Why have I never heard of Jeanette Winterson before? And why has it taken me so long to find her? This little unassuming book totally took me by the heartstrings and destroyed me. Now, it wasn’t Gaiman levels of destruction, but it still did a number. The Passion follows Henri, a soldier in Napoleon’s army, and Villanelle, a remarkable woman from Venice as they weave a story back and forth that we aren’t sure whether we’re to believe at face-value, or take as metaphor. I can’t […]
A story of incredibly passionate love and vengeance.
Fifty-second book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. It seems that one can only despise someone with true passion, if they have once loved them just as much. And there is no story that can equal Wuthering Heights when it comes to passion. The story is tragic, but beautifully so and the reason why tragedy is such a thing of beauty is because it takes much loving and longing to make a tragedy. Nothing that happens in Wuthering heights is subdued. There is unabashed […]
On Passion
My hand is a human hand. My heart a human heart. My feet walk the earth to which our bones return. Directed by His voice, His hand, by the prompting and guidance of His spirit, what else was I to do? ~ Father Damien in a letter to the Pope The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001. I’ve reviewed two of Erdrich’s other novels — The Plague of Doves, which won a […]
How to Write–and Live–with Humor
Part memoir, part writing guide, Bird by Bird is a delightful book filled with rib-tickling anecdotes about relationships, parenting, faith, taking risks, following your dreams, and just plain living. I picked it up with hope of getting tips on doing some serious writing, and came away with a notebook filled with thoughts and ideas and suggestions about writing, and lots more. As a person who has often needed to be nudged to get going on projects that posed a serious challenge, I felt that Lamott […]