On the very first page, we are told that Pecola Breedlove, an 11 year old girl with only the desire of seeing the world through blue eyes, is impregnated by her own father, and that Pecola will live and her child will die. “There is really nothing more to say,” writes Morrison, “except why. But…
Category: books
Poetry in Prose: A Review of ‘The Long Take’ by Robin Robertson
Quite simply, The Long Take is an aching ode to the common man, the war veteran, the constantly-changing cities, and the soot-and-silver movies of the 40s-50s. A novel written in poetry, this book follows the recently-returned Canadian veteran Walker, on his exploration of the post WWII America and the American dream. Walker begins his journey…
To Be or Not To Be ‘Persuaded’: A Review of ‘Persuasion’ by Jane Austen
Ralph Waldo Emerson said about Jane Austen’s novels that they were ‘’imprisoned in the wretched conventions of English Society, without genius, wit or knowledge of the world.’’ It’s true that her books were set in the traditional Victorian society, but Austen’s study and satire of this very society is genius, and full of wit and…
Poetic, Painful, Profound: A Review of Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
The novel opens with a 13 year old Jojo claiming his understanding of death as he stands watching his loving Pop (grandfather) butcher a wild hog. It’s his birthday and he is eager to show himself a man. His throwing up after he helps his Pop clean up shows he’s not quite there yet. Sing,…
More ‘Ghost Story’ than ‘Love Story’: A Review of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca was my first tryst with a thriller, and at the impressionable age of 16, it became fundamental. Not that I hadn’t read my share of the ‘mysteries’ – the Famous Fives, the Sherlock Holmes, even the Miss Marple books, but Rebecca was different. I mistook it for a love story, a classic ‘Cinderella’ tale,…
