false 70 1019 930 true 5657552 read 14 true 1865731 currently-reading 75 true 1865730 to-read 34 false 3919068 to-buy 1 false 4812935 re-reading http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48875479 That Summer in Paris (Exile Classics series) by Morley Callaghan
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72014995 to: Sharp Objects: A Novel (Hardcover) by Gillian Flynn
i'm not sure what to say about this book because while i think it reads like a bestseller should, i didn't enjoy it. the prose is compelling in that i felt compelled to finish it, and i did. i couldn't put it down but i wanted to get it over with. i think the writing is engaging but nothing special. i will remember no turns of phrase, or kernels of wisdom but then again, this is not shirley jackson, or daphne dumaurier.

i can say it seemed pretty obvious to me who would turn out to be guilty of the crimes in the end, and i was right. all of the characters in this book except for the guilty and the protagonist seemed clear types to me: the out-of-towner cop, the sheriff, the older brother of one of the girls killed, his girlfriend, all of the women of the reporter protagonists generation, of her mother's, of her sister's.. i have seen all these characters on sicker episodes of law and order or some other crime procedural, which for the record, i usually have no trouble anticipating the conclusions of either. i won't say i was surprised when i read that author, flynn, was a former television critic for entertainment weekly, in addition to a film degree. she has a very firm hold on characterization, and tropes, and she knows just when to serve up something that seems contrary to what you expect, to turn it on its head, and sufficiently creep her reader out. certainly, i exclaimed "this is disgusting" in a crowded subway because i couldn't help myself.

if you are looking for a dark and shocking read that includes shades of southern gothic, perversion, and self-mutilation, this may be the book for you. having finished this book, i don't think i ever want to see it again because it didn't really give me anything. it grossed me out, yes, but it never really scared me, or enlightened me, or surprised me. i respect the writing crafted here but i don't admire it. i'm glad that it's finished and i don't have to read it anymore.

sharp objects had nuances of an elizabeth george book called missing joseph i once read that i liked better, probably because it was a lot less grotesque, and was more difficult to figure out. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78816255 Pim & Francie: "The Golden Bear Days" (Hardcover) by Al Columbia
bookshelves: to-buy, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73171772 Brian's review of Their Eyes Were Watching God (Virago Modern Classics)
by Zora Neale Hurston

i can't tell you what a huge relief when your review of this book appeared and was what i was almost sure, but not positive, it would be. i'm glad you understand janie, and love her.

i have read that preeminent black writers of her generation like richard wright scorned this book as something that would be palatable to white people, angered that it didn't push the political agenda, and that makes me sad because that means they missed what you and i get out of this book: the universality of human experience, which is couched in a black american culture but surpasses that. that porch is an example of hurston's love for her people and their traditions and folklore, but janie is a great big burgeoning heart that belongs to all of us. i will always love hurston for this book, this gift. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78812954 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Stieg Larsson
bookshelves: to-buy, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78812095 to: Missing Joseph (Inspector Lynley #6) by Elizabeth George
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78548544 My Work Is Not Yet Done (Paperback) by Thomas Ligotti
bookshelves: to-buy, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78546868 to: Our Sunshine (Paperback) by Robert Drewe
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37152489 Maureen's review of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
by H.P. Lovecraft

it really feels to me like a bunch of background notes that he compiled to inform the rest of his work. did he ever even intend to publish this stuff? i should look into it but it seems as wrong as hangsaman which i am still convinced was some first novel shirley had just kicking around that they decided to publish in the wake of the success of the lottery.

or! new theory! it was an homage to lord dunsany. and that's why it's all crappy because he was consciously trying to emulate his style? ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77139813 to: The Parasites (Paperback) by Daphne du Maurier
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