RogerDeBlanck's Completed Shelf
Filter your results by...
Good Will HuntingGood Will Hunting, DVD
DVD - 2011DVD, 2011
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Sep 15, 2018
Black PantherBlack Panther, DVD
DVD - 2018DVD, 2018
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Sep 15, 2018
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Their Eyes Were Watching GodTheir Eyes Were Watching God, Book
by Hurston, Zora NealeBook - 2000Book, 2000
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
In Coetzee’s most intense novel concerning his homeland of South Africa, he examines human frailty and the struggle to maintain personal morality and sanity in a country still trying to recover from the devastation wrought by the apartheid era. Coetzee’s main character, David Lurie, is a distinguished professor of classics at the University of Cape Town. When he is forced to resign his tenured position for reasons of misconduct, he seeks refuge at his daughter’s smallholding farm in the South African countryside. Then a life-altering event leads him to ponder the consequences of his own actions and behavior. The tumultuous backdrop of race relations in modern South Africa fuels this story of one man’s disgrace and his attempts at redemption. Using the immediacy of spare, clear language that has the power to sting like a burn, Coetzee constructs scenes that are indelible. Coetzee is recognized as one of the world’s greatest living writers, and Disgrace may be his greatest achievement.In Coetzee’s most intense novel concerning his homeland of South Africa, he examines human frailty and the struggle to maintain personal morality and sanity in a country still trying to recover from the devastation wrought by the apartheid era.…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
With the pieces in Inner Workings (Coetzee’s second volume of literary essays after Stranger Shores), he examines the work of a wide range of writers, past and contemporary, ranging from Europe to the Americas. As was the style and scope of Stranger Shores, the critiques and discussions in this collection are accessible, but challenging at times in their erudition. Coetzee showcases his inquisitive mind for analysis and interpretation throughout these pieces. He raises questions that reveal his surefooted understanding of the lives of writers and an intense interaction with their works. He writes with flawless command of subjects, whether it is psychology, history, or some other field or discipline pertinent to his study. He is masterful at describing and summarizing texts, but also brilliant at uncovering deeper meanings. The sum total of each essay is fascinating in its discussion of literary figures and their works. As a former Nobel recipient, Coetzee views literature as more than stories. For him, it is the creative process of shaping reality by exposing and illuminating truths. In this way, he exalts the art of literature as a system that functions to identify, investigate, and ultimately change reality. These essays show how this process of change links inseparably with a writer’s experiences.With the pieces in Inner Workings (Coetzee’s second volume of literary essays after Stranger Shores), he examines the work of a wide range of writers, past and contemporary, ranging from Europe to the Americas. As was the style and scope of Stranger…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
This work of “fiction” from the great J.M. Coetzee has little to offer admirers of his previous work. Flat, trite, and self-aggrandizing, Diary of a Bad Year feigns to include a story within the ramblings and rants of the main character, Señor C, a seventy-year old recluse writer, who has been asked to submit “strong opinions” to his German publisher for an upcoming book of essays. The pages of Diary of a Bad Year are divided into thirds. The top of each page starts with one of the opinions/essays, where Señor C, who serves as Coetzee’s mouthpiece, spins out circuitous philosophies about government and vitriolic criticisms against Bush, Cheney, and Blair. The second section of each page supposedly narrates the story of C’s infatuation with a gorgeous young woman, Anya, whom he hires to type his essays. The third part of each page recounts Anya’s interactions with the ailing C and her rocky relationship with her boyfriend, Alan, who wants to extort money from the old man. Both the second and third parts are glaringly undeveloped and mostly uninteresting, and the section of “opinions” do not deliver any great depth. This is a disappointing work from one of the world’s most revered literary craftsmen. From the mind who gave readers such engrossing works as Life and Times of Michael K, The Age of Iron, The Master of Petersburg, and Disgrace, Coetzee’s lackluster Diary of a Bad Year does not seem to belong in his oeuvre. Coetzee admirers can only hope he finds the need to create a more imaginative work of fiction, worthy of the literary stature that deservedly earned him the Nobel Prize in 2003.This work of “fiction” from the great J.M. Coetzee has little to offer admirers of his previous work. Flat, trite, and self-aggrandizing, Diary of a Bad Year feigns to include a story within the ramblings and rants of the main character, Señor C, a…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Through the use of the title character, Elizabeth Costello, an esteemed professor and lecturer, Coetzee expands upon subjects and ideas he first introduced in his short volume of essays