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calarco's Reviews (760)
A book that delves into the intersection of cut-throat college athleticism and mental health is tremendously important in this day and age, as this is a field that is not nearly covered enough. In the case of [b:What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen|33296283|What Made Maddy Run The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen|Kate Fagan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493663844l/33296283._SY75_.jpg|54027991], while the competitive sports portions are interesting and well-written, the mental illness component is woefully underdeveloped. Overall, it made for a disjointed and at times uncomfortable read.
Specifically, my issues with this story centers on the sensationalized way the author writes about Maddy Holleran’s last moments before she committed suicide. This includes cringy re-enactments of those final days, as well as the over-reliance of Maddy’s digital and social media footprint to set the scene. In general, most people post the more idealized highs of their lives, as opposed to the gritty and messy lows—Maddy was no exception. Yet this dissonance between the image and the reality is what this book focuses on, and I feel in doing so over-simplifies a complex situation.
By the final pages, I felt like I had read something more exploitative, than illuminating. That said, I feel like my opinion is the minority on this one, so it is entirely possible that this book simply was not for me.
Specifically, my issues with this story centers on the sensationalized way the author writes about Maddy Holleran’s last moments before she committed suicide. This includes cringy re-enactments of those final days, as well as the over-reliance of Maddy’s digital and social media footprint to set the scene. In general, most people post the more idealized highs of their lives, as opposed to the gritty and messy lows—Maddy was no exception. Yet this dissonance between the image and the reality is what this book focuses on, and I feel in doing so over-simplifies a complex situation.
By the final pages, I felt like I had read something more exploitative, than illuminating. That said, I feel like my opinion is the minority on this one, so it is entirely possible that this book simply was not for me.
When first published in 1945, [b:Focus|74049|Focus|Arthur Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1170847780l/74049._SX50_.jpg|71644] was one of the few pieces of fiction that explicitly shined a light on the very real rise of Anti-Semitism and bigotry on American shores, even while American troops were fighting fascist regimes overseas. Bigotry can rear its pernicious head in any community at any time; this was Arthur Miller’s point. That said, I would argue that Focus serves a greater role as a historical document, than it does as a relevant narrative for the modern era.
Overall, Miller treats the concept that “racism is bad” as this a jaw-dropping revelation, which in a present context is patronizingly insulting. In this day and age saying that "Anti-Semitism is bad" is obvious, not a bombshell illumination. This is compounded by the fact that Anti-Semitism is still alive and thriving in the United States, occurring in scale from casual micro-aggressions to outright assault in the case of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of 2018.
Furthermore, I would argue that Miller is a far better playwright than he is a novelist. The loud and overly simplistic Focus lacks the nuance and affect of better work like [b:The Crucible|17250|The Crucible|Arthur Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547467608l/17250._SX50_.jpg|1426723]. So, if you are a fan of Miller’s work, this one may fall out-of-focus for you (this is a dad pun my father insisted I include in this review, sorry). If you want to read about early works denouncing Anti-Semitism, then Focus is a document with historical merit. Otherwise, I’d say skip it for something more impactful like Elie Wiesel’s [b:Night|1617|Night (The Night Trilogy, #1)|Elie Wiesel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575073611l/1617._SY75_.jpg|265616].
Rating: 2.5 stars
Overall, Miller treats the concept that “racism is bad” as this a jaw-dropping revelation, which in a present context is patronizingly insulting. In this day and age saying that "Anti-Semitism is bad" is obvious, not a bombshell illumination. This is compounded by the fact that Anti-Semitism is still alive and thriving in the United States, occurring in scale from casual micro-aggressions to outright assault in the case of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting of 2018.
Furthermore, I would argue that Miller is a far better playwright than he is a novelist. The loud and overly simplistic Focus lacks the nuance and affect of better work like [b:The Crucible|17250|The Crucible|Arthur Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547467608l/17250._SX50_.jpg|1426723]. So, if you are a fan of Miller’s work, this one may fall out-of-focus for you (this is a dad pun my father insisted I include in this review, sorry). If you want to read about early works denouncing Anti-Semitism, then Focus is a document with historical merit. Otherwise, I’d say skip it for something more impactful like Elie Wiesel’s [b:Night|1617|Night (The Night Trilogy, #1)|Elie Wiesel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575073611l/1617._SY75_.jpg|265616].
