Ollie hasn’t been much of a people-person, but since her mother died the only solace she can seem to find is in books. On a bike ride home from school, she comes across a woman sobbing by the lake, trying to talk herself into throwing an old black book into the water. On a whim, Ollie steals the book and discovers within its pages a strange and spooky old story about the Webster family and their tragedy brought on by a sinister “smiling man.” The […]
She likes to read, she reads all the time, and she prefers to be reading several things at once, she says it gives endless perspective and dimension.
Autumn – 4/5 Stars I liked this one a lot, and I have solid hopes for the second book. I do not know going into that one whether or not it will be a continuation of this story or a reversal or twist or riff off the themes. It’s also interesting to be reading these while sort of being in the middle of the Karl Ove Knausgard seasonal quartet as well. So this book takes place among many years, jumping back and forth. It centers […]
Again, I could not begin to connect these. Except I got a new kitten and as I was sequestered with her keeping the dog out, these are some of the things I read.
North Station: 4/5 Stars This is an interesting collection of longish short fiction by the Korean writer Bae Suah. It’s a recent translation (actually maybe brand new) from the University of Rochester imprint “Open Letter” and I received a subscription to their press as a gift from my old colleagues. This book presents a really interesting set of questions for me. I have read a few different books by Korean authors, but not many at all. In fact, I think it would be true that […]