A is For Alibi- Sue Grafton (#1- Kinsey Millhone series)

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Published:  1982
Pages:  308
ISBN:  9780312938994
Genre:  Mystery/Thriller

Start Date:  Mar. 16, 2011
Finished Date:  Mar. 18, 2011 (3 days)

Where Found:  Chapters-Indigo
Why Read:  Mostly for a reading challenge; was interested in re-reading it

Read for:  1st in a Series Challenge (3/6)
Previously Read:  For an American lit course with a hard-boiled mystery theme, previously reviewed here

Summary:  A private investigator simultanously investigates the potential innocence of a recent parolee convicted of murdering her husband that coincides with the similar death of an associate while continuing to look into a small claims case.
Review:

There isn't very much to add that I haven't written about this book before.  It's a solid mystery with a reliable, easy-to-like protagonist in Kinsey Millhone.  In this particular book, the first in the "alphabet" series (currently up to "U"), there are many suspects, keeping you guessing and leading to an electrifying ending.  Grafton makes the repetitive nature of Kinsey's job as a private investigator, especially the ongoing interviews with suspects and connections interesting.  She gives lots of interesting descriptions of interior and exterior locations, which may be annoying in any other book, but in a mystery with a P.I., this attention to detail adds to its charm.

In hindsight, I went a bit overboard with an A+ ranking, as it doesn't quite fit in the company of my 40-some odd other A+s.  I have read better books than A is For Alibi, but very few mysteries can top this one.  For more details, you can read my old review here.

Rank:  (A)- Very Good, Highly Recommend

Retro Read Mini-Reviews

I've had a number of draft posts left unfinished on many books that I've read before I started blogging but have yet to publish, probably because I don't have a lot to write about them.  To avoid this pitfall, I'm going to post the rest of my "retro read" reviews here in miniature form.  From now on, all my future reviews will be for contemporary reads.

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

The Stone Angel- Margaret Laurence

Published:  1964
Length:  318 pages

ISBN:  9780226469362

Genre:  Literary Fiction

Start Date:  Summer 2008

Finished Date:  Summer 2008

Where Found:  Public library

Why Read:  I adored The Diviners which I had read the previous year and wanted to read Laurence’s other most revered novel.

Summary:  An elderly woman resisting being placed in a nursing home reflects on her life as a young rebellious bride, the clear favouritism of her oldest son, and the conflicting relationship with her younger son trying to care for her.

Review:

Like the reflective Morag Gunn in The Diviners, Hagar Shipley is a terrific storyteller: honest, funny, unapolegetic, yet is not without regrets.  The narrative is much looser in structure than The Diviners but is still a remarkable story with a number of memorable characters.

A 2007 movie version (made in Canada) starred Ellen Burstyn, Kevin Zegers, Ellen Page, Dylan Baker, and relative unknown Christine Horne who has a striking resemblance to Burstyn.

Rank:  (A)- Excellent, Highly Recommend

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

The Silence of the Lambs- Thomas Harris

Published:  1988
Length:  352 pages
ISBN:  9780312195267
Genre:  Mystery/Suspense

Start Date:  Sometime in 2007-8
Finished Date:  Sometime in 2007-8

Where Found:  Used bookstore
Why Read:  Fascination with the characters and word of mouth.  I don’t think I had seen the movie yet (at least not in its entirety).

Summary:  A young FBI agent in training interviews a cannibalistic serial killer and former forensic psychiatrist on death row to track down a serial killer who has kidnapped a Senator’s daughter.

Review:

This was a spine-tingling mystery/thriller with an imaginative, terrifying character that you can't help but like in a twisted, backward kind of way.  The intense, highly suspenseful plot is meticulously constructed and the two main characters, Clarice and Hannibal, are one of the most compatible duos ever written.

The movie with Anthony Hopkins & Jodie Foster was brilliant, especially in the extensive characteristics Hopkins brought to Lecter, vastly improving on the book's depicton of him.  Chronologically, the story goes in this order:  Hannibal Rising (fourth book, fourth movie), Red Dragon (first book, third movie), SOTL (second book, first movie), and Hannibal (third book, second movie).  I've only read SOTL but seen all movies (except Hannibal Rising).  SOTL is the best movie of the series, but the other two are good as well & worth seeing.

Rank:  (A+)- Fantastic, A Must-Read!

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Bridget Jones's Diary- Helen Fielding

Published:  1996
Length:  288 pages
ISBN:  9780143117131
Genre:  Chick Lit, Humour

Start Date:  Sometime in 2003
Finished Date:  Sometime in 2003

Where Found:  Chapters-Indigo
Why Read:  Loved the movie and wanted to try my first real “chick lit” novel (I was in high school).

Summary:  A single 30-something new journalist in London writes in diary form about her wacky family, loyal friends, weight struggles, competing romances with the charming Daniel and stuck-up Mark, and intakes of alcohol & cigarettes.

Review:

I enjoyed the lightweight story and the bawdy humour, though I'm sure I could relate more to Bridget now than I could then ;)  I'm pleased to say that this was my first "chick lit" novel I ever read...or maybe it was Love Story by Erich Segal, which I read around the same time (funny story: I was looking for a romance novel to compare with Romeo & Juliet for a high school assignment, typed in "love story" in my library's catalogue and this came up first!).  I love the sweet movie adaptation with Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant & Colin Firth.

Rank:  (A)- Excellent, Lots of Fun!


