In the echo chamber of pain and tears Robin Romm @RobinRomm inhabits in The Mercy Papers (Scribner, 2009), there are other characters: father Richard, boyfriend Don and a mother, Jackie, “who was the first to notice when the crocuses bloomed each … [Read more]
New York Times Sunday Book Review Snips
Some time ago, a devilish hobbyist/collector/imitator instinct took hold. What got my attention were occasional flights of fine prose writing in the New York Times Sunday Book Review section. As the quality of these snips continued at a fairly high … [Read more]
Cinematic Canvas, Limp Brush
There is much to like in a book that appropriates a cinematic swath of the not-too-distant past and brings it into sharp focus. Why, then, does Janet Y. K. Lee's first novel The Piano Teacher (Viking, 2009) leave an unsettled and incomplete … [Read more]
Two Women Take Stock of Two Losses
Meghan O'Rourke's Slate series of reflections on the loss of her mother provides, in a complementary way, some other ways to look at death and grieving. Romm's memoir was fresh in my mind when I read the seven parts to O'Rourke's pieces from start … [Read more]
The Unceasing Wail (And Barb Would Like Her CD Back)
In the echo chamber of pain and tears Robin Romm inhabits in The Mercy Papers (Scribner, 2009), there are other characters: father Richard, boyfriend Don and a mother, Jackie, "who was the first to notice when the crocuses bloomed each spring," even … [Read more]
The Shrewd, The Despicable & The Vindicated: Gaitskill’s Feinted Rogue’s Gallery
Plot, character development or scene? Despite an overpowering temptation to cite Gaitskill's menagerie of characters in her collection of stories (Don't Cry, Pantheon 2009) as central to her inventions, something altogether different catches my … [Read more]
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