Or, the Triduum Well, friends, here we are, in the sweet spot between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the night of vigils and multiple readings of Scripture. Lifelong literature student and irrevocable cultural Catholic that I am—and having spent much of the past week down with a flu that’s been going around—I’ve seized upon thisContinue reading “Denial! Betrayal! C. S. Lewis!”
Tag Archives: #fiction
Lit Review: CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS
Or, Sally Rooney part II As promised, I got around to Sally Rooney’s debut novel, 2017’s Conversations with Friends. I did enjoy it more than Normal People. For one thing, the title was a bit less misleading: Normal People sounds like it should be about people in their forties, and in fact the action endsContinue reading “Lit Review: CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS”
NaNoWriMo???
In which I take a month’s inventory November is National Novel Writing Month, as the US-based organization attempting to bully us into drafting 50,000 words would have us believe. I’ll mention it in passing to non-Americans who look at me as if I’ve just thrown in a dialect word, and, in a way, I have.Continue reading “NaNoWriMo???”
Tiny Lit Review: NORMAL PEOPLE
In which I review a book that I anticipated having more than one paragraph to say about Friends, I was not a fan. I thought I was going to like it, in fact didn’t really prepare for the eventuality that I would not, so this put me at a loss. I often found Sally Rooney’sContinue reading “Tiny Lit Review: NORMAL PEOPLE”
A spot of publishing news!
In which I am in (and out) Because I’m a flash kind of gal lately: a short short story of mine entitled “The American Teenage Classic Graduation Farewell” appears in the forthcoming anthology Intermissions (out 1 November, Grattan Street Press). A printed thing for a nice change. I’ve been spotlighted in an author interview—under theContinue reading “A spot of publishing news!”
For the peckish…
…the second issue of The Birdseed drops today, featuring tiny works like breadcrumbs, of which my “Taxi” is one! So encouraging to see mags cropping up explicitly to dedicate space to the pieces that don’t take up much. Page through the sections—the cumulative effect will put you in a real October mood. 🍂 And speakingContinue reading “For the peckish…”
Lit Review(ish): WHO IS MAUD DIXON?
In which I do a rough courtroom sketch This won’t be a full review, as I’ve written for other, similar novels like Bunny and The Girls; I’m saving that for an Actual Publication I’ve spent some months trying to battering-ram my way into. (If I succeed, you’ll know.) But I can’t not comment here onContinue reading “Lit Review(ish): WHO IS MAUD DIXON?”
Never Write a Hasty Review or You Will Live to Regret It
In which I CANNOT let it be (naked) Last week I read Juliet, Naked, a novel by the illustrious Nick Hornby. It’s the third novel of his I’ve read (if you don’t count State of the Union as a novel), the first two being High Fidelity and About a Boy. Given that Hornby has madeContinue reading “Never Write a Hasty Review or You Will Live to Regret It”
Lit Review: ONE LAST STOP
Or, won’t you come see me, Queen Jane? *WARNING: SPOILERS* I’d heard quite a bit about Casey McQuiston’s new novel, including an interview with McQuiston herself, by the time a college friend cosplayed on Instagram as pragmatic heroine (or heroic pragmatist) August Landry. Her personal endorsement tipped the scales from Hopeful Read into Must Read.Continue reading “Lit Review: ONE LAST STOP”
The Artist, Not the Art
In which I reassert an opinion A short while ago I read a collection of stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the ones he sold to magazines to make extra money (read: stay afloat) between novels.“Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” etc. Most were writtenContinue reading “The Artist, Not the Art”