Tag Archives: Marriage

This One Is Mine by Maria Semple

American Literature December 22, 2008 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: A bored LA housewife falls into a flirtation with a scummy ex-junkie, while her sister-in-law sets about trapping a wealthy husband. Review: This One Is Mine cuts a lot deeper than my synopsis would imply. It’s not a trashy pulp beach read, but rather a scabrous dissection of the worst of human impulses, with a healthy dose of redemption thrown in at just the right time. In many ways, it reminds me of Elise Blackwell’s Grub, which I called a “satire brimming with humanism.”…

The Starter Marriage by Pamela Paul

American Literature March 28, 2008 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: An overview of the recent phenomenon of marriages that end before they reach the five-year mark. Review: I hate books that never tell you more than what you read in the title. I generally enjoy books like this, as I’m keenly interested in human behavior and social trends, but this book really didn’t do it for me. I never felt like Paul’s interviewees came alive, and as a result I wasn’t sucked into the drama of their lives. I gave up on it 2/3…

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

American Literature March 9, 2008 Superfast Reader 7 Comments

Synopsis: A collection of short stories set mostly among Indian immigrants in the US. Review: Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake was one of my favorite reads of last year, so I decided I needed to check out her much-buzzed about collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. It will surprise no one who has read these tales that I found them both simple and spectacular. I am not usually a fan of short stories, though now that I am short on time for reading I’m finding…

Angelica by Arthur Phillips

American Literature October 22, 2007 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: Fearful of her husband’s sexual advances, a young mother falls into a spectacular case of hysteria–that might not be all in her head. Review: Angelica is yet another neo-Gothic tale, set in a Victorian England conjured more from literature than from history. It has all of the elements you’d want: repressed sexuality, midnight visions, hysteria and a spiritualist, all rendered in gorgeous, sumptuous prose from four different points of view.

Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen by Alix Shulman

American Literature August 19, 2007 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: Despite being both beautiful and smart, former teen beauty Sasha’s love life is a shambles, and–even worse–she’s approaching 30 with rapid speed. Review: I usually don’t say blank is the new blank, but I’ve never been more glad that 30 is the new 20 than after reading this depressing book. When I was in my 20s, I was looking forward to 30, because I had a sense from the women around me that 30 meant a break from a lot of the angst and…

The Cross (Kristin Lavransdatter 3) by Sigrid Undset

Norwegian Literature May 22, 2007 Superfast Reader 11 Comments

Synopsis: As her seven sons grow to manhood in 13th Century Norway, Kristin finds her marriage tested by long-simmering resentments, and struggles with her passage into senescence. Review: This might be my favorite of all three Kristin Lavransdatter books, because I think Undset is operating at the peak of her narrative powers. She really brings to life a time in Kristin’s life that isn’t as readily appealing as Kristin’s passage into womanhood, and the novelty of Kristin and Erlend’s life together has worn off. In…

The Price of Silence by Camilla Trinchieri

American Literature May 15, 2007 Superfast Reader 5 Comments

Synopsis: After she befriends secretive An-Ling, a menopausal wife and mother’s family collapses under the weight of a lifetime of lies that may have lead to An-Ling’s murder.

The Wife (Kristin Lavransdatter II) by Sigrid Undset

Norwegian Literature March 23, 2007 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: Now married to her beloved Erlend Niklausson, Kristin takes up her new life as the mistress of Husaby, fearful that the child that grows inside her will expose her secret shame and cause her father to reject her. Review: I didn’t think it was going to be possible for Undset to outdo her achievement The Wreath, book I of her Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy set in Norway in the 14th century. I feared that marriage wouldn’t suit Kristin, that her vitality and inner fire would…

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…

Glittering Images by Susan Howatch

British Literature December 21, 2006 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: When the Archbishop of Canterbury sends a canon to uncover evidence of sexual misconduct in the home of one of his bishops, a mare’s nest of scandal erupts and the canon must face hard truths about the hypocrisies in his life.

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