Charles Willeford has been much praised by Elmore Leonard and others in the know, yet even now he remains something of a cult figure. This is a pity, for he is a rewarding writer for any reader. Certainly, he should really be better known and more widely appreciated than he is at present.
Author:
A review of Why Evolution Is True by Jerry A. Coyne
The marsupials trekked from the tip of South America (when South America formed a part of the unified continent Gondwana) to the connected landmass that became Australia. There they became the dominant form of animal life in country that had drifted away from their original home. This is a beautiful example of “We have the fossils – you lose.”
A review of A Partisan’s Daughter by Louis de Bernières
Overall, this is a sad novel which hints at the uncertainty in all of our posturing; our inability to get at the kernel of who we are; and the difficulty of moving beyond our fantasies into a sustainable reality. Nevertheless, it’s an easy read, smooth and well written, and ultimately one that will nag at the reader beyond the pages of the book.
A review of The Absence by Bill Hussey
A English fenland family faces the truth about their history, and what they discover is deeper and darker than they could have imagined. Bill Hussey is the new M.R.James.
Sorrow, Solace, and Sense: Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan’s Sunday at Devil Dirt, The Dears’ Missiles, and Death Cab for Cutie’s Narrow Stairs (with U2’s No Line on the Horizon)
Sorrow sometimes comes to us out of our aching need, but more often it comes to us out of loss: it can be rooted in frustrated hope and yearning; and it can be stoked by our having held and lost something we wanted, barely understood, and wanted to know much better, something we wanted to hold for years—with the pain of separation and memory and regret following in its absence. Sometimes the beloved and lost thing is love, and sometimes it is youth or youth’s pleasures and possibilities.
A review of Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place by Janet Browne
Janet Browne shows him to be not only great but huggable. She also as a side benefit gives us an extraordinarily vivid picture of England in the nineteenth century. This is a book of wide appeal and reaches easily across boundaries to celebrate a man of genius who made a major change in our lives and was modest and unassuming in ways that are touching and memorable.
A review of The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
If The Enchantress of Florence were expertly edited, and I’m afraid that few would dare edit someone of Rushdie’s caliber to the extent required, it could have been a masterpiece. As it is, it’s an enjoyable, but convoluted novel that takes on a difficult and fascinating historical subject matter and turns it into something entirely modern.
A review of Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman
Besides the obvious obstacles—an extreme communication barrier, a culture so completely opposite of Western values and practices, and hoping to not get on your traveling companion’s nerves—these two innocent, naïve college girls were walking in utterly unknown territory. But in the end, mental anguish turns out to be the biggest danger of the trip.
Journeymen: Over the Top or Under the Weather, by the band Last November, featuring Luke Pilgrim
Critic: The first couple of times I heard Over the Top or Under the Weather, I was surprised by the energy and topicality, and the last few times I wished that it had a deeper, more resonant purpose. Musician: Our real goal with Over the Top or Under the Weather—We weren’t trying to write the best record ever or to re-invent rock and roll… we just wanted songs people could relate to and songs that wouldn’t sound dated in a few years.
A review of The New York State Chess Association Congresses – Buffalo 1894 and 1901 by John S. Hilbert
John S. Hilbert’s erudite and informative book will be of interest to admirers of Pillsbury’s brash yet subtle chess, as well as to those curious to learn about the chess scene in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. Throughout, it sparkles with insights and facts about the chess personalities and institutions of those far-off, distant days. Can one conclude that this was a quieter, a more leisurely and civilized age?