The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Highly recommended. “It was 7 minutes after midnight.” Every detail matters in the solution of the mystery of the neighbor’s murdered dog, which is The Curious Incident of the Dog in … Continue reading →
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton with an introduction by Diane Johnson and notes by Benjamin Dreyer. Highly recommended. In The Custom of the Country, Edith Wharton creates one of the most unlikable, even despicable, characters I know of in American … Continue reading →
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. Recommended. In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson has turned what could be a dry retelling of the facts into a suspenseful … Continue reading →
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. Recommended. In this poetic novel by poet Michael Ondaatje, the author explores the past and present (the closing days of World War II) lives of young Canadian nurse Hana, her English patient, her family … Continue reading →
The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Recommended. If a book or movie is successful, you can expect a sequel. In the case of The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley had begun with the culmination of the Arthurian tale — Arthur’s rule … Continue reading →
The Fox by D. H. Lawrence. Recommended. One of D. H. Lawrence’s fable-like tales addressing gender roles and relationships, The Fox is developed based on the symbol of a female-centric farm beset by a “demon,” a marauding male fox. Owned and run by two … Continue reading →
The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles. Highly recommended. I had not seen the movie of The French Lieutenant’s Woman until recently, so I did not know what to expect from the novel. I thought it might be a romantic thriller set during one … Continue reading →
The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton. Highly recommended. I was unaware that Edith Wharton, known for such insightful novels as The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, and Ethan Frome (as well as the popular movies these novels inspired), had indulged in writing ghost … Continue reading →
The Goddess Within: A Guide to the Eternal Myths that Shape Women’s Lives by Jennifer Barker Woolger and Roger J. Woolger. Not recommended. The Goddess Within is an attempt to explore and explain contemporary psychological issues and social trends through the ancient Greek … Continue reading →
The Great Gatsby: The Authorized Text by F. Scott Fitzgerald, with notes and a preface by Matthew J. Bruccoli. Highly recommended. The west was conquered and the midwest cultivated, so in The Great Gatsby set in the 1920s we turn our attention back east, … Continue reading →