web analytics

reviews

Now Is Not the Time to Panic

“Is that why we do anything in this life? To feel it vibrate along the line that starts at birth and ends way way way after we die?” Author: Kevin Wilson I would’ve loved to have met Kevin Wilson when he was a kid. I imagine he was angsty, awkward, quirky and brilliant—because he populates his novels with children and teenagers that are, well, angsty, awkward, quirky and brilliant. They’re unlike any other characters I’ve come across in fiction, and I want to pull them into my arms and hold them safe forever. Case in point: in his original, devastating, [...]

2022-12-20T08:33:37-07:00December 20th, 2022|Tags: |

Barchester Towers

Drawing Room Drama and Religious Reactions Author: Anthony Trollope In Trollope’s second installment in The Chronicles of Barsetshire, the little town of Barsetshire is alive with drawing room intrigue, this time set along the lines of respectable holy war. The long-lived Bishop of Barchester has recently vacated his post and this life, resulting in a scramble for primacy among the backstabbing candidates. This results in a brand-new bishop, the lamentable (and viciously hen-pecked) Dr. Proudie, who is disgustingly low church and comes with his sidekick and supporter, the Reverend Slope. As Slope fights Mrs. Proudie for the right to rule the [...]

2022-12-20T08:42:00-07:00December 12th, 2022|Tags: , , , , , , |

House Next Door, The

Brand New House, Evil House Author: Anne Rivers Siddons When I finally got Covid and was stuck isolating (and going stir crazy) in the bedroom, I picked up The House Next Door. I quickly forgot about my sick room with its twisted sheets and balls of Kleenex, and was instead transported into a normal, happy world that was slowly, insidiously turning inside out. The clatter of ice in drinks, the comforting days of sitting on a porch with a friend, the curiosity about the transformation of a vacant lot next door, all captured me with the lulling slowness of a good [...]

2022-12-29T09:28:28-07:00December 3rd, 2022|Tags: , , , , , |
Go to Top