I hadn’t heard of writer Dawn Powell (1896-1965) until last year when her name came up the the New York Times book review section called “By The Book,” wherein the Times provides a series of questions to writers about their reading habits. Anjelica Huston — model, actress, and memoirist — mentioned Powell as a favorite writer whose works deserved to be filmed but, curiously, never had been. So I looked her up and discovered that Powell moved from Ohio to New York in the early […]
The Measure of a Man
Edna Ferber was once the most famous female novelist in the United States. A member of the famed Algonquin Table, Ferber wrote several novels that were turned into classic movies, including Showboat, Giant, and Cimarron. Ferber’s So Big won the 1925 Pulitzer Prize for literature. I’m not sure why her novels get so little attention these days. This is the first that I have read, and I am probably going to try a few more. I found So Big to be a timely and relevant […]
A Book for Women’s History Month
This battle of wills was real and she would win. She would give herself fully. This moment was falling in love. [from “A High-Grade Bitch Sits Down for Lunch” about Beryl Markham] The sunrise is beautiful … but it will never be enough. She was questioning then, as she does now: what makes you empty and what makes you full? [from “Hazel Eaton and the Wall of Death”] Almost Famous Women is a collection of fictional short stories about real women who have appeared in […]
Anger Management
Disgruntled is the story of Kenya Curtis, her family, and her community in West Philly. They are, as the title suggests, disgruntled and with good reason. The story begins in the early 1980s when Kenya is about 10 and follows her for almost a decade. Solomon tells a rich, detailed, powerful story in a mere 287 pages and shows wit, intelligence and humor throughout. Themes dealing with race and class feature prominently and should engender lively discussion among readers. The novel begins with “The Way […]