Posted in Academic fiction, Barry's Picks, Books, Characters, Language Focus, Literary fiction, Setting on October 26, 2007 | No Comments »
Davies’s The Lyre of Orpheus is the final book in the Cornish Trilogy, whose first and third books are set in and around the life of students and scholars at a fictional university in Canada. Davies has an obvious affection for academics, but he also is unsparing in his portrayal of the petty jealousies and [...]
Posted in Academic fiction, Barry's Picks, Books, Characters, Humor, Literary fiction, Setting on October 22, 2007 | No Comments »
Writing about the other fine arts is one of the most challenging things to pull off. Whether it is music, painting, or dance, it is difficult to capture on the page the subtleties that make these arts so appealing to listeners and viewers. That being said, there are some writers who do manage to convey [...]
Posted in Academic fiction, Books, Characters, Humor, Jessica's Picks, Quick read on September 4, 2007 | 7 Comments »
For the second entry in my week of humor books, I’m going to do something very stupid. I am going to recommend a book that I have never, ever, ever* been able to get anyone to read. The one person who tried gave up in disgust after a few pages. There is nothing to suggest [...]
Posted in Academic fiction, Audiobook, Books, Characters, Clever dialogue, Crime fiction, Jinker's Picks, Literary fiction, Mysteries, Sense of place, Setting on May 14, 2007 | No Comments »
I love those Golden Age mysteries! I particularly love Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey series because she combines the Classic mystery story with a level of character development you do not generally see with Christie or Allingham. Sayers was ahead of her time, with the kind of complexity of personal relationships and empathy with the [...]
Posted in Academic fiction, Barry's Picks, Books, Dark humor, Language Focus, Literary fiction on April 19, 2007 | No Comments »
James Hynes is a master of the macabre, and in The Lecturer’s Tale he turns his eye on the English Department at a large Midwestern University. Nelson Humboldt’s promising career as a professor has faded away, and he is reduced to teaching composition classes to the dregs of the English Department. Even here, Humboldt is [...]
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