Rating: 2.5 stars
This collection of short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri is a solid read that explores the mishaps and misunderstandings of Indians and Indian Americans with lives in flux. While I found “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” and the titular “Interpreter of Maladies” to outshine the lot, each story builds a vivid scene with fully fleshed-out characters—a difficult feat to accomplish in short story format. My one complaint would lie with the fact that male characters seem to be allowed more flaws than their female counterparts, though despite this double-standard no one is ever truly vilified in the collection. Overall, [b:Interpreter of Maladies|5439|Interpreter of Maladies|Jhumpa Lahiri|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442586143l/5439._SY75_.jpg|3301398] is definitely worth reading and a book I would recommend.
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Continuing with the same chaotic energy of [b:Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|6324090|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, #1)|Lewis Carroll|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391204048l/6324090._SX50_.jpg|55548884], Lewis Carroll’s sequel, [b:Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There|83346|Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, #2)|Lewis Carroll|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1359299332l/83346._SY75_.jpg|45962572] is a lot of fun. Including memorable characters like Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, as well as the White and Red Queens, Alice is perpetually falling into a preponderance of hijinks. While I do prefer the original to the sequel, this is in all likelihood due to my childhood fear of, “The Walrus and the Carpenter," a poem that I still find creepy as an adult. Overall, this is a great read and I would recommend anyone who wants to continue along with Alice as she stumbles and dreams.
Given how many must-read lists on which [b:The Little Prince|157993|The Little Prince|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1367545443l/157993._SY75_.jpg|2180358] has been featured, I cannot believe I have gone so long without having read it. Now that I have, I can say that this is a really special story that I wish I had read much sooner—there is a reason for the mass appeal.
Written just a year before being shot down by a German reconnaissance pilot in World War II, Antoine de Saint-Exupery was a French pilot whose dreams soared higher than the skies he flew. The Little Prince opens with a pilot stranded in a dessert who stumbles upon a little prince from a distant (little) planet with two volcanoes and an intrepid rose. The prince is small, but he travels a number of planets, learning new things along the way.
“It’s the time you spent with your rose that makes your rose so important… People have forgotten this truth… But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose…” – The Fox
Throughout his travels, the little prince still finds himself thinking of his rose, which he would protect with a glass encasement. His new friend the fox explains that once something is “tamed” that ties have been established the two beings. While this is perhaps a paternalistic way to view love, there is an essential truth that lies within this observation—once you are tied to someone (or some flower) through time or bond, it is hard to not feel a responsibility for their well-being. It’s a simple lesson with big consequences that we all learn at some point in adolescence.
Overall, The Little Prince is a little story that I believe most would find worthwhile. I definitely recommend it to anyone of any age.
Written just a year before being shot down by a German reconnaissance pilot in World War II, Antoine de Saint-Exupery was a French pilot whose dreams soared higher than the skies he flew. The Little Prince opens with a pilot stranded in a dessert who stumbles upon a little prince from a distant (little) planet with two volcanoes and an intrepid rose. The prince is small, but he travels a number of planets, learning new things along the way.
“It’s the time you spent with your rose that makes your rose so important… People have forgotten this truth… But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose…” – The Fox
Throughout his travels, the little prince still finds himself thinking of his rose, which he would protect with a glass encasement. His new friend the fox explains that once something is “tamed” that ties have been established the two beings. While this is perhaps a paternalistic way to view love, there is an essential truth that lies within this observation—once you are tied to someone (or some flower) through time or bond, it is hard to not feel a responsibility for their well-being. It’s a simple lesson with big consequences that we all learn at some point in adolescence.
Overall, The Little Prince is a little story that I believe most would find worthwhile. I definitely recommend it to anyone of any age.
