We’re emerging from the Time of Plague and Social Disruption. All through this period, I’ve read at least one article every day from The New Yorker. Whether provoking massive anxiety about an illness I’d never heard of or an exploration … Continue reading Wee Free Men[tion]
These days, when an intelligent and determined person like Greta Thunberg conveys the urgency of climate degradation and hopes to lead others to effect change, her actions and message defy societal limitations often imposed on people who manage their lives … Continue reading THE KITCHEN DAUGHTER
Although a few sections of Mark Twain’s The Gilded Age are gratingly detailed, especially when describing the complicated humbuggery of embezzling ‘tycoons,’ this novel often reads like an Axios News analysis of our contemporary social-political state of affairs. Enhanced by Twain’s acerbic wit and sarcasm, the novel resonates in our own times as well as the period in which the story takes place. Grift, patronage, theft, and abuse of power, among many forms of corruption, dominate most interactions between major characters. Adding some love, light, and drama to the wretchedness are romantic situations among younger characters, but dark motives and … Continue reading Like Our Age
We’re emerging from the Time of Plague and Social Disruption. Today, I read Rebecca Mead’s piece in The New Yorker about the Cerne Abbas Giant on the Chalk Downs and thought again about Sir Terry Pratchett and how much I … Continue reading Terry Pratchett’s Coup de Coeur
Although the works are not analogous, Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge reminds me of Edgar Lee Master’s Spoon River Anthology. Both works survey and reveal the heart of a community and the relationships of its inhabitants. Strout experiments successfully with multiple … Continue reading Notes on “Olive Kitteridge”
An intense psychological experience, Lily Brooks-Dalton’s “Good Morning, Midnight” carried me through the heart-freezing interior landscapes of its two main characters as they struggled to survive in hostile settings. My two days with this speculative novel set me on edge … Continue reading Notes on “Good Morning, Midnight”
Speculative fiction, whether fantasy or science fiction, has fascinated me since my adolescence. In created worlds, echoing our own or totally alien, writers in these genres question the nature of the universe and our species. Who hasn’t pondered the Big … Continue reading Source Materials
Having lived near Siena for a relatively longer time than Hisham Matar’s sojourn, which he eloquently describes in “A Month in Siena,” I appreciate his experiences there. As a college student, my encounters with the city were more with people than with a conscious engagement with art and architecture. So, I loved “living” there again through his eyes and his immersion in Siena’s interior life. Goodread’s book description summarizes this work well–[ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46064199-a-month-in-siena ]. I’d like to add a few passages from the book to that summary: I loved his description of Siena’s central square, La Piazza del Campo, where … Continue reading The Power of Place – ‘A Month in Siena’ by Hisham Matar
Pico Iyer–journalist, essayist, unintentional (?) philosopher–quotes several thinkers in his book Autumn Light, an exploration of losses and other turning points in his life. Referring to Thomas Merton’s ‘Fire Sermon’ in response to death or estrangement among family and friends, he says life itself is a burning house. To what then can we cling? Merton’s answer: “Only the certainty that nothing will go according to design; our hopes are newly built wooden houses, sturdy until someone drops a cigarette or match.” An appropriate reference in the context of his return trip to his alternate home in Nara, Japan, where fires … Continue reading On Walks Through Autumns
One of my friends used to post photos of her orange cat on Facebook nearly every day. She enjoyed describing his antics, especially at the end of the day when she would return home to his enthusiastic greetings. She confided … Continue reading If Only Cats Would Talk
Susan Bass Marcus Writes 
You must be logged in to post a comment.