Do we question mortality only when faced with imminent death? A literary memoir by a dying man raises questions on the very meaning of living. Most of us go through life without contemplating about our existence. Death is inevitable, but it doesn’t feature largely in our daily thoughts. We spend our time thinking about what our day is going to be, what our year is going to be, and our hopes and dreams. Paul Kalanithi…
Nonfiction
It may not be a total exaggeration to claim that the British have cornered the fictional murder mystery market. Some of the most popular British television imports are long running detective series like Midsomer Murders, Father Brown, and countless adaptation of Agatha Christie novels. Even the most popular fictional detectives that live in our modern conscious are British — Holmes, Poirot anyone? What is the obsession of this tiny island nation with crime? And when did it begin Historically,…
What can be more wonderful to a bibliophile than a book about books? Lewis Buzbee’s nonfiction essay on bookshops is a tribute to the love of reading and selling books. Buzbee draws heavily from his decades of experience as an independent bookshop employee and publishing sales representative. “Books connect us with others, but that connection is created in solitude, one reader in one chair hearing one writer, what John Irving refers to as one genius…
I have mixed feelings about this book having just finished it yesterday. I had expectations from this book. I expected it to be the story of the American dream, like in the movies – the hero will rise above himself to be a bigger and better person. Clearly, I was obviously mistaken. This is about real life and real life is not the like the movies. Read More…
“Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.” No book review of Angela’s Ashes is complete without quoting these opening lines, because in them lies the promise of an engaging and poignant story. Frank McCourt’s memoir of his childhood takes you to the damp slums of Limerick where you look in the houses of the poorest of the poor. The descriptions of the living…
