L.S. Popovich's Blog, page 15

Review of Through the Abyss: Supreme Creation Seriesby Sidney Son

The first thing you may notice about this book is that the cover is reminiscent of Andy Weir’s books. But I approve of covers that convey a book’s comp titles. The author provides a highly detailed style which coalesces into atmospheric descriptions without sacrificing a quick pace. There is a good balance of narration and […]

Review of Stoner by John Williams

Good storytelling. A memorable picture of American life. Steinbeckian. Stoner the famer becomes Stoner the stubborn professor. We witness his heartbreaking home life and his harrowing professional life–two spheres most middle class Americans dwell in like split personalities. It has been called a perfect novel. I would like to point out a few of its […]

Review of People from My Neighborhood by Hiromi Kawakami

Hiromi Kawakami collects here a dreamlike conglomeration of semi-related characters and events from her part of town, if the title and interior clues are to be believed. The random nature of the images and events lend the collection an experimental feel. The writing is smooth and simple and unadorned. Her earlier novels and stories were […]

Review of Save the Cat! Writes a Novelby Jessica Brody

There are several types of craft books.  You can start with The Elements of Style to learn how to avoid many grammatical issues. You can also just use ProWriting Aid. Then there’re structure books, like this one. Finally, there’re industry books, which contain contradictory information from what you read online and hear at writer’s conferences. […]

Review of Frankissstein: A Love Storyby Jeanette Winterson

Just great, bold, immersive writing.  The various perspectives sustain their storylines and characters through intense and quiet moments. Introspective, but with plenty of dense, quippy dialogue. Outrageous sex doll business planning discussions, Mary Shelley in bed with P. B. Shelley, pillow whispering poetry. Humans as monsters and monsters as humans. Redefining humanity through AI, ungendering, […]

Review of Letters of Thanks From Hellby David Vardeman

I’ve finished all of Vardeman’s published works.   Now I have to resist the daily urge to search the web for new publications by this author. LoTfH is a dramatic play taking place hundreds of years ago, with historically appropriate syntax and vocabulary. But somehow, Vardeman avoids confusion and localization, modernizing his prose just enough to […]

Review of Great Jones Street by Don DeLillo

I have read 16 Delillo novels so far.  His literary cobbling definitely intrigues me. The sense of place, the weird characters saying off-the-wall things. The long, unnecessary, wandering, plotless sections of simply intriguing writing. My ranking of Delillo so far: 1. Underworld2. Americana3. Cosmopolis4. The Angel Esmeralda5. The Body Artist6. White Noise7. Mao II8. The […]

Review of Palm Mall: A Vaporwave Novelby Oliver Neale

I have been searching for a ‘real’ Vaporwave novel.  My Vaporwave shelf contains some works which analyze the genre and some books that taunted me with similar aesthetics, like Ballard’s retro futuristic descents into madness and Philip K. Dick’s vibrant dystopias. I came upon this 728-page Vaporwave novel with hesitation. The author has thousands of […]

Review of A Cool Million by Nathanael West

Greasy satire of the most malicious kind.  A rags to rags story about one man’s valiant pursuit of the American nightmare. A surprisingly smooth and cinematic journey through the underbelly of America, which is not an underbelly so much as a carcass here, teeming with greedy maggots. The swindles are clever and the racism is […]

Review of Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian

I needed this. More unrestrained than Kawabata. Less brutal than Mo Yan. The voice is folkloric, the storytelling all over the place but always entertaining. With beautiful language, Gao depicts a China in transition, whose government and people are full of contradictions, but also resonant with long-standing traditions, suffused with the aura of millennia. It […]