Lisa See, the author of [i]Snow Flower and the Secret Fan[/i], which was a really good book, has delivered a less interesting and slightly faded remix of the same themes Snow Flower had – namely, friendship and Chinese culture. The characters are wooden: good-girl Grace, scandalous Ruby, cantankerous Helen. The story limps along like a wounded homing pigeon, following the “glamour” of the Forties while skipping any of the realities of the second World War. (It does make an appearance, as do the Japanese internment […]
Land of the Free, Some Restrictions Apply
I could have easily read this book from cover to cover in a day if I’d had the time. Not only is only a short 149 pages but the writing flows so beautifully that I hated having to put it down and deal with my real life (I mean, more so than when I’m reading normally). The writing is lyrical and the scope is both intimate and simultaneously sweeping. The Buddha in the Attic would make excellent supplementary reading for a college or high school […]
A cavalcade of finery, from existential nihilism to haunted funeral attire.
I’ve fallen further behind in my reviews than I ever have. So, I’ve decided to do what I did for The Dresden Files: combine my reviews into one giant post. Is that cheating? I feel like that’s cheating. The longer I drag this out, though, the more I’m likely to fall behind. The Stranger, by Albert Camus (5 stars) Firstly, I read this because it’s one of the most frequently cited great novels from French literature. In my quest to read more classic novels this […]
A delicate and timeless novella about love, fidelity and truth.
The Hunting Gun is a quiet little story about the tangled lives of four people in Japan, presented through letters sent to the unassuming author. It’s unsentimental with how it deals with infidelity and love, and although at times a little bleak, it’s a finely crafted first novella from a future master. Originally released in 1949, it won Inoue the most prestigious literary award in Japan, the Akutagawa Prize, and this beautiful new edition from Pushkin Press is a brilliant celebration of his work. After publishing […]