Category: Books

A Beautiful Study in Narrative Voice: Shani Mootoo’s Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab

May 3, 2017

  Have you ever read something so poignant that it almost makes you angry? Angry that you can’t set words dancing melodically to a beautiful and evolving narrative the way this writer so effortlessly can? Surely, I’m not alone on this one . . . ? From the first paragraph of the first page of Shani Mootoo’s … More A Beautiful Study in Narrative Voice: Shani Mootoo’s Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab

Dark Satire: Tell Me How This Ends Well by David Samuel Levinson

April 20, 2017

What changes will the year 2022 bring? A mere five years in the future, but still, one can look forward to at least a modicum of progress, right? An inching toward that ever-present goal of harmony and justice? Unfortunately not so in the fictional world David Samuel Levinson presents us with in his new, acerbic … More Dark Satire: Tell Me How This Ends Well by David Samuel Levinson

An Outsider’s Perspective: Mexico by Josh Barkan

March 28, 2017

As I have likely mentioned before, I’m a sucker for a short story collection–something about unraveling the thread that links the seemingly disparate characters and tales– so I all but jumped at the chance to review Josh Barkan’s Mexico: Stories. In it, Barkan, a celebrated writer and Creative Writing professor who lives part-time in Mexico … More An Outsider’s Perspective: Mexico by Josh Barkan

A Delightful Southern Gothic: The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis

March 15, 2017

  Family secrets, a decadent and possibly haunted mansion, and an abundance of literary references?! Be still my heart! The Barrowfields, the brilliant debut novel by Phillip Lewis, is a beautifully done southern gothic with all the intrigue, romance, and twists one could hope for. Phillip’s highly-detailed narrative and soothing prose draw readers deep into the … More A Delightful Southern Gothic: The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis

A Tempestuous Read:Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

March 9, 2017

           If you’ve never heard of Margaret Atwood , welcome to the planet Earth. Please allow me to show you around. I jest, but the woman has nothing short of 40 major works under her belt, ranging from dystopian fiction, to children’s books, to literary criticism and other non-fiction books on writing … More A Tempestuous Read:Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

Feminism and Madness in Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry

February 15, 2017

Tumultuous would be an understatement to describe the current political climate in the states, so I found it quite pleasant to immerse myself in a very British novel, albeit a murder mystery. As I’ve said before, I am no fan of the dime-store whodunits and refuse to read anything by James Patterson. Sorry, James. However,I … More Feminism and Madness in Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry

The Reverberations of War in Civilian Life: These Heroic, Happy Dead by Luke Mogulson

February 11, 2017

The effects of war are unpredictable and ever-reaching. Luke Mogulson’s These Heroic, Happy Dead, a collection of modern war-related short stories, provides unsettling, haunting glimpses into the lives of veterans suffering from varying degrees of PTSD. Like Tim O’Brien’s epic Vietnam war novel The Things They Carried, (one of my all-time favorites), These Heroic, Happy … More The Reverberations of War in Civilian Life: These Heroic, Happy Dead by Luke Mogulson