The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It will be out in paperback this week so I'm reprising my original review. If you have not read the book yet it is well worth it. If you have, what did you think? Did it deserve the Pulitzer? Donna Tartt’s latest novel is The Goldfinch. Oh My. This is a B.I.G. book, figuratively (Tartt’s first novel ... Read More...
Rodin’s Lover: A Novel
I have been intrigued by the life of Camille Claudel since watching the 1988 movie by the same name. She was a sculptor, living in Paris in the late 1800s, a time that was not conducive to female artists of any kind. At seventeen her talent was already such that, because of her father’s belief in her, he hired a real sculptor as a tutor for her. This is where Heather Webb’s ... Read More...
All the Days and Nights
I continue to look at a partially formed canvas; fragile and imprecise. Just one untruth will ruin it: if I lie to myself, the painting will dissolve. The temptation to destroy clings to my skin, densely packed and impermeable. What painting is, is the temperance and determination to avoid these urges. I am only as strong as my will allows, only measuring my worth in ... Read More...
The Blazing World: A Novel
The Blazing World came out in paperback last week. This is my original review. Sometimes all it takes is a name and the die is cast. For Harriet Burden, the fact that her father called her Harry from a young age felt like a challenge; one that she grabs onto with all the tenacity of a pit bull, even when it causes her nothing but pain. Harriet is the protagonist in Siri ... Read More...
The Anatomy Lesson
Aris Kindt was not necessarily a bad man but he was a thief. For every town where he was caught he was whipped and branded so his torso and neck told the painful history of his life. It isn’t until he returns to Amsterdam and is caught stealing a burgher’s fine coat that he is not only whipped but then has his hand amputated. Shortly after this, he is condemned to hang—an ... Read More...
The Blazing World
Sometimes all it takes is a name and the die is cast. For Harriet Burden, the fact that her father called her Harry from a young age felt like a challenge; one that she grabs onto with all the tenacity of a pit bull, even when it causes her nothing but pain. Harriet is the protagonist in Siri Hustvedt’s new novel, The Blazing World, a tour-de-force of one woman’s determination ... Read More...
