Category: Review
You need these reviews in your life.
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The Prophet
Review: Meh. Flowery language and often self contradictory. A Bible prophecy/poetry knockoff. Greeting card or minion quote philosophy mostly. The writing is fairly good, but I bet it is better in the original version. I say that because I am not sure what translation my version was. This appeals to farty white yoga women. “Quote… Read more
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The Perfectionists
Review: A fascinating look inside the world of the very exact, from the super tiny to the vastly immense reaches of space. Everything in the world relies on precision. If the ball on the pen I used to write this review originally were too big by a fraction of a millimeter I wouldn’t have been… Read more
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The Moor’s Last Sigh
Review: A masterpiece. Sometimes poetic, sometimes profane. A dark journey through four generations of a remarkable family. A glimpse inside the world outside the tourist brochures of India, the world at the top of the skyscrapers and the world at the bottom of the streets. The prose is masterful and elegant, from the gutterspeak to… Read more
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Catch-22
Review: An excellent, important novel that I did not enjoy one bit. I don’t think one is supposed to like it very much, like Ulysses or some really dark Dickens. Like reading a 500 page prose version of Mad Magazine. Satire is nice in small pieces, cartoons in Mad, or an Onion article. But to… Read more
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Brief Lives
Review: Exactly what the title suggests, brief little biographies of 17th century notables. Walter Raleigh, William Harvey, Inigo Jones, and a major section dedicate to Thomas Hobbes. Despite the age of this book the prose is clean and concise. Aubrey also blends in plenty of juicy gossip with the biographical data. My favorite was something… Read more
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Slaughterhouse Five
Review: A brilliantly executed and skillfully written book. An anti-war manifesto if ever there was one. Funny, sad, disturbing, and throughout the book is a consistent moral statement. Most of the time we look at war as an historical event but forget the deeply disturbing personal stories that make it up. I award this book… Read more
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The Catcher in the Rye
Review: A very unusual, very interesting read. I always thought it was a book about baseball. Poignant, often very depressing, it brought back some vivid memories of my drunken history. I could feel, almost literally feel, the deep down to the bone exhaustion after drinking misadventures. **Shiver** If you asked me what the book is… Read more
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Johnny Carson
Review: A fast and penetrating look inside the world of the King of Late Night. I had no idea that Carson was that wealthy. Like most celebrities I have read about, the man behind the makeup is nothing like the face you see on the screen. Like his predecessor Bob Hope, Carson spent his life… Read more
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Tender is the Night
Review: An excellent novel. Not quite on the same level as Gatsby or Paradise, but very good. A lot of the narrative involving alcohol reminded me perfectly of myself. Settings were beautiful, Nice, Cannes, Zurich. I had a hard time liking any of the characters, though. They were interesting and yet not fully likeable, like… Read more
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Parade’s End Book 1: Some Do Not
Review: This was excellent. True literature in every sense. That being said, it was difficult to follow in parts, long parts often and the language was erudite but often convoluted. From a 21st century perspective the way that men and women viewed sexuality seems so dated and stilted. Interesting to see how the pre-war generation… Read more