Holmes likes to use language vividly and originally. Cars “crept to the curb on tire tiptoe”; a woman walks in a “toothache of time”. Holmes also uses patterns of imagery to convey her themes. In one of my favourite stories, “Nuts and Bolts”, a childfree couple choose not to spend a holiday with friends – the “same old bunch” with a third baby among them, but to stay in the city together.
Tag: fiction
A review of The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood
The Bellwether Revivals has been compared to Brideshead Revisited, because of the brother-sister relationship and the social class element. The ending, however, is reminiscent of that of Sons and Lovers, that great coming-of-age working class novel by D.H.Lawrence, following in Thomas Hardy’s tradition.
A review of The Hum of Concrete by Anna Solding
There is an intense intimacy in Solding’s writing style. The words come as a confession: a kind of whispered tale that draws the reader in and invites collusion. The characters progress naturally through time, beginning with key moments of youth and awakening perception, and moving through coupling, and later parenthood.
A review of The Bird Saviors by William J. Cobb
It’s nothing like the aching devastation witnessed in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road—to some extent it’s still life as usual in dust-choked Pueblo—but The Bird Saviors might well depict the early days of Cormac’s bleak and terminal catastrophe.
A review of Somebody to Love by Parker Longwood
The writer took this story and gave it body – breathed life into it. The questions weren’t left unanswered and I personally was proud of Claire for her bravery and belief that to find her roots – her story was important. Longwood shows that clearly. She tells Claire’s story beautifully.
A review of Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli
Tuccelli did not take the easy way out with writing this novel. Crafting such a complicated storyline is difficult enough; allowing the characters to tell their story in their native dialect is even riskier. Glow is unlike any novel I’ve ever read before, and it offers an intense view of an often-overlooked area of the United States during a very tumultuous time period.
A review of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
I don’t think any of the characters emerge as really unique individuals. In the case of Rudkus, I get the feeling that he is deliberately being put into as many different situations as possible, the better to elucidate all the abuses of the system. It did not seem likely, as I was reading, that one individual would really to through all of this … and the catalogue of horrors almost slips into parody at times, things being so bleak in so many different ways.
A review of Strindberg’s Star by Jan Walletin
When Don meets up with her, they both get to experience some of Don’s grandmother’s experience firsthand. But then the chase is on, far to the north aboard a Russian ice cutter. The story has elements of horror, especially when Don gets to visit a graveyard and elements of mystery in the search for the artifacts as well as good Nazi historic facts. It makes the mystery a quick read.
A review of Code Crimson: Arkie Sparkle Treasure Hunter by Petra James
Arkie is a deeply developed character with a realistic personality that is unique and bouncy. She is a brave, daring tween who doesn’t give up easily and other kids the same age as Arkie will relate to her and imagine themselves in her adventure.
A review Of Midnight Sun, Arctic Moon by Mary Albanese
Albanese’s story is that of triumph over what could easily be impossible odds. She proved herself professionally, earning respect from her male peers in a very competitive field, and tested her limits every step of the way. It would be easy to imagine Albanese saying to herself, “I’ve done this; I wonder what else I can do?”