Plot: Twenty-six-year-old Samantha (but call her Sam) Payne is taking care of her ill mother when her fabulously wealthy grandfather dies. She’s not expecting an inheritance. The family doesn’t speak to her. Years earlier, when she was a child, she saw her father burying a child, a boy who had been pestering her, and reportedContinue reading “Review of “The Haunting of Paynes Hollow” by Kelley Armstrong”
Author Archives: 9siduri
Review of “Bastard out of Carolina” by Dorothy Allison
A word: The work reviewed contains frank and violent depictions of child molestation and physical abuse. Plot:Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright comes into the world after her fifteen-year-old mother, Anney, is hurt in a car accident. Anney remains unconscious throughout the delivery but recovers. Granny and Aunt Ruth have tried to smooth things over with littleContinue reading “Review of “Bastard out of Carolina” by Dorothy Allison”
Review of “Reading Lessons” by Carol Atherton”
The Stuff: In this nonfiction work, British teacher Carol Atherton mulls over fourteen books and plays, and one poem she has taught English students over the years. A single chapter, titled with a tagline, is devoted to each work. An afterword discusses additional modern works that could be added to the reading lists. Some works,Continue reading “Review of “Reading Lessons” by Carol Atherton””
Review of “Chapel Bay Secrets” by Julie Snider
DISCLAIMER: The author of the book reviewed below and I are members of the same early morning writing group. I looked forward to her book when it first came out and finally got around to reading it. Had I thought I could not offer an honest review of her book, I would not write oneContinue reading “Review of “Chapel Bay Secrets” by Julie Snider”
Review of “The Notting Hill Mystery” by Charles Warren Adams
Plot: In January of 1858, insurance agent Ralph Henderson finally sends his report to the secretary of the — Life Assurance Association he works for. He is investigating the death of one of the insured, Madame R**. Her husband, Baron R**, has a policy for her for £ 5,000 (?). He had four such policiesContinue reading “Review of “The Notting Hill Mystery” by Charles Warren Adams”
Review of “Nicomachean Ethics” by Aristotle
And now for something completely different. The Stuff: Aristotle poses the question, “What does it mean to be happy as a human?” Rather, because he was a member and sustainer of a patriarchal society, “happy as a man?” (Aristotle doesn’t say much about women in this work, but in general, at the time, women wereContinue reading “Review of “Nicomachean Ethics” by Aristotle”
Review of “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austin
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”
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”
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 