#ShortStorySunday – TCL’s Homework.

Four Short Reviews for Four Irish Short Stories. In preparation for my writers' retreat in Ireland in September (with Claire Keegan - author of "Foster" and "Small Things Like These" which were just amazing), participants were requested to read the novel "The Barracks" by John McGahern, as well as the following short stories: “The Tent” … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – TCL’s Homework. →

New Stories about Old People.

Book Review for “Old Babes in the Wood” Stories by Margaret Atwood. Summary: "The two intrepid sisters of the title story grapple with loss and memory on a perfect summer evening; "Impatient Griselda" explores alienation and miscommunication with a fresh twist on a folkloric classic; and "My Evil Mother" touches on the fantastical, examining a … Continue reading New Stories about Old People. →

#CCSpin 32 Review – Three Turns to her Future.

Book Review for “Which Way?” by Theodora Benson. Summary: "'There was no one in the room. Blinds and curtains were closed; the light of the skies, if any, was shut out. ... Only the fire was alive, consuming its life-for what? Then the door opened and as Claudia came with hurried steps into the fire's … Continue reading #CCSpin 32 Review – Three Turns to her Future. →

#ShortStorySunday – Sleights of Words.

Book Review for “Good Bones” by Margaret Atwood. Summary: "In Good Bones, first published in 1992, Margaret Atwood has fashioned an enthralling collection of parable, monologue, mini-romance and mini-biography, speculative fiction, prose lyric, outrageous recipe and reconfigured fairy tale, demonstrating yet again the play of an unerring wit overseen by a panoramic intelligence. Good Bones … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – Sleights of Words. →

#ShortStorySunday – No Fooling?

Book Review for “My Evil Mother: A Short Story” by Margaret Atwood. Summary: "Life is hard enough for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia without having a mother who may—or may not—be a witch. A single mother at that. Sure, she fits in with her starched dresses, string of pearls, and floral aprons. Then there … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – No Fooling? →

Waves of Passion – #CCDare Read.

Book Review for “Wild Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys. Summary: "Prequel to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Born into an oppressive, colonialist society, Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway meets a young Englishman who is drawn to her innocent sensuality and beauty, but soon after their marriage, rumors of madness in her family poison his mind against … Continue reading Waves of Passion – #CCDare Read. →

Gotten to a Nunnery…

Book Review for “Learwife” by J.R. Thorp. Summary: "Word has come. Care-bent King Lear is dead, driven mad and betrayed. His three daughters too, broken in battle. But someone has survived: Lear's queen. Exiled to a nunnery years ago, written out of history, her name forgotten. Now she can tell her story. Though her grief … Continue reading Gotten to a Nunnery… →

Everything and Nothing.

Book Review for “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr. Summary: "Thirteen-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. Restless, insatiably curious, Anna learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds a book, … Continue reading Everything and Nothing. →

#ShortStorySunday – Look Them in the Eye.

Book Review for “Four Minutes” by Nataliya Deleva (translated by Izidora Angel). Summary: “Giving voice to people living on the periphery in post-communist Bulgaria, Four Minutes centers around Leah, an orphan who suffered daily horrors growing up, and now struggles to integrate into society as a gay woman. She confronts her trauma by trying to … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – Look Them in the Eye. →

Tasty Toppings.

Book Review for “Gentleman's Relish: Stories” by Patrick Gale. Summary: "A son wreaks revenge through the power of cookery, a lonely wife finds short-lived solace in angling lessons from a prisoner, and an obedience lesson with a puppy leads to the discovery of a murder... From the delightfully chilling to the humorous and heart-warming, this … Continue reading Tasty Toppings. →