"Her will, like the veil strung to her bonnet, flutters in every breeze; always there is the desire urging, always the convention restraining."
Most o"Her will, like the veil strung to her bonnet, flutters in every breeze; always there is the desire urging, always the convention restraining."
Most of us, at one time or another, have wished for some elusive ‘thing’ that we believed would make our lives complete, but Emma Rouault has turned wishful thinking into an art form. Life on her father's farm is dull as dishwater, so to escape the boredom, she reads romance novels and dreams of a white knight on a majestic steed who will carry her away.
Enter Charles Bovary, a country doctor coddled far too long by his mother, who barely graduated from medical school and experienced nothing but bad luck in love. The last thing he needs is a flighty, beautiful wife with Champagne tastes that far exceed his income. But when Emma’s father breaks his leg, and Charles is called in to mend it, the farmer’s daughter bewitches him, and their fates are sealed.
My heart ached for Charles; he loved his wife and would have given anything to see her happy. But he had to engage with Emma; destructive, miserable Emma… I longed to reach into the pages and give her a good shake. She continually chased a dream while ignoring the steadfast love that waited patiently for her on her doorstep.
Madame Bovary is a tremendous tragedy brimming with beautiful prose. Bravo, Monsieur Flaubert!...more
"I desire the things which will destroy me in the end." ― Sylvia Plath
When I picked up Death in Venice on a whim, I thought I was in for an exciting It"I desire the things which will destroy me in the end." ― Sylvia Plath
When I picked up Death in Venice on a whim, I thought I was in for an exciting Italian mystery. This was not that...
On holiday in Venice, a successful and severely repressed Gustav von Aschenbach fears his best years as an artist are behind him. But The Muses, with their wicked sense of humor, place Tadzio, an exquisite Polish boy, in his path. The events that unfolded placed it solidly in the category of a Greek tragedy. (Mann even threw in an abundance of God and Goddess references for good measure.) Having never experienced what he described as love, Aschenbach is utterly lost.
I asked myself: Can a deep admiration of another’s physical beauty to the point of life-altering obsession be classified as love? Aschenbach knew nothing about Tadzio. The boy could have been a vapid, passionless creature for all he knew. To me, love is something more profound, a connection of souls. And who knows, maybe a soul connection can happen without ever speaking a word? But I’m no love doctor.
The writing is elegant, the poetic prose conjuring some splendid scenes. That being said, the story itself didn’t set me on fire. It held my interest, but Mann’s beautiful writing was the hero of the piece. I give the story three stars and the writing five stars, settling in the middle at four stars. Silver-tongued Simon Callow expertly narrated the audiobook.
"It was the smile of Narcissus bending over the water mirror, the deep, enchanted, protracted smile with which he stretched out his arms to the reflection of his own beauty, an ever so slightly contorted smile—contorted by the hopelessness of his endeavor to kiss the lovely lips of his shadow—and coquettish, inquisitive and mildly pained, beguiled and beguiling."...more
Newton’s third law of motion says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And our choices can work in much the same way. Some Newton’s third law of motion says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And our choices can work in much the same way. Some consequences barely cause a ripple, while others are a baseball bat to the face. In this collection of three short stories, Keegan explores choices and consequences as only she can.
In the title yarn, 'So Late in the Day,' we meet Cathal. He is not a fresh-faced youth; in fact, he is nearing the top of the middle-aged hill when he meets Sabine — a vibrant woman of French heritage who has a zest for life. Cathal, being a practical man, decides it might be time for him to take a wife.
‘Why don’t we marry?’
‘Why don’t we?’ She’d let out a sound, a type of choked laughter. ‘What sort of way is this of asking? It seems like you are almost making an argument against it.’
Will Cathal abandon his curmudgeonly ways and meet Sabine halfway? As my Magic 8 Ball used to display quite often — ‘Outlook not so good.’
In ‘The Long and Painful Death,’ we follow a writer for one day. Her thirty-ninth birthday, as it turns out. She has taken up residence in the house of a famous (and long-dead) writer to work on her novel. But when an unexpected guest arrives, her planned writing day goes out the window. Inviting the stranger for tea could be a gift or might prove to be something else entirely…
'Antarctica' wraps up the compilation, and this tale was as splendid as it was spine-chilling. Keegan’s cinematic writing style had my heart racing and I shall say no more. You must experience this one firsthand.
Another fabulous collection from Keegan. She is the darling of novelettes!...more
This is a review of the short story. To check out my review of the collection by the same name, click here.
In this short story, ‘So Late in the Day,’ This is a review of the short story. To check out my review of the collection by the same name, click here.
In this short story, ‘So Late in the Day,’ we meet Cathal. He is not a fresh-faced youth; in fact, he is nearing the top of the middle-aged hill when he meets Sabine — a vibrant woman of French heritage who has a zest for life. Cathal, being a practical man, decides it might be time for him to take a wife.
‘Why don’t we marry?’
‘Why don’t we?’ She’d let out a sound, a type of choked laughter. ‘What sort of way is this of asking? It seems like you are almost making an argument against it.’
Will Cathal abandon his curmudgeonly ways and meet Sabine halfway? As my Magic 8 Ball used to display quite often — ‘Outlook not so good.’
"Every book has a soul, the soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and dream about it."
I again traveled to Zafón’s Barc"Every book has a soul, the soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and dream about it."
