Home and Away: Horror & Gothic Fiction 2022 Among this season’s horror releases, twinned themes emerge. On one side, the oppressive atmosphere of a childhood home and the secrets it holds; on the other, the ambiguity of liminal spaces and the unease of isolation. PW spoke with editors about the fear of the unknown, whether […]
The Book That Unleashed American Grief “John Gunther’s Death Be Not Proud defied a nation’s reluctance to describe personal loss.” Deborah Cohen discusses Death Be Not Proud, published in 1949, John Gunther’s account of the his son’s death at age 17 from a brain tumor. The publisher, Harper & Brothers, feared at the time that
Women’s History Month at New York Public Library “This March, The New York Public Library celebrates Women’s History Month with recommended reading, spotlights on significant women librarians from our 125 year history, events and programs, and more.” Categories: Literary History, Literary Criticism 13 Empowering Memoirs Written by Women In honor of Women’s History Month. Categories:
Introduction I still remember the experience of first seeing the movie Planet of the Apes (the original 1968 version starring Charlton Heston). As the movie ended, Taylor (the astronaut played by Heston) and Nova rode off on a horse in search of a new place to live. As they rode along the beach, the camera
What Makes a Good Twist Ending? Read More »
“There are many reasons I love novels with multiple narratives. In novels where the events are filtered through the consciousness of a single ‘reliable’ narrator, I often wonder; is this the whole story? What could be missing here? Truth is often a multiplicity of perspectives, and sometimes the more viewpoints and versions of events there
5 Effective Multiple-Perspective Novels Read More »
“Choosing to put on a new identity as easily as one might put on a new hat can be a coping mechanism, the start of an elaborate con, the last resort of a victim fleeing an abuser, the refuge of a fantasist who can no longer face reality. Strategy or stratagem, adopting a new name,
Murakami, Haruki. 1Q84Trans. by Jay Rubin & Philip GabrielVintage, translation © 2011Trade Paperback, 1,157 pagesISBN 978-0-307-47646-3 Highly Recommended “ A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is
Review: Encountering “1Q84” in the Time of COVID-19 Read More »
This month we start with a book that topped Best of 2021 lists, No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. I had seen this title on a lot of those Best Books of 2021 lists, where it was often described as “inventive fiction.” I usually love books described as inventive, experimental, or genre-bending,
6 Degrees of Separation Read More »
How to Remember What You Read First of all, back in my pre-internet life I taught advanced composition at the college level, a course that included topics such as critical thinking and vetting research sources. That approach to information has become exponentially more important now, so it’s the first thing I do whenever I discover
Connelly, Michael. The Dark HoursLittle, Brown & Company, © 2021Narrated by Titus Welliver, Christine LakinISBN 978-1-549-10763-4 Recommended There’s chaos in Hollywood on New Year’s Eve. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD Detective Renée Ballard seeks shelter at the end of the countdown to wait out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revelers shoot their
Review: “The Dark Hours” Read More »
