‘Every year the hunters shot cows and horses and family pets and each other. When Miss Jane Neal is found dead in the forest on Thanksgiving weekend – apparently shot by an arrow – the locals assume it is a hunting accident. I’m glad I did, as I have a suspicion that these books should really be read in order. Something else always edged in front: a book with a read-by deadline, or one I couldn’t resist anymore.įinally, a member of my book group suggested we should all try reading some Louise Penny, at which point I thought I might as well start with book one in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. There was obviously something about the plots I found appealing – or at least the blurbs! But. It clearly caught my eye enough for me to buy it, and, in fact, I recently added a second Louise Penny title to my collection, still without having ever read the first. This is one of those ‘it caught my eye, but’ books.
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There’s a lot to uncover here, including the interesting evolution of William Gibson’s life in the context of his writing. Then, “Neuromancer,” his landmark cyberpunk novel published in 1984. There’s two pieces of work that are especially of interest, Gibson’s early collection of stories, entitled “Burning Chrome,” parts of which were published in 1981. Gibson, considered the author who brought the cyberpunk genre to life, is both an influential landmark on the map of cyberpunk, but also an odd one, with his obsessions, not just with high-tech themes, but with what seems the more traditional fixations heros, anti-heros and relationships. Nowhere is that more apparent than the neon soaked works of William Gibson. You’ve given us influential views of the positive, and often the negative impacts of technology. Cyberpunk, how you’ve reshaped our vision of our own technologically enriched lives. Compassionate, witty and unsettling, Antarctica is a collection to be savoured. Los Angeles Times Book Review Antarctica is an appropriate title from these spare and chilly stories by the up-and-coming Irish writer Claire Keegan. One of the most moving and disturbing stories in the collection, ‘Passport Soup’, features Frank Corso, who sits alone eating green tomatoes and bacon, mourning the disappearance of his nine-year-old daughter: ‘At one point in that late evening, she was there, and then she wasn’t.’ Keegan’s characters inhabit a world where dreams, memory and chance can have crippling consequences for those involved. The New York Times Book Review Reading these stories is like coming upon work by Ann Beattie or Raymond Carver at the start of their careers. In ‘The Singing Cashier’, a local postman visits two sisters bearing fishy gifts in the hope that his favour will be returned in kind. In ‘House Calls’, Cordelia wakes on the last day ofthe twentieth century and sets off along the coast road to keep a date with her lover that has been nine years in the waiting. A Best Book of November from TIME and Washington Post Claire Keegan’s beautiful new novella, Foster, is no less likely to move you than any heaping 400-page tome you’ll read this year Keegan’s novella is a. From the author of the Booker-shortlisted Small Things Like These.įrom the opening story about a married woman who takes a trip to the city with a single purpose in mind – to sleep with another man – Antarctica draws you into a world of obsession, betrayal and fragile relationships. A Best Book of the Year from NPR, New York Public Library, Electric Lit and PBS Newshour. As I mentioned, this is a very character-driven book, so we got to know these four really well. They all have suffered from trauma, and it is interesting to see how they deal with it so differently. She was much more equipped to handle herself. In many ways, this book is darker than the Lords’ first book, but I think it somehow didn’t seem as dark because Lavinia is such a strong woman. Unlike in the Lords series, most of the guys don’t have a history with Lavinia, so there is a lot of building that. The first book in the Dukes section of the series is very character-driven. This one is a whole new frat, so new cheaters and a new story, and both were amazing! You can read more on my disclosures page.ĭukes of Ruin is the 4th book in the Forsyth University series. Goodreads This post contains affiliate links. The Dukes are known for winning with their fists, but transforming Lavinia Lucia from the Kings’ captive to their unwilling Duchess will be their biggest match yet. They certainly never thought she’d rise to be their Queen.īut they aren’t the only Royals in Forsyth. The Lords never expected Story Austin to walk back into their life. The crowns of Forsyth Royalty aren’t built with jewels. The narrative then goes back in time to cover the events leading up to Haskel's final painting and abrupt career end, introducing a charming cast of queer women working as lawyers, singers, mathematicians, and witches. Haskel was famous for art showing evocatively gruesome villains threatening lovely young ladies, but his last painting instead depicts the heroine of a romantic story. In the present day, Helen Young sells the last, lost work of famous pulp cover artist Haskel to an unethical art dealer who's due for a comeuppance. Klages (Portable Childhoods) draws a loving portrait of 1930s queer San Francisco in this deftly crafted tale of love, solidarity, and magic brought full circle. If they lose, they won't stand a chance against the Sleeper's troops, which will soon march on Lanka to take over the Otherworld.Īru's biggest question, though, is why every adult she has loved and trusted so far has failed her. Case in point: Kubera, ruler of the city of gold, promises to give the Pandavas two powerful weapons, but only if they win his trials. The gods have been too devious up to now. She's pretty sure she didn't wish for a new sister, one who looks strangely familiar and claims to be the Sleeper's daughter, like her.