Archive for the ‘Review’ Category

Happy Birthday, Truman Capote

Sunday, September 30th, 2012
In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

In honor of Truman Capote‘s birthday, today’s featured review is In Cold Blood, the book that changed writing forever.

Featured Review: “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold

Thursday, September 6th, 2012

Happy birthday, Alice Sebold!

In honor of the day, here’s a review of her famous novel, The Lovely Bones.

The Lovely Bones

Featured Review: “Angela’s Ashes”

Sunday, August 19th, 2012

In honor of Frank McCourt’s birthday, today’s featured review is Angela’s Ashes.

 

Featured Review: “Disturbances in the Field”

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Disturbances in the Field by Lynne Sharon Schwartz is one of the best novels I’ve ever read.Disturbances in the Field

Featured Review: “The Black Echo”

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

Featured Review: The Black Echo

In honor of Michael Connelly’s birthday, here’s a review of The Black Echo, that book that introduces Connelly’s franchise series character LAPD detective Harry Bosch.

Featured Review: “Eat, Pray, Love”

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

Eat, Pray, LoveFeatured Review: Eat, Pray, Love

Happy birthday, Elizabeth Gilbert.

 

Featured Review: “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Cover: To Kill a MockingbirdToday’s featured review is To Kill a Mockingbird, published on this date in 1960.

 

Featured Review: “Room” by Emma Donoghue

Thursday, July 5th, 2012

Featured Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Cover: RoomIn a writer’s group I participate in someone recently asked for recommendations of novels to look at as examples in creating the voice of a child narrator.

I’ve always been interested in books with child narrators because I think one of the hardest jobs writers can set for themselves is the creation of a child’s voice. The successful portrayal of a child narrator involves not only age-appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure, but also a way of looking at the world that fits the child’s age.

Emma Donoghue does a remarkable job with 5-year-old Jack in the novel Room. When the book first came out, some critics said that Jack sounds much older than 5. They’re right: Jack doesn’t sound like a typical 5-year old.

But that’s because Jack isn’t a typical 5-year-old. He’s a child who has been confined to a single room for his entire life. The only person he’s had contact with is his mother, who has spent every moment of Jack’s 5 years looking out for him, trying to provide him as much stimulation as possible within their restricted environment. Jack has never talked to other children, only to his mother. I would have found it strange if Jack did sound like a typical 5-year-old.

Room is one of the best examples I know of how to create a convincing child narrator.

If you have a favorite novel narrated by a child, please let us know in the comment section.

‘America’s Final Beginning’ a clumsy, preachy novel written by a beginner

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

‘America’s Final Beginning’ a clumsy, preachy novel written by a beginner.

I offer this review as a good definition of what is commonly known as a “program novel” or a “propaganda novel”: a novel that is written to portray a message but that forgets the first requirement of a novel is to tell a good story and tell it well.

New Material Added to Notes in the Margin

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

Yesterday I added the following new material:

Most of this material is actually “old” notes that I’m just now getting around to posting after moving the site.

But the review of “V” Is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton really is new.