Blogcritics Category: Books: Literature and Fiction

Book Review: The Judging Eye (Book One Of The Aspect Emperor) R. Scott Bakker

Richard Marcus — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 21:56:19 EST

This is fantasy literature like you've never read before.
History is the record of what came before us and reminds us of who we once were and how we became who we are now. However, there is often a marked difference between what is recorded as history and what actually happened. Whether it's the mists of time that cloud people's memories or a deliberate colouring of the truth that distorts reality...

Book Review: Summer Secret (Sonshine Girls #1) by René Morris

Jennifer Bogart — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 06:34:52 EST

Girls, friendship, makeup and boys - 'tween-lit meets Jesus, providing strong moral guidance through the rocky years of adolescence.
When 13-year-old Kristin moves from Georgia to Texas she is thankful to quickly find a new group of friends. Charli, Jessica and Anna eagerly open the doors of their life-long friendship to include her as a fourth member. Life in Rimsfield sparkles with new promise as the girls plan for the summer youth group church camp and the upcoming school...

Book Review: The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas

Vyrdolak — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 07:42:31 EST

One of the most innovative and unusual vampire novels, this cult classic has been revived in an attractive new edition.
The Vampire Tapestry was first published in 1980, at the end of the Carter recession and the cusp of the Reagan era. Americans were bored with vampires. Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (1976) and Stephen King's Dracula Americana, Salem's Lot (1975), had both been best-sellers. But Rice wouldn’t publish her second book,...

Book Review: The Yellow Rain by Julio Llamazares

Philip Spires — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 07:04:34 EST

The Yellow Rain describes the decay and death of a Pyrenean village and its last inhabitant. Life and death tragically intertwine.
The Yellow Rain by Julio Llamazares is thankfully a short novel that describes life, or rather the end of it, in a Pyrenean village called Ainielle. Andres, the book’s narrator, has lived there all his life in a house he calls Casa Sosas. By the time we meet him, he is reaching the end of his life, as is his village, since it is now almost...

Book Review: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Jon Sobel — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 21:10:54 EST

An imagined history of a real book comes to life in this beautifully written historical novel.
In the hands of a great craftsperson, a humble volume of story and prayer may be re-conceived as a priceless illuminated masterpiece. Witness the Sarajevo Haggadah, a centuries-old volume now counted as one of the most valuable books in the world.Similarly, in the hands of a fine writer, a slim set of facts about an unusual object can become a...

DVD Review: Brideshead Revisited (2008)

Richard Marcus — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 15:01:10 EST

A remarkable achievement and a wonderful film.
It's difficult enough as it is to try and adapt a well known novel as a movie without disappointing audiences, but when somebody else has already made what many consider the definitive adaptation of the same work, the job becomes nearly impossible. Such was the case for director Julian Jarrold and the rest involved with bringing the version of...

Aught-Eight Oughts: Favorite Books of the Year (and One Aught-Eight Naught)

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 09:54:25 EST

Featuring Machiavelli, Clarence Darrow, screechy monkeys, D.W. Griffith, a "very special" Golden Girls, Emperor Akbar's court, "man you shoulda seen them kickin' Edgar Allan Poe..."
Although my pick for Best Fiction is of a colorful and considerably multi-layered literary heft, fiction overall for me was put on the back burner in 2008 (bad choice of words perhaps - this isn’t Banned Books Week, is it?). I really found myself, then, pursuing and reading non-fiction titles more, specifically social history, an interest...

Book Review: Asylum by Patrick McGrath

Philip Spires — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 05:24:53 EST

In Asylum Patrick McGrath examines obsession. He questions whether any of us ever acts outside of simple self interest.
Asylum by Patrick McGrath is an intense study of self-obsession and self-interest. Narrated by and experienced from the point of view of Peter Cleave, a psychiatrist, we follow the development of a relationship between Stella Raphael and Edgar. Stella is married to Max, who is a clinical colleague of Peter’s in a mental hospital for the...

Book Review: Ways Of Escape by Graham Greene

Philip Spires — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 23:42:05 EST

Graham Greene�s development as a writer is described in this, his autobiography. While he denies his genius, Greene constantly if disarmingly reaffirms it.
Ways Of Escape is one of the most rewarding and, surprisingly, surprising reads one might encounter. On the face of it, the book is Graham Greene’s artistic, literary autobiography. A second half and companion volume for A Sort Of Life, Ways Of Escape deals chronologically with Graham Greene’s works, his inspiration and his development...

Book Review Ralphina the Roly-Poly by Claudia Chandler

NancyGail — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 18:25:51 EST

A look at loneliness as seen through the eyes of one of the smallest creatures.
Ralphina the Roly-Poly, by Claudia Chandler, is exactly what the title suggests. Readers are introduced to Ralphina, one of the smallest members of the insect clan. She might be tiny, but she has much to teach the rest of us. The trick is figuring out how her lessons will be conveyed to everyone else. Ralphina is unhappy because she doesn't...