quick review–the third policeman by flann o’brien
Such an odd and strange little book from O’Brien. What I liked: Definitely not a book you can easily categorize. The plot was meandering–more so than…
Posts from the ‘book reviews’ category
quick note–twin peaks, juan rulfo and spirit world voices
After a long semester of teaching I found some time to indulge in studying the novella Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo. I’ve been an admirer of Rulfo’s…
summer reading
Summer is for reading. And I have quite a few books stacked next to my bed. I used to worry about having too many books hanging…
film recommendation: a scanner darkly
Lately for many reasons I feel I’ve been living inside of a Philip K. Dick novel, so I’ve been rereading a couple of my favorite–Flow My Tears,…
quick review of big sur feature film
Big Sur may be my least favorite Jack Kerouac novel. While On the Road and The Subterraneans captured youth and restlessness, Big Sur relates the aged, alcoholic…
quick review of junot díaz’ this is how you lose her
I’ve long read and admired Junot Diaz‘ style of prose. I’m almost embarrassed to say how much I’ve modeled my own work after his. This latest…
stuart dybek’s the coast of chicago
We’re discussing a few stories tomorrow from Stuart Dybek‘s collection The Coast of Chicago. I admire “The Woman Who Fainted” and “Pet Milk” (4:27) and I…
the house of order indie reader review
Grateful for the thoughtful review at Indiereader.com: “…the book is filled with beautiful moments, like shards of broken stained-glass window lying in the dirt. This book…
quick review of daniel chacon’s hotel juarez
A few months back I wrote a quick review of Daniel Chacon’s book Unending Rooms. I admire Chacon’s aesthetic and overall writerly choices. I look forward to…
quick thought on the man with the golden arm
Finished reading through Algren’s The Man with the Golden Arm and I’ve enjoyed the story of self-destruction. I can see why this book is such a…
a book and a labyrinth
Rereading Borges’ The Garden of Forking Paths this morning. And the idea of a chaotic novel or a novel with confounding paths of time consoles me as…
the house of order in sacramento book review
Happy to see The House of Order featured on the cover of the August Sacramento Book Review!
the house of order writeup in the san francisco book review
Here’s a quick excerpt from the writeup in the August San Francisco Book Review: Star Rating: 5 out of 5 “Raw and highly emotional at times, Jaramillo’s…
quick review: orwell’s down and out in paris and london
Drafting and revising semi-orphaned novel project but had some time to finish reading Orwell’s memoir/nonfiction/autobiographical novel about a young writer’s time in the ghettos of Paris…
quick review: luis alberto urrea’s the hummingbird’s daughter and queen of america
I first read the short fiction of Luis Alberto Urrea in graduate school. The discovery of a prolific Latino author whose work moves so adeptly from…