entitled The Lives of the Animals. He essentially builds a narrative around the earlier essays and allows Costello to serve as his mouthpiece. This technique allows the novel to amount to a philosophical treatise with incidents in Costello’s life acting as influence for the ideas she writes and speaks about as a scholar. Coetzee’s prose shines at times with tremendous insight and the plot includes moments of revelation, but the book lacks the impact of a sound piece of fiction. Readers looking for titles that exemplify why Coetzee was deservedly awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature should try some of his other unforgettable novels, such as Age of Iron or Disgrace.Through the use of the title character, Elizabeth Costello, an esteemed professor and lecturer, Coetzee expands upon subjects and ideas he first introduced in his short volume of essays entitled The Lives of the Animals. He essentially builds a…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
In his novel The Master of Petersburg, Coetzee moves away from the violence and excoriating politics of South Africa to draw loosely on a tragic event in the turbulent life of the great Russian novelist, Fyodor Dostoevsky. Coetzee makes Dostoevsky his own character by imagining his grief over the death of his stepson, Pavel. Coetzee portrays Dostoevsky as a haunted man, lost and unstable, hallucinatory and irritable. He suffers epileptic fits of guilt-stricken bereavement, believing he contributed to the boy’s death because he did not play a larger role in his life. A torn and lachrymose man, Coetzee’s Dostoevsky battles shame and despair. He cannot reconcile his failures against any of his successes. In his time of anguish over Pavel, his motives and actions can be questioned while at the same time understood as he finds himself crumbling with lust and desire for the woman his stepson rented a room from. He struggles with mood swings, and he goes from kindness to cruelty and elation to depression, as he tries to convince himself he’s mourning when what he’s doing is exploiting the sympathy others have for him. More than a character study, Coetzee also expertly captures the feverish Russian mood prior to the revolutionary period. He explores the demonizing effects of the radical ideologies, which are portrayed as infectious diseases that feast on the minds of the younger generation, possessing them with spells of madness capable of murder. The book’s setting drives home the extremism of the possessed during a tumultuous era in Russian history. Reflective of nearly all of Coetzee’s novels, The Master of Petersburg is full of philosophical ideas woven seamlessly into the flow of the narrative. This is a fascinating portrait of a great writer pushed to the limits of sanity and insecurity as an aggrieved father.In his novel The Master of Petersburg, Coetzee moves away from the violence and excoriating politics of South Africa to draw loosely on a tragic event in the turbulent life of the great Russian novelist, Fyodor Dostoevsky. Coetzee makes Dostoevsky…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Coetzee’s novel Age of Iron is perhaps one of his most gripping and politically-charged works concerning the turmoil of South African history. Elizabeth Curren is the protagonist who narrates the novel, which she addresses as an extended letter to her estranged daughter living comfortably in America with her husband and family. Widowed and dying of cancer, Ms. Curren’s voice takes on a heartbroken and disillusioned tone as she recounts her memories and experiences of the wasted chance of life for her embattled country during the age of apartheid. Ms. Curren witnesses the horrifying reality of bloodshed and unrest that inevitably infiltrates her home as her devoted housekeeper's young son, Bheki, succumbs to the activist violence of the period. The only confidant she has among the encroaching madness comes from a homeless man, an alcoholic named Vercureil. In trying to impart a morality on Vercureil, her helplessness and anger deepen as she also tries to convince Bheki and his friend to abandon their allegiance to activism, which the police prey upon. Coetzee depicts the mindset of the boys as afflicted. He shows how the younger generation’s blind and obsessive devotion to a cause greater than their selves hardens them into an iron-like commitment to die fighting for justice. Coetzee conveys how they see their lives as expendable, ready to be sacrificed in death for the cause of resistance. Coetzee offers a dismal, although entirely truthful, picture of the misery and injustice that fuels selfless acts of rebellion. Once again, he has confronted the social evils of his homeland using prose that bristles with insight and a story that generates heart-wrenching remorse.Coetzee’s novel Age of Iron is perhaps one of his most gripping and politically-charged works concerning the turmoil of South African history. Elizabeth Curren is the protagonist who narrates the novel, which she addresses as an extended letter to…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
