Anthony > Recent Status Updates

A fine, solid beginning. I know this is a very popular series and that V.E. Schwab is a very popular author, and so far I’m intrigued.

The writing is evocative, contemplative, poetic, and striking. A part of me has resisted reading this famous, beloved book, worried that it might have been overhyped. And I do wonder if it will really fully land for me, but so far I’m quite mesmerized by its dreamlike approach.

I don’t consider myself an expert plotter by any means, but I recognize when big dramatic moments feel earned and impactful and when they don’t, and again and again Lynch hasn’t found a way to make his feel earned. They’re fairly well depicted as scenes go, but the weave of the whole thing just doesn’t feel like it’s building to something.

All of the characters speak in the same voice, which is growing somewhat wearying, even though that voice is, for the most part, clever and spirited.

While I’m finding it to be pretty enjoyable, I’m a bit confused by aspects of Lynch’s approach. I’m not sure why he’s scrambling time and parceling out some of the backstory information in the way he’s choosing to; it’s hard to feel like it’s earning him much, and feels like it’s being done for its own sake.

It’s pretty enjoyable in the early going. I was in the mood for a popcorn read, and this is satisfying that urge, with a bit more wit than I’d anticipated.

Read “The Artificial N*****”, a searing portrait of how a self-righteous, racist grandfather poisons the mind and spirit of his grandson.

Read the fascinating “A Stroke of Good Fortune” and “A Temple of the Holy Ghost,” which demonstrated again O’Connor’s knack for bringing to life intriguingly wicked young people.

Read the fantastically titled “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” an impressively moody glimpse into the tortured psyche of a down on his luck man and the lives of two lonely women he meets.

Read “The River,” an eerily poetic, creepy, and wonderfully raw portrait of a young boy.

Read the brutally shocking, indelibly detailed title story.

There’s a rich, authentic, subtly drawn emotional life coursing through these characters that’s very moving to me.

I’m enjoying its compassionate subtlety very much. I’m also alternating between eye-reading and listening, and I have to say that the audiobook actors are all doing a fantastic job.

I always enjoy when an author is able to successfully alternate between different narrators’ first-person voices, as Lalami does here.

Finished Part Two. It’s interesting in many ways, and also very serious in tone, and also, perhaps, a bit too in love with its sense of its own importance.

Finished Part One. I can well imagine that this novel, when it appeared in the early 80s, was quite unlike any other fantasy literature of its time.

An intriguing beginning. It’s *very* British in style and setting. Since this book has appeared on a number of lists of the best fantasy novels, I’ve been curious to see whether or not I will agree.

Read “Escape from Spiderhead,” a magnificent story by George Saunders. It’s the second story of his that I’ve read, and both were fantastic.

Read Jess Row’s “The Call of Blood.” The story of a nurse and his relationship with his Alzheimer’s patient and her daughter, it’s quite moving. Very intimately told, complex, featuring keen, clear-eyed depictions of wonderfully human characters.

I was having a hard time picking my next book after being knocked out by my last one. Happily, this is a substantially different reading experience than that was, so I’m satisfied with my choice.

Read “Slim in Hell,” a dark, intense continuation of an earlier story; and the next story, the incredibly long title of which I can’t fit into this status update. It’s wacky, often hilarious, and twisted, and with, as everything else in this collection, profound ideas about the intersection of the past on the present when it comes to racial inequities.

Read “Mercury in Retrograde,” a companion piece to an earlier story, which brutally and hilariously satirizes how we can escape our programming; and the brief, haunting “On the Occasion of the Death of Freddie Lee.”

Read “A Rare and Powerful Employee,” a brief, disturbing examination of hypocrisy; “Numbers,” a fascinating mashup of early-20th Century mafia antics and a tale of Siren-like Water Women; and the brief horror tale “A Loudness of Screechers.”

Read “The Electric Joy of Service,” about an inventor’s diabolical approach to creating service robots; and “The Temple of Practical Arts,” a kind of companion piece to the first story in the collection. The author’s audacious, fearless approach continues to impress. In the second story, the sharp turns from humor to darkness are especially bold.

Read “The N***** Knockers,” which is as provocative and intense a story as its title suggests. This author makes big, bold choices that explore tragic themes and situations with tremendous freshness.

Read “David Sherman, the Last Son of God,” which is inventive, strange, and very evocative.

Read “To the Measures Fall” by Richard Powers. This was my first encounter with Powers’ work, and it won’t be my last. His story here is inventive, urgent, crisply and wittily crafted, and packed with ideas. I understand why he’s so acclaimed.

Read Joyce Carol Oates’ “ID,” a harrowing, sad portrait of a neglected, emotionally scarred and stunted 13-year-old girl.