I Am Charlotte Simmons- Tom Wolfe

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Published:  2004
Length:  752 pages
ISBN:  9780312424442
Genre:  Literary Fiction

Start Date:  Sometime in 2007-8
Finished Date:  Sometime in 2007-8

Where Found:  Campus bookstore
Why Read:  I had heard about Tom Wolfe’s surveying of American university students and I was interested in how he portrayed college life.

Summary:  Set during her freshman semester at an elitist college, a poor, naïve farm girl is subject to classicism, ridicule, and sexual exploitation.

Review:

At first, this novel was interesting and quite realistic (as well as satiric) about a young girl's entry into college and introduced a number of what I thought would amount to memorable characters.  Once the dorm rooms had been assigned and roommates, jocks, and dorks had been established, the novel became a slippery slope with a mishmash of rather pedestrian forays into popularity, ambiguous self-identity, and sexuality that came off as more relevant to the high school experience than the college one.  Call me a prude, but there was very little attention paid to academics, jobs, family, or sadly, even friendship, rendering much of the novel about newfound enemies, lovers, and other extra-curriculars (both savoury and not).  I would take a definite pass on this one; however I will try other Tom Wolfe books when I get around to it.

Rank:  (D)- Finished but Do Not Recommend

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Mystic River- Dennis Lehane

Published:  2001
Length:  416 pages
ISBN:  9780060584757
Genre:  Mystery/Suspense

Start Date:  Sometime in 2008
Finished Date:  Sometime in 2008

Where Found:  Used bookstore
Why Read:  After finishing a Jonathan Kellerman novel, I heard that Lehane was a different kind of mystery writer, so I became interested.  I had also seen the movie and wanted some deeper insights on the characters.

Summary:  Set in Boston, a homicide detective is investigating the murder of a childhood friend’s daughter while a third former friend, who survived a childhood molestation & abduction, is under suspicion for the crime.

Review:

This is a strongly written novel with an unusual focus on the characters, allowing the plot to ebb and flow naturally with the characters' actions being trigger points that give it life.  A number of plot events take place, and not in the typical structure of having one central plot with one or more subplots occuring around it, but really, they all had an equal stake in the development of the whole story.

The movie version was directed by Clint Eastwood, and starred Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney & Emmy Rossum.  It was equally as good as the novel--no better, no worse, an unusual occurence in adapting books to movies.  It's worth watching as much as the novel is worth reading.

Rank:  (A)- Excellent, Highly Recommend

Where the Heart Is- Billie Letts

Published:  1995
Length:  384 pages
ISBN:  0340646985
Genre:  "Chick Lit"

Start Date:  Sometime in 2006-7
Finished Date:  Sometime in 2006-7

Where Found:  Used bookstore
Why Read:  I picked this & The Deep End of the Ocean up to try some of Oprah’s Book Club picks.

Summary:  A pregnant teenager is abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in rural Oklahoma where she is taken in and raises her daughter with a kindly woman who mistakes her for someone else, making friends with a nurse having trouble finding a father figure for her kids.

Review:

I loved the quirky qualities of this novel--the characters with interesting names (Novalee, Americus, Sister Husband, and especially Lexie's children all named for snack foods:  Brownie, Praline & Baby Ruth), the oddly coincidental circumstances surrounding an unlucky number, and Novalee forming a close friendship with a complete stranger.  The subplot with her runaway boyfriend Willy Jack and his budding music career as a country singer is a bit lax compared to the boundless energy of her life that follows him leaving her, 17, pregnant, and alone at a Wal-Mart.  I enjoyed reading it, about as much as I enjoy a hot shower--it's soothing, lovely, but not life-changing.

The movie version starred Natalie Portman (fantastic in one of her breakout roles), Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing & Sally Field.  It was sweet, enjoyable, and worth a viewing.

Rank:  (B)- Very Good, Recommend

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

The Accidental Tourist- Anne Tyler

Published:  1985
Length:  355 pages
ISBN:  039454689X
Genre:  Literary Fiction

Start Date:  Summer 2008
Finished Date:  Summer 2008

Where Found:  Used bookstore
Why Read:  Loved the movie and thought the eccentric characters would be even more enjoyable in the novel. I was right!

Summary:  A stifling travel writer divorcing his wife after the death of their son gradually falls in love with a loopy dog trainer while his publisher develops interest in his client’s sister who cannot pull away from caring for her neurotic brothers.

Review:

I fell in love with Anne Tyler's characters immediately and had a blast reading this!  Her style is distinctly her own, completely incomparable to any other writer.  I can't wait to continue reading more of her work.

The movie version starred William Hurt, a delightful Geena Davis & Kathleen Turner.  It was a fun, lovely movie that I recommend as a companion to the novel.  I saw the movie before reading the book and I enjoyed both immensely, so it doesn't seem to matter what order you read/view this one.

Rank:  (A+)- Fantastic, A Must-Read

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Deception Point- Dan Brown

Published:  2001
Length:  736 pages
ISBN:  0552151764
Genre:  Suspense

Start Date:  Sometime in 2007-8
Finished Date:  Sometime in 2007-8

Where Found:  Borrowed from a coworker after I finished two previous Dan Brown novels (Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code)
Why Read:  My coworker said it was better than DVC and equally good to A&D, which I also liked best.

Summary:  A team of experts, including the daughter of a Senator, is sent to the Arctic Circle to investigate a meteor that may or may not prove the existence of alien life.

