Though this is not a book for the faint-of-heart, Bad Moon Rising is extremely well-written, compelling and fast-paced. The quality of the writing, and deep, intense characters and their complications will stay with the reader, long after the book is finished.
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A review of The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The story resonates with a range of themes: loss, brutality, taboo love, but the most important is that of memory and the vexing bipolarity of remembering that you wish to forget, and forgetting that you wish to remember.
A review of Luna for the Lunies by Ira Nayman
As fans of the earlier ARNS books would expect there are zany inventions and what-ifs that strangely are just an extension to the logic and practice of what happens already. So many times, I read something Nayman invents and think – so obvious, why hasn’t it already been done? Why haven’t I thought of it first?
A review of Unaccountable Hours: Three novellas by Stephen Scourfield
Although each of the novellas in Unaccounted Hours stands on its own as a complete story where the happening is a turning point in each of the protagonist’s lives, it is possible to read these as a complete single work. The thematic links that encompass setting, progression and arc align the stories in a way that collectively, the overall impact is even greater than that of the individual stories.
A review of This Mobius Strip of Ifs by Mathias B. Freese
Mathias B. Freese is always thoughtful, questions reality and has interesting remarks to make about many stages in life; he, in fact, offers up his belief that life is somewhat like the Mobius Strip used in his title, circulating round and round and sometimes offering up a bit of magic insight.
A review of Fabric by Jessica Bell
Jessica Bell’s Fabric is a rich collection of poems that take the reader on a deep tour of the psyche. Charting and moving across politics of language, Bell explores love, pain, failure and redemption from a variety of angles. Most of the poems sit at the fragile threshold of instinct and meaning, using symbol and sensation to get to the shock of denouement.
A review of In the Beech Forest by Gary Crew and Den Scheer
In the Beech Forest is pure magic. Crew’s language is delightfully poetic; read aloud, his words slip off the tongue. With a master’s hand reminiscent of the great Edgar Allan Poe, Crew builds tension line by line.
A review of The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
Within deWitt’s book there’s also a side-text about the destruction of the balance of nature and the consequences of a rabid search for gold, whether it be black gold or the original deal, as here. In the end, it’s all fool’s. And on a cheerier note: Yes, brushing your teeth can be an ineffable delight, truly.
A review of Fraulein by Ellen von Unwerth
Ellen von Unwerth’s photography is intriguing, transgressive and erotically charged. She’s like a real-life Laura Mars, for those who know the Faye Dunaway film. Only the vital tableaux in Fraulein are too lively and vivacious to make for any crime scene photo.
A review of Endgame by Frank Brady
Anyway, there’s a nice account here (in chapter 15) of Fischer looking for an apartment in Reykjavik in his last years, complaining and kvetching all the while. (Brady writes that, ‘Before he made a move, everything had to be perfect.’ Just as with his chess.) Read in a certain light, it’s hilarious and you could very well imagine it as a Woody Allen sketch. Now what does that tell you?