Genre can be liberating, in an artistic sense. To follow and break the rules at the same time can lead to moments of true serendipity. For me, it has elevated the concept of form, the actual structure of the novel, to become the most crucial element, because as in architecture, form follows function… . In […]
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And How It Differs from Plot Have you ever wanted to yell at someone, “If you hadn’t done __________, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now”? Actions have consequences. And often one action produces a consequence that requires another action, and so on—and on. This cause-and-effect pattern works in fiction just as it
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Crouch, Blake. Dark Matter Crown, © 2016 ISBN 978–1–101–90422–0 Highly recommended It’s the beautiful thing about youth. There’s a weightlessness that permeates everything because no damning choices have been made, no paths committed to, and the road forking out ahead is pure, unlimited potential. (p. 10) I don’t give out many five-star ratings, but this
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Related Post: Book Review: Big Little Lies Spoiler Alert I avoided giving away basic plot points in my book review, but in comparing the book with the TV series I must include some of the major events. Therefore, if you haven’t read the book or seen the series, you might want to stop right here
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Maxwell, William. So Long, See You Tomorrow Random House, 1980 ISBN 0–679–76720–7 I very much doubt that I would have remembered for more than fifty years the murder of a tenant farmer I never laid eyes on if (1) the murderer hadn’t been the father of somebody I knew, and (2) I hadn’t later on
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Moriarty, Liane. Big Little Lies Berkley, 2014 ISBN 978–0–399–58720–7 I hadn’t read any of Liane Moriarty’s books, although I kept seeing them recommended. I picked up this one when I heard that HBO was making it into a series. Set in a suburban seaside town in Australia, the novel delves into the lives and interactions
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At a book group gathering a few months back a man opened the discussion with the comment, “I didn’t like this book because I just couldn’t like any of the characters.” I don’t even remember what that month’s book was because my mind took off with that comment. That was certainly not the first time
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Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why Penguin Random House, 2007 978–1–59514–188–0 Originally published in 2007, this book recently received renewed interest when streaming service Netflix made it into a series. In fact, that’s why I bought and read it. The story comprises 13 cassette recordings left by teenager Hannah Baker for the people who contributed to
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Father’s Day is upon us. The greatest novel about fathers that I’ve ever read is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Here are five more. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver In 1959 evangelical Baptist preacher Nathan Price takes his wife and four daughters to the Belgian Congo to deliver God’s message. They take
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Nunn, Kem. Chance Scribner, 2014 ISBN 978–1–5011–6467–5 San Francisco hosts this novel, but not the charming city by the bay. This is the San Francisco of fog, mist, and nighttime crime, where thoughts and desires scuttle off down the darkest paths and then emerge from the depths to bite us. This is where we meet
