A Cineaste’s Bookshelf
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REVIEW: THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN JOHN EMMETT by Elizabeth Speller
I am unhappy to report that the strongest element about this book is the cover art. It hearkens back to the wonderful Great Western Rail (and other) posters of the 1920s and 30s in England — the Golden Age of Travel. The contents, I’m afraid, do not. The story is set in 1920, just as… Read More »
REVIEW: THE LOST CYCLIST by David Herlihy
The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance This is a completely unexpected story of the early days of cycling — and the dwindling days of worldwide adventure. The heady days of Stanley and Livingstone, Darwin and the Beagle, and the Royal Geographic Society were past, but an entire generation still itched… Read More »
REVIEW: THE LANTERN by Deborah Lawrenson
This is yet another recent book that cements my assumption that Provence is enchanting. Of course, in my fantasy, there is significantly less murder and suspicion than in this book (or Death at Chateau Bremont). Still, I too dream of a run down but livable field stone farmhouse, with an aging orchard and lavender fields,… Read More »
REVIEW: STORIES FOR THE NIGHTTIME AND SOME FOR THE DAY by