In Coetzee's powerful novel, Life and Times of Michael K, the title character is a young mentally-challenged man who works as a manual laborer. He is caught within the turmoil of race relations and bloodshed during a South African civil war, which is augured as sometime in the future. K’s lonely, solemn life tries to etch out a personal refuge amid the chaos and instability that ravish the country. With the use of glowing, beautiful prose, Coetzee examines K’s suffering through a dreamlike state where K somehow finds ways of escaping the violence in order to establish a quiet identity for himself. K’s quest for normalcy and solace embodies an entire generation’s hopes for peace.In Coetzee's powerful novel, Life and Times of Michael K, the title character is a young mentally-challenged man who works as a manual laborer. He is caught within the turmoil of race relations and bloodshed during a South African civil war, which…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Nguyen follows up his instant classic The Sympathizer with an equally impressive collection of short stories in The Refugees. With heartrending and tender emotion, he captures the struggles and hopes of an unforgettable array of immigrant and native characters of Vietnamese heritage. Each finely-crafted piece carries a subtle power and beauty in the dignity and quiet resilience of the characters as they face the hardships of loss, regret, failure, and alienation in either their home country or their adopted America. Through the wounded memories and life-altering experiences of both courageous men and women, Nguyen generates great empathy for their individual plights. The revelations they encounter are touching and poignant, oftentimes packing a force that breaks your heart. The graceful texture of Nguyen’s language and the vividness of his images and details harness the near perfection of this volume. With his two stellar works of fiction, Nguyen has quickly and deservedly earned his claim among the giants of contemporary literature. I can hardly wait for his next project.Nguyen follows up his instant classic The Sympathizer with an equally impressive collection of short stories in The Refugees. With heartrending and tender emotion, he captures the struggles and hopes of an unforgettable array of immigrant and native…
Nothing Ever DiesNothing Ever Dies, BookVietnam and the Memory of War
by Nguyen, Viet ThanhBook - 2016Book, 2016
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
The emotional charge of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s extraordinary debut novel The Sympathizer will keep your heart pounding and your blood chilled. Tim O’Brien’s story collection The Things They Carried still stands as the landmark for examining the American soldier’s perspective on the Vietnam War, but Nguyen now owns the patent for his haunting insights and revelations of the Vietnamese experience from both sides of the conflict. In this case, the unnamed narrator is, indeed, the sympathizer, a Viet Cong spy with the self-proclaimed “talent” to understand all aspects of his country’s complexity and demise. Starting with his escape on one of the last flights out of Saigon to his exile in the United States, the narrator’s story leads from one spellbinding adventure to another. Using an array of lenses, the narrator puts the politics, machinations, and history of the unmerciful war under intense scrutiny, and he gives the Vietnamese people their much-needed voice of identity and a deserved sense of nationality as he examines their unwavering strength and sacrifice. The narrator’s blistering honesty and keen intelligence combines sorrow and compassion with dark humor to deliver a sometimes shocking and an altogether breathtaking tale of tragedy and survival. Making the book all the more remarkable is Nguyen’s electric prose. His language has a lush and scintillating quality that makes for an unforgettable reading experience. Having won the Pulitzer, The Sympathizer now has its immortality, but it’s not an exaggeration to call it a masterpiece and an instant classic.The emotional charge of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s extraordinary debut novel The Sympathizer will keep your heart pounding and your blood chilled. Tim O’Brien’s story collection The Things They Carried still stands as the landmark for examining the…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Home is Robinson’s supplemental novel to Gilead, and it proves to be every bit as splendid as its predecessor with its heartrending characters, beautiful composition, and thought-provoking ideas. Robinson chooses to continue exploring one of the most interesting characters from Gilead. Jack Boughton is the wayward son of Pastor Robert Boughton, who is best friends with the central character in Gilead, John Ames. Jack’s presence in Gilead poses some of the major moral dilemmas in which that novel addresses: how does regret haunt us, and what degree of good constitutes vindication? How Jack deals with his burdens and what he chooses to do to overcome his past become the focal issues in Home.
It is the 1950s, and Jack has fathered a son with a black woman, but his attempts to provide for his family are dashed by his alcoholism. Having fallen out of graces with his wife and son, Jack returns to his childhood home in Iowa to attempt rectification of his past and to renew his relationship with his father, Pastor Boughton. In the meantime, Jack’s sister Glory, a product of broken emotions from her own failed marriage, has also returned home to tend to their ailing father. The bond that develops between brother and sister is memorable and heartbreaking. Robinson forges her way deep into the souls of these two siblings to tap the core of their feelings. Both their lives are filled with sadness and remorse, yet they are trying to work out redemption and salvation as a way to move forward and forgive.
