Thirty-first book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. Yet again, I have taken up a play by Oscar Wilde and yet again, I’m amazed by the layer upon layer of depth and meaning that the satirical work contains. You wouldn’t think that a comedy of errors would have anything to offer in the way of moral commentary or philosophical meanderings, but when you’re reading Wilde, you better expect profundity in his most trivial statements. This is a play about two men who pretend to […]
Shakespeare + Monsters + Dick Jokes = Christopher Moore
As I’ve mentioned before, I love Christopher Moore for his ability to make me forget the troubles of the world. If he has to do that by making me laugh at the most sophomoric humor imaginable, so be it. With Serpent of Venice, though, Moore surpasses this admittedly low bar by adding two other components that I dearly love: Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe. At a book signing I attended, Moore explained that he got the idea for setting a monster story in Venice while […]
A post industrial revolution British novel that is disgustingly entertaining
Twenty-third book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. I took this book up on a whim and I’m really glad that I did. This is my first Gerald Kersh book and I can safely say that it won’t be my last. After a few pages of struggle to get used to the Cockneye slang and the manner of speaking of the natives of Fowler’s End, this book was a good roller coaster ride; some introspection interspersed with the antics of some really weird characters […]
Well, there really wasn’t anything about diabetes, and I was hoping for more owls.
I am a fan of David Sedaris’s view of the world. I have read every book he has written, starting with Me Talk Pretty One Day shortly after its publication in 2000 and as I am want to do, I then began working immediately through his catalogue. And I have loved them. But something is happening, and I do not know if it’s me, or if it’s him, or if perhaps we are just in a rough spot in our relationship. I laughed fewer times […]