Thumbs up for Near the Ocean by Robert Lowell. Poetry.
Reviewing poetry is a tricky thing. Let me begin: the first half of this book is Lowell’s own work; the second half is his translations from Dante, Horace, and Juvenal. I think, when I first dipped in, I sampled the translations, and that was what led me to reading the book.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for A Book of Uncommon Prayer: 100 Celebrations of the Miracle & Muddle of the Ordinary by Brian Doyle.
Plain-language ecumenical prayers in gratitude for everyday ordinary things. Hard to review, because I think you will either love it or hate it. Test paragraph: the first half of “Prayer for Cashiers and Checkout-Counter Folks”:
… >> Read moreWho endure the cold swirls of winter from the sliding doors that are opening and closing every forty seconds; and who endure pomposity and buffoonery and minor madness in their customers; and who gently help the shuffling old lady in the ancient camel coat count out the right change for her load of bread and single sad can of cat food; and cheerfully also disburse stamps and cash along with bagging the groceries and even occasionally carting them out swiftly for the customers they know are frail and wobble; and who must sometimes silently want to scream and shriek in weariness and wondering how it is that they are here for eight hours at a stretch; and who do their jobs with patience and diligence, knowing the price of every single blessed thing in the store;…
Thumbs up for The Epiplectic Bicycle by Edward Gorey. Poetry.
Marvelous. I love the way the characters appear to be continually in a state of falling over, regardless of whether they actually are or not.
… >> Read moreThey took a wrong turning and before they knew it, were entering a vast barn;it was too dark to hear anything;it fell down as they came out the other end.
Thumbs up for The Iron Tonic: Or, A Winter Afternoon in Lonely Valley by Edward Gorey. Poetry.
Lovely creepy strangeness as always.
… >> Read moreIt’s known the skating pond concealsA family of enormous eels.
Thumbs up for Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman. Children’s fantasy.
Dear Mr Gaiman: You had me at the dinosaur professor in a hot air balloon. Multiple time travel paradoxes? I am yours forever.
… >> Read more“You are charged with breaking into people’s planets and redecorating them,” said a noble and imposing-looking Tyrannosaurus Rex. “And then with running away and doing it again somewhere else, over and over.
Thumbs up for Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein. Children’s poetry.
For some unknown reason I never read Silverstein as a kid; a lack that tends to make people in my cohort gasp in horror and pity, as if I’d said my family ate puppies for dinner. In light of that, I have picked up his books several times over the years and dipped in randomly, but it was my luck to never hit on any of the really good stuff.… >> Read more
Well, it’s Edward Gorey. You know who he is, right? Twisted, clever, hilarious, unique? Again, as always.
… >> Read more‘I am the Spectre of Christmas that Never Was,’ it muttered, ‘and I have come to show you Affecting Scenes.’
Thumbs up for The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth. Literature/poetry.
I loved this. It’s one of my favorites so far this year. The easy summation is Tales of the City told as a series of sonnets…and we’re going to go with that, because that’s exactly what it is, San Franciscan setting, soap-opera plot and all. But it’s the writing that makes it so effervescently delightful.… >> Read more