Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges: Book Review

Um, I think I missed something. This book’s average rating on GoodReads is 4.47 as I write this and I’m rating it 2 stars. Where did I go wrong? It’s been a while since I finished so I won’t be able to get too specific. First of all, I didn’t particularly care for the writing […]

Continue Reading

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery: Book Review

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery Book Cover

I hesitated over this book for a long time. I’d somewhere picked up the idea that it involves a lot of Philosophy, which I read as Big, Boring Thoughts That Have No Practical Application to Anyone’s Life. Is that bad? Probably. But I came across it in Will Schwalbe’s memoir, The End of Your Life Book Club and it piqued my…

Continue Reading

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie: Book Review

Two young men, children of parents that the Communist government in China deems enemies of the state, are basically exiled to a remote mountain for “re-education.” Their parents’ “crimes” don’t even warrant the word; they’re basically just too educated for the government’s comfort. The teens find a harsh life waiting for them on the mountain. […]

Continue Reading

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak: Book Review

Set in the early days of the USSR, Doctor Zhivago is the story of the doctor and the sweeping changes he bears witness to. Oh, I had a hard time with this one. It was sheer stubbornness that got me through. I didn’t particularly like Doctor Zhivago, I thought Lara was crazy, and I couldn’t […]

Continue Reading

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink: Book Review

When Michael Berg is 15, he has an affair with Hanna Schmitz, who is over twice his age. The affair does eventually come to an end, but their lives are intertwined afterwards. This book should have been passionate, challenging, and emotionally wrenching. But I just felt too distanced from everything. I’m trying to decide if […]

Continue Reading

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri: Book Review

To summarize for those who don’t know, this is an epic poem, part of a greater poem called The Divine Comedy. Dante the Poet travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise at the behest of his dead true love, Beatrice. His guide for his tour of Hell is the great Roman poet, Virgil. This was tough. […]

Continue Reading

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón: Book Review

Fermín Romero de Torres is finally getting married. He’s got one problem though–he’s living under an assumed name. He has absolutely no proof that he legally exists. How is he supposed to get married without all the paperwork to prove that he is whom he says he is? As he explains this to Daniel Sempere, […]

Continue Reading

The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad: Book Review

After following the Northern Alliance troops around Afghanistan and reporting on the fall of the Taliban, journalist Åsne Seierstad finds herself in Kabul. She stumbles upon a bookshop and goes in. She and the proprietor, Sultan, hit it off at first and she is invited to spend a little time with his family. She thinks […]

Continue Reading

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke: Book Review

Meggie Folchart and her father, Mo, find themselves on the run from a mysterious man that Meggie knows only as “Capricorn.” Capricorn is chasing after them, trying to steal a book that they own, and he won’t stop at anything to get it. First off, let me say that I’m about 20 years older than […]

Continue Reading

When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornelia Funke: Book Review

Twinklestar, the last reindeer, panics in a thunderstorm and sends Santa’s caravan plunging toward the ground. After making sure everyone is okay, Niklas Goodfellow, the last real Santa, realizes that he has come to earth in a territory controlled by the evil new head Santa, Gerold Goblynch. Niklas is on the run from Goblynch and […]

Continue Reading