Todd Warner
Fantastic story of a boy in search of himself only to have his life upended by those around him. The prose is terrific with masterful character development. The narrative can sometimes be a bit chaotic, but is reflective of the events proceeding. And the story is as bittersweet as the protagonist himself. Some other reviewers did not "get" the ending, IMHO, but the author utterly nailed it. Inspired writing.
Solid advice presented very succinctly. I thought I had read every bit of advice out there, and I probably have, but this book still made me think and consider. It's essentially a merging of the author's and Aristotle's (via Poetics) thoughts on what makes for a good story, whether it be a tragedy or a comedy. A good book. It could have used one more round of edits, ironically though, there's a section in there that discusses when to stop editing. Apparently, he did. Heh. Anyway. Recommend.
Tremendous. Simply tremendous.
””“
‘Are you afraid of the dark?'
I want to say I am afraid but am too afraid to say so.
””“
...
””“
There's a big moon shining on the yard, chalking our way onto the lane and along the road. Kinsella takes my hand in his. As soon as he takes it, I realise my father has never once held my hand, and some part of me wants Kinsella to let me go so I won't have to feel this.
”””
“And fantasy it was, for we were not strong, only aggressive; we were not free, merely licensed; we were not compassionate, we were polite; not good, but well behaved. We courted death in order to call ourselves brave, and hid like thieves from life. We substituted good grammar for intellect; we switched habits to simulate maturity; we rearranged lies and called it truth, seeing in the new pattern of an old idea the Revelation and the Word.”
I kind of had a love/like/WTF relationship with this book. It's so darn clever and yet ridiculous at the same time. The characters are exaggerations and silly. And the dialogue, Gah!
On top of that, the “rules” for this whole vampirism thing make no sense at all, and there are no explanations for how they figured out those rules. The good doctor just knows from some dude who told him and assumed it all to be true, no matter how far fetched.
But still, Dracula is an enjoyable romp that explores some interesting themes that I'm unsure the author knew were even there.
This Everyman Library edition (they are always the best editions) includes an introduction by Joan Acocella who concludes with “Dracula is like the work of other nineteenth-century writers. You can complain that their novels are loose, baggy monsters, that their poems are crazy and unfinished. Still, you gasp at what they're saying: the truth.” I think I can agree with that.
Stunning. Magnificent. Easily one of the greatest books I have ever read.
This is the story of a man in search of himself who keeps all those he loves, or wants to love, at arms length and the consequences that follow. It's a story of the same internal struggles with which we all contend. A tortured tale beautifully rendered by James Baldwin.
Wow.
It took me a minute to sink into the third person present PoV and the lack of paragraphs and dialogue marks and the certain Irishness of the prose. And then ... suddenly ... I found myself swept away by this fevered dream of a mother struggling to scrape out a bit of sanity in an insane and tragic world, mama-bearing her way through as best she can.
Wow.
You have never read a story like this and will never again. I highly, highly recommend this.
Wow.
...
Oh, by the way, this won the Booker Prize in 2023.
“The night was loud with frogs and cicadas competing for space.”
That line from this volume is, perhaps, an apropos characterization of the swirling thoughts, feelings, and conflicted actions and intentions that then highlight the beats of our lives.
I love a good short story collection and this one did not disappoint. Cushman writes with such earnestness. He writes with a yearning for understanding and meaning in a crazy world of relationships forged by serendipity and an effort to make it all work.
“Our books became ash, then dust, years ago. The girl looks a little younger than my son, maybe ten, not old enough to remember books, schools, our lives before this life. I can hardly remember what came before. Before hurts so bad it's not even a memory.”
This short story collection is bold. Penetrating. Each story a story of lives laid bare. So stunningly well written.
Banned in a Florida school on 5/20/2024. I immediately purchased it. Of course.
Excellent middle grade novel about students finding their strength and learning a harsh lesson about the real world and the awful (and not so awful) people who fill it.
The characters are vibrant and relatable and the author teases out a narrative that is so creative and nuanced. I am forever impressed when authors reach deep and somehow find their childhood voice so effectively.
This book touches upon a host of thoughtful topics and I can't recommend it enough.
An incredible account from the author of Killers of a Flower Moon. I'm in awe of the work required to collate and then articulate this story almost as much as the events themselves.
