Category Archives: Thoughts

There is something so simple, but so satisfying in Turgenev‘s work.  Every word seems to matter, every scene intentional.  Perhaps this is because I’ve only read his shorter works, this novella, First Love, and his ‘short stories,’ Sketches from a … Continue reading →

These are thoughts half-formed, nascent, and wholly mutable as I delve further into Charlotte Brontë’s final novel, Villette, along with the rest of the readers in the Villette readalong. Five chapters into Villette, and my question is: who is Lucy … Continue reading →

It would be impossible for me to post singly on every book I read in a month.  This is my attempt to make sure no books slip through the cracks. Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau (translated by Barbara Wright) … Continue reading →

Translated by William Maynard Hutchins, Lorne M. Kenny, and Olive E. Kenny. Honestly, my feelings for this trilogy so far mimic those felt among members of a big family.  Sometimes you love being around them, other times you want to … Continue reading →

Something fanciful . . . A touch of clouds and airy spaciousness And lightness. The Birds is an Old Comedy classic by Aristophanes, which according to Wikipedia, was originally performed in 414 BCE at the City Dionysia (major yearly Greek … Continue reading →

Sara Smolinsky is a young Jewish immigrant living in a poor area of New York City with her family in the early 20th century.  Her father, a scholar of the Torah, rules his house like a “tyrant more terrible than … Continue reading →

I read this during Virago Reading Week, hosted by Rachel at Book Snob and Carolyn at A Few of My Favorite Things. I have officially been convinced of the genius of Edith Wharton.  Until recently, I would give her novels … Continue reading →

Odysseus.  There was a man, or was he all a dream? 19.363 So.  I’ve been finished with The Odyssey for weeks.  But I keep thinking, can you ever really be finished with The Odyssey?  Not only because of its impact … Continue reading →

“I am only putting down details which entered me, fragments that were able to part my flesh. It’s a story of things that never existed although even the faintest doubt of that, the smallest possibility, plunges everything into darkness. I … Continue reading →

Burma’s 50 million residents have lived under the rule of a violent authoritarian junta since 1962.  Millions have fled the country, and hundreds of thousands now live in refugee camps along the country’s borders.  Ma Su Mon is an ethnic … Continue reading →