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 […]
Netgalley I came across John Marshall’s memoir via Netgalley, the site that lets you leverage your social media clout to receive free advanced review copies (ARCs) of certain books from certain publishers (digital format). The deal is, of course, that you have to review the book in a timely manner. If you haven’t gotten in […]
Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole Ok, I’ll be honest. I chose this book solely because it takes place partly in Scotland and I’ve been feeling nostalgic (where did that year and a half go?). My current “home” is located a 30 minute drive from Bozeman, MT…consequently I spend a lot of time in the […]
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 […]
Good Ol’ Jane Austen I’m leaving the country soon, and I need to send some books home when my family visits next month. Consequently, when it came time to find my next book to review, instead of perusing second hand stores, I looked at my own bookshelf. Last August, I visited Bath with two friends, and there was […]