Archive for the ‘Drift-of-Life’ Category
BULLFIGHTING by Roddy Doyle
The thirteen stories in the collection BULLFIGHTING from Irish author Roddy Doyle examine various aspects of male middle age. Eight of these stories first appeared in New Yorker, and in this volume the post-boom stories collectively offer a wry, bittersweet look at the years past and the years yet to come. We see middle-aged men whose wives have left them, middle-aged men whose children have grown and gone, stale marriages, marriages which have converted lovers into friends, the acceptance of disease and aging, and the ever-looming aspect of mortality. Lest I give the wrong impression, these stories are not depressing–instead through these marvellous stories Doyle argues that middle age brings new experiences and new emotions–just when we thought we’d experienced all that life had to offer.
May 15, 2011
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Judi Clark · 
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Tags: Aging, Contemporary, Short Stories · Posted in: Award Winning Author, Drift-of-Life, End-of-Life, Fatherhood, Ireland, Short Stories
THE TARTARUS HOUSE ON CRAB by George Szanto
Jack Tartarus comes to his family house on Crab bent on destruction. What follows instead is a reconstruction of his life on this small island near Vancouver, a reuniting of family and neighbors, a closer understanding of those who have died, and the forging of new bonds.
March 16, 2011
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: Contemporary, Family Matters · Posted in: Canada, Contemporary, Drift-of-Life, Family Matters, Losses, Small Town
THE TERRIBLE PRIVACY OF MAXWELL SIM by Jonathan Coe
A couple of weeks ago, I watched the film “The Social Network.” I expect most of us know what the film is about, but for those who don’t, it’s the fictionalized account of the creation of the social networking internet site: Facebook. I liked the film a lot, and one of the things that remained with me after the credits rolled is the changing idea of friendship. In the age of the internet, what does friendship mean? It used to be that we made friends in school, at work or at university, but now many of us have friendships with people online that we’ve never actually met in person. Are these relationships real? Are they substitutes, or are they a facsimile of the “real” thing.
The authenticity of relationships is just one of the many things that trouble the protagonist of Jonathan Coe’s latest novel, THE TERRIBLE PRIVACY OF MAXWELL SIM.
March 11, 2011
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: 2011 Favorites, 21st-Century, Contemporary, Humorous, Jonathan Coe, Knopf, virtual reality · Posted in: 2011 Favorites, Contemporary, Drift-of-Life, Friendship, Humorous, Reading Guide, United Kingdom
FALLING SIDEWAYS by Thomas E. Kennedy
In his fantastic and insightful book, On Writing, the prolific writer Stephen King once said: “People love to read about work. God knows why, but they do.”
But what if that work is especially mind-numbing and unfulfilling and involves plodding away at an outfit called the Tank—chatting, shuffling papers, composing reports, sending e-mails and wondering where things went wrong? Would that still make for a readable story? As Thomas Kennedy’s new book, FALLING SIDEWAYS shows, the answer is yes.
March 1, 2011
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: Around-the-World, Bloomsbury, Copenhagen, Literary, Thomas E. Kennedy · Posted in: Award Winning Author, Denmark, Drift-of-Life, Job, Literary, Reading Guide, World Literature
LATE NIGHTS ON AIR by Elizabeth Hay
If a heart is torn apart in the Canadian arctic and no one hears it, did it really happen? Elizabeth Hay would answer a resounding “yes.”
All of her characters – a diverse group of wounded lost souls who work together in a small Yellowknife radio station in the mid-1970s – are aching. Harry – the curmudgeonly acting manager with the cauliflower ear – has returned from a gig in television with his tail between his legs. Dido ran from the only man she ever loved – her own father-in-law — and quickly connects with the station “bad boy,” Eddy. Eleanor fled from the memories of a husband who could not consummate their reunion. And Gwen, the youngest, who arrives at Yellowknife “subtle in her camouflage” with a buff-grey shirt with a pale brown collar and no adornment, is looking to make a fresh start in an area in which fresh starts are legendary.
December 22, 2010
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: 2010 PB Release, Arctic, Contemporary, Literary · Posted in: Award Winning Author, Canada, Character Driven, Contemporary, Drift-of-Life, Giller Prize, Literary, Reading Guide
EVERYTHING LOVELY, EFFORTLESS, SAFE by Jenny Hollowell
For the longest time, growing up in rural Virginia, Birdie Baker is convinced she is destined to follow the path set forth by her devout Christian parents. Like them, as a Jehovah’s Witness, she will spread the word of the Lord, marry, settle down and wrap it up. But the sense of unease that plagues her even after she is married to a church-going man named Judah, is worsened when she runs into her high school drama teacher at the grocery store. “What are you still doing here?” he asks, “I figured the next time I saw you it would be in a movie.” Eventually, leave Virgina she does. Birdie pools all her savings toward a one-way bus ticket to Los Angeles.
December 14, 2010
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: 2010 Favorites, 2010 PB Release, Contemporary, hollywood, LA · Posted in: 2010 Top Picks, California, Contemporary, Debut Novel, Drift-of-Life, guilt, Job, Life Choices
