9
Mar
2010
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
It’s really no wonder that this was shortlisted for the National Book Award (Young People’s category) and won the Printz award. It’s one of those highly literary stories that trancscends the young adult or genre or the graphic novel genre. In fact, I think it may be enhanced by them.
24
Aug
2009
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
I thought about attempting to write this review in the style of the book: winding, stream-of-consciousness type sentences that seem to spin around in the reader’s head. But then I thought that nobody would finish reading my post, and so here I am, writing in my plain old style.
8
Jun
2009
Summer Vacation Reading Challenge
Well, not all of us teach or in school, so we don’t have an actual Summer Vacation (very sad for us and we are constantly jealous of the rest of you) but who doesn’t love lying in the grass or the sand in warm weather with a good book? And since many of us are not able to travel the world literally, we an still do it literarily. Molly at My Cozy Book Nook is hosting a Summer Vacation travel-themed challenge. Here’s the skinny:
27
May
2009
Middle Passage by Charles Johnson
This book is a metaphor within a metaphor, wrapped in an enigma. It’s not that you don’t know what’s going on, it’s just that you’ll have to follow it slowly, carefully, in order to pick up what Johnson’s laying down.
18
May
2009
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
I take heart in the fact that Gabriel García Márquez doesn’t subscribe to just one genre or style. It gives me hope that I might like his other work, and will understand why he got the Nobel Prize in Literature.
13
May
2009
The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
Why is it that when Spanish authors use the supernatural or occult in their work it is called magical realism, but when other, non-Spanish authors do it, it is relegated to SciFi/Fantasy, terms that have an inherent connotation of dorkiness of the worst kind. Ah well, those who would shun said genres are missing out on great literature. Yep, that’s right, I said literature. A word that has an inherent connotation of intellect, art, and high brow goodness.
11
May
2009
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
I just finished this book, like, half an hour ago. It’s short, fun read–Magical Realism in 246 pages, though it reads faster than that.
5
May
2009
Sula by Toni Morrison
What I love about Toni Morrison, is the way she flirts with Magical Realism without losing the grit of her characters. Is it wrong of me to say, as a white person, of an older African-American that she “keeps it real?”
29
Apr
2009
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
I have to confess, I want to make a bunch of stupid puns about this book. I want to say things like, “Bee the first in your book club to read it!” and “the novel that created a buzz across the nation” and crap like that. But that would belittle this beautifully written journey, and so, herein, I shall refrain from puns, which really, one should always do anyways.
16
Apr
2009
Wise Children by Angela Carter
I don’t know a whole lot about magical realism. I know enough to know that I wish I knew more. Magical realism basically takes plausibility and stretches it just a little further than the bonds of reality.