As far as stories about girls who are whisked off into dream-like, fantastical adventures go—L. Frank Baum’s [b:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|236093|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)|L. Frank Baum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398003737l/236093._SY75_.jpg|1993810] is a solid read. Much darker than the more sanitized children’s stories of the modern era, Baum created a memorable world with characters forever embedded into the cultural zeitgeist. Who doesn’t love an extra “witch” simply trying to nab a dope pair of shiny shoes?
That said, I would be lying if I did not mention how this story is ultimately out-shined by its own 1939 film adaptation, Lewis Carroll’s earlier work [b:Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|6324090|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, #1)|Lewis Carroll|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391204048l/6324090._SX50_.jpg|55548884] (which undoubtedly influenced Oz), or even the modern-day play adaptation Wicked (though I do emphasize the play over the sub-par book Wicked). This is compounded by the fact that events transpire rather mechanically, like someone is checking off a list of whimsical encounters, rather than unveiling a meandering dream.
Despite these criticisms, overall, I would still recommend The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, even if it isn’t as wonderful as its later adaptations.
That said, I would be lying if I did not mention how this story is ultimately out-shined by its own 1939 film adaptation, Lewis Carroll’s earlier work [b:Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|6324090|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, #1)|Lewis Carroll|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391204048l/6324090._SX50_.jpg|55548884] (which undoubtedly influenced Oz), or even the modern-day play adaptation Wicked (though I do emphasize the play over the sub-par book Wicked). This is compounded by the fact that events transpire rather mechanically, like someone is checking off a list of whimsical encounters, rather than unveiling a meandering dream.
Despite these criticisms, overall, I would still recommend The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, even if it isn’t as wonderful as its later adaptations.
Do you have family members with bizarre and/or awkward quirks? Have you, or someone you know, endured trauma that makes it painfully difficult to connect with other people? Do you feel emotionally isolated or restless to the point of having a hard time dealing with reality? Do you feel like your issues impede your ability to support your family? Well, if you have answered “yes” to one or more these, then Tennessee Williams’ [b:The Glass Menagerie|92517|The Glass Menagerie|Tennessee Williams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391591003l/92517._SY75_.jpg|1324493] is the play for you!
I first read this play when I was in high school, and was struck by how familiar the Wingfield family felt. It was like stumbling on a scene that authentically captured the inherently uncomfortable (even painful) nature of distorted families with “issues.” Each character wants so desperately to connect or help, but is prevented by circumstance, or a desire for decorum, to be able to do so in any meaningful way. Re-reading this play as an adult, I can vouch that this description holds up long after the teenage angst has fallen to the wayside.
This is a play I would recommend tackling when you are in a headspace far from judgement, because this really is not a play with any true villain, only damaged individuals longing to be seen.
I first read this play when I was in high school, and was struck by how familiar the Wingfield family felt. It was like stumbling on a scene that authentically captured the inherently uncomfortable (even painful) nature of distorted families with “issues.” Each character wants so desperately to connect or help, but is prevented by circumstance, or a desire for decorum, to be able to do so in any meaningful way. Re-reading this play as an adult, I can vouch that this description holds up long after the teenage angst has fallen to the wayside.
This is a play I would recommend tackling when you are in a headspace far from judgement, because this really is not a play with any true villain, only damaged individuals longing to be seen.
Now that I have finished this book, I have officially read every novel Octavia Butler wrote and published in her short and beautiful lifetime, and am now truly at a loss for what I should even do with my life. I mean, obviously I am going to now seek out her short stories, essays, interviews, and posthumously published work, but as a super fan I still cannot help but feel sad and empty inside.
My dramatic and nonsensical whining aside (sorry, this is a terrible way to start off a “review”), Patternmaster is a great narrative conclusion to Butler’s Patternist series. Even though it was technically the first novel of the series that was published (her debut novel at that), I would argue that the Patternist books should be read in order of narrative to have the greatest impact. This flows as, 1. [b:Wild Seed|52318|Wild Seed (Patternmaster, #1)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388462753l/52318._SY75_.jpg|1330000], 2. [b:Mind of My Mind|116254|Mind of My Mind (Patternmaster, #2)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389676159l/116254._SY75_.jpg|111957], 3. [b:Clay's Ark|60933|Clay's Ark (Patternmaster, #3)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461533398l/60933._SY75_.jpg|1008173], 4. [b:Survivor|256890|Survivor|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1186985614l/256890._SY75_.jpg|3346577], and 5. [b:Patternmaster|116256|Patternmaster (Patternmaster, #4)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389456750l/116256._SY75_.jpg|1119636].