The Wager is a harrowing tale of perseverance, discipline, brutality, hubris, and survival that illustrates and brings to life humanity at its extremes.
This won the Pulitzer and I can see why. Vast in scope, sprawling even, it's a deep-think that tugs at what it means to be a human in this world and our self-destructive, collateral-damaging place in it. It's also a story of seemingly futile, but important, efforts to right wrongs ... no matter what, by folks who simply care. Folks who noticed.
With my editor hat on, I think this book should have been trimmed down 100 pages, but what an ambitious work. It deserves its kudos and will not be the last book I read from this author.
Clever. Unique. Makes you think.
Recommend. Let me start off with that. It didn't wow me (hence three versus four stars), but I find this a very unique read with a fascinating voice. The concept is compelling, and the principle characters are folks you really want to sit with and explore.
Most of the other characters, though, even the important ones, get short shrift. The narrative is more than a bit uneven here and there as well, but the pacing is great and the book starts off really strong.
The science: The author needed to spend a bit more on verifying the science. Even some relatively basic things, she misses the mark (insect drones are male. always. oil is not explosive. etc.).
BUT!
Great story, nice and twisty with an unexpected ending that in retrospect is perfect. I really enjoyed this.
Finished! What a great and unique series. Wallace, @[email protected], really knows how to paint a picture on the page. A fantasy, but without being a fantasy. Steampunkish, scifi-ish, fantasy-ish. Recommend. I even more highly recommend this series for folks who don't normally read series (like myself), and for folks who crave fantasy (-ish) written for adults (like myself).
Also notable: this series showcases female, non-binary, and LGBTQ+ empowerment in case that is a deciding factor for you.
And I can't say it often enough: the covers are bitchin'. :) #SavageRebellionTrilogy
In a word: Wow!
The first 50 pages or so didn't grab me. A lesser reader would probably have DNFed it at that point or even sooner, or would have seen it for something else entirely. I plowed on, of course, but I am so glad I did. The rest of the novel gave the beginning the context it needed, and that context was better served to be delayed.
The book follows several timelines before and during WWI and in the late 1970s. It's ultimately a soldier's story and exploration of the human condition and what is truly valuable in this world.
The characters are complex, very well fleshed out, and extremely varied. This is a book for a more mature audience, an audience who has experienced complex relationships and perhaps even horrifying trauma in their lives. A younger less experience reader probably will not understand the relationships and the decision characters have made throughout this novel.
A tremendous novel. A tremendously moving novel. Recommend.
A love letter to the written word, My Reading Life is a window into the development of a reader, a writer, and ultimately a person. This anthology of personal narratives is so full of warmth and bitterness and self-reflection and wishful thinking and love for all the books and people in his life. The book also conveys a palpable throughline of sadness. Conroy struggled with sadness throughout his life, which is subtly reflected in the stories of his life.
I loved LOVED this book. I have to let it simmer in my brain for awhile. It may eventually become a 5-star book for me (only reserved for favorites). But for now, 4-stars for a book I truly loved.
In closing, I share a couple of passages I loved taken from two chapters toward the end of the book.
From chapter Why I Write, p304 - on the topic of good writing:
Good writing is the hardest form of thinking. It involves the agony of turning profoundly difficult thoughts into lucid form, then forcing them into the tight-fitting uniform of language, making them visible and clear. If the writing is good, then the result seems effortless and inevitable. But when you want to say something life-changing or ineffable in a single sentence, you face both the limitations of the sentence itself and the extent of your own talent. When you come close to succeeding, when the words pour out of you just right, you understand that these sentences are all part of a river flowing out of your own distant, hidden ranges, and all words become the dissolving snow that feeds your mountain streams forever. The language locks itself in the icy slopes of our own high passes, and it is up to us, the writers, to melt the glaciers within us. When these glaciers break off, we get to call them novels, the changelings of our burning spirits, our life's work.
From chapter The City, p329-330 - on the topic of “what a good book does”:
I cheer when a writer stops me in my tracks, forces me to go back and read a sentence again and again, and I find myself thunderstruck, grateful the way readers always are when a writer takes the time to put them on the floor. That's what a good book does—it puts readers on their knees. It makes you want to believe in a world you just read about—the one that will make you feel different about the world you thought you lived in, the world that will never be the same.