Have you ever read a book a second time to reintroduce yourself to a character? I was searching for a lighthearted read in recent weeks, having fallen into an odd pattern of trudging through heavy, dense stories and abandoning them partway.… Continue reading
Tag: fiction (Page 2 of 3)
Klara is an AF (“Artificial Friend”) who sits in a store and eagerly awaits the arrival of the child who will choose to take her home. Because she has emotional intelligence that most AFs lack, Klara loves being placed in the store’s front window and getting a detailed look at all the human interactions that are taking place outside.… Continue reading
In a parallel universe, Literary Detective Thursday Next protects the integrity of civilization’s most treasured works of literature as part of British government agency SO-27. Thursday deals with the usual chaotic and untraceable cases assigned to a poorly-run, under-resourced government department—manuscript theft, black market book trades, and the like—until megavillain Acheron Hades enters the scene.… Continue reading
After a long break from Jane Austen literature, I reentered British high society by diving into one of her under-appreciated and more controversial novels: Mansfield Park.
As a young girl from a poor family, Fanny Price is sent to live on the large estate belonging to her Aunt and Uncle Bertram.… Continue reading
“I am a bad mother, but I’m learning to be good.”
This is the mantra that Frida and her fellow moms must recite as they enter a yearlong program that will determine the status of their parental rights. During a “very bad day” in which she leaves her daughter, Harriet, alone for two hours, Frida is reported by her neighbors and finds herself swept away from motherhood by a “new and improved,” hyper-surveillant Child Protective Services program.… Continue reading