Tag Archives: LITERATURE

LITERATURE: A Summons to Memphis – Theme and Focus

Posted on May 17, 2012 by susan

Taylor does a great job of building up by providing the basis. From the title through the description of setting (or environment that is truly necessary to the story), the reader is given all the details of time, place, characters, … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: A Summons to Memphis – Unreliable Narrator?

Posted on May 12, 2012 by susan

Aside from the phone call (the “Summons”) in the beginning of the book, there is little–maybe no–dialogue in this narrative. What Taylor is doing–and I’m halfway through–is describing the characters as seen by the narrator in the first person point … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: A Summons to Memphis – Character Driven

Posted on April 13, 2012 by susan

Two chapters into this now and I would say that Taylor paints with a thin brush. By this I mean that his characters, which I’m taking to be the most important focus of the novel, are being revealed so slowly, … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: A Summons to Memphis

Posted on April 11, 2012 by susan

I’ve loved Peter Taylor’s short stories and was looking forward to spending more time with this eloquent writer. A Summons to Memphis has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while and in my determination to break my two year-long … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Hard-Boiled Wonderland – Finale

Posted on January 28, 2012 by susan

Overall, this book probably demanded more concentrated reading than I was able to give it. While I did not lose the trail of the stories, I obviously was not so enamored of them that I let some other things go … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Hard-Boiled Wonderland – Telling?

Posted on January 28, 2012 by susan

Not nuts about this, after over 350 pages and into the home stretch, that Murakami appears to explain all the goings on that up until this time, we are guessing and forming our own opinions about. Starting with Chapter 25, … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Hard-Boiled Wonderland – At Long Last

Posted on January 26, 2012 by susan

Finally, I’ve reached a concept in the book that really struck me. This dialog between the narrator and his shadow, the shadow slowly dying, still planning its escape, yet anxious to relay what he’s learned since separated from the narrator: … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World

Posted on January 15, 2012 by susan

First of all, let me say that I’ve been reading this book like forever, or at least it seems that way. To be fair, my mind had been retrained to seek the immediate resolution of flash fiction and thus a … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE & REALITY?: Getting Back Into Reading

Posted on January 15, 2012 by susan

Well yes, I guess the last full novel I read was “The Namesake” back in April 2011. And yes, shortly thereafter I started Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World but in truth, I’d only made it 200 … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology

Posted on November 6, 2011 by susan

Help the children by your purchase (all proceeds to charity) and read some beautiful and heartbreaking stories by buying the e-book “The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology” available at Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble–and yes, I’m proud to be … Continue reading →

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WRITING & LITERATURE: thirtynine

Posted on May 11, 2011 by susan

The third quarterly issue of the fabulous 52/250 project has just been released and it’s another winner. thirtynine is a selection of the best stories and poetry produced during thirteen weeks of work by an average weekly  group of between … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Namesake – Finale

Posted on April 27, 2011 by susan

It’s funny, I’m mimicking Jhumpa Lahiri here in using the final post–in her case, final chapter–as a summary and wrap-up of the story. To be fair, I believe that yes, The Namesake likely (obviously) earned its place on the New … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Namesake – Leit Motif: FOOD!

Posted on April 27, 2011 by susan

Ohmigod, are you serious? Chapter 11 has established that Moushumi is having an affair, is traveling with God-knows-who, and Gogol, ignorant, slightly suspicious (because Lahiri once again lets us know this by using clothes as a tip-off, Moushumi has packed … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Namesake – Conflict & Protagonist

Posted on April 27, 2011 by susan

Aside from the train wreck that Ashoke suffered early on, his death, and that damned name of “Gogol” there’s been little real conflict in the book. That’s why I suspected by the discontented Moushumi at the anniversary meal, together with … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Namesake – Writing Style: Attention to Detail

Posted on April 27, 2011 by susan

Here again, an event of some importance that could be used to round the characters, provide insight into the relationship, indicate change or motive, Gogol and Moushumi go out to dinner for their first anniversary. They’ve both dressed up for … Continue reading →

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