Review:

I hate to admit that I can't remember many of the plot details but it was a smart, fast-paced story, a great main character (not Robert Langdon--this book is separate from that series), and was quite addictive.  It was nearly as good as Angels & Demons and better than The DaVinci Code.  I would highly recommend this to fans of Dan Brown or those looking for a fascinating mystery/thriller.
Rank:  (A)- Excellent, Highly recommended

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson



Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters



Published:  2005
Length:  841 pages
ISBN:  9780307454546
Genre:  Mystery, Series (Millennium Trilogy- Book #1)

Start Date:  Nov. 15, 2010
Finished Date:  Dec. 13, 2010 (29 days)

Where Found:  Chapters-Indigo
Why Read:  It's pretty hard to avoid the neon-coloured covers at the bookstores :)

Summary:  A journalist awaiting imprisonment for libel is hired by an elderly corporate tycoon determined to discover the truth about his niece's strange disappearance over 40 years ago, soon working with a punkish young securities phenom with a serious vendetta.

Review:

It is nearly impossible to create a groundbreaking book within an overabundant genre such as the mystery/suspense thriller.  While I wouldn't label The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo that way, what the late Stieg Larsson has done is take an overly familiar kind of tale and injected it with a distinctly European flavour that leaves you with a sharper taste than the typical John Grisham or James Patterson yarn.

This taste is composed of a deliberately cold mood, through the backdrop of a bitterly frigid Swedish winter, the aging members of the Vanger family with old money, and the polarizing (if you'll pardon the pun) attitudes towards Mikael from the snivelling family history naysayers to the immediate bedfellows.  Also, Larsson's inability to filter what some interpret as pointlessly excessive detail, such as food they eat, geographic placenames we can't pronounce let alone recognize, and complex sociopolitical dramas that only represent a fraction of the plot, certainly adds bulk to an already heavy-handed plot.

Mikael Blomkvist may be the centre of the mysterious Vanger family saga, but Lisbeth Salander is the hero and is fantastically rendered, turning all stereotypes of her external appearance on their heads.  She is the most complex, fascinating character I've read about in recent years, and her terrifying ordeals make her a stronger, more vigilant, and complicated human being that we are made to realize exists somewhere through the scary but true statistics printed on each chapter page.

I watched the Swedish movie version which I had previously taped but couldn't watch until I had finished the novel or it would spoil the ending.  It was a terrific adaptation with a brilliant "debut" (at least to international audiences outside of Sweden) by Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth and was filmed in a photographic style with chilling graphic realism.  An American-made version to be directed by David Fincher is in development.  As for the sequels, I am definitely hooked and want to read the next two books of the Millennium series this year.  I am determined to squeeze them in!

Rank:  (A)- Excellent, Highly Recommended

Her Fearful Symmetry- Audrey Niffenegger

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Published:  2009
Length:  401 pages
ISBN:  9780307397461
Genre:  Supernatural/Mystery

Start Date:  Oct. 24, 2010
Finished Date:  Nov. 7, 2010 (two weeks; not bad!)

Where Found:  Chapters-Indigo
Why Read:  I loved The Time Traveler's Wife and was interested in two things: reading more of Audrey Niffenegger's work and reading a ghost story in her style of writing.

Summary:  Young identical twin girls with an eerie mirror-image resemblance inherit their aunt (and their mother's identical twin)'s flat in London for a year in which they encounter her depressed lover attempting to write a history of the famed Highgate Cemetery, an OCD neighbour recently separated from his wife, and the ghostly presence of their aunt willing them to look into her secret past.

Review:

Audrey Niffenegger has a hard act to follow.  Her remarkable debut The Time Traveler's Wife made her instantly respectable, leaving much to be expected of her follow-up novel, Her Fearful Symmetry.  What is important to understand about this kind of Harper Lee syndrome (the author of To Kill a Mockingbird did not release another novel as she could never top her Pulitzer winning book) is not to be disappointed that the second novel is nothing like the first.  If you set aside any high expectations you have from reading TTW, you will probably like HFS more.

HFS owes much to Gothic literature with themes of death, resurrection, haunting, and afterdeath communication, cleverly intertwining phenomenons associated with identical twins.  Like TTW, characters are at the mercy of a pseudoscience and their development depends on how they handle what they struggle to believe.  Julia and Valentina are empty young women with little to no motivation to begin living because they feel uncomfortably dependent to one another, as they imagine their mother Edie and her twin, Elspeth once were, but are curuious and a little envious of how they finally severed their ties.  Like TTW where Chicago was the backdrop of the story, London is adopted and transcribed with beautiful description in HFS, providing a perfect ghostly setting.

While the numerous relationships are nicely tied together (Julia & Valentina, Elspeth & Edie, Martin & Marijke, Robert & Elspeth, Edie & Jack), there are some details left to self-interpretation or are simply inconclusive that would have made the story more complete.  Also, the ending seems too pat after so much build-up. 

*SPOILER ALERT*
I never quite understood how & why Elspeth and Edie severed their relationship so severely, and why Elspeth was so determined to revive herself, especially so immorally.  Her attitude towards Valentina's feelings were harsh, though I feel Julia was equally insensitive to her sister, so perhaps Niffenegger's intention was to have Julia mimic Elspeth and Valentina mimic Edie.
*END SPOILERS*

I would recommend this book to fans of Gothic literature, mysteries, and suspense thrillers, as the book is superbly capable of modernizing an ancient genre.  As for those who have read TTW and are interested in reading more of Niffenegger, leave your expectations at the door and you may just enjoy this, but avoid comparing them as TTW is almost impossible to top.  If neither apply to you, for a general read, I would recommend TTW instead.

