Warning: the book reviewed deals with sexual violence. The review mentions it but does not describe it. Plot:Melinda Sordino starts high school with everyone hating her. Her old friends from middle school aren’t talking to her. She really does eat her lunch all by herself. Maybe if she could tell them about what happened, aboutContinue reading “Review of “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson”
Tag Archives: fiction
Review of “The Life of a Stupid Man” by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
A warning: This work, published posthumously, was written shortly before its author took his life in 1927 and reflects his long-standing despair. I wish to add that if you are dealing with issues like this, please call the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Hotline at 988. The Stuff and Ramblings: This extremely short semi-autobiographical book canContinue reading “Review of “The Life of a Stupid Man” by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa”
Review of “The Beast with Five Fingers” by William Fryer Harvey: Halloween Countdown
Plot:The narrator introduces Mr. Adrian Borlsover, who was good with his hands, able to illustrate his own scientific paper, and carve wood. At the time, the narrator was a child, and Mr. Borlsover was elderly. He’d lost his eyesight in midlife but adapted, learning Braille and maintaining his ability to write. Mr. Borlsover had noContinue reading “Review of “The Beast with Five Fingers” by William Fryer Harvey: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Thing from ‘Outside’” by George Allan England: Halloween Countdown
Plot:A party of Americans traveling in the Canadian wilderness finds themselves deserted by their Indigenous guides after they come across a “circular print on a rock-ledge.” They hear the guides scream, fire shots, and conclude they’re dead and “out of harm’s way.” On the other hand, the present company is “two hundred and fifty wickedContinue reading “Review of “The Thing from ‘Outside’” by George Allan England: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Smee” by A. M. Burrage: Halloween Countdown
PlotDuring a Christmas Eve party, Jackson refuses to play hide-and-seek because he sometimes stays at a house where a girl was accidentally killed playing the game by falling down a flight of stairs. He wasn’t there when this happened, but he was visiting the same house during another Christmas party when something worse happened. WhenContinue reading “Review of “Smee” by A. M. Burrage: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Shadow” by Edith Nesbit: Halloween Countdown
Plot:A girl faints during a dance at a country house over Christmas in Victorian-era Great Britain. She is sent to recover in a dressing room. Other girls sleep in a bedroom attached to the dressing room. Of course, they don’t sleep but sit up, telling each other ghost stories. While they’re scaring themselves, a knockContinue reading “Review of “The Shadow” by Edith Nesbit: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “Scoured Silk” by Marjorie Bowen: Halloween Countdown
Plot: Some twenty years earlier, Mr. Humphrey Orford moved to Covent Garden with his young wife. The understanding is that his family was from Suffolk, where he had considerable estates that he never visited. Only a few weeks after they arrived, his wife, Flora, fell ill and passed away. He erected a small plaque: Flora,Continue reading “Review of “Scoured Silk” by Marjorie Bowen: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Open Window” by Saki
Plot:Mr. Nuttel’s doctors have recommended that he get rest for his nerves. With letters of introduction from his sister, he visits people she knows better than he does. He stops one day at the Sappleton residence. Mrs. Sappleton is late in meeting him, so her “very self-possessed” fifteen-year-old niece speaks to him, letting him knowContinue reading “Review of “The Open Window” by Saki”
Review of “The Moonlit Road” by Ambrose Bierce: Halloween Countdown
Plot:The following things happened: Joel Hetman returned from a trip at an unexpected time and used the back door without disturbing anyone. He chased what appeared to be a prowler into the woods, who got away. His wife, Julia, was strangled to death in her bedroom. He summoned his nineteen-year-old son, Joel, Jr., home fromContinue reading “Review of “The Moonlit Road” by Ambrose Bierce: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Marble Hands” by Bernard Capes: Halloween Countdwon
Plot:Our hero rides his bike with his friend Heriot to the churchyard. Heriot wants him to check something out but doesn’t want to see it himself. Our hero soon finds what he’s looking for—a grave with no headstone or inscription. A beveled marble curb encloses a graveled area. In the graveled area stand two marbleContinue reading “Review of “The Marble Hands” by Bernard Capes: Halloween Countdwon”
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 