Category: Book Reviews

I’m usually not much for mysteries or ghost stories, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one! It was well-written, it was short enough that I didn’t get tired of the near-death experiences, and it had a psychological tone to it. The characters were thoughtful. The ending worked.  Read more

This is beautifully-written book that never gets anywhere, despite the characters perpetually going somewhere in great haste. It could be so interesting, with all there is to see on the road. Unfortunately, the characters are not particularly interesting because they never grow up. Dean could be an interesting character, but once we figured out he Read more

This book is very strange. It was well written, and I did enjoy it, despite the unnerving, distressing, dystopian setting and plot. What’s more, I didn’t understand the ending. He falls into a manhole, and then he says he lives in the hole? But that it’s a nice, comfortable hole. And he’s getting ready to Read more

The Adventures of Augie March is just another rendition of the sub-genre: “1950s American literature following the irresponsible and purposeless wandering of a young man.” Also in this sub-genre is On the Road. The internet tells me I’m referring to the “postwar American drifter” archetype. Although I wanted to like Augie, and I did, I’m Read more

I had high hopes for this book, and I was disappointed. I’ll be honest, when I read this, I would have guessed this was written by a lady who’d never touched a horse in her life. Well, I was mistaken, because I looked up Geraldine Brooks and learned that she started riding in her fifties Read more

If Freedom hadn’t been the next book available from the library after Blood Meridian, I may not have finished it, because it was not enjoyable and it consistently made me feel sad or icky or both. But, it was infinitely easier to read than Blood Meridian, and I would hate to quit on two books Read more

I really tried to give Blood Meridian a good chance. Taking a very basic and general view, it seemed like the type of novel that I would like: set in the mid 1800s and involving journeying out West on horseback. Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to endure more than a few chapters, as it Read more

This is another truly terrible book. There is really nothing to commend about it, and I simply do not understand why this would make the list for top contenders of the Great American Novel. It’s written poorly, and in an uninteresting way, as it purports to be the diary of the most horrendously selfish, shallow, Read more

This was an entertaining book with plenty of interesting-enough characters, some moving parts, and drama. However, as far as a contender for the Great American Novel goes, I don’t think this should be up there on the list, mostly because I think the American Dream should be portrayed in a more favorable light. Poor James Read more