Rank:  (B)- Very Good, Recommend

When the Bough Breaks- Jonathan Kellerman

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Published:  1985
Length:  448 pages
ISBN:  9780345466600
Genre:  Mystery/Suspense, Alex Delaware series (book #1)

Start Date:  Sometime in 2007-8
Finished Date:  Sometime in 2007-8

Where Found:  Used bookstore
Why Read:  After exhausting all the John Grisham & James Patterson novels I could get my hands on, I decided to try out a new author the salesgirl recommended.

Summary:  A psychologist treats a young girl who is the only witness to the murder of a corrupt child psychiatrist.

Review:

It’s great to read a mystery that doesn’t centre around a cop or lawyer. What’s refreshing about James Patterson’s Alex Cross and Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series is the perspective that a psychologist gives to homicide cases and the murderous criminals behind them.

The characters are deliciously atypical, similar in style to Sue Grafton, sculpting a central protagonist who we want to learn more about over time (hence, the creation of an ongoing series).  The plot is intricate, fast-paced, and ends with a terrific twist.

If you enjoy James Patterson, you will like Jonathan Kellerman’s series with psychologist Alex Delaware. I have only read the 1st book and have been taken with other titles since (isn’t that always the way?), but may return to the series in the future.

Rank:  (A)- Excellent

The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Published:  2004
Length: 352 pages
ISBN:  9780316168816
Genre:  Mystery, Fantasy

Start date:  Sometime in 2007
Finished date:  Sometime in 2007

Where from:  Chapters-Indigo
Why Read:  Word of mouth & critical acclaim

Summary:  After her murder, teenager Susie Salmon narrates the aftermath omniscently from heaven, including the coping of her family, her transition into the afterlife, the hunt for her killer, and insights on prior events in her life that connect with the present as it moves along without her.

Review:

There is an eerily beautiful quality to this novel that can either scare you or move you. I have heard that some people have not attempted to read this because the idea of a murder being described is too grisly & devastating to get through. It can make you grit your teeth with unease but it only lasts a short number of pages. The rest of the novel, told through the heaven-bound Susie Salmon (forever young at 14), doesn’t allow her eternal rest until she witnesses peace amongst her family—the unstable shakiness left by her death that is indescribably sad for her parents, sister, and boyfriend. The other half of the story involves her killer & how his creepy closeness to the family home leaves the reader hoping that the odds will soon pile up against him in bringing final justice.


Like I’ve mentioned before about Stephen King, Sebold proves that the popularity of a novel does not mean it cannot be a rich piece of literature as well. If you have hesitated to read this novel, I encourage you to take a deep breath & try it. The character of Susie will win you over, moving you to care deeply about the effect of her death on her family & the greater community, allowing her violent end to be passed over with peace.

Rank:  (A+)- A must-read

A Wednesday Top 10

This weekly meme is hosted by Jillian at Random Ramblings.  She poses this top 10 topic: 

Feel Good Books

"The books that will never fail to cheer me up, pick my mood up, get me out of a rut, and/or lift my spirits."

A good book never ages & can be revisited over again to be enjoyed on a different level of experience: finding things you didn't notice before, knowing the outcome & being able to feel the emotions expressed even deeper.

To be honest, I'm not much of a "re-reader" so choosing 10 books I have re-read, let alone re-read many times over as a comfort, is a challenge for me.  I guess movies are more of my comfort forte.  So, my choices may not be "comfort reading" to everyone, but they are books that have captivated me on more than 1 occasion & have stuck with me over time.

Here goes nothing...In no particular order, here's a list of 10, with some titles linked to my reviews:

1)  K-PAX- Gene Brewer

The captivating movie convinced me to try the book & I am still completely mystified and taken with it.  It's a blend of sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and philosophy that may expand your thinking about the existence of life in the universe beyond Earth.

2)  Different Seasons- Stephen King

How creepy is that cover?!?  It looks like an homage to the 2001: A Space Odyssey star baby.  This collection of 4 novellas is a masterpiece, allowing King to return to his roots in the shorter genre.  Two, if not three, of the stories will sound familiar.  Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption was adapted into one of the greatest critical films ever and The Body became the beloved coming-of-age tale Stand By Me.  A third story of the same title became the less than reputable Apt Pupil.  The final chapter of this collection, The Breathing Method, leaves your spine tingling long after finishing it.  This set of short stories together can easily compete with King's other accomplished novels as his best work.

3)  The Green Mile- Stephen King

I'm not a cop-out (really, I'm not), but King is an addictive storyteller & The Green Mile is my favourite novel of his.  It is horrific (it's what he does best), but the blend of fantasy & mystery lays a foundation of purpose that makes up the core of the novel.  King claims the adapted movie is better, but I argue that they are two different takes on the same story and that they both go beyond comparison.

4)  The Firm- John Grisham

I'm not being very original with this list, I know, but I cannot bypass this book that remains my favourite Grisham novel and one of the best mystery yarns I've ever read.  The movie was good in his own right, but did not fully utilize all the twists & turns that Grisham gave the novel a quality of being more than just a pageturner, but proves once again that popular fiction can be thought-provoking.

...Wow, I'm completely stumped by this list (and I've bent the topic around enough)!  Let's change this around a bit & I'll list books I want to reread when the TBR stack is a little smaller (just a little...).

