The Illumination – Kevin Brockmeier
In the end, a world where pain is made of light is one in which pain transcends the bodies that bear it – the light becomes its own phenomenon, it transforms pain into a separate thing of beauty, a glow which commands others’ attention, but not necessarily their sympathy.
The Empty Family – Colm Tóibín
“The Empty Family may be the mature work of a master, but I didn’t believe a single word of it.”
All Things Shining – Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly
“Taylor, Dreyfus and Kelly lament a pervasive malaise and lack of purpose in the lives of contemporary Westerners. A ‘nihilism of the secular age leaves us with the awful sense that nothing matters in the world at all.’ This, they claim, is a particular American mood, and it is characterized by addiction, depression, consumerism, terrorism, and tennis academies.”
The Metropolis Case – Matthew Gallaway
“The novel’s ‘melody’ develops in recurring and layering coincidences and connections, while its ‘dissonances’ appear in sudden and unpredictable deaths which jar characters and reader alike. And, more obviously, ‘melody and dissonance’ describe Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde, which binds Gallaway’s story and four main characters together across pages and centuries.”
Portraits of a Marriage – Sándor Márai
“Spanning late fin de siècle Budapest to the conclusion of World War II, Sándor Márai’s Portraits of a Marriage focuses on the insurmountable effect of class on relationships and the tension rippling across Europe during this period.”
Tonight No Poetry Will Serve – Adrienne Rich
“Adrienne Rich’s new collection is a slender volume of lyric notes, a vivid outline of the contemporary world. Her pieces are elliptical, often free-form, short. She is, of course, a master of the craft.”
How to Write a Sentence – Stanley Fish
How to Write a Sentence is about much more than what lies between periods; it’s about why we love literature.
A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness
“Reading vampire fiction in a culture saturated with vampires is chasing the dragon.”
“The character of Black Pat is delightfully written. He goes about his job—of depressing people—by lying on them, or chewing rocks loudly, or tearing apart their household items like any unruly dog does.”
While Mortals Sleep – Kurt Vonnegut
“One of Vonnegut’s greatest and most appealing skills is his ability to blend an utterly humanist sensibility with sardonic dark humor. This collection of sixteen of his earliest unpublished short stories demonstrate that talent in its infancy.”