Patternmaster opens at the height of the tension between with the telepathic Patternists and the mutated Claryarks—leaving earth’s landscape dramatically changed. Each of these groups are the outcome of a quasi-divergent evolution of the human species, resulting in not just different cultures and religions, but different biological adaptations that challenge what it means to even be “human” in the first place.
The story follows the coming-of-age of Teray, a young man caught up in the power struggle for succession and ascendance as ruler of the Patternists—the coveted role of Patternmaster. I cannot say Teray is a terribly memorable character like his brother-antagonist Coransee or the enigmatic Amber, but given how much exposition is needed to explain this very alien iteration of earth, he fits the bill of relatable protagonist. That said, it is the sci-fi elements and struggle between characters that make Patternmaster standout as a solid Butler novel.
Overall, this is a great story and one that I would definitely recommend.
My dramatic and nonsensical whining aside (sorry, this is a terrible way to start off a “review”), Patternmaster is a great narrative conclusion to Butler’s Patternist series. Even though it was technically the first novel of the series that was published (her debut novel at that), I would argue that the Patternist books should be read in order of narrative to have the greatest impact. This flows as, 1. [b:Wild Seed|52318|Wild Seed (Patternmaster, #1)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388462753l/52318._SY75_.jpg|1330000], 2. [b:Mind of My Mind|116254|Mind of My Mind (Patternmaster, #2)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389676159l/116254._SY75_.jpg|111957], 3. [b:Clay's Ark|60933|Clay's Ark (Patternmaster, #3)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461533398l/60933._SY75_.jpg|1008173], 4. [b:Survivor|256890|Survivor|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1186985614l/256890._SY75_.jpg|3346577], and 5. [b:Patternmaster|116256|Patternmaster (Patternmaster, #4)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389456750l/116256._SY75_.jpg|1119636].
Patternmaster opens at the height of the tension between with the telepathic Patternists and the mutated Claryarks—leaving earth’s landscape dramatically changed. Each of these groups are the outcome of a quasi-divergent evolution of the human species, resulting in not just different cultures and religions, but different biological adaptations that challenge what it means to even be “human” in the first place.
The story follows the coming-of-age of Teray, a young man caught up in the power struggle for succession and ascendance as ruler of the Patternists—the coveted role of Patternmaster. I cannot say Teray is a terribly memorable character like his brother-antagonist Coransee or the enigmatic Amber, but given how much exposition is needed to explain this very alien iteration of earth, he fits the bill of relatable protagonist. That said, it is the sci-fi elements and struggle between characters that make Patternmaster standout as a solid Butler novel.
Overall, this is a great story and one that I would definitely recommend.
I have tried to read this book more times than I can count, but now I can finally say that I have finished [b:Pride and Prejudice|1885|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320399351l/1885._SY75_.jpg|3060926]. No matter how you slice it, this is a book that entirely centers on the 19th century English institution of marriage and its implications on the lives of those entering this confounding union. While I can attest that Jane Austen is undoubtedly a talented author with a good sense of humor, this is simply not a topic that speaks to me in any profound manner. This is also compounded by the fact that I really cannot understand the appeal of Mr. Darcy—I still find him to be more of a literary catalyst than a fully fleshed out character. All that aside, if you enjoy classics and soap operas then this is a volume worth checking out.
[b:Pillow Thoughts|35489042|Pillow Thoughts|Courtney Peppernell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498032940l/35489042._SY75_.jpg|53058512] is a really lovely collection of poems that are chock full of lyrical prose. Many of the poems in this collection center on universal themes such as love, loss, longing, and self-growth. Courtney Peppernell is talented at uncovering emotional truth and rendering it into an accessible creation—many of these poems could easily be adapted into song lyrics. That said, I would have liked for her to delve a bit deeper, but I am glad that this author is now on my radar and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Rating: 3.5 stars