Editing | Coaching | Instruction
James Agee’s A Death In The Family follows a young family in the early 20th century directly before and after the unexpected, sudden death of the patriarch, Jay Follet. Agee beautifully illustrates how each family member copes with Jay’s death, following their journey from anxiety to anger to confusion to acceptance. But despite the beauty […]
Difficulty Categorizing This Book I have never read a book quite like this before. Perhaps that’s because it was written by a Norwegian author. Or perhaps it’s because of the original publication year (1957). Despite the novel’s tiny cast and contained setting, I found that I did not want to put it down. Ironically, there […]
Every time I read a book by Joan Didion, I am struck by her skill. Blue Nights is no exception. This non-fiction rumination centers around what it means to raise a child and to lose that child prematurely, all while dealing with one’s own aging. It is a powerful look into Didion’s psyche. “When we […]
The Lover by Marguerite Duras What a perfect novel to read following Robert Olen Butler’s From Where You Dream. There are several things I admire about Marguerite Duras’s The Lover. First, the prose itself is lyrical and unique. Her analogies and themes are consistent and poignant throughout. In fact, the entire novel reads like one […]
It seems that in every creative writing class I take, Eudora Welty’s name is invoked. The woman had a lot to say about writing. A quick search on the internet will give you hundreds of thousands of hits of her advice despite the fact that she died over 15 years ago. She is, without a […]
We support our fellow romance pioneers One of our lovely comrades over at The Page Girls (fight the good fight, girls), Cecily Gates, was kind enough to send me a copy of her debut novel, An Imaginary House by the Sea, the first of a series of novels set in Bridgeport. I have to say, […]
Manazuru by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Michael Emmerich In August, I went to see a few readings at the Edinburgh Book Festival. At the checkout counter (purchasing a book. Of course.) I struck up a conversation with the sales girl, Clare, and got to explaining the concept behind my MSc dissertation (the main character has […]
Why did I pick up this book? Last week, I found myself sprawled on the floor of my friend Liz’s London flat, perusing the books on her bookshelf. Our friendship, which goes back to grade 6, has revolved almost entirely around books. As I dragged a finger over the titles, I came across two books […]
What’s it about? My first book review was about a man cheating on his woman. My second is about a woman cheating on her man. Published in 1954, A Spy in the House of Love explores subjects taboo to the era. Protagonist Sabina is unfulfilled in her marriage to Alan, to whom she feels a […]