Motion Sickness
Like the narrator, the novel wanders between past and present and often between locations themselves.
Diversity
Most old books are written by rich, straight, white men. These books were written by people who were not. Authors from a visible minority and women writing outside of ‘acceptably feminine’ topics can be found here.
Suzanne and Louise
Guibert’s aunts were a major part of his life and offer him comfort that his parents cannot when he gets sick. In them, he can see his own end of life.
Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black
One of the best parts of the collected editions like this (especially when they’re arranged chronologically) is that you can follow Mueller through her life and watch her evolve as a writer.
At the Bottom of the River
It’s important that one does not expect completely linear stories when one picks up a Kincaid work.
The Weary Blues & The Ways of White Folks
It’s hard to express just how incredible his verse is. Often, it is the perfect union of opposites. Harsh and beautiful. Joyful and full of grief.
Neighbors and Other Stories
Though the book is new, the stories are classics. Oliver’s prose is crisp and stark as she takes the reader into the realities of Black life under Jim Crow.
The Harlem Book of the Dead
It’s a beautiful testament to the love and care that went into caring for the dead, as well as the images that survivors carried with them after the funeral was done.
Two by Harper Lee
On the blog this month I’m going to feature new re-issues of classic literature and books that could make good gifts for avid readers.
The Invention of Morel
This novella’s setting of an opulent but derelict and rotting mansion infected with the suggestion of long-ago deaths and violence ticked all of the spooky season boxes for me.
A Dark Corner and A Helping Hand
Both A Helping Hand and A Dark Corner are well under two hundred pages, but each of them packs a disturbing punch and were well ahead of their time.