Long ago and far away, a friend of mine in high school read all six Jane Austen novels and loved them. I wasn’t interested in reading them then. However, in her memory, I picked up Pride and Prejudice a year or two ago and discovered how much fun it is. Yes, there’s the stilted language,Continue reading “Review of “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austin”
Author Archives: 9siduri
Review of “The Seven Who Were Hanged” by Leonid Andreyev
I read this novella in an anthology of horror and ghost stories and would normally include it in my Countdown to Halloween series, but it struck me as misplaced. It lacks a supernatural element, and the horror is from human beings. Only two of the condemned are criminals in the traditional sense. The rest areContinue reading “Review of “The Seven Who Were Hanged” by Leonid Andreyev”
Review of “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
Plot: This novel follows the fortunes of our hero, Okonkwo, in the 1890s in the (fictional) Ibo (modern spelling Igbo) village of Umuofia in what would become Nigeria. Okonkwo wants to be nothing like his father, Unoka, who is lazy and cannot support his family. Unoka likes to play his flute. Okonkwo, on the otherContinue reading “Review of “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe”
Review of “James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity” by Harry Ammon
The Stuff: This book is a biography of the fifth U.S. President, James Monroe (1758-1831; in office 1817-1825). He’s probably best known to those of us who went to school in the US for the Monroe Doctrine, which grew out of a State of the Union address he delivered in 1823 and warned European powersContinue reading “Review of “James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity” by Harry Ammon”
Review of “Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today’s World” by Karen Armstrong
Warning: This is longer than usual. The Stuff:Author Karen Armstrong informs the reader: “The central thesis of this book is that there is a strong connection between the medieval Crusades in the Holy Land and the conflict between the Arabs and Jews in the Middle East today.” (p. 373) Armstrong seeks to view history throughContinue reading “Review of “Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today’s World” by Karen Armstrong”
Review of “Godzilla Raids Again” (1955)
The Saturday night pizza and bad movie was a black-and-white old-fashioned Kaiju flick that had just about everything—Godzilla crushing buildings in a couple of smackdowns with another monster, Japanese people running through Osaka, tanks firing futilely at monsters, and Japan’s finest fleeing the seaside. It was, alas! a little light on the story, but itContinue reading “Review of “Godzilla Raids Again” (1955)”
Review of “The Gorgon” (1964)
This was a fun little Saturday pizza and bad movie flick, not to be taken seriously. Plot:In the German (?) village of Vandorf in the early 20th century, Sascha Cass (Toni Gilpin), viewed from behind, is modeling for her artist boyfriend, Bruno Heitz (Jeremy Longhurst). She asks him when they’re going to get married. Oh,Continue reading “Review of “The Gorgon” (1964)”
Review of “King Kong vs. Godzilla” (1963)
For our Saturday pizza-and-bad-movie night, we watched an old-fashioned kaiju fest. It was as silly as advertised. It included everything: a train derailment, buildings smashed, Godzilla’s atomic breath, an earthquake, two monsters thumping on each other, and important-looking men in black-frame glasses proclaiming important-sounding nonsense. Plot: United Nations reporter (is there such an animal?) EricContinue reading “Review of “King Kong vs. Godzilla” (1963)”
Review of “Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Faith Behind” by Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola
Nicias:But can we? Oh, no, no,I’m frightened. Better go and cling somewhereTo a holy image. Demosthenes:Holy grandmother!You don’t believe in the gods! Nicias:Of course I do. Demosthenes:What reason have you? Nicias:Reason? Why, I knowI’m a God-help-us failure. That enough?–from The Knights by Aristophanes (c. 424 BCE), trans. Gilbert Murray The Stuff: This nonfiction book grewContinue reading “Review of “Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Faith Behind” by Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola”
Review of “Flight 7500” (2014)
Our latest Saturday pizza and bad movie offering was something of a departure. Though it’s called “supernatural horror,” this flick at first brought to mind 70s disaster movies like Airport. Plot:Vista Pacific Airlines flight 7500 departs from Los Angeles to Tokyo Haneda. Lyn (Aja Evans) and Jack Hafey (Ben Sharples) are vacationing with their friends,Continue reading “Review of “Flight 7500” (2014)”
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 