Synopsis:
Accused of murder, a troubled young woman tries to piece together the odd facets of her life, starting with her supposed immaculate conception.
Review:
The chapters in Madapple alternate between a teasingly opaque courtroom case, and defendant Aslaug’s reminiscences about life with her disturbed mother and eventual reunion with her long lost aunt and cousins. Nothing [...]
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tags: American Literature
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 [...]
Popularity: 46% [?]
Tags: American Literature
Synopsis:
The premature baby of Fifth Business was kidnapped by roustabouts, grew up a circus performer, and has grown into the greatest magician in the world. His life story offers the final piece to the question posed in The Manticore: “Who killed Boy Staunton?”
Review:
Robertson Davies’s masterful Deptford Trilogy deserves to be on more must-read lists. [...]
Popularity: 46% [?]
Tags: Canadian Literature
Synopsis:
When Mary was 16, she may or may not have been abducted and raped by an older man, whose life was ruined by her accusations.
Popularity: 90% [?]
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Popularity: 90% [?]
Tags: American Literature
In another incarnation I spent some time teaching screenwriting, which, as you may know, is all about structure. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that there is no screenwriting without structure. Typically, that means three acts highlighting a tightly causal chain of events with linear narration. In films that [...]
Popularity: 40% [?]
Tags: On Reading
Synopsis:
Entranced by the folk tales of an old mountain man, and repulsed by the same man’s grisly crimes, Redmond Hatch struggles to narrate the events which led him to bring his beloved wife and daughter to winterwood.
Review:
I was upset by the way Winterwood seduced me. I did not want to be reeled in [...]
Popularity: 100% [?]
Tags: Irish Literature
Synopsis:
In a rotting-down town in nowheresville Maine, a woman with a broken mind haunts the minds of the inhabitants, tormenting their dreams and leading them to make deadly choices.
Review:
I picked The Keeper up after reading about it on SciFi Wire, but I have to say I was disappointed. The writing is assured, and Langan [...]
Popularity: 35% [?]
Tags: American Literature
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 [...]
Popularity: 35% [?]
Tags: American Literature · On Reading
Synopsis:
An awkward teen buys a junky old Plymouth that seems to have a life of its own–and sinister plans for Artie and those he loves.
Popularity: 28% [?]
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Popularity: 28% [?]
Tags: American Literature
The Sunday New York Times Book section had a charming essay called Confessions of a Book Abuser (registration required). Ben Schott opens:
I have to admit I was flattered when, returning to my hotel room on the shores of Lake Como, a beautiful Italian chambermaid took my hand. I knew that the hotel was noted for [...]
Popularity: 10% [?]
Tags: On Reading