5)  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time- Mark Haddon

There has never been a novel written like this.  Period.  The perspective of Christopher, a British teenage boy with Asperger's syndrom investigating the death of his neighbour's dog while confronting the absence of his mother, is acutely visual, purposely rigid in detail, and supplemented by drawings that are both baffling & eye-opening about how his mind works.  I badly want to revisit this, but will settle for some insightful comments :o)

6)  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- Ken Kesey

The trippy, beat generation writing of Kesey is hippie poetry through the perspective of the Indian and his encounters at the mental hospital run by the evil Big Nurse, who is appalled by the reckless behaviour of the newest inmate, Randle MacMurphy.  I was stunned by the story and its take on the treatment of mental illness and how both aggressiveness and muteness can be misinterpreted and handled in a disturbing manner.

7)  The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold

You may be wondering why I would choose a book that begins with a gruesome murder as a rereadable book.  I agree that there are mixed opinions about whether or not to even read it because of that very reason, but here's why I will reread it:  It is a fine piece of writing that reminds me of a china cup, ironically both brittle with its devastating scene that creates a wound in both the characters & reader, and built strong with its omniscent narration, fierce dedication to finding truth, if not justice, and a powerful will to allow for the story to end in peace.

8)  A Map of the World- Jane Hamilton

Because I recently read The Book of Ruth by the same author, I wanted to revisit an earlier book I read of hers.  I was immediately taken by the stark writing style and how harsh it came off, then how it build up to a point where the instigating incident causes everything to crumble, then go even deeper into the crux of the matter.  How the painstaking, slow rebuilding process is written will allow a new perspective on human nature's way of coping with trauma by, all at once, remembering what was yet not clinging to the "what ifs" that we habitually create.

9)  One True Thing- Anna Quindlen

I have recently penned a review & don't want to repeat it here, but I am very fond of Quindlen's writing and have every intention of re-reading this novel that takes a new perspective on mother-daughter relationships and how judgment is brought to bear against every character, only to be re-examined in light of a slow-building change and questions surrounding its end result.

10)  The Time Traveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger

This is likely on many readers' TBRR (to be re-read) list if you were as captured by the uniqueness of this fantasy tale as I was.  I had an inkling before seeing the adapted movie that it could not possibly capture all the intricacies of the writing, and I think most would agree that I predicted right.  The love story of Henry & Claire is tangled up in many complex ways by his uncontrollable, nearly lifelong ability/curse to time travel, yet you find yourself rooting for them to make it work despite or perhaps because of Henry's preview of the future & revisiting of the past.  When the time is right, I will feel drawn to this novel again, and I hope it sheds new light on it the second time around.

Please share with me your top 10 list on this week's topic.  I look forward to reading your responses, too :o)

Harking Back...Part III: University (Year 3)

Whew...!  I've been working on this entry a long time, constructing reviews for texts read in 5 English courses (3 of which were quite heavy-handed).  Enjoy!

19th Century British Literature & Culture
We did poetry in term 1, especially works by William Blake, John Keats, Percy Shelley, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  I absolutely fell in love with “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by Keats (click the link for the complete poem).  Here is my favourite excerpt.  The last two lines are probably most familiar:

What little town by river or sea shore,

Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,

Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?

And, little town, thy streets for evermore

Will silent be; and not a soul to tell

Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede

Of marble men and maidens overwrought,

With forest branches and the trodden weed;

Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought

As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!

When old age shall this generation waste,

Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe

Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," - that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Here are the novels from term 2:

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde- Robert Louis Stevenson
I was excited to read this as I had always kept it in the back of my mind and was very interested in the parallels between good & evil, and the idea of multiple personality in the mid-19th century is an interesting concept, well ahead of its time.  The language definitely required some footnotes, but the story was so juicy, I think it rivals most classic mysteries with the sci-fi elements woven in seamlessly. 

At 62 pages, it’s more of a short story, but my Norton edition included critical essays and other background information.  It seems that Stevenson has also clearly woven together his dual education in medicine & law, which serves each character well in the complex mystery. 

I enjoyed this particular quote, and am wondering if any other mystery novel or movie has used it as it would be quite sinister if spoken by a good actor (but butchered by a bad one, LOL!):  “If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek.”

Rank:  (A)- Highly recommend

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Scenes of Clerical Life- George Eliot
This is not Eliot’s most well-known novel (that would be either Middlemarch or Silas Marner, both of which are on my TBR list), but historically it is the first published under the pseudonym for Mary Anne Evans.  Surprisingly, I came away liking this book more than I expected.  My professor was enthusiastic and shared a great deal of insight on the novel.  Without it, I would have been lost!

Firstly, it’s a compilation of 3 stories, and we only read “Janet’s Repentance,” which is a bleakly honest portrayal of a helpless woman abused by her tyrannical attorney husband that comes across as relevant as it could be today (like Sleeping With the Enemy set against the backdrop of Victorian England), it comes across as hauntingly beautiful.

I think this quotation tells it best:

“And so it was with human life there, which at first seemed a dismal mixture of griping worldliness, vanity, ostrich feathers, and the fume of brandy: looking closer, you found some purity, gentleness, and unselfishness, as you may have observed a scented geranium giving forth its wholesome odours amidst blasphemy and gin in a noisy pot-house.”

Despite a fair number of less than reputable or likeable characters, Eliot gives them equal face time with language that is deliberately stuffy, such as Dempster, the evangelical lawyer:

“An insolvent atheist, gentlemen. A deistical prater, fit to sit in the chimney-corner of a pot-house, and make blasphemous comments on he one greasy newspaper fingered by beer-swilling tinkers. I will not suffer in my copany a man who speaks lightly of religion. The signature of a fellow like Byles would be a blot on our protest.”

