Three stories in this collection. Chekhov doesn't spin wild tales like Gogol did. He writes small, almost ordinary stories loaded with charm. Three characters whose lives flip upside down without warning, without any hint that change was coming...
Been ages since I caught myself laughing out loud with a book. So thanks to Frisette for this one. She reminded me recently that PG Wodehouse had been sitting on my reading list for years. Finally picked it up...
This is the autobiography of Kaige Chen, director of Farewell My Concubine (Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1993). He writes about a defining period of his youth that collided with the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)...
I liked Testament to the Anglicans well enough. The House of Sleep a bit less. And I'm realizing that neither book left much behind. Pretty sure this one won't either. Not that it's bad to read, just...
Big favorite here. This autobiography had me hooked. First, because it genuinely felt like reconnecting with an old friend. Second, because through his life story, Harrison lays out his thoughts on everything that matters...
Boston, 1865. America's still bleeding from the Civil War. Four scholars and poets have taken on translating Dante's Divine Comedy into American English. This project faces fierce pushback from Harvard professors who think...
We see Egypt through postcards and ancient glory: pharaohs, massive pyramids, tombs in the Valley of the Kings. El Aswany's novel shows contemporary Egypt instead. Real Egypt, now...
Usually I write about books I liked instead of ones that bored me. You'll start thinking I love everything I read. But sometimes there's a bad match. Here's one of those times...
Some books grab you while reading, mark you permanently, make you want to share them with everyone. Life of Pi is one of those. Piscine Molitor Patel, named after his godfather's love of a Parisian swimming pool...
Another exotic mystery for you. Mma Ramotswe lives in Botswana. When her father dies, she sells the cattle herd she inherited to open a detective agency. A woman detective in Africa? Strange idea. But clients show up...