Byron’s Travels
I won’t spoil it for those of you who don’t know Byron’s reputation or just what shocking and scandalous shenanigans he got up to, but it was enough that his literary contemporaries were all talking about it.
S. Hargrave
S. Hargrave is a Canadian writer and the book reviewer at Old Paper & Cats. Hargrave has a love of rare, antiquarian, and classic literature, works in translation, and cats.
Free Love & Reminiscences of a Student’s Life
This week I’m going to review two McNally selections from earlier this year, both of which are delightful non-fiction reads that I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen off the shelf.
Ex-Wife
Patricia is not broken by her divorce; instead, she uses it as opportunity to live life on her terms and to determine what it is she wants out of herself and out of a partner. She is a complex character that has a lot to say and also displays a range of emotions that are sometimes contradictory in a very human way.
Short Letter, Long Farewell
Short Letter, Long Farewell is heavily influenced by film noir. The plot does not drive forward in a straight line, but the one element that does provide consistent momentum is the narrator’s attempts to escape his ex-wife.
The Sorrow of War & Novel Without a Name
Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War and Duong Thu Huong’s Novel Without a Name are both novels about the Vietnam War from the perspective of young men who served in the North Vietnamese Army. They are powerful testaments from a viewpoint that we do no often get in the west — that being the Americans as the invading, colonialist army in Vietnam.
The Snow Was Dirty
Simenon paints a brutal picture of how violence breeds more violence in an environment riddled with poverty and limited opportunities.
The Hockey Sweater and Other Stories
It’s That Time of Year Again! So finally it’s late April and that means the start of the playoff season! Hockey is something that I only truly appreciated in adulthood. I began by watching it every time the winter Olympics rolled around, and then I expanded into watching the IIHF and women’s hockey. Last year […]
An Ordinary Youth
A Week Fills Up Fast For the last couple of years, I’ve been keeping a bullet journal just to help us plan out our schedule, make sure we don’t take on too many clients at once, and keep track of various appointments. It’s helped a lot. I no longer feel like the days fly by […]
The Children’s Bach & Monkey Grip
Garner is one of those writers that I wish more people had read. I love her writing style, and her clever economy of words that provides the reader enough room to think carefully about every sentence and every turn of phrase.
Jesus’ Son
Johnson does not pull any punches as he examines the lives of societies various down-and-outs.