The son of Lithuanian Jews who left the country in the 1920s and moved to South Africa, Isaac Helger grows up believing the only way to have self-worth is through money. “Working” for a living, as his watch repairman father does, is embarrassing. As the protagonist in Kenneth Bonert’s novel, The Lion Seeker, Isaac embraces his mother’s credo of “Are you a stupid or a ... Read More...
Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See
And that’s how it happens. Like a broken record, warped and scratched. Once I was music, now I am just noise. It requires a special gift to bring forth a largely unlikable character who can also evoke sympathy but Juliann Garey has done just that in her debut novel Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See. Greyson Todd is from one of the most unlikable genres of men in fiction ... Read More...
Sunday Sentence: This is Between Us
Sunday Sentence: The best sentence(s) from this week, out of context and without commentary. Inspired by David Abrams at The Quivering Pen. You got quietly sullen for a while. I could always tell your sullen quiet from your normal quiet—your sullen quiet had a buzz to it, like a television showing a tornado tearing houses apart but with the volume turned down. ... Read More...
The Abominable
Our valley is in darkness, but Everest blazes far beyond and above us in a cold, powerful, self-contained isolation. That strikes me as terrifying. In 1924 the British alpine climbing community was dealt a serious blow when George Mallory and his partner Sandy Levine disappear high on Mount Everest. At the same time a lesser known but titled Brit disappears and his mother ... Read More...
This is Between Us
This is Between Us is an intimate look at the minutia that comprises a relationship. And not in that lovey-dovey, fictional way but in the real, confusing, tedious, painful way. Author Kevin Sampsell navigates the terrain of affairs, blended families, teenagers, and jealousy in quirky little vignettes. The story covers five years that begin as an affair on both sides, move ... Read More...
Still Writing: The Pleasures and Perils of a Creative Life
Often, reviewing a book occurs only in the small space between book and reviewer. Meeting the author is a bonus but usually comes after the review is published when they are touring to promote the book. I was extremely fortunate, then to meet Dani Shapiro this week, before I finished my review. It is the equivalent of getting the answers to your calculus final before you ... Read More...
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