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<![CDATA[Emily added 'Afrindian Fictions: Diaspora, Race, and National Desire in South Africa']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79646334
Afrindian Fictions: Diaspora, Race, and National Desire in South Africa (Hardcover)
byMILTON B. TRAUTMAN bookshelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Emily added 'The Sealed Letter']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79646280
The Sealed Letter (Hardcover)
byEmma Donoghue bookshelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Emily added 'Unhomely States']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79646211
to: Unhomely States (Paperback)byCynthia Sugars
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<![CDATA[Emily added 'The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits: Stories']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79579582
to: The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits: Stories (Paperback)byEmma Donoghue
A mixed bag of short stories based on 18-19th-c (with a smattering of other eras) british history. Since many of the stories are in the first person, one if the treats of the book is figuring out who and when before you get to the endnotes.
The stories themselves range from okay to wonderful. Stories such as "Revelations," "Words for Things," The Necessity of Burning," and "Looking for Petronilla" are well-paced page-turners. Others fell a bit flat. The most disappointing (perhaps because it had the most potential) was "Dido." It starts out as a critque of the Zoffany portrait of Mansfield's great nieces: Dido Elizabeth Belle, in this interpretation of the portrait, exists to accentuate the pale beauty of her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murray. Yet the story soon begins rushing around. It complains that Dido is objectified by those around her, but ultimately the story too can see her as nothing more than a symbol for a vaguely referenced abolition movement. It is a bit depressing that the one protogonist the book fails to fully flesh out is its only non-white character. In "Dido," she is only what the story sees in its superficial reading of the Zoffany portrait: a symbol of European priviledge and oppression that runs around being symbolic. How much more interesting she could have been if the book allowed her the same humanity it gives to the other historical figures.
Overall, it's a fast read with some real high points, so just skip the mediocre ones. I'm going to read some of Donoghue's novels during the holidays and hope the sustained plotlined will help even out the quality of writing.
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<![CDATA[Emily
is on page 32 of The Woman Who Gave B...
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http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79579582
Emily
is on page 32 of 272 of
The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits: Stories
"The titular Mary Toft story drew me to it. I'm curious to see what other historical oddites find their way in. "
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<![CDATA[Emily added 'The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78529061
to: The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel (Paperback)byLiza Crihfield Dalby
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<![CDATA[Emily added 'Exiled in Paris: Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Samuel Beckett, and Others on the Left Bank']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78584014
Exiled in Paris: Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Samuel Beckett, and Others on the Left Bank (Paperback)
byJames Campbell bookshelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Emily added 'Signs and Cities: Black Literary Postmodernism']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78583954
Signs and Cities: Black Literary Postmodernism (Paperback)
byMadhu Dubey bookshelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Emily added 'East Wind Melts the Ice: A Memoir through the Seasons']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78529042
East Wind Melts the Ice: A Memoir through the Seasons (Paperback)
byLiza Dalby bookshelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Emily added 'Concert of Voices: An Anthology of World Writing in English']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73497640
to: Concert of Voices: An Anthology of World Writing in English (Paperback)byVictor J. Ramraj bookshelves: 2009-2010-syllabi
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"The titular Mary Toft story drew me to it. I'm curious to see what other historical oddites find their way in. "
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