redonnet

April 6, 2022 by andtheIToldYouSos 4 Comments

It is VERY hard for me to turn away from a listicle. I love a list; from making them myself to seeking them out, lists give me order AND fun- the best of both worlds! The fine folks over at Literary Hub are keen on list-making, and having enjoyed things they have recommended before (hello, The Lover!) I was pleased as punch to track down this loose “trilogy” from Marie Redonnet after spotting it in a list of short reads. I, and Redonnet (and translator […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: andtheIToldYouSos, coming-of-age, french literature, Jordan Stump, lithub, magical realism, Marie Redonnet, novella, Quick read, surrealism, translation, unofficial trilogy

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR14 Review No:19 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: andtheIToldYouSos, coming-of-age, french literature, Jordan Stump, lithub, magical realism, Marie Redonnet, novella, Quick read, surrealism, translation, unofficial trilogy ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

Merry Christmas!

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

The Girl With the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block

Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby

Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League by Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortune of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty by Jonathan Pearson

The Blonde on the Street Corner by David Goodis

December 26, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Having been busy with Christmas prep, avoiding Delta and Omicron, and other various things, I haven’t had the time to write long, 250+ reviews for these books. I figured I’d just cram them all here since I know I won’t finish Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate before New Year’s Eve. The Fortress of Solitude *** This clears the 3-star threshold but just barely. I appreciate what Lethem is trying to do here and I usually enjoy his work. But this was a […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Fiction, History, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Sports, Suspense Tagged With: All Her Little Secrets, Atlanta, bildungsroman, Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Brooklyn, Cold Shot to the Heart, Con Men, corporate thriller, David Goodis, football, Georgia, Getty Oil, Hail Mary, hard case crime, J. Paul Getty, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Pearson, lawrence block, mystery, National Women's Football League, Noir, Painfully Rich, Philadelphia, sports, superheroes, surrealism, The Blonde on the Street Corner, The Fortress of Solitude, The Girl with the Long Green Heart, thieves, thriller, true crime, Wallace Stroby, Wanda M. Morris, women

Jake's CBR13 Review No:201 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Fiction, History, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Sports, Suspense · Tags: All Her Little Secrets, Atlanta, bildungsroman, Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Brooklyn, Cold Shot to the Heart, Con Men, corporate thriller, David Goodis, football, Georgia, Getty Oil, Hail Mary, hard case crime, J. Paul Getty, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Pearson, lawrence block, mystery, National Women's Football League, Noir, Painfully Rich, Philadelphia, sports, superheroes, surrealism, The Blonde on the Street Corner, The Fortress of Solitude, The Girl with the Long Green Heart, thieves, thriller, true crime, Wallace Stroby, Wanda M. Morris, women ·
· 0 Comments

Tom Robbins re-reads #2, #3, and #4: Cowgirls, frog legs, and making love stay

Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins

Half-Asleep in Frog Pajamas by Tom Robbins

May 23, 2021 by zinka 1 Comment

Even after re-reading a handful more of Tom Robbins’ books, there is not much I can say differently about why I love his writing and his stories so much that I didn’t already say in my first re-read review of Skinny Legs and All. That being said, this round of Cannonball Review Catching up includes my all-time favorite of all the Tom Robbins books, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, his work which I often perceive as the most popular amongst others (especially men), Still Life […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Romance Tagged With: Magic realism (Literature), making love stay, Romance, surrealism, Tom Robbins

zinka's CBR13 Review No:12 · Genres: Fiction, Romance · Tags: Magic realism (Literature), making love stay, Romance, surrealism, Tom Robbins ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

Looking for a story about a man in love with a cannon?

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

April 30, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos 4 Comments

…because have I got the book for you! Men loving cannons, zombies puking up pajamas, purses that can hold whole villages, horror writers that moonlight as upholsterers- this collection houses all of those freaks and geeks- and then some. The novella that gives this collection its title – Magic for Beginners– was the best of the bunch. It was difficult to single out one piece, as they are all delightful mix of suburban longing and creepy crawlies, but this piece reminded me of two of my […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Short Stories Tagged With: folk tales, hugo award nominee, Kelly Link, magic, magical realism, modern fairy tale, nebula award winner, oral tradition, storytelling, suburbia, surrealism, zombies

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR12 Review No:40 · Genres: Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: folk tales, hugo award nominee, Kelly Link, magic, magical realism, modern fairy tale, nebula award winner, oral tradition, storytelling, suburbia, surrealism, zombies ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments
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