I again traveled to Zafón’s Barcelona with high expectations set on his sequel to The Shadow of the Wind. Discovering that it was a prequel was quite a surprise!
David Martin is a young man struggling to make a splash in the literary world. As he repeatedly takes one step forward and two steps back, the life he dreams of remains just out of reach. But young Mr. Martin has an ace up his sleeve—a rare talent that can make words come alive in a reader’s mind.
With a dismal career holding him back and his health failing by the day, David is flattered when wealthy publisher, Andreas Corelli, recognizes his unique gift and, to all intents and purposes, offers him a way out that is paved with heavenly banknotes. But has the money, along with its owner, oozed up from a darker place?
This is a story steeped in failure and fame, love and loss, mystery and misery. A devilish price must be paid when one plays The Angel’s Game…
After being completely swept away by The Shadow of the Wind, I settled in expecting the same level of enchantment that I had experienced in those pages. While The Angel’s Game was a terrific story that hints toward a Faustian deal, it was missing that sparkling something I found in the first novel. That being said, the writing is dreamy, and the story is Gothic gold. I would certainly recommend this book.
"A writer never forgets the first time he accepted a few coins or a word of praise in exchange for a story. He will never forget the sweet poison of vanity in his blood and the belief that, if he succeeds in not letting anyone discover his lack of talent, the dream of literature will provide him with a roof over his head, a hot meal at the end of the day, and what he covets the most: his name printed on a miserable piece of paper that surely will outlive him. A writer is condemned to remember that moment, because from then on he is doomed and his soul has a price."
"Do you know the best thing about broken hearts? They can only really break once the rest is just scratches."
"Poetry is written with tears, fiction with blood, and history with invisible ink."...more
"All great and precious things are lonely." ― John Steinbeck
Five brilliant, heartbreaking stars!
It’s been quite a while since a book made me curse life"All great and precious things are lonely." ― John Steinbeck
Five brilliant, heartbreaking stars!
It’s been quite a while since a book made me curse life for getting in the way of reading. A History of Loneliness certainly falls into that category. It was like settling into a comfortable chair with a cup of tea to catch up with a male friend who I hadn’t seen since school. And then, quite unexpectedly, he decides to pour out his life story! The revelations herein were as riveting as they were haunting and came burdened with horror.
Boyne’s elegant prose drew me into the life of Odran Yates and darned if he didn’t make me love that sweet Irish lad. Odran was, I felt, an innocent soul, and everything and everyone around him did its level best to stomp the wholesomeness out of him. But in 1973, aged seventeen, he signed up for what should have been the safest place on earth: the priesthood. From his first day at seminary, Odran felt right at home and made a good friend in his cellmate Tom Cardle. A bonus, one would think. Life should have been grand for Father Yates—yes, it should have been...
As I turned the last page, I wondered if we will see the good we have accomplished at the end of our lives? Or will our focus center on all that we failed to do? And is looking at the world through rose-colored glasses an act of complicity? I, like Father Yates, prefer to see a kinder side of life, even if it ends up kicking the crap out of me.
"If I cannot see some good in all of us and hope that the pain we all share will come to an end, what kind of priest am I anyway? What kind of man?"
My heart ached to leave my new friend Odran to his life of loneliness. What a tragic and spectacularly written tale. A History of Loneliness will most likely be my favorite book of 2024....more
"The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and ability to affect those around him positively." —Bob Marley"The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and ability to affect those around him positively." —Bob Marley
This breathtaking journey begins with the trial of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov in June 1922, a time in Russian history after the revolution and the fall of the Tsars, and with a new regime on the rise. Condemned by the Bolsheviks for writing a poem, he is put on trial and it is this piece of writing that staves off his execution. Instead, his Excellency is put under house arrest, sequestered to the Hotel Metropol for life. He knows that a bullet will find him should he ever step foot outside the hotel’s spinning entrance door. The timeless elegance of the Metropol has become his enforced residence, but having previously been ensconced in sumptuous suite 317 of said establishment for four years, the petty trial judges decide to deal him a cruel hand and move him into a poky room less befitting a man of his bearing (a servant’s quarters on the top floor). Yet they have no idea with whom they are dealing because our irresistible champion can find happiness in the unlikeliest of places.
The Count has a boyish charm that would draw anyone closer, keen to learn more. I fancied him by page two and by page five it was full on love!
What Towles creates inside the opulent confines of the Metropol is pure genius! A story so rich with people and adventure I forgot it was all taking place in one building. Because the characters are exquisitely fleshed out, it’s difficult to think of them as fictional, from the curious little girl dressed in yellow to the chef and head waiter of the Boyarsky, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant. As the story progresses, it becomes clear they are all, in one way or another, trapped by the Metropol as well as saved by it. However, I dare say that most people, with the entire world at their disposal, couldn’t fashion a more fulfilling life than our cultured Count does in his exclusive confinement.
Inevitably, reading slows to a crawl when such a remarkable book nears its end, as I wanted to linger in its glow. I truly didn’t want to check out of the Hotel Metropol, leaving Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov and his friends behind, but as I’ve learned from our hero to look upon life with a bright eye as something better might just be around the corner.
If you haven’t read this engaging tale, I strongly urge you to sprint to your computer and buy it now! The writing is delicious, sliding through my mind like warm honey, leaving me coated in sweet sunshine. A Gentleman in Moscow is an epic must-read!...more
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