Robinson is a virtuoso stylist and prose writer. Her work challenges readers to be patient and attentive. As with Gilead, Home should not be read too quickly. Any attempt to speed-read will leave you missing the astounding intensity of ideas in which Robinson packs into her narrative. Her sentences are nuggets of truth and understanding, essentially adding up to a grand philosophy on life. Her books are better when taken in small portions, 10-15 pages a day, in order to savor her beautiful language and the powerful story she weaves. One feels as though Robinson’s books, in addition to their profound character studies, are simultaneously reservoirs of wisdom and knowledge. Home stands on its own as a great book alongside its predecessor Gilead.Home is Robinson’s supplemental novel to Gilead, and it proves to be every bit as splendid as its predecessor with its heartrending characters, beautiful composition, and thought-provoking ideas. Robinson chooses to continue exploring one of the…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
With her previous two novels, Gilead and Home, Marilynne Robinson established a standard of literary greatness that she once again sustains for with her novel, Lila. The three books now comprise a type of trilogy on spirituality involving the small town of Gilead, Iowa and chronicling the memorable lives of John Ames, his close friend Boughton, both their families, and John’s wife Lila. In addition, the three books breathtakingly expound upon the power of faith, compassion, and love. Indeed, Robinson’s novels are profound and enlightening experiences.
In Lila, the focus is on the title character, who eventually becomes the much younger wife of the seventy-year-old minister, John Ames. Before Lila’s marriage to Ames, her tough upbringing is illuminated with heartfelt vividness as she grows up on the margins of society alongside a woman named Doll. The two struggle to survive while Doll nurtures Lila like a daughter. No one delves the human heart and the challenges of pain, sorrow, and loneliness quite like Robinson. She tackles human suffering and redirects the plight of individuals towards a peace in life that can be found through the vitality of prayer and grace.
Abounding with wisdom and beauty, Lila is another fine achievement for Robinson. For a reader discovering her work for the first time, one may choose to start with Gilead and Home before venturing forward with Lila. In order to gain the extraordinary impact these books intend to deliver, reading them in order may be the best scenario.With her previous two novels, Gilead and Home, Marilynne Robinson established a standard of literary greatness that she once again sustains for with her novel, Lila. The three books now comprise a type of trilogy on spirituality involving the small…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
With the success of Marilynne Robinson’s remarkable Pulitzer-winning novel Gilead in 2005, few people remembered that her first novel appeared twenty-five years earlier with similar accolades. Housekeeping was published in 1980 to great critical reception, resulting in a PEN/Faulkner Award. Her first novel examines the ordinariness of life and how to elevate it to the extraordinary by making it something holy, sacred, and beautiful. Taking place in the small Northwestern town of Fingerbone, the story traces several generations of women in one family and examines how they encounter obstacles and how they endure them. The elements of water, air, ice, wind, and snow recur throughout the story and lend symbolism to the lives of the family. In addition, Robinson’s luminous prose is always a delight to read.With the success of Marilynne Robinson’s remarkable Pulitzer-winning novel Gilead in 2005, few people remembered that her first novel appeared twenty-five years earlier with similar accolades. Housekeeping was published in 1980 to great critical…
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Book
by Díaz, JunotBook - 2007Book, 2007
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Staying rooted in his Dominican heritage, Junot Diaz's first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, traces the source of an ancient Caribbean curse called the "fuku." The title character and his family are its final victims. Oscar is an overweight, science-fiction-loving geek who churns out book-length manuscripts in his spare time as an escape mechanism to overcome his tough luck at not finding a love interest. Narrated by Yunior, a former boyfriend of Oscar’s sister, the novel takes on a distinctively colloquial voice that is expertly delivered and heartbreakingly genuine. The narrative is unapologetic with its bombastic sexual exploits as Yunior's recollection of events takes the story on tangents from the projects in New Jersey back to the barrios in the Dominican Republic. Diaz is a master at developing and exploring characters. He tells of the curse’s influence on Belicia (Oscar’s mother), Lola (his sister), and La Inca (his grandmother). Finally, the story comes full circle and returns to witness the fuku’s impact on Oscar. This novel meditates with great insight into Dominican culture and the acculturation of first generation Dominicans in America, while also confronting the atrocities of the past. The overall wit and dark humor would be enough to carry this amazing novel through to its end. But Diaz's creativity bursts with passion off every page. Each of this sentences and metaphors are poetic treasures. This novel truly flexes Diaz's literary strength with his gift of language and voice. It is a memorable reading experience.Staying rooted in his Dominican heritage, Junot Diaz's first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, traces the source of an ancient Caribbean curse called the "fuku." The title character and his family are its final victims. Oscar is an…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
This Is How You Lose Her is another blast of ingenious storytelling from the talented Junot Diaz. In 1997 he walloped the literary landscape and established his name as a meteoric presence with Drown, a collection of gritty stories centering on Dominican American immigrants and culture. Not until a decade later did he finish his next work, the acclaimed novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which recounts in ecstatic prose the tragedies that befall a first generation Dominican American family. With this collection of stories, Diaz continues to explore his trademark themes of hardship, loss, failure, and resilience in the lives of Dominican American characters.
