The gods envy the mortals because they exist. The beauty of humanity is in the everyday, limited action morality that involves eating, using the toilet, copulating (human to human, regardless of the guise), bleeding, feeling pain, giving birth, and above all, dying. This is the underlying celebration of the novel: the beauty of flawed humanity amidst the bodiless, bloodless gods.
Category: Literary Fiction Reviews
A review of Since the Accident by Jen Craig
Since the Accident is a complex story masquerading as a ‘what happened then’ narrative, as it minutely examines the psychological fallout of being raised by a narcissistic mother. These women find it difficult to trust their own desires and perceptions, and are not allowed to truly be themselves, instead being undermined by the very people who are supposed to love them.
A review of One Foot Wrong by Sofie Laguna
Despite the horror of Hester’s life – a horror that remains with the reader – there is also a deep sensual beauty. The reader is also left with Hester’s sense of joy and freedom in swimming in a river, noticing the life of the natural world: of insects; dappled light; or an “empty, blue sky” that never ends.
A review of Valley of Grace by Marion Halligan
This is a novel full of grace, and it has many charms, quiet though they might be, for the reader. The depictions of both city and country France are rich and tender. So too, as Halligan fans would expect, are the sensual descriptions that fill this book, from Fanny and Gérard’s love scenes, to the delicious pastries, chocolates, and regional dishes that the characters eat. Valley of Grace is a delightful genre-transcending book full of joy and sorrow.
A review of My Father’s Tears and Other Stories by John Updike
Filial relations that are flawed, marriages that don’t quite flow smoothly, the difficulty of getting along with each other; My Father’s Tears and Other Stories is full of the complex stuff of human existence, by a writer who has been one of its finest modern chroniclers. The work, at least, will live on.
A review of What Came Between by Patrick Cullen
Almost more important than the major transitions in these lives are the impact of day to day living – the dust that fills the pores; the washing of clothing; the purchasing of art. What makes this work distinctive is the intensity of the narrative gaze. We learn about the characters through an almost anthropomorphic rendering of the natural world they observe.
A review of What Came Between by Patrick Cullen
Almost more important than the major transitions in these lives are the impact of day to day living – the dust that fills the pores; the washing of clothing; the purchasing of art. What makes this work distinctive is the intensity of the narrative gaze. We learn about the characters through an almost anthropomorphic rendering of the natural world they observe.
A review of Why She Loves Him by Wendy James
Coupled with our ability to distance ourselves with the hugs that we instinctively give our children when we put down the book after each story — is that awful sense of recognition – the realisation that they aren’t so alien after all. These are grey shades of humanity that aren’t so foreign, though we might like to think so. It’s scary and eye opening. This is a powerful collection of stories, that manages to toe the line between postmodern and classic.
A review of Why She Loves Him by Wendy James
Coupled with our ability to distance ourselves with the hugs that we instinctively give our children when we put down the book after each story — is that awful sense of recognition – the realisation that they aren’t so alien after all. These are grey shades of humanity that aren’t so foreign, though we might like to think so. It’s scary and eye opening. This is a powerful collection of stories, that manages to toe the line between postmodern and classic.
One Man’s Deep Disturbance: The Skating Rink, a novel by Roberto Bolano
There is a scintillating splendor and a bustling rhythm in “Rainbow Wheel,” with warm long lines of sound from the saxophone, and piano notes amid a quiet interlude, bubbling vibes, and the solitary, subtle quality of the bass. It sounds terribly romantic but “Starbeam” seems music of virtue, music that heals rather than hurts.