Monthly Archives: August 2007

This weekend I read a bunch of Roald Dahl’s short stories for adults. His stories are told in a voice I associate with Thurber: that boozy, 1950s war-of-the-sexes voice, where male characters are only interested in sex and drinking and female characters are only interested in nagging their husbands and drinking. It’s so far from … Continue reading »

The Changeover is a soothing read because nothing really bad happens. I mean, bad things do happen, but you’re removed from the emotion of the scene because of the beauty of the writing. It’s similar to the way Michael Ondaatje can write an emotionally-charged scene that actually calms the reader down — although I’m not … Continue reading »

I finished The California Feeling sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk outside our house while Gene changed the oil on his bike. I felt cliched all over again: lolling around on the filthy city ground, happy as a hippie in the sun and shit. (I mean, I hope not shit. But not everyone is thorough about … Continue reading »

Monday found me lounging in the sun by my parents’ pool, sipping a strawberry margarita and reading The California Feeling by Peter S. Beagle. Self, I said to myself, you could not be more cliche right now. Beagle is known for his fantasy novels, especially The Last Unicorn, but in my opinion he saves his … Continue reading »