Each of the stories focuses on individuals confronting tough times and the consequences of their choices, especially in regards to love and relationships. The central figure and narrator for several of the pieces is the incomparable Yunior. His voice ranks among the most distinctive and inimitable in modern literature. Through his perspective, Diaz gives us an uncensored glimpse into the lives of a community of men and women battling through the riotous terrain of love from both the emotional and carnal side. Diaz does not hold back with his oftentimes salacious details of love. He navigates the perils of sex and relationships with complete honesty and openness. He is a genius of language, most notably with the peerless voice of Yunior. Diaz’s literary abilities allow him to employ a poetical style that places him in a league of his own. His prose is like wildfire, tearing through everything and leaving you unsettled.
With some of America’s literary giants such as Morrison, McCarthy, and Doctorow now in the twilight of their careers, I feel comfortable with Diaz blazing the trail for the next generation of great writers to follow. We can only hope Diaz continues to produce work in the decades ahead that resonates with the same uproarious energy for life as he does in This Is How You Lose Her. I can hardly wait for his next work.This Is How You Lose Her is another blast of ingenious storytelling from the talented Junot Diaz. In 1997 he walloped the literary landscape and established his name as a meteoric presence with Drown, a collection of gritty stories centering on…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Drown marked Junot Diaz’s arrival as a splendid new voice in American literature and foreshadowed anticipation that his talents would establish him as one of the most important writers of his generation. The realism of these stories will floor you like the impact of a punch to the jaw. With unflinching honesty, Diaz observes the starkness of poverty ranging from the small villages in the Dominican Republic to the immigrant barrios of New York and New Jersey. He does not back down in his exploration of cruelty and addiction, while he also addresses the challenges of love and heartache, mainly within the dynamics of family and friends. Diaz has a way of rattling your nerves with his perspective on the shocking casualness of harrowing events. Conscience burrows through in these stories. You feel the destitution, pain, and struggle of the characters. Diaz’s trademark prose is quite memorable. He employs a style that is wry and smooth, spare and poetical, and frequently rooted in the richness of the vernacular. Even while investigating themes of loss and disappointment, he infuses humor into his vision of life. Diaz leads the forefront of his generation as a great American writer.Drown marked Junot Diaz’s arrival as a splendid new voice in American literature and foreshadowed anticipation that his talents would establish him as one of the most important writers of his generation. The realism of these stories will floor you…
The Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad, BookA Novel
by Whitehead, ColsonBook - 2016Book, 2016
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Whitehead's riveting novel immerses you in an adventure of survival unlike any other. Taking place in the antebellum south, the story focuses on Cora. Having reached the cusp of womanhood, she has been a slave on a large cotton plantation in Georgia. When she schemes with another slave named Caesar to flee the brutality of their daily lives, nothing can prepare them for the horrors that lie ahead. Whitehead confronts the inhumanity of slavery, and he shows us through the courage and resilience of Cora, Caesar, and a cast of other men and women in bondage that the human strength to survive can outlast even the most terrifying of circumstances.
As Cora sets out to attain her freedom, she finds help along the underground railroad. This route of travel can be reached from basements and cellars inside the cottages and barns of those risking their lives to assist runaways, or it can be found through the thick brush leading to caves in the countryside. The railroad constitutes no mere trail of waystations on the dangerous trek north to freedom. It is an actual train running through underground tunnels with rails stretching for hundreds of miles. The cleverness of Whitehead's imagination couples with his rich and blistering details to produce a story that is both overwhelmingly real and yet fantastical in its reach and scope.