Īru also isn't sure she still wants to fight on behalf of the devas in the war against the Sleeper and his demon army. Aru Shah and her sisters-including one who also claims to be the Sleeper's daughter-must find their mentors Hanuman and Urvashi in Lanka, the city of gold, before war breaks out between the devas and asuras.Īru has just made a wish on the tree of wishes, but she can't remember what it was. In the mainstream media, it is only trotted out to add color to historical scenes and to be displayed as something that strictly took place a long time ago in history, detached from contemporary life.Ĭoates blows away this comforting illusion. The visceral experience of slavery has mostly been hidden or played down. It revealed to me how well everything that the black body has endured, and continues to endure, has been erased from public consciousness. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book swept away all such notions that were ingrained in me. It counted among America’s best moments, and as one of its defining ones until I read Between the World and Me. Lincoln’s victory over those who sought to oppress other human beings often felt like a real-life “good overcomes evil” scenario. It brings to mind the names of white generals on either side and that of a white president. And yet, the images that are brought to my mind when I think of the war are not of black people laboring for the benefit of someone else, but of white soldiers on horses. The issue at the heart of the war was the question of slavery – whether it could continue or not. It could be brought to full effect across all American states only with the end of the Civil War three years later. The Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves to be free was issued in September 1862. A review of by Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me by Sophia Sanchez He studied primary school at Trinity College in his hometown and after turning 20 he entered Magdalen College in Oxford, England, where he stood out for his excellent grades. His father was Sir William Wilde, a distinguished surgeon his mother, the writer and poet Jane Francesca Elgee (who signed under the pseudonym Hope). Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, on October 16, 1852. However, although their hearing does not fail them, that is not the corresponding spelling in the surname, but "Gray." The life of Oscar Wilde Birth and family This is, of course, because people spell it the way they pronounce it. It is very common to see the wrong title « The Portrait of Dorian Grey". ¿ The Portrait of Dorian Gray o The Portrait of Dorian Grey? 3.8 Basil, the new features of the Dorian portrait and death.3.7 The hopeless passage of time and Dorian's decaying reputation.3.5 A break and an impossible reconciliation.3.4 The appearance of debauchery for the carnal and the appearance of Sibyl.3.1 Basil and the impossible beauty of Dorian.3 Summary of The Picture of Dorian Gray.2.7 Second edition and the scandal it sparked.2.6 A very rich novel is literary forms.2.5 Scandal surrounding The Picture of Dorian Gray.1 The Picture of Dorian Gray or The Picture of Dorian Gray?. He kills the baron, and Roma assumes the blame for the crime. David thinks Roma has betrayed him intentionally. Later she is induced to betray him through lying promises of clemency for her husband. The baron arranges to have David killed, but Roma saves him. David is a socialist agitator, and is particularly passionate in denouncing the baron, who is also the prime minister of Italy. Years later Roma becomes Baron Bonelli's ward, and is supposed to have become his mistress. Roselli, a political exile, and becomes the playmate of Roma, the doctor's daughter. Little David is brought up by the sisters, and turned over to a Padrone, who takes him to London and mistreats him. The plot: The wife of Leone, a member of the Papal Guard, believing herself to have been deserted, leaves her young son David with the Sisters of Charity and commits suicide. It was apparently a good play for a strong female performance as it explored women's agency. 16 pp, illustrated with scenes from the play, plus description of the plot, information about leading lady Viola Allen, etc. 12 x 9.25 inches, pictorial wraps bound with peach colored silk string, very good. Souvenir Program from 1902 for Viola Allen in Hall Caine's The Eternal City, Music by Pietro Mascagni I guess it’s thick so it holds the illustration ink? I kept thinking I’d turned two pages by accident because the pages were so thick. The paper is very thick, which makes for an interesting reading experience. Why am I making such a thing of the set up? Because I was expecting a bit more in the book, given it’s weight (and also the list price. There’s actually only 129 pages with text on them, of which about half have less than half a page of text on them. Every story is prefaced with at least 3 full pages of pictures, and lots of smaller drawings sprinkled among the text. And that’s two hundred pages of large font and lots of drawings. This book is incredibly short – less than two hundred pages. HOW THE KING OF ELFHAME LEARNED TO HATE STORIES is a very pretty book, but that’s about it. So long as you’re begging, he doesn’t mind. Some might think of him as a strong draught, burning the back of one’s throat, but invigorating all the same. Perhaps it’s no surprise that he turned out the way he did. Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue.īefore he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone.Ī prince of Faerie, nourished on cat milk and contempt, born into a family over-burdened with heirs. |