If you are a fan of Jane Austen and/or other works by George Eliot, this will satisfy your need.  Has anyone ever read this or the other two stories in the book?

Rank:  (A)- Highly recommend

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Mary Barton- Elizabeth Gaskell
I needed to seek out this title and fiddle with my Google searches until I came across it. I could have easily read this in another course, maybe Women Writers (see further down in this post). Not many memories about this one…any thoughts, readers?
Rank:  N/A (can't remember enough of this one to rank it)

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Caleb Williams- William Godwin
It was rather ahead of its time with themes of political corruption. And how smoking hot is that cover?!?
Rank:  N/A (can't remember enough to rank it)

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The Importance of Being Earnest- Oscar Wilde
This play is not only one of Wilde’s most beloved works, but amazingly it stands up even today. It uses clever language and witty, even downright hilarious, word play. It’s a breezy, quick read and though I’ve never seen it performed, it is probably just as funny acted out.  I haven't seen any of the movie versions (the most recognizable being the 2002 Reese Witherspoon star vehicle).

I only highlighted two lines in my copy (this is a good thing--if I highlight lots, I'm stopping & thinking, instead of allowing the whole work to flow naturally along).  I think I know why…They were familiar to me, because they were cited by Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka:

“The truth is rarely pure & never simple.”

“This suspense is terrible. I hope it lasts.”

While I’m thinking on it, with some help from my beloved Internet Movie DataBase (IMDB), set as my IE home page to show how much of a movie geek I truly am (LOL!), here are some other “Wonkaisms” and who they are originally attributed to:

“Is it my soul that calls me by my name?” ~ Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet)
"All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by” ~ John Masefield (“Sea Fever”)
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever” ~ John Keats (“Endymion: A Poetic Romance”)
“Round the world and home again, that's the sailor's way!” ~ William Allingham (Homeward Bound)
“We are the music-makers and we are the dreamers of dreams” ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy (“Ode”)
“Where is fancy bred? In the heart or in the head?” and
“So shines a good deed in a weary world” ~ Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice)
“Sweet lovers love the spring time...” Shakespeare (As You Like It)
“Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker” ~ Ogden Nash (“Reflections on Ice Breaking”)

Go ahead & watch the movie again, listening for the wonderful droll of Gene Wilder's voice as he cites them.  Ahhh...

Rank:  (A+)- A must-read (The Importance of Being Earnest, not Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory--that's a must-see :o)


Post-Colonial Cultures
A historical literary overview of invasion & colonization in Africa, Asia & the Caribbean.

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Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe
The title is taken from W.B. Yeats’s “The Second Coming”:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Things fall apart, the center cannot hold,
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

Nigerian author and scholar Chinua Achebe wrote this novel in 1959, but it is in the last 20 years that it has become a staple of African English fiction in university courses. It has the opposite perspective of Heart of Darkness (African over European) yet explores the same themes of tribal customs, brutal conflicts, cultures of marriage, birth, and death, and the impact of colonization & missionary religious groups who in the end reduce the tragedies and pitfalls of the tribal leader Okonkwo who “was ruled by one passion—to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness” to “perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph” by the white District Commissioner.  Simply unforgettable.

Rank:  (A+)- A must-read

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Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
A very disturbing novella that comes across as incredibly racist and depicts mentally feral European characters that have no sense of acceptance or even tolerance for the African cultures they are invading. The text is often taught at face value, with only the European perspective, but through a post-colonial context, the novel withholds the African perspective, leaving an obviously slanted viewpoint as Marlow’s experience is less than half the story.

Rank:  (D)- Don't recommend (D for Disturbing)

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Nervous Conditions- Tsitsi Dangarembga
The title of this novel comes from Frantz Fanon’s controversial critique The Wretched of the Earth:

“The condition of native is a nervous condition.”

The novel is a highly personal account of a teenage girl in Rhodesia during the 1960s who yearns to leave her village for higher education at boarding school, but cannot easily relate to her British-bred cousin who has lived a much more privileged and entitled life yet suffers from a self-conscious addiction.

Here is the opening line as a teaser:  “I was not sorry when my brother died.”

Rank:  (A)- Highly recommend

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Autobiography of my Mother- Jamaica Kincaid
Jamaica Kincaid is an Antiguan-born author who explores issues of girlhood in novels, such as Lucy, Annie John (scroll down for my review of this book) and this challenging, often disturbing novel. The title is ironic in many ways: obviously no one can write an autobiography of another person, but also the character never knows her mother. After this sad occurrence, a string of darker events occur that alter her life’s course. It may be too depressing for some, but it’s well-written. If this doesn’t appeal to you, I highly suggest another of Kincaid’s novels, Annie John, so that you may at least experience the author's work aside from its content.

Rank:  (C)- Just Okay

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The God of Small Things- Arundhati Roy
A strong debut novel by Indian-born author Arundhati Roy that criticizes the alienation and separatism of the caste system through the experiences of fraternal twins as they grow up through the 1960s and into the 1990s.

Rank:  (A)- Highly recommend





Studies in Women Writers
A great array of writers from different periods, some a bit out of my comfort zone, but otherwise a wonderful course!

