Tag Archives: *LOVE!!

Luck of the Wheels by Megan Lindholm

American Literature March 18, 2007 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Gypsy teamster Ki agrees to ferry a most disagreeable boy to another town, and discovers a world of trouble when she and her companions find themselves in the middle of an uprising. Review: Luck of the Wheels, the fourth and final installment in the Ki and Vandien Quartet, is the best Lindholm I’ve read so far. Here, she pushes her protagonists as far as they can be pushed, taking the kinds of story risks that make her books so accomplished. She’s not afraid to…

The Bird’s Nest by Shirley Jackson

American Literature, On Reading March 16, 2007 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: One girl with four personalities at war for dominance, and her only hope is the doctor who is growing to loathe her. Review: I swear this has never happened to me–I could have sworn I read The Bird’s Nest when I went through my Shirley Jackson phase back in 1998. I found this awesome woman in Canada who found me most of her out-of-print books–except this one–in a used bookstore in Toronto. I knew I didn’t own The Bird’s Nest, but I thought that…

Harpy’s Flight by Megan Lindholm

American Literature March 9, 2007 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: After her husband and children are brutally murdered by a god-like Harpy, Ki undertakes an act of vengeance that severs her ties with her husband’s people, and sends her on a dangerous journey up an icy mountain overseen by a malevolent force. Review: Megan Lindholm is Robin Hobb, whom I love. Harpy’s Flight is the first in a 4-book series featuring teamster Ki and her unlikely partner Vandien, and while the storytelling isn’t as accomplished as in her later works, Harpy’s Flight is a…

Judgment in Stone by Ruth Rendell

British Literature February 23, 2007 Superfast Reader 10 Comments

Synopsis: An illiterate housekeeper’s resentment of the privileged family she serves boils over into a murderous rage. Review: Judgement in Stone was turned into an incredible movie called La Ceremonie by Claude Chabrol, starring Sandrine Bonnaire as Eunice, the “stone” of the title, and the marvelous Isabelle Huppert as Joan, the local postmistress who fans the flames of Eunice’s anger. This is yet another case of a film adaptation that is truthful to the book, but that can also stand on its own.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (translated by Joel Carmichael)

Russian Literature February 10, 2007 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: The tale of a society woman and her unconventional love affair contrasts with that of a landowner struggling with faith and duty. Review: Anna Karenina. The very words have struck me with fear and awe ever since a disastrous Russian History class in 12th grade, where I discovered my superpower’s limits for the first time. I elected to read Anna for my final paper because I wanted to read Anna, but I had four AP exams happening at the same time and should’ve chosen…

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

British Literature, On Reading December 31, 2006 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: The best way to learn to write is by the close reading of great literature. Review: I wish I could get Francine Prose to tell me about every book I read. She is so astute and insightful about the craft of writing, and equally tuned into the joys that reading has to offer the lover of language. You might think that the Superfast Reader would be averse to a technique asking her to slow down and smell the sentences, but nothing could be further…

Forest Mage by Robin Hobb

American Literature December 28, 2006 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The strange adventure of magic-possessed soldier son Nevare continue, as he finds himself expelled from military academy when his weight skyrockets after a bout of the Speck plague. Review: Forest Mage is the second book in Robin Hobb’s Soldier Son trilogy begun in Shaman’s Crossing. Interestingly, I found echoes of Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead in the clash between the progress-loving “human” Gernians and the forest-dwelling dappled Specks, and spent a good deal of the read worrying that Hobb’s story was going…

Shaman’s Crossing by Robin Hobb

American Literature December 26, 2006 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A young man’s military training is threatened by his seeming possession by a creature in thrall to an evil forest goddess. Review: Shaman’s Crossing is the first book in Robin Hobb’s newest trilogy, Soldier Son, and I ate it up with a spoon, thanks to a very long train ride to Canada. The world of Soldier Son takes place in a frontier-like environment much like the Old West at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, with Nevare, the main character, on his way to…

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

American Literature November 25, 2006 Superfast Reader 9 Comments

Synopsis: A brainy high school senior narrates the events that led to the death of her charismatic and disturbed teacher. Review: I stayed up until 1:30 am last night blazing through the last 200 pages of the book, in a state of amazement (and not a little jealousy) over the superb plotting Pessl married to her delicious prose and intriguing characters.

Aspects of the Novel by EM Forster

British Literature November 20, 2006 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A collection of lectures given by EM Forster at Trinity College in Cambridge in 1927, touching on all aspects of the novel from story and people to what Forster calls “fantasy” and “prophecy.” Review: A delicious gem of a book. Forster’s prose is gorgeous, and I want to read every book he mentions that I haven’t already. I will be ruminating on what I’ve read in here for quite some time, and this is a book I will revisit many times. Rather than try…

reading is my superpower

i read all the books