L.S. Popovich's Blog, page 11

Review of In Dreams: The Very Short Stories of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa by by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

I often re-read Akutagawa’s stories. Before this publication I had read all of his stories in English, even the ones translated online and obscure scholarly publications. I had read about 97 pieces total. This book brings the total number of pieces available in English closer to 150, which is around half of the author’s total […]

Review of Every Day Is for the Thief by Teju Cole

Teju Cole gives an account of a stay in Nigeria, told by a Nigerian-American. It purports to be a work of fiction, but could easily be construed as autofiction or nonfic. The journalistic approach is offset by the deeply humorous writing. You can feel the conflict within the narrator toward the inhabitants of this country […]

Review of The Book of Dede Korkut by Anonymous

I like to collect rare and unusual Penguin Classics. This was one of my favorite I’ve come across. A strange and inconsistent series of tales from Medieval Turkey. The 13 tales, combined with the copious notes and introduction (which almost constitutes a 14th tale’s worth of material since it details how the manuscripts were reconciled […]

Review of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

While not as approachable as high school teacher’s would have you believe, the Canterbury Tales is an entertaining mix of history, lyricism, and satire. In my opinion Chaucer missed a major opportunity to add a pastoral component to his work. The tales either all take place in disparate locations and times, telling of old events […]

Review of Cocteau’s Invitation by Erik Martiny

This was unexpected and slightly uncalled for You know those Yorgos Lanthimos movies. This is a little like that. You ask yourself, wait, what? But you keep reading. This is a meta narrative that starts out as a typical literary pseudo-romance, featuring the creepy narrator going after a too-young student, somehow succeeding, introducing the reader […]

Review of Why I Married a Clown Girl From the Dimension of Death by Carlton Mellick III

Another bizarro novella from Carlton Mellick, who is nearing his 70th book. This was, like a few previous ones, an un-subtle commentary on society through the fantasy lens of clown-people invading from another dimension. It tackles questions of xenophobia, homelessness, and the current destruction of natural resources, the family unit, sex, love, marriage, fatherhood, and […]

Review of You Always Try to Kill Me in Your Dreams by Carlton Mellick III

Solid storytelling in this novella, with some slasher concepts a la Nightmare on Elm St. His books of late have all had a Goosebumps for Adults vibe, which is not a disparagement. In YATTKMIYD, CM3 satirizes the distinctly American college-age pursuit of perpetual drunkenness. He is a good writer in my opinion not because of […]

Review of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

A dense and sensual exploration of human nature.  Wish fulfillment. A super-antihero novel.Our antihero smells everything it is possible to smell, was born to make perfume, and defines his own morality in the manner of a classical Übermensch. His journey through the underbelly of French society was poignant, and very aromatic. The language was frilly […]

Review of The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Listened to the audiobook. No idea how to spell the names of any characters.  The narrative was compelling, though the second person perspective sections felt unnecessary. Earth-based magic system, caste systems, dystopian world, social commentary. This kind of complex world-building almost makes me want to take a break and go back to reading Golden Age […]

Review of L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais

I listened to Crais speak at a conference. Quite the storyteller.  His prose is reminiscent of Elmore Leonard. Same with the pacing and the subject matter. To look at his covers you might immediately think “Michael Crichton” or “Michael Connelly” or something. But judging from my first foray into his noir series, his work is […]