“Most of you have heard, by now, what happened to my brother, or a version of it: the alarming events of that spring and summer, the single, vile accusation, still unproven, that made a ruin of his life.” Jennifer Haigh is an author who deserves more attention than she gets. I can say this with … Continue reading Faith, by Jennifer Haigh
Category: Reader’s Journal
Zorrie, by Laird Hunt
Last year a friend and I were talking about Olive Kitteridge. “I don’t get it,” she said to me. “The writing is beautiful, but what’s the point? It’s just moments in her life. She doesn’t even really change.” Now, while Olive Kitteridge is one of my favorite books, I can also see my friend’s point. … Continue reading Zorrie, by Laird Hunt
Passing, by Nella Larsen
"And mingled with her disbelief and resentment was another feeling, a question. Why hadn’t she spoken that day? Why, in the face of Bellew’s ignorant hate and aversion, had she concealed her own origin? Why had she allowed him to make his assertions and express his misconceptions undisputed? Why, simply because of Clare Kendry, who … Continue reading Passing, by Nella Larsen
So what happened with my 20 Books of Summer?
Well. That was a bust. I’m talking, obviously, about 20 Books of Summer. I had the best intentions–truly, I did. And I did read 14 books. It’s just that most of them were not on the stack I had intended to read. (Yes. I’m aware today is the first of November.) What happened? Kinda the … Continue reading So what happened with my 20 Books of Summer?
Reader’s Journal: Train Dreams
Train Dreams is one of those books that has seemed to crop up on "Best of" lists at the end of each year for the last few years. I first had the chance to read Denis Johnson in graduate school when I was assigned to read Fiskadoro for a class on the post-modern Twentieth century … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Train Dreams
Reader’s Journal: November Road
Lou Berney’s The Long and Faraway Gone was an amazing surprise for me in 2017, so when I heard he had a new book coming out this year, I immediately made it a priority. Of course, I make lots of books a “priority”—that’s how I ended up with 266 unread books in my possession. I … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: November Road
Let’s Talk about Manhattan Beach
I finished Jennifer Egan's Manhattan Beach yesterday, and I wish I had someone to talk to about it, spoilers and all. I’ve seen lots of lower-than-expected ratings for this book, but I generally thought they were due to most people only having read her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Visit from the Goon Squad. As a … Continue reading Let’s Talk about Manhattan Beach
Reader’s Journal: Norwegian by Night
At the age of 82, Sheldon Horowitz has been transplanted from Manhattan to Oslo, Norway. Sheldon's granddaughter Rhea brings Sheldon to Oslo to live with her and her husband Lars after the death of her grandmother, Mabel. Rhea believes, as did the late Mabel, that Sheldon is suffering from dementia that started when his son … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Norwegian by Night
Reader’s Journal: The Seas
Sometimes I feel like a mystery even to myself. When I went to the library a few weeks ago to pick up a bunch of holds, I thought for sure that the one book I had waited for the longest would knock my socks off (turns out I was wrong). If anything, I was probably … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: The Seas
Reader’s Journal: Lab Girl
In my other life, I’m a scientist. When I say, “my other life,” I don’t mean my life outside the blog; I mean my life in an alternate universe. I do things in a lab that involve other scientists, and also math. I do whatever kind of science I’m interested in at the moment, obviously. … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Lab Girl
The Evening Reader 