Barry Stewart Levy's Blog, page 7
June 8, 2019
Shakespeare & Co.
The other day I looked in the window of Shakespeare & Co. in my neighborhood and saw a display of books honoring gay pride. I went inside, took my book off the shelf and asked the cashier if I could sign my book and put a "Signed By the Author" sticker on the cover. He said absolutely. And so I did. I then mentioned that my book has gay, straight and bi characters and that perhaps it could be put in the window and join the others for pride month. He said of course. But unfortunately the book never made it there, as it is a single copy. And it would be a hassle for the cashier to get it from the window and then back to the register. So instead it was prominently displayed nearby on the counter. Until it wasn't. It's final destination -- alas! -- is back on the fiction shelf in alphabetical order under my name. Well at least it isn't lost in the ether. Happy Pride!
May 30, 2019
Book Review #101
A Moveable Feast
by Ernest Hemingway
A lovely, evocative book. Hemingway as a young man in love with his wife and the city of Paris, devoted to his friendships with Scott Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound. And to his writing. Embracing life: eating, drinking, gambling, traveling, lovemaking. And yet there is through it all an underlying sadness.
by Ernest Hemingway
A lovely, evocative book. Hemingway as a young man in love with his wife and the city of Paris, devoted to his friendships with Scott Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound. And to his writing. Embracing life: eating, drinking, gambling, traveling, lovemaking. And yet there is through it all an underlying sadness.
May 18, 2019
Book Review #100
Kushner, Inc.
by Vicky Ward
I thought this might be a fun, trashy tell-all. But after reading just fourteen pages, including a disjointed and unnecessary Prologue, I gave up. It is, in short, a poorly written, distasteful piece of garbage.
by Vicky Ward
I thought this might be a fun, trashy tell-all. But after reading just fourteen pages, including a disjointed and unnecessary Prologue, I gave up. It is, in short, a poorly written, distasteful piece of garbage.
March 17, 2019
Book Review #99
A Very English Scandal
by John Preston
This was the most entertaining non-fiction book on British skulduggery I've read since Ben Macintyre's "A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal." Both books had me laughing out loud while rolling my eyes in disbelief that what I was reading were true events, both shocking and hilarious, sometimes simultaneously. I look forward to seeing the film adaptation of "Scandal" with Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, who appear to be perfectly cast as, respectively, Jeremy Thorpe, British MP and Leader of the Liberal Party, and Norman Scott, his former lover, the object of Thorpe's murder plot.
by John Preston
This was the most entertaining non-fiction book on British skulduggery I've read since Ben Macintyre's "A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal." Both books had me laughing out loud while rolling my eyes in disbelief that what I was reading were true events, both shocking and hilarious, sometimes simultaneously. I look forward to seeing the film adaptation of "Scandal" with Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, who appear to be perfectly cast as, respectively, Jeremy Thorpe, British MP and Leader of the Liberal Party, and Norman Scott, his former lover, the object of Thorpe's murder plot.
January 30, 2019
Book Review #98
Sundays in August
by Patrick Modiamo
This is the fourth book I've read by Nobel Prize winner Patrick Modiano and it's a good one, a fast read set in Nice and, like his other novels, it, too, tells an almost dream-like tale of a young man involved with a slightly older, somewhat mysterious woman and the ominous film noir types lurking in their midst. As with his other novels, this is a book where past and present meld, as the main character recalls how he met Sylvia and how they came to possess The Southern Cross, the diamond she wears around her neck, that will eventually seal their fate and leave him with only memories.
by Patrick Modiamo
This is the fourth book I've read by Nobel Prize winner Patrick Modiano and it's a good one, a fast read set in Nice and, like his other novels, it, too, tells an almost dream-like tale of a young man involved with a slightly older, somewhat mysterious woman and the ominous film noir types lurking in their midst. As with his other novels, this is a book where past and present meld, as the main character recalls how he met Sylvia and how they came to possess The Southern Cross, the diamond she wears around her neck, that will eventually seal their fate and leave him with only memories.
December 25, 2018
Book Review #97
The Winter Girl
by Matt Marinovich
It's an ugly, distasteful book with unlikable characters behaving ridiculously in a preposterous plot.
by Matt Marinovich
It's an ugly, distasteful book with unlikable characters behaving ridiculously in a preposterous plot.
December 21, 2018
Book Review #96
Beautiful Animals
by Lawrence Osborne
Of the four novels I have read by Lawrence Osborne this was the least satisfying. With one exception, all the characters are unlikable (young, wealthy and bored), doing terrible things on a beautiful Greek island. The writing, for the most part, does not have the elegance of "The Forgiven," the psychological depth of "The Ballad of a Small Player" or the narrative drive of "Hunters in the Dark." Constantly switching the viewpoint from one character to another in successive chapters had the effect of putting a halt on the action and stopping the narrative flow. The ending, though, is mysterious, ambiguous and vaguely unsettling. But overall I was not all that impressed, putting the book down and then picking it up again, until I finally finished it.
by Lawrence Osborne
Of the four novels I have read by Lawrence Osborne this was the least satisfying. With one exception, all the characters are unlikable (young, wealthy and bored), doing terrible things on a beautiful Greek island. The writing, for the most part, does not have the elegance of "The Forgiven," the psychological depth of "The Ballad of a Small Player" or the narrative drive of "Hunters in the Dark." Constantly switching the viewpoint from one character to another in successive chapters had the effect of putting a halt on the action and stopping the narrative flow. The ending, though, is mysterious, ambiguous and vaguely unsettling. But overall I was not all that impressed, putting the book down and then picking it up again, until I finally finished it.
December 5, 2018
Book Review #95
Elevation
by Stephen King
A good, quick read, a slim book with life lessons and a truly moving ending.
by Stephen King
A good, quick read, a slim book with life lessons and a truly moving ending.
November 12, 2018
Book Review #94
The Art of Intimacy: The Space Between
by Stacey D'Erasmo
This is a superbly written (and slender) book of critical essays on the art of creating intimacy on the written page. It is quite simply one of the very best books of criticism, in any art form, that I have ever read. Intelligent, incisive and beautifully written.
by Stacey D'Erasmo
This is a superbly written (and slender) book of critical essays on the art of creating intimacy on the written page. It is quite simply one of the very best books of criticism, in any art form, that I have ever read. Intelligent, incisive and beautifully written.
November 7, 2018
Book Review #93
Ayahuasca: Soul Medicine of the Amazon Jungle
by Javier Regueiro
I had the pleasure of meeting Javier Regueiro last year in a Manhattan bookstore where he signed my copy of his book and then delivered the most fascinating and mesmerizing lecture/discussion I have ever witnessed by an author. He was so clear and so present and non-judgmental and good-humored.
His book is beautifully written and highly informative. Unfortunately (and this seems almost petty to bring up) there are several spelling, grammatical and typographical errors, none of which, happily, detract from the otherwise excellent writing.
By the way, the cover art by Harry Chavez cannot help but catch your eye, as will the photograph on the back of the author beaming a radiant and welcoming smile.
by Javier Regueiro
I had the pleasure of meeting Javier Regueiro last year in a Manhattan bookstore where he signed my copy of his book and then delivered the most fascinating and mesmerizing lecture/discussion I have ever witnessed by an author. He was so clear and so present and non-judgmental and good-humored.
His book is beautifully written and highly informative. Unfortunately (and this seems almost petty to bring up) there are several spelling, grammatical and typographical errors, none of which, happily, detract from the otherwise excellent writing.
By the way, the cover art by Harry Chavez cannot help but catch your eye, as will the photograph on the back of the author beaming a radiant and welcoming smile.
