Y’all. I cannot rate all of Faulkner with five stars, but this dark little tale hits all the marks for me. Damn his ridiculously long sentences! Damn Y’all. I cannot rate all of Faulkner with five stars, but this dark little tale hits all the marks for me. Damn his ridiculously long sentences! Damn his first-person plural POV! Damn his town gossip! And damn damn damn the woman who liked a man who liked men. Faulkner, ya old coot! He got me. Or I got him (at last).
Wow. This book is incredible. I don't even want to describe it in a practical way; it's just one of those books that grabs you on the first page and dWow. This book is incredible. I don't even want to describe it in a practical way; it's just one of those books that grabs you on the first page and doesn't set you down until you hit the last page. I was rapt.
It's a Heart of Darkness or Apocalypse Now journey without the jungles of foreign lands; instead, you are given a lens that explores a clash of American culture in its own NYC everyday war zone: social class, educational class, economic class, and the choices one makes about power. The driver is a medic with an ambulance crew in Harlem, and he has his own ambition and do-good intentions. The honest unraveling is harrowing, but the catharsis is the kind of gritty we all crave to experience when looking for the authentic "heroic" tale. I actually cried at the end (not a lot but--what?!).
Young teacher/the subject/of school girl fantasy… —-“Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” by The Police (1980)
Oh, Sting! I loved that song long before I undersYoung teacher/the subject/of school girl fantasy… —-“Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” by The Police (1980)
Oh, Sting! I loved that song long before I understood a word of it; I had a crush on Sting before I understood what a crush was, too. It is an apt metaphor to show what it feels like to be a pretty girl who has only the vaguest awareness of her perceived power before she is 18–and not just any power—maybe the peak of her sexual value in a patriarchal society that prizes young women’s bodies, innocence, inexperience, and virginity—all before she gets the chance to comprehend or experience what sex even is. It is an impossible, fleeting quality that disappears as quickly as a firework. Then what? She must face the rest of her life as a *less* valuable vessel that houses the prize, but her value goes down every year no matter what. As a former naive, smart, beautiful, and stupid girl, I can attest to living a lifetime of not quite understanding how the “powerful virgin” trope was supposed to play out in real life. How could I defend something I didn’t even know I possessed? Every time I hear about “dress codes” in public schools, I always pause to ask exactly who the codes are really for: other girls? Boys? School teachers & admin? The fathers in the pickup lines? The emergent answer is that girls learn from an early age that their bodies are distracting to others. They aren’t told why. They will get sent home for leggings or short shorts or spaghetti straps; boys don’t have such rules in place.
But I digress (per usual). This book depicts an entirely inappropriate relationship between a 17-year-old student and her 28-year-old high school teacher. It is suspenseful and cringey and made me think about social problems that go way beyond the pages of the book.
File Under: Sting Wrote the Song for the Demographic (or so he claims!) But he WAS a teacher, y'all.......more
I was into this story until. . .well, until the romance really started. And I actually like romance! But something about Boyle & the plu1.5 stars, DNF
I was into this story until. . .well, until the romance really started. And I actually like romance! But something about Boyle & the plucky American heroine—it just felt forced? Bland? Cliched and cringey? I don’t know. I would have preferred to have their sweaty groping happen off-screen, so to speak. Even their friends and family were like: “Jesus. Will ya just give us a break from it?”
Because I listened to this book, I don’t know if the author intended for the dialogue to be as dramatic as the actress interpreted it (and she was absolutely brilliant with accents!), but the drama felt so extra (as the kids say). She was too bright, too cheerful, too Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz—not vulnerable enough—and by the time she unleashes her ladybits, I found her downright cloying and inauthentic.
I’ve never read anything by Nora Roberts before; she had excellent reviews, so maybe I’ll revisit her earlier, celebrated works—(set somewhere without Celtic mysteries?). But this one, for me, just ended up slipping on a bar of Irish Spring and fell, face-first, into a bowl of Lucky Charms.
We are still a few years away from the setting Bradbury left us in this story (August of 2026!). I assigned it for the sci-fi genre unit in my fictionWe are still a few years away from the setting Bradbury left us in this story (August of 2026!). I assigned it for the sci-fi genre unit in my fiction class this spring and was reminded about how very important setting can be in telling the entire story, and it was such a fun text to get students talking about modernity, domestic drudgery, and what makes an empty house so very very creepy.
