I’m honestly a little bit afraid to write this review, having learned what I learned by reading Going Clear. I don’t want to crap out and not write a review. Other Cannonballers have been brave. What am I so afraid of? An aggressively, violently litigious organization with enormous reach that picks legal and physical fights with anyone who questions their legitimacy. A for-profit company that practically bankrupted the US Treasury in their fight for IRS-recognized status as a religion. An abusive institution that uses its […]
This book was an absolute punch in the gut.
My God, this book. It’s so hard to review classics, which admittedly is not often an issue for me. My reading history contains almost no classics. I didn’t go to school after the fifth grade, so I was never assigned any for school, and although I’ve always been an avid reader, I’ve never picked up classics on my own. I took a lit class last semester, and every single assigned reading, I thought “Well, I’m going to hate this.” Every single time, it totally blew […]
A Beautiful Debut
This is a slow, quiet novel that captures readers at the start with its intensity. The stakes are high for everyone, even before we discover the tragedy that has befallen Kyung’s family. In the beginning, Kyung is already faced with the necessity of swallowing his pride and moving back in with his parents. But when Kyung’s mother shows up in his backyard, beaten and battered, Kyung knows who is to blame before the accusatory words escape her mouth. He suspects that his father, who has […]
And all our joys are but the ghost of a memory.
I don’t know why, but I’ve found myself drawn to depressing, broken people. First November 9 by Colleen Hoover, then Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill, then, after the brief interlude of joy and wonder that is the world of Harry Potter, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Cujo by Stephen King. Well, The Girl on the Train continues the theme. Rachel is an overweight, unemployed, and divorced alcoholic who rides the train into London every day to avoid telling her roommate and only […]