Book Reviews
Some people collect coins, stamps, or Star Wars memorabilia. I write book reviews. These are listed in random order, so look around and use the tags, too.
Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy and edited and with an introduction and notes by Simon Gatrell. Highly recommended. In Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy combines many of the elements that would define his career as a novelist—colorful common folk and … Continue reading →
A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons. Not recommended. In A Virtuous Woman, Kaye Gibbons tells the story of the daughter of Southern gentry, Ruby Pitt Woodrow Stokes; her tenant farmer second husband, Jack Stokes; and those who affect their lives most—Burr, his wife … Continue reading →
Neurotica: Jewish Writers on Sex edited by Melvin Jules Bukiet. Recommended. “Witness the people of the book, in bed.” Thus editor Melvin Jules Bukiet invites the reader into the intimacies of Neurotica: Jewish Writers on Sex. In this collection, everyone from Saul Bellow, … Continue reading →
The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson by Kevin J. Hayes. New York: Oxford University Press. 2008. 752 pages. While I was visiting my aunt in Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s, she suggested a road trip: … Continue reading →
In a Dark Wood Wandering: A Novel of the Middle Ages by Hella Haasse. Highly recommended. This historical novel has its own interesting history. It was written by a Dutch author virtually unknown in the United States, then an English translation was … Continue reading →
The Literary Lover: Great Contemporary Stories of Passion and Romance. Edited and with an introduction by Larry Dark. New York: Penguin Books USA, 1994. 368 pages. ISBN 0140171649. From the young to the old, the sanctioned to the illicit, the … Continue reading →
Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth. Recommended. Combination lengthy kvetch and documentation of a fictional psychiatric disorder, Portnoy’s Complaint addresses the narrator’s life as a first-generation American Jew and an oversexed male. As both, Alexander Portnoy is unable to reconcile his desire for the American … Continue reading →
Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy by Howard Jones. Not recommended. In July 1839, a group of Africans that had been illegally imported into Cuba used violence to take … Continue reading →
Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann. Translated by Anthea Bell. London: Transworld Publishers/The Random House Group Ltd. 2006. 352 pages. As flock animals who can be herded to their own deaths (see Thomas Hardy), sheep are easy … Continue reading →
Pagan’s Crusade by Catherine Jinks. New York: Collins. 2004. 272 pages. I learned about Pagan’s Crusade on a medieval history list, where a poster recommended it for young adults. Pagan, a 16-year-old product of war rape who arises from the grimy underbelly of … Continue reading →
