Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of The Decision by Britta Bohler
Britta Bohler has written a wonderful novel, an immersive and psychologically convincing account of Mann’s agony of decision. Smoothly translated by Jeannette K. Ringold, it is well researched and chock-full of sharp insights into one of the great writers of the twentieth century.
A review of Deliciously Ella Everyday by Ella Woodward
Just reading the book is inspiring – with lots of tips for improving the diet and just having more fun with food, and every recipe I’ve tried has been a winner: easy, fast, using ingredients that are readily available (no obscure superfoods here) and reasonably priced.
A review of Dark Avenues by Ivan Bunin
If you’re looking for a point of comparison, I’d say Bunin as a writer is similar to Chekhov, that’s his model. Though he is darker, more risqué and also narrower in his sympathies. There are some people, you feel, that Bunin is just not interested in – something you never feel with Chekhov. There are some people, you feel, that Bunin is just not interested in – something you never feel with Chekhov. Bunin is a little old-fashioned or out of touch too, you sense. Set in his ways. You read a story written in the ‘40s – and so contemporaneous with Hemingway, Waugh and Greene – and the people are behaving like turn of the century Russian nobility.
A review of West by Julia Franck
West is part espionage thriller, part social realism (circa late ‘70s, early ‘80s) and probably partly autobiographical as well: as a young girl, Julia Franck crossed from East to West Germany with her family. The milieu of a reception centre in West Berlin has a banal horror to it, something akin to the quality of a (childhood) nightmare. Families share rooms with strangers and sleep in bunk beds.
A review of Crochet Stitch Guide by Jean Leinhauser & Mary Ann Frits
Each of simple-to-follow, first-rate instructions is presented with a nice clear photograph of each of the various stitches detailed in the book. I particularly like the variety of stitches offered in 7 kinds of stitches including shells, textures, clusters, picots, V stitches, special stitches and miscellaneous.
A review of I Hate the Internet by Jarett Kobek
The vitriol of I hate the internet is the misery of the bourgeoisie, almost all of which “lack eumelanin in the basale strata of their epidermis” (as Kobek repeatedly describes whiteness); I sympathize regardless of my eumelaninlessness. More than being a prolonged expletive flailing absurdly about like a verbal Bernie Dance though, this self-described “bad novel” is a madcap, mad-dog, remonstration of Post-Industrial America.
A review of Bad Behaviour by Rebecca Starford
The writing is beautiful throughout, without ever over-shadowing the plot or narrative flow, which moves forward quickly. Starford remains non-judgmental, even towards those who caused her the greatest pain, including the many adults who clearly failed in their duty of care.
A review of The Metaphysics of Ping Pong by Guido Mina di Sospiro
The humility to which he begins his story is surprising given this title, starting with a simple, “my full-blown obsession with ping-pong began four years ago with the semi-epic road trip.” From the there the story follows a surprisingly human pattern: Beaten by son (at ping-pong), age begins to show (as blood pressure), attempts to reclaim youthfulness (or, at least, not die).
A review of Medicine Buddha/Medicine Mind by Charlene Jones
Medicine Buddha/Medicine Mind describes in simple terms how our brains work with meditation. As Jones shares the dreadfulness experienced during her teens, we chart her journey to enlightenment and a life without suffering via visualization and meditation.