While showing the physical cruelties of life under slavery, Whitehead also addresses the brainwashing and manipulation that were instituted to distort the truth and perpetuate other unspeakable atrocities. The novel's unsettling aspects are searing in their vividness, yet the heart-racing suspense bodes with the possibility of a hopeful outcome. Once Cora is distanced from the sickening reality of history, which Whitehead makes unforgettable, she has opportunity for a future. The Underground Railroad may break your heart, but it will leave you with the pieces if you what to put it back together.Whitehead's riveting novel immerses you in an adventure of survival unlike any other. Taking place in the antebellum south, the story focuses on Cora. Having reached the cusp of womanhood, she has been a slave on a large cotton plantation in…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Adam Johnson has followed up his unforgettable novel, The Orphan Master’s Son, with an impressive and equally indelible collection of stories, Fortune Smiles. The six tales in this volume will stay with me for a long time. In particular, three of them feel permanently seared in my mind. In “Hurricanes Anonymous” a father, who is trying to set his life on the right track, finds himself in search of the mother of his infant son in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Johnson’s voice for the story rivals the innovative tone that is so distinctive in the work of Junot Diaz. In “George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine” a former prison warden in East Germany refuses to believe his past played any role in the horrors of those imprisoned. And in “Dark Meadow” a man struggling with his innermost vices tries to steer his life in a new direction. Each of these remarkable stories shows Johnson’s ability to examine wayward individuals and yet offer an angle of compassion for their troubled lives. Few writers are as bold and daring as Johnson in exploring the conscience of lost souls living on the fringe of society. Nonetheless, he is able to locate the humanity buried somewhere in their core. Even while tackling subjects of personal struggle and suffering, he also finds a way to thread a stream of humor throughout. Ultimately, he offers hope for even the most broken and downtrodden of lives. Fortune Smiles is as brilliant in its range of characters as any story collection I’ve ever read.Adam Johnson has followed up his unforgettable novel, The Orphan Master’s Son, with an impressive and equally indelible collection of stories, Fortune Smiles. The six tales in this volume will stay with me for a long time. In particular, three of…
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
Johnson’s novel The Orphan Master’s Son deserves placement on a list of contemporary masterpieces that may include such memorable works as Morrison’s Beloved, McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, Robinson’s Gilead, and Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. One measure of great literature is its ability to be life-affirming. Johnson challenges our intellectual foundation and unseats our moral capacity by giving us a terrifying glimpse of life inside North Korea. In doing so, he alters our understanding of the extent of human atrocities and amplifies the power of the human heart.
Told primarily through the experiences of the remarkable character of Pak Jun Do, Johnson allows us to feel the horror and violence of one of the world’s most maniacal regimes. Jun Do’s hard life leaves you full of compassion for the pain and suffering he endures. But even while your heartstrings are wrenched, your pulse will be racing as you take the plight with Jun Do into the darkest machinations of the North Korean government. When cruelty and sorrow seem certain to crush Jun Do, his perseverance and courage grow stronger.
Johnson’s narrative is mind-bending with its bizarre circumstances and shifting voices. It is equally thrilling to find out what will happen next. The story ranges from stylistic elements of satire, adventure, survival, and even romance, but its many layers and dimensions only contribute to its greatness. This novel demands a lot from readers, but the rewards are immense. The Orphan Master’s Son is a feat of literary imagination at the highest rank.Johnson’s novel The Orphan Master’s Son deserves placement on a list of contemporary masterpieces that may include such memorable works as Morrison’s Beloved, McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, Robinson’s Gilead, and Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar…
Four Seasons in RomeFour Seasons in Rome, BookOn Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World
by Doerr, AnthonyBook - 2008Book, 2008
RogerDeBlanck's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
After receiving the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and with that prize a one-year, expense-paid opportunity to live and write in Rome, Anthony Doerr was off to Italy with his wife and their newborn twin sons. As a new parent, he confesses not to have made much headway with the novel he had hoped to work on during his time abroad, but we gained the gift of this unforgettable memoir, Four Seasons in Rome. It is a breathtaking book of mesmerizing observations and heartfelt musings on the indoctrination of parenthood during his time in one of the world’s most unfathomable cities. Doerr captures the splendor and spectacle that is Rome. Every page resonates with ecstatic beauty. The entire book feels like a lovely poem or an addictive song that plays in your head with the chorus of pure emotion. In offering up reflections on life, family, and the city, Doerr's prose fascinates with its gorgeous imagery. He makes your heart feel fuller with life and your mind bigger with wisdom. I found the book to be a rush of inspiration. Having read everything Doerr has published, I feel confident in saying he is a great American writer, among the best of his generation.After receiving the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and with that prize a one-year, expense-paid opportunity to live and write in Rome, Anthony Doerr was off to Italy with his wife and their newborn twin sons. As a new…
Comment: