News

I am currently reading the novel The Family Shadow (Foley Family Mysteries Book One) by Suzanne Winterly. It’s a century-spanning historical mystery novel that takes place in Victorian-era Ireland and the present day. It checks off many boxes on my list. I’ll share my thoughts when I’m through.

What a fantastic book! This is one of the very few books I give a 5-star rating to. It’s clear why it won the Pulitzer Prize and other prestigious awards. AVFTGS is a splendidly crafted mosaic novel, (mostly) set in New York City. It jumps back and forth between decades, its chapters include several different narrative styles, and its one major theme, “Time is a Goon,” permeates throughout, leaving characters blessed and cursed, but undeniably changed One spectacular chapter

I’m excited about this book! It’s a multi-award winner, and it’s a mosaic novel. I think I’ll be pleased, but I will, as usual, let you know of my thoughts when I’m through.

I tried. I really, really tried. Maybe I just don’t have the brain or temperament for internal, philosophical, or reflective conflicts. But with this book…Well, I tried. Darrow appears to be the valedictorian of The Dickens School of Ceaseless Verbosity. Yes, he writes like that. I was waiting for Darrow to call himself Pip. In thousands of ways, call himself Pip. And I thought that this style was out of vogue one hundred years before Farmington was written. I guess I was wro

Yes, Yes. I’m reading this work of fiction because it is by Clarence Darrow, and he fascinates me. Darrow harkens back to his childhood in rural Kinsman, Ohio, for this piece, placing, I’m certain, many of his own experiences in the text. Well, as they say, “Writers write what they know.” I hope to enjoy this. I’ll share my thoughts afterwards.

As stated, I became interested in Clarence Darrow when he appeared in the historical mystery, The Angel of Darkness, by Caleb Carr. At the time, I wondered what type of man would defend such a horrible murderess as Libby Hatch. I found out who. Not surprisingly, this biography inspired me to read more biographies. It was sharp, well-written, and painted Darrow, in all his faults and glories, as unquestionably human. At times, I found myself screaming at the book, more so at D

Utterly horrible films promise one thing: even in their trashy badness, they’re bound to entertain you. The old So-Bad-It’s-Good category of movies. It’s all about expectations, after all. Then there’s The Room by Tommy Wiseau. I started watching this…film…with the right expectations, as mentioned above. But as I was watching it, I was unfortunately eating my dinner: sirloin steak with fingerling potatoes and asparagus. I couldn’t finish my dinner, and I don’t like to waste

I am currently reading Clarence Darrow: American Iconoclast by Andrew E. Kersten. I became interested in this trend-setting American lawyer when I finished reading The Angel of Darkness (Dr. Lazlo Kreizler Book 2) by Caleb Carr. In that book, Darrow was called in to defend the villain Libby Hatch in her criminal trial. Trusting Carr as a historian and novelist, the portrayal of Darrow in this novel was compelling and thought-provoking enough for me to do a little research o

I always appreciate a story that doesn’t pander to accepted story tropes, especially speculative fiction stories. I’ve already vented my spleen on recognized science fiction motifs—White Time Syndrome, anyone?—but I found, in this short story by John Scalzi—a more than capable writer—such motifs, when presented properly, no longer stick in my craw. One such motif is the aforementioned White Time Syndrome. The narrator and main character of this story is an AI that is in charg

Six members of a blended family crash a rehearsal of some nameless play in some nameless theater in some nameless city. These members—The Father, The Mother, The Son, The Stepdaughter, The Boy, and the Child—are all in utter despair. An event that fractured this family beyond belief haunts them and does not relent. These folks claim to be characters abandoned by their author because their story is too harrowing and tragic to bear. Are these family members real people? Are the

I saw this play as a community theater production about thirty years ago. I’m thinking about how I, as an author, could be affected by a concept like this. I’ll share my thoughts when I’m through.

I was both saddened and satisfied when I finished reading this book. As I said, it is a mosaic novel, and the characters depicted within are men all at different stages of life, all struggling with identity, all existentially stranded. Nine men are portrayed, so it doesn’t make sense to discuss all of them here—it would merely be a list. What I will discuss is the depth to which Szalay portrays their hardships. Their social, mental, financial, and sometimes emotional struggle

If I wanted to watch Anthony Perkins playing a psychopath, I’d watch Psycho (1960). That being said, Anthony Hopkins does his level best in the film, Magic (1978), playing a fragile man struggling with fractured personalities, but I couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried, blink and not see Anthony Perkins. They play the same role. Their characters are both subjugated by a dominant “other.” They even have lookalike hairstyles. Hopkins plays Corky, a struggling stand-up comedian/

I am currently reading All That Man Is by David Szalay, a mosaic novel. A mosaic novel “uses parallel storylines that converge at a specific moment or through a common theme, place, or object” (Google Search). George R. R. Martin, Jennifer Egan, Raymond Carver, and Ray Bradbury are examples of authors who write these types of novels. Nine men from different stages of life are depicted. This book, published in 2016, is a Man Booker Prize Finalist. As per my process, I’ll let y

When reading a novel like The Trees, I am always reminded of reader perspective: your past and experiences fuel your perception of the characters, events, places, and themes of what you read. Back in college, I took an African-American Literature class. When reading the first book on the syllabus, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, my reader perspective was challenged outright. I at first thought that all of the characters depicted in the novel were White; that is, until I met

I am currently reading The Trees: A Novel by Percival Everett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. The story involves a mystery, which is what drew me to it, while it also chronicles life in the Southern United States, especially in Mississippi. Brutal murders and missing corpses in a suburban/almost rural town called Money, intrigues two State Detectives, who are brought in after the first corpse disappears. I’ll let you know what I think when I’m finished.

As I read through this novel, another suspension of disbelief question fluttered through my mind. And this one is specific to science fiction, not unlike the White Time Syndrome I’ve discussed in earlier posts. I’ll get to that in a bit. One of the aspects of this novel is the “class struggle” between humans and synthetics, with humans being superior in numbers, nature, and morality. Or so the world Shawn Goodman created for this novel claims. Nick Schneider, the main and tit

I read the book, internalizing, or trying to, its instructions. I purchased the lock pick set. I tried picking this lock—I failed. I spent a good ten minutes on it, and still failed. I asked a student to try it—he failed. Another—she failed. My next option—and this is not an admittance of defeat, I don’t know what is—is to buy a bolt cutter and a new lock. Since I have a hammer in my desk, I entertained the idea of banging on the handles until one of them breaks, but that wou

In true Hollywood fashion, Raiders of the Lost Ark spawned many copycats. Or at least, they had several films that wanted to be ROTLA . Some were hits, some were misses. Romancing the Stone fell somewhere in the middle. It was a hit when it was released—both critically and commercially—and helped to launch the career of director Robert Zemeckis. Unfortunately, it also had many of the drawbacks of an 1980s film. One of these drawbacks was a sparse script, sacrificing charact

This science fiction/hardboiled mystery novel takes an unconventional, but not wholly original, approach. Taking place in a futuristic city where what could only be described as a class struggle between humans and synthetics simmers, Detective Nick Schneider, the titular character, investigates the murder of a senator’s daughter. What promises to be a reworked, gritty tale of violence and redemption filled with dark humor and action, I look forward to reading this novel, hopi