Tag Archives: Marriage

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

American Literature December 10, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: 4 new stories that probe what ordinary people might do when faced with evil. Review: There were times when I considered putting down Full Dark, No Stars because it went so deep into the blackness. I know that sounds odd, because of who the author is, but for some reason these stories felt compressed in an unpleasant way. When King takes more time to develop his stories and let them breathe, you get some relief from the evil. That’s not the case with these…

Rescue by Anita Shreve

On Reading November 30, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: An EMT falls in love with a reckless patient, who then abandons him and their daughter, and he struggles with whether he should let her back in. Review: I blazed through Rescue, which doesn’t have the strongest of plots but offers an emotionally compelling story nonetheless. Though it takes a turn for the melodramatic near the end, I stayed with the characters because I found them to be so real. It didn’t offer any grand revelations, nor did it make my toes tingle, but…

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

American Literature October 5, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The anti-love story of an American marriage. Review: Freedom is a terribly generic name for a totally original novel. I’d prefer “Songs for Walter” or even “Mistakes Were Made.” I’m really not sure how that one slipped by. Anyway. Thoroughly engrossing read about people making each other miserable. It reminded me a lot of Revolutionary Road, a favorite of mine (despite the suckitatious movie). The psychological torture that the characters inflict on one another is exquisite and acute, but somehow hopelessly romantic, too. Franzen…

Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold (The Sharing Knife, Book 2)

American Literature August 25, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Wedded against custom, magical Lakewalker Dag and his farmer bride Fawn return to Dag’s family home, where they face rejection and ostracism, but when Dag is called out on patrol to battle the most fearsome malice he’s ever seen, they learn that their bond is more than just one of love and may change the world they know. Review: If Legacy weren’t such a strong book I totally would’ve put it down the second my copy of Mockingjay showed up, but Lois McMaster Bujold…

The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

American Literature July 6, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: In the wake of tragedy, a middle-aged divorcÃ©e, her sister, and her two grown daughters retreat to the family home on remote, rustic Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, where buried secrets and repressed longings burst to the surface. Review: The Island is a book about loss, grief, and longing, with 3 of the main characters haunted by the untimely death of a lover. The main character, Birdie, has survived a divorce after decades of marriage, and has just embarked on her first…

The Snake Pit by Sigrid Undset (The Master of Hestviken)

Norwegian Literature June 9, 2010 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: Olav Audunsson finally brings Ingunn Steinfinnsdatter back to his ancestral home as his wife, each harboring a dark secret that threatens the happiness they dreamed of as children. Review: The Snake Pit follows closely on the tragic events of The Axe, focusing on the far-reaching effects of sin in the lives of Olav and his childhood love Ingunn, now his wife. I really don’t want to give too much away about the story thus far, because I loved how it unfolded in the previous…

The Hungry Season by T. Greenwood

American Literature May 6, 2010 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: Stricken with writers’ block after the death of a loved one, a writer moves his family to a remote New England cabin to try to rebuild, while a fan makes her way across the country to realize her dream of being with him. Review: I’m a longtime fan of T. Greenwood‘s nuanced character portraits and sticky situations, and The Hungry Season is her best yet. I really can’t say enough good things about this book, which takes an excruciating look at the breakup of…

Improper Relations by Janet Mullany

American Literature March 1, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Forced to marry after an indiscretion at a ball, Charlotte and Shad resign themselves to a marriage of convenience that may not be as unlively as they had assumed. Review: Improper Relations has a cute premise, and I enjoyed the little hints of decadence that author Janet Mullany threw into her Regency setting. She does a good job creating the tension between Charlotte and Shad, and throws in just enough originality in her plotting to mask the requisite predictable complications arising from assumptions and…

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

American Literature January 18, 2010 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: A successful lawyer is stricken by a mysterious illness that makes him walk, walk, walk, unable to slow down or stop until his body collapses from exhaustion miles from home. Review: The Unnamed is soaked in misery, both the mysterious and the more pedestrian. Tim’s walking fits threaten his job, his marriage, his security, and even his physical integrity, and he’s powerless to stop. Author Joshua Ferris wisely avoids using Tim’s condition as a literal metaphor, as easy as that might be. If anything,…

Lisey’s Story by Stephen King

American Literature December 19, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Two years after the death of her famous writer husband, Lisey Landon must return to the other world where he both drew his inspiration and unearthed his demons in order to defeat a madman and put her husband’s legacy to rest for good. Review: I listened to the audiobook of Lisey’s Story, narrated by the incomparable Mare Winningham, and this was actually my second encounter with the book, which I have read once before. It’s one of King’s most ambitiously intimate stories, delving deep…

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