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A Room of One’s Own- Virginia Woolf
The opening book for this course was not your typical venture into Woolf’s mysterious work, such as Mrs. Dalloway (which I still haven’t mustered the courage to try), but this was a satisfying glimpse into how women writers (and scholars) were treated as Woolf considers herself and other women writers of her generation as would-be successors to the struggles of Jane Austen, George Eliot, and (in her opinion to a lesser extent) the Brontes.

What started as an essay expands into a manifesto of 111 pages that begins with a hint of feminism in her thesis:

“But, you may say, we asked you to speak about women and fiction—what has that got to do with a room of one’s own?”

Her answer, in short, is that without privacy, the rights of space, freedom (i.e. being unmarried), isolation, and equality, a woman cannot write. Women writers, such as Austen, were constantly bothered by household duties (oh me, oh my), yet produced pieces of classic literature that hold up just as strongly as the work of any independent male writer who does not have the same responsibilities.

Woolf spends a great deal of time considering the role of women in society and how men perceive the opposite sex at different levels of class, citing that it ultimately makes no difference—women in her time were equal parts child and servant. No wonder Eliot had to use a male pseudonym—do you think her work would have been published, let alone read by anyone, if she went by her birth name of Mary Anne Evans?

Along with a continued pity for the lack of women writers, Woolf ends her essay critically by suggesting that the doors to a successful academic life for women are slightly ajar, so why aren’t more women taking advantage of it? Questions abound that are still considered today: “What effect does poverty have on fiction? What conditions are necessary for the creation of works of art?”

She hopes that modern women writers will not be overcome by prejudicial barriers and will disbelieve and fight against the label of inferiority that the "powerful" male writers have placed on the “inferior sex.”  Woolf was hopeful for the future, but knew it would be some time before the rights of women were fully recognized and their writing would prosper beyond the constrains of “life [conflicting] with something that is not life.”

Rank:  (A+)- A must-read

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Little Women- Louisa May Alcott
A joyful coming of age tale about the 4 March sisters: Meg, maternal & kind-hearted; Jo, bookish & sharp; Beth, sweet & fragile; and Amy, girly & vain, raised lovingly by their mother Marmee as their soldier father is away during the Civil War.

This is one I may not have read entirely, yet the ending is very well-known, so I can piece it together. Still, this should be a TBRR (to be reread) for me. I found a neat trick with this book: I tend to bend (not break) the spine when reading, and it seems that even without a bookmark I can find my old place! I still want to experience it again from the beginning…so many books, so little time…

There are several movie versions. The 1994 movie starred Winona Ryder as Jo, Claire Danes as Beth, Christian Bale as Laurie, Kirsten Dunst as young Amy, and Susan Sarandon as Marmee. It was beautifully directed by Gillian Armstrong with a cozy, glowing set design. A well-known 1933 film version starred Katharine Hepburn as Jo (nice casting!) and was directed by her close friend George Cukor.  In 1949, the notoriously catty Elizabeth Taylor was Amy (see also Cat on a Hot Tin Roof—similar characters, in my opinion with a smokin’ Paul Newman), whiny June Allyson as Jo, Janet Leigh as Meg (I think those roles should have been reversed—Allyson would have made a better Meg, Leigh a great Jo), sweet Margaret O’Brien (adorably wicked in Meet Me in St. Louis) as Beth, and Mary Astor as Marmee (she was the femme fatale in The Maltese Falcon).

Rank:  (A+)- A must-read

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The Color Purple- Alice Walker
An epistolary novel told through letters to God about the wrenching experiences of Celie, a bright, tortured girl who tries to learn to read & write amidst a life of incest, decades-long separation from her sister Nettie, being sold to an equally abusive Albert (whom she calls Mr. ___), raising bratty children that are not her own, and learning what love means through her friendship with the mysterious Shug Avery, Albert’s ex whom he still pines for but can only ruin. An incredible coming-of-age tale against a backdrop of the nastiness Celie endures and how she is beautifully repaid for being forever hopeful.  The 1985 movie directed by Steven Spielberg is a heartfelt adaptation, true to the novel with an amazing performance by Whoopi Goldberg.  This story works & is best enjoyed both ways.

Rank:  (A+)- A must-read

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The Female Quixote- Charlotte Lennox
Challenging to say the least! I don’t even think I finished this one.  I remember learning that the title is pronounced "QUICKS-OUGHT," rather than "KEY-OH-TEE" (despite it being related to Don Quixote).  Probably because the British pronounce aluminum "AL-YOU-MINI-UM" :oD

Rank:  N/A, did not finish (can't really give this a D as I didn't read enough of it)

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Annie John- Jamaica Kincaid
I enjoyed this novel more than the disturbing Autobiography of my Mother. Annie is a sweet-hearted but mischievous child who grows into a skin independent from the wishes of her mother, forming a bond with a tomboy friend nicknamed “Red Girl.” Annie soon becomes emotionally abusive towards her mother as she tries to distance herself from the close bond they once had, struggling to grow up without what used to be a necessary lifeline. The joyfully sad ending left an image in my mind that brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Rank:  (A)- highly recommend

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Ana Historic- Daphne Marlatt
A melting pot of novel, poetry, feminism, and historical nonfiction about coming to terms with conventions of writing & society whilst struggling to find more information about a character minimally referenced in a history book. Identity is a primary theme that is written from a feminist, historical viewpoint with lush, poetic language, absent from structured templates of novel-writing. A challenging but provocative read.

Rank:  (B)- Recommend


Update:  I watched A Serious Man last night & it sparked my memory!  The novel I remembered is below.

