Tag: reviews
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The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection by Martin Page – A Book Review
This story features a man named Virgil who comes home to find a woman he can’t remember breaking up with him on his answering machine. Great premise. Unfortunately, the rest of The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection is a disappointment. Virgil is your classic egocentric, neurotic, delusional sort of character who believes himself to be far…
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The Road – A Movie Review
Though The Road opened around Thanksgiving, it just came to my town a few days before Christmas. This, along with the multiple delays and reshoots, gave me great concern that the movie would not live up to the source material. My fears were unfounded. Absolutely bleak and morose, the film perfectly captured the essence of…
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Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll – A Book Review
I’ve read Carroll’s Land of Laughs and found his characterization very impressive in that particular book, although I felt his plot bottomed out toward the ending as it abandoned those previously established traits. With Bones of the Moon, however, I never really connected with his protagonist, Cullen James, or her friends and family. While they…
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Horse Crazy: The Silver Horse Switch by Alison Lester – A Book Review
Intended for young readers, Horse Crazy is the story of Bonnie and Sam, two young girls living in the bush of Australia. Though they don’t have their own steeds, they do everything they can to ride their fellow townspeople’s horses. One night, a wild horse jumps the fence and switches places with Sam’s father’s horse…
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Nasreen’s Secret School by Jeanette Winter – A Book Review
Though not particularly full of machismo, I am not prone to cry, but this book made the old eyes water just a bit. Based on a true story during Taliban-occupied Afghanistan, Nasreen is a little girl whose parents are taken by Taliban troops. She retreats within herself, no longer smiling or talking. Desperate, her grandmother…
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Invisible by Paul Auster – A Book Review
Invisible spoke to me more potently than many of Auster’s other recent works. Don’t misunderstand, Auster again explored themes of identity, chance, and reality, but this novella in particular struck me as being far more concerned with character. Moreover, though the story jumped around in time and made use of several perspectives, it was one…
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The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield – A Book Review
I’d heard good things about this book, and, after my mother insisted I read it, I finally gave in. I’m happy to report that The Thirteenth Tale was indeed a fantastic read. I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first. A book about a culture’s greatest writer is dangerous ground, for what…
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Manhood For Amateurs by Michael Chabon – A Book Revie
I feel like this book was written for me. Seriously. Just me. As you’ve probably guessed, I loved Manhood For Amateurs. Chabon is really just a far more successful, talented version of me. He’s a stay-at-home dad; he does the cooking; he’s a writer; he digs pop culture and comic books; he’s not especially talented…
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Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger – A Book Review
With The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger delivered a complex, captivating, and perfectly orchestrated plot with rich, rounded characters who demanded the reader’s interest. The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my all-time favorites and I recommend it to anyone looking for a great read. It is because of my love for The Time Traveler’s…
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Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon – A Book Review
With Await Your Reply, Dan Chaon has created a mesmerizing novel that keeps the reader guessing from one page to the next. I’d always considered Chaon a “literary” author, but with Await You Reply, he expertly delves into “genre,” delivering a suspenseful mystery that endlessly satisfies. Chaon raises intriguing questions about identity, and also provides…
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