It’s that time of year again. Happy Halloween. 1) “Berenice” by Edgar Allan Poe Plot: Egaeus and his cousin Berenice have grown up together and live in an old family house. They are polar opposites. Egaeus tells the reader that Berenice is “agile, graceful, and overflowing with energy.” While he stays home and reads—or whatever—BereniceContinue reading “Review of “Berenice” by Edgar Allan Poe: Halloween Countdown”
Author Archives: 9siduri
Review of “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler
Note: The novel is set in a dystopian world where the social order has broken down. Violence, including murder, is common. It discusses rape and depicts acts of attempted rape and cannibalism. While the author does not glorify any of this, it can be hard to read. Plot: Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives with her BaptistContinue reading “Review of “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler”
Review of “Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets” by Svetlana Alexievich
A note: This collection of oral histories relates various accounts of violence and social upheaval, including wartime atrocities, antisemitism, suicide, including the suicide of a teenager, and murder. It is a difficult read and most definitely not one for the kiddies. The Stuff: Author Svetlana Alexievich divided her collection of oral histories into two broadContinue reading “Review of “Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets” by Svetlana Alexievich”
Review of “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation” by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
A note: The book reviewed below deals with clergy sexual abuse. The Stuff: Written by historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez, this book examines Christian nationalism as an alien influence that first invaded and corrupted American evangelical Christianity and now threatens American society and government. Du Mez points to fear in an uncertain world—the threat ofContinue reading “Review of “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation” by Kristin Kobes Du Mez”
From Deep Time: August 17, 2018
Review of “Not Your Founding Father” by Nina Sankovitch
The Stuff:This book presents a biography of a religious leader who took the name Public Universal Friend in the late 18th century. Jemima Wilkinson, a twenty-three-year-old woman from a Quaker family in Rhode Island, became seriously ill in 1776 during the American Revolution. The Friend said Jemima died and was infused with a new spirit.Continue reading “Review of “Not Your Founding Father” by Nina Sankovitch”
Review of “Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter” (1974)
Plot: A young woman sits in the woods brushing her blond pigtails that looked to me like a wig. She wears a cross and an ankle-length blue dress and white blouse, telling the viewer she’s a late 18th-century peasant. Her friend Ann (Elizabeth Dear) teases her, then departs to find flowers for her hair. WhileContinue reading “Review of “Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter” (1974)”
Review of “Bunny” by Mona Awad
Note: The book reviewed depicts the killing of animals. Plot: This horror novel is an absurdist, nightmarish, magical-realistic take on fine arts higher education. And some other stuff. The reader immediately sympathizes with Samantha, a second-year MFA student at elite—ahem—Warren University somewhere in New England. She remains an outsider in her Workshop program. The fourContinue reading “Review of “Bunny” by Mona Awad”
Review of “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism” by Katherine Stewart
The stuff:This book describes an investigative journalist’s journey through various aspects of Christian nationalism in the United States and beyond, and the efforts of its adherents to affect, if not undermine, the government and society. Author Katherine Stewart explores the implications regarding civil rights of American citizens and the meaning of American democracy. “[The religiousContinue reading “Review of “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism” by Katherine Stewart”
Review of “Swamp Thing” (1982)
Back to the traditional Saturday pizza and bad movie nights. The dearly beloved has seen this one, but I had not. Swamp Thing is based on a comic book superhero, which accounts, in part, for the lack of helpless and intellectually challenged maidens and for the cabal of paramilitaries run by an evil overlord. Plot:Continue reading “Review of “Swamp Thing” (1982)”
