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jenknox's Reviews (494)
I really enjoy DeLillo's writing. I get lost in his prose. That said, it took me forever to get through this book, and I had to keep reminding myself what I'd read because, like a great series or a 3+ hour movie, it began to lose my attention after a time despite it's obvious charms.
This might be more a critique of me, although in my defense, I read Anna Karenina twice and never found the same trouble remembering what was going on.
I may reread this book when my life is less stressful, maybe when I retire. But since I have to find a job to retire from first, it might be a while.
All that said, I'll read more of DeLillo's work. He's a charmer.
This might be more a critique of me, although in my defense, I read Anna Karenina twice and never found the same trouble remembering what was going on.
I may reread this book when my life is less stressful, maybe when I retire. But since I have to find a job to retire from first, it might be a while.
All that said, I'll read more of DeLillo's work. He's a charmer.
This is one of two texts I'll be teaching from this term. We'll see how it goes as an educational tool. I think it will be a solid text, seeing as how it's not so much about technique as much as examining personal creativity, which is ideal for an Creative Writing Intro course.
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Students enjoy the voice, but I'm not sure I'll use it again as assigned reading. I will recommend it, however, for a quick pick-me-up for beginning writers who have trouble with that inner critic.
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Students enjoy the voice, but I'm not sure I'll use it again as assigned reading. I will recommend it, however, for a quick pick-me-up for beginning writers who have trouble with that inner critic.
Alternate text. Ditto what I said about Bird by Bird. (Used for a creative writing course.)
***
This book had more exercises that I think lend themselves to self-instruction. A good book to keep as a personal cheerleader, and I'm likely to use it again.
***
This book had more exercises that I think lend themselves to self-instruction. A good book to keep as a personal cheerleader, and I'm likely to use it again.
Plot-wise, Gray's book is unique and believably unbelievable (am I making sense here?). The setting is New Orleans, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The characters are desperate and emotionally fragile, and yet their culture is so incredibly strong that they are never hopeless or weak. What I'm trying to say here is that the book's plot is out there, filled with magic and voodoo, otherworldly things, and yet it's centered on spiritual questions, questions that seem a commonality in the characters' minds. Perhaps in the readers'?
I'm a sucker for a novel that doesn't rely on an obvious enemy, a tale of good and evil, but rather digs in deep and examines human behavior from the inside out. In Crooked Moon, a reunion occurs between two women, each of whom seems compelled to reconcile her past and move forward, somewhere, but neither seems quite sure how to go about doing so. Secrets, as they do, are weighing them down. And boy! These women have secrets.
This book was both fun and filled with surprising insight. The writing is excellent, as is the storytelling. I read this on my Kindle, a little bit at a time each night, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed the escapism but the reality of it. The thing that's unique about the book: It's fun and light and humorous without compromising the exploration that a storyteller must be willing to engage in. This is a study in human behavior and a damn good story, all in one. Not an easy feat!
This book was both fun and filled with surprising insight. The writing is excellent, as is the storytelling. I read this on my Kindle, a little bit at a time each night, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed the escapism but the reality of it. The thing that's unique about the book: It's fun and light and humorous without compromising the exploration that a storyteller must be willing to engage in. This is a study in human behavior and a damn good story, all in one. Not an easy feat!
"The brilliant glow of his soul in their mouths as Caraliza prevented its escape into the air."
Caraliza is a gripping but also lovely, potent novel that is about human endurance, connection, and our capacity for love despite distance and time. What makes the book so incredible is the fact that it constantly surprises. Like any good book, there's a dynamic here that is difficult to recreate in summary if I want to do the story justice, but I'll try: Caraliza is about the endurance of genuine romance, the beauty of hope, the ability to imagine and remember love so vividly that it becomes immune to death. This book is part mystery, part fantastical, part dark realism, and yet it is the baffling and remarkable nature of love that drives each plot shift, injects each gritty scene with beauty and softness, and clearly defines each character's role. Caraliza is a beautifully written and utterly unique work that, like love, is sure to endure.
Caraliza is a gripping but also lovely, potent novel that is about human endurance, connection, and our capacity for love despite distance and time. What makes the book so incredible is the fact that it constantly surprises. Like any good book, there's a dynamic here that is difficult to recreate in summary if I want to do the story justice, but I'll try: Caraliza is about the endurance of genuine romance, the beauty of hope, the ability to imagine and remember love so vividly that it becomes immune to death. This book is part mystery, part fantastical, part dark realism, and yet it is the baffling and remarkable nature of love that drives each plot shift, injects each gritty scene with beauty and softness, and clearly defines each character's role. Caraliza is a beautifully written and utterly unique work that, like love, is sure to endure.
I am definitely teaching this book Fall Term in Children's Lit.
I've heard so many people praise this book to no end, so I might have been expecting too much from it. Bellow is awesome, this was well-written, but it seems to appeal to a certain fantasy that I cannot yet entertain... one day, perhaps?