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The Romance Reader- Pearl Abraham
A stunning portrait of a teenage girl's struggle to escape from the orthodox traditions of her Hasidic family in hopes of a more autonomous life for herself.  Without being offensive or bigoted, Abraham gives a semi-autobiographical perspective through Rachel's feelings of being ostracized by her family: the rabbi father who has dreams of building a synagogue from which he can reach out to the masses; the miserable conformist mother who belittles her husband while longing to be accepted by the exclusive neighbourhood groups; the sister who sympathizes with Rachel's plight but feels tied down herself; and the greater community, both Jewish & goyim, who are split on the issue.  A series of attempts to break free of the constraints Rachel feels are limiting her independence is fed by a love of reading romance novels, hence the title which is beautifully framed by the contrasting black-and-white & coloured hues of a woman seemingly trapped in a longing gaze.  While uncomfortable with the limitations set by her religion & culture, Rachel conforms to an arrangement that could make or break her wish to choose her own path in life.  You cannot help but cheer for Rachel's quest, but sometimes feel for the sister & even the mother, who is so tied to tradition that she must lash out at it from time to time.  I went into this novel without much background on Hasidic Judaism, but it is explained throughout and is not limited to Rachel's antagonism surrounding it.  There is a sense of guilt-mongering & force in conforming to the customs of the faith, and it is hard not to cringe at this, but if it comes across as offensive to those who are part of the denomination or a similiar belief system, it is only one perspective after all.  For those outside of the faith, like myself, I find it to be more of a young woman's journey to create & apply options for herself and not simply fall in line as her family dictates.

Rank:  (A)- Highly recommend

I don’t remember any other books from this course, but such an awesome selection, eh? I’ll attempt to brainstorm & add more if they come to me.


Contemporary Popular Culture
Taught amateurishly but had a thought-provoking book attached to it.

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The Corporation- Joel Bakan
Along with its excellent companion documentary, The Corporation is a skewering look at how American business & economy was conceived and continues to obliterate the masses with its scheming propaganda and how CEOs have the gall to push the envelope to protect the money-making machine known as capitalism. In short, Bakan’s initial thesis is “the corporation is a pathological institution, a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies.”

Shockingly, Adam Smith denounced the corporation in his Wealth of Nations manifesto in…drumroll…1777 and it was banned in England for over 50 years, yet by the 19th century railroad boom and the industrial wave that followed overshadowed his inevitably correct prediction. Bakan goes on to analyze the advent of corporate practice, citing milestones such as FDR’s New Deal, the rise of the automobile industry, the computer industry, and the Enron disaster. He cites examples of incredibly disgusting commercial profiting off of children, and even 9/11 (yup, that’s sick). Worst of all, corporations have direct financial ties to government; in essence, they feed the beast, otherwise it would starve.

Unlike most critically-based nonfiction books, Bakan does suggest methods of releasing the chokehold that corporations have on society, including the reinstatement of government regulation that will protect against human rights violations, while improving environmental health & safety, and union organization. He even goes so far as to suggest (maybe naïvely) that corporate-governmental ties be cut or at least financial support be regulated. I can’t see that happening anytime soon, given the influence of support it has had since the industrial revolution, but with Obama in the White House, I’m starting to believe that anything is remotely possible to undo 8 years of Bush damage.

Despite it being 6 years old, I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you are a follower of Michael Moore’s books & documentaries, and/or are a union member and/or are interested in living a life not tied to the puppet strings of capitalism.

Rank:  (A+)- Excellent


Gender & Sexuality
Highly interesting course with a focus on concepts of masculinity & homosexuality.  After we (the straight females) got over some initial awkwardness, it was quite an engaging course.

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History of Sexuality- Michel Foucault
I really cannot comment on this. It was highly challenging, sometimes downright impossible to understand, and I’ve forgotten everything I know about it (probably because of the first two reasons!). I avoided the course’s essay topics for this text like the plague!

Rank:  (D)- Don't recommend

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Times Square Red, Times Square Blue- Samuel R. Delany
There is no other book I know of that accounts for the alienation of the gay community more than this, but then again, I am not often privy to books of this nature.  Are you?

In his preface, Delany argues that being gay is still nearly not as acceptable as one would think, even in a place like New York City where “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” The proposed reconstruction of Times Square, a Mecca of gay cultural history, is “not only a violent reconfiguration of its own landscape but also a legal and moral revamping” that will whitewash a seemingly irreversible history.

TSR, TSB is divided into two parts with those titles.  Blue is a memoir of Delany’s encounters on the streets and in the theatres along 42nd Street.  Red is a scholarly thesis that cites many statistics that soon grows tiresome to read, so I will focus my review on Blue, ironically (and perhaps deliberately) the title of a Derek Jarman film about a man dying of AIDS, though any reference to the disease is hardly mentioned by Delany. The stories are often explicit and won’t be recanted here, but he demonstrates how a diversity of gay culture exists & thrives.  By removing these venues simply because of empty moral objection, Delany argues, adds to the continuing problem of homophobia that cannot be overcome without at least a modicum of tolerance. 

Delany’s book is not for the faint of heart and I would only recommend it to those interested in the issue, not as a leisurely read. The stories of Blue tend to be explicit.  The argument is highly personal for Delany as an openly gay man attempting to save what is left of the Times Square culture by arguing for tolerance, if not acceptance, and freedom of assembly.

Rank:  (B)- Recommend (please read above paragraph)


Coming soon...Year IV.