| |
|
Four Souls: A Novel (P.S.) 9 reviews
Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial, 2005
Yet another stellar novel from Louise Erdrich
+ A Great Story Told Well
+ The changing world of American Indians and a good story
+ A Star Made From Love
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Silver Swan: A Novel 25 reviews
Benjamin Black
Henry Holt and Co., 2008
Dark and Brooding with a Soul that is All too Real
+ Second noir tale establishes Dublin protagonist
+ "The world has fallen asunder": a city of paralysis
+ Depressing, Moody and Good
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Returning to Earth: A Novel 23 reviews
Jim Harrison
Grove Press, 2007
Vintage Harrison
+ bear with me while I die
Jim Harrison is, quite simply, American's finest contemporary author. Few writers can craft a sequel that stands alone as a fine work of literature, but for Harrison it's a regular exercise. Harrison's characters are so well developed and completely compelling in their humanity, and the quality ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Sporting Club2 reviews
Thomas Mcguane
Vintage, 1996
Bitchin' Book Bro
+ Very Pleasant Surprise
The Sporting Club plays out the alpha male/other guy dynamic in a really fresh funny way. Its the story of two grown young men of privilege, reunited at the sporting club in Michigan that they played and hunted at as kids. Stanton, the tough guy with the cojones collides with Quinn, the sensitive ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Out Stealing Horses: A Novel101 reviews
Per Petterson
Picador, 2008
A beautifully crafted novel
+ A Book I Read Slowly
This is one of the best novels I've read in years, and (in my opinion) one of the finest works of the past few decades. A story that begins (unpromisingly in my initial assessment) with a teenage boy spending his summer in the Norwegian countryside, twists and turns most unexpectedly. Like all ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Winterwood: A Novel 9 reviews
Patrick McCabe
Bloomsbury USA, 2008
Into the valley of shadow, once again
This is the fifth novel I've read of his; you can find my reviews of "The Dead School," "The Butcher Boy," "Breakfast on Pluto," and "Call Me the Breeze" on Amazon US. By now, long into a career that has earned McCabe acclaim, his protagonist Redmond Hatch fits a familiar pattern of a steady ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West3 reviews
Dee Brown
Holt Paperbacks, 2007
During the Moon of the Must-Read
+ BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE
There's already been much ink shed reviewing this seminal work by Dee Brown on the "loser's" of the 'Indian Wars' that consumed much of American history in the latter half of the 19th Century. If you don't feel great rage at the unceasing, genocidal campaign by European Americans upon the lands, ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Bingo Palace (P.S.)7 reviews
Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial, 2006
Literary Masterpiece
+ Very enjoyable but read the other books first
+ Richly told, but too mythic
This being one of Louise Erdrich's earlier works, it forms the basis and framework for the wonderful works that follow. This purchase was a gift, as it is one of my very favorite books by any writer, nevermind by Louise Erdrich, and I have an older edition permanently placed in my front bookcase ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story90 reviews
Chuck Klosterman
Scribner, 2006
The Flying V Neck of Books...Lives On
+ I can't state enough how much I put into this book
Chucky K, as I like to call him, does what any good writer should do, keeps the reader engaged and turning the pages from beginning to end. Is Chuck a Nick Hornby, David Eggers, Elizabeth Wurtzel? Well, of those three I've read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and watched the movie High ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Master Butchers Singing Club (P.S.)87 reviews
Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial, 2005
Best read of the year.
+ Balance
+ Captivating Read
+ Intricate and filled with delightful description
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The March: A Novel161 reviews
E.L. Doctorow
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006
Near the end
+ As good as any of Doctorow's great works
+ History Illuminated
+ A Good Snap Shot of the Civil War
+ An enjoyable read
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
History of the Ojibway People (Borealis Books Reprint) 4 reviews
William W. Warren
Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1984
A "primary" historical text on early Ojibway History
+ History of my ancestors!
+ The American Indian; Raw and Uncensored.
+ Ojibwa history by one of their own
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Blind Assassin: A Novel375 reviews
Margaret Atwood
Anchor, 2001
Atwood Astounds Me
+ "Blind but sure-footed, we step forward as if into a remembered dance."
+ Absolutely loved it!
+ Great read
+ One of Atwood's best
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Ruins (Vintage) (Vintage) 986 reviews
Scott Smith
Vintage, 2008
Quality Horror
+ The Ruination of Sleep
+ A Good Read
With Scott Smith's first novel A SIMPLE PLAN he took the literary world by storm. The novel received raves from all critics, developed a huge cult following and was called by many the best suspense novel of the year. Here we have his follow-up, THE RUINS, many years after the first and it is in a ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Beet Queen: A Novel (P.S.)24 reviews
Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial, 2006
Complex or as simple as you make it
+ Simply an amazing book
The beginning of this book takes off like a rocket. It's powerful and serves as one huge hook for the reader, who moves along with the characters as they develop into adults (and depending on the character, not very nice adults), sometimes skipping chunks of time. It's a character-driven story, but ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The Host: A Novel683 reviews
Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown and Company, 2008
Beautiful Host
+ Suspense, love, and betrayal...
+ Interspecies Stockholm Syndrome
No vampires appear in Meyer's latest novel, instead an alien species invades our planet and eventually the bodies of the human population. In the end most of these host lose their personality but not all. Such is the case of the young human female Melanie. She fights to keep her own identity in ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The LAST PICTURE SHOW : A Novel48 reviews
Larry McMurtry
Simon & Schuster, 1999
A tale for the ages
+ True to Life
+ Being young in 1950's Texas
+ A GREAT COMING OF AGE NOVEL
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Dalva (Contemporary Classics (Washington Square Press))30 reviews
Jim Harrison
Washington Square Press, 1991
They sin who tell us love can die
+ Another excellent book from Jim Harrison
+ Farmland never looked so good!
This book provided great comfort to me during my struggle with loss. I read it three years after the sudden death of my boyfriend in a grisly auto wreck. It has a lot to say about undying love. The beauty of the language is startling; savor it. The author presents the loss of a loved one with a ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Collected Stories (Penguin Classics)
Wallace Stegner
Penguin Classics, 2006
In a literary career spanning more than fifty years, Wallace Stegner created a remarkable record of the history and culture of twentieth-century America. Each of the thirty-one stories contained in this volume embody some of the best virtues and values to be found in contemporary fiction, demonstrating why the author is acclaimed as one of America’s master storytellers. BACKCOVER: “Exemplary ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Tracks31 reviews
Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial, 2004
It Changed the Course of my Life
+ A cure for those who want to read a piece of good writing.
+ Interesting and well written
+ Tracks, and all of Erdrich's Fleur Pillager books
+ This book follows me trough life
|
|
|
|
|
|