I'm pretty sure Netflix (or one of those streamers!) came out with a film of this short story within the last year or two, but (according to my studenI'm pretty sure Netflix (or one of those streamers!) came out with a film of this short story within the last year or two, but (according to my students) it didn't quite capture the tension and horror as well as this classic tale does. Ok, "horror" might be a stretch by today's standards, but if you are sensitive to tales of captivity--this story needs to be on your list.
2.5 stars. I know—ouch. But the emotional torture took its toll on my soul. Too much torture—not enough pleasure. And the maniacal drive of the friend2.5 stars. I know—ouch. But the emotional torture took its toll on my soul. Too much torture—not enough pleasure. And the maniacal drive of the friend group leader was just so — painful and dumb. The “air horn” app? Jfc. This kind of premise may work for friend groups in their early twenties—but ppl in their thirties? Just—no way.
Ok: so, I genuinely loved Henry’s “Beach Read” (and I loved that the characters mentioned that book while visiting the bookstore in this book—META), and these two main characters had shades of those MCs, but lord I couldn’t stand the self-sacrificing competition between them by the end. ...more
Man, I love Carver. I love his poems too. I taught “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” alongside Iñárritu’s Oscar-winning film Birdman this sMan, I love Carver. I love his poems too. I taught “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” alongside Iñárritu’s Oscar-winning film Birdman this semester, and it was incredibly fun to break them down and forage for ideology, values, misogyny, and discerning what is real from the not-real. Michael Keaton is so good in that film (inspired by Carter, playing his characters on stage). Highly recommend both.
File Under: You Officially Have Homework Now (you won’t be sorry!)...more
This narrative is appealing for many reasons, not the least of which is that it scratches a universal itch about “the one who got away.” The frame of This narrative is appealing for many reasons, not the least of which is that it scratches a universal itch about “the one who got away.” The frame of the story is set to music, as our nostalgic lives most certainly are, even if we aren’t musicians or music critics. There are certain songs that conjure time in ways other senses can’t. I think Stewart writes passionate characters who are motivated by desires that extend beyond just being in love.
This is a book full of passion. I didn’t resent the inevitable separations that happens between protagonists in their quest to get what they want—and I did not know how it was going to end. An entertaining escape.
Happy to discover Frasier’s trio of books through my “Psychological Thrillers” reading group recently. These books are excellent mysteries—great suspeHappy to discover Frasier’s trio of books through my “Psychological Thrillers” reading group recently. These books are excellent mysteries—great suspense—plenty of puzzles within puzzles.
They also feature a protagonist who is a trauma survivor, and I truly loved her voice and point of view. The crimes are horrific. The setting is its own kind of frozen hell (sorry, Minnesota, but I ain’t gonna live near you!), and the tension will wrap you tight as the temperatures drop and the blood drips and the big bad villain’s deeds continue to get cut from ice through each book.
Trigger warning for victims of child abuse (the whole list). I found it cathartic. Highly recommend.
File Under: Predators are Often People in Positions of Power (alliteration notwithstanding)...more
I’ve been meaning to read this collection for ages, and I taught the title story this semester for an Intro to Fiction class. She is an excellent storI’ve been meaning to read this collection for ages, and I taught the title story this semester for an Intro to Fiction class. She is an excellent storyteller. Darkly funny too. A number of critics liken her to Forster (A Passage to India), and I can see why, though I think JL is doing much more than offering the ethnographic outsider’s perspective in two countries. I read that she loves Faulkner and all of his dark, Southern Gothic glory, which made me think about Flannery O’Connor—especially in “Interpreter of Maladies.” The hard-to-like family going on a journey to the heart of darkness? Yes! THERE ARE EVEN MONKEYS! Suffice to say, I will be teaching “A Good Man is Hard to Find” alongside this one next time.
Packer's characters are vibrant, sassy, likable, unlikable, and capable of learning through epiphany. Excellent writer.Packer's characters are vibrant, sassy, likable, unlikable, and capable of learning through epiphany. Excellent writer....more
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