Thoughts, tales, and travels
Hair Raising Wholesome: Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell
Karen Russell dishes up dark, disturbing stories. Not quite “an axe for the frozen sea within us,” as Kafka would recommend. More like a probe for reflections in our darkest recesses. A water witch for hidden pools of empathy. Russell’s great gift is for creating a fully developed world built...
Do Tell: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Evaristo’s poetical narrative style isn’t hard to settle into. Breaks are more frequent than standard paragraphing. The story is plot-driven and the style supports a clear narrative account of the lives of its multi-generational cast of characters. “Show, Don’t Tell” is a writing cliche.we have lots of novels now where...
Relentless
Review of Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon JamesNew York: Riverhead, 2019. 620 pp. This wild African-flavored fantasy is the most original book I have read this year. Marlon James has created a complete world of unique magic. Comparisons to Tolkien aren’t going too far. Although author Marlon James wrote...
Waikiki Evening
Our trip to Honolulu was January 7-14, 2020. Hey, we weren’t expecting Paradise, just someplace warmer and hopefully drier than Eugene in the winter. An interesting American city with a unique cultural history and vibe. The first evening we checked into our condo and strolled out into the Waikiki evening,...
Season of Indulgence
It doesn’t get better than a coffee mug that keeps itself warm. Especially when it comes wrapped in a family story that includes Santa Clause and a good elf, a flaming microwave, delivery magic, and a postscript coincidence. Thanks, family, and happy holidays to all.
Holy Convergence
Review of There, There by Tommy OrangeNew York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 It is interesting, refreshing, and heart-gripping to hear the voices of contemporary urban Native Americans groping for threads of identity in the challenging environment of Oakland, California. Tommy Orange handles multiple first-person narrative voices beautifully. The characters have...
In the New Year: The Will to Fight for our Planet
Review: Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?By Bill McKibbenNew York: Henry Holt, 2019: 256 pp. This is not a particularly ground-breaking or distinguished book, but it is a thoughtful and clearly-written summary of some of the pressing moral and technological problems we face in 2020. Primarily,...
Too Nice
Review of The Dutch House by Ann PatchettNew York: Harper Collins, 2019, 337 pgs. I am a devoted fan of Ann Patchett. Her writing is rich and smooth, and I have found all her main characters fully developed and credible. Until I encountered the Conroy family of her most recent...
Let the Wild Rumpus Start
Review of Black Light: stories by Kimberly King ParsonsNew York: Vintage, Penguin Random House, 2019, 211 pages. Parsons has created a searing collection of characters driven by an id-dominated, desperate pleasure just a slight change-of-expression away from deep realms of pain. Her characters are ravenous, capable of sucking the last...
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