Independent People starts simply with a humble sheep farmer, Bjartur of Summerhouses, striking out on his own after saving for eighteen years to buy a croft. With a hard-nosed determination he fights to wrestle an independent living out of the … Continue reading
I wonder what it would have been like to read Lucia Berlin in the 1970’s, as my family was driving through the western United States on various extended vacations — two parents and five kids stuffed into a green Buick … Continue reading
Patti wanders equally and easily through dreams, memories, as well as through what we call everyday life. The immediacy of her lovely thoughts, annotations, and reflections pull us so strongly into her consciousness that we feel blessedly wrapped in a magical fabric part dream, … Continue reading
What is behind the door? Do not come to this book expecting to find easy answers to any of your tired questions about relationships, faith, poverty, love, or the meaning of life. Check your preconceptions at the door. This is the … Continue reading
This books was a nice surprise. Beautifully written, energetic, intelligent, humane, thoughtful. I’m in a good mood so I’m not going to say anything bad… But if I were going to say something critical, I would only mention that the author’s/narrator’s … Continue reading
I first heard Ann Peters read from this book in the summer of 2012 in Wisconsin; it was one of the most compelling and enjoyable book readings I’ve ever attended. I’ve since read the book in its entirety and found … Continue reading
A slightly grandiose academic takes a sabbatical in Berlin to compile his research into a book about Titian. He has nothing to do but sit down and write. However, despite his scorn for popular culture and the best intentions to give up the addictive medium altogether, an extended (and often self-congratulatory) rationalization leads to very little writing, but quite a lot of television – some of it watching, some of it not. Continue reading
Certain novels rise up like a quiet spring from some deep well of poetry and human feeling… Continue reading
This novel gripped me like a weird, powerful dream you might have while napping on a lazy clear summer day. You wake up in a daze, disoriented and sweating, but luxuriating in the vivid details and marveling at the intricate folds and turns – the mysterious corners and magical twists of the mind. Continue reading
Within the first few sentences of this dazzling collection of short stories by the acclaimed Spanish writer Javier Marías, you realize, with a thrilling sense of recognition, that you are in the hands of a master storyteller of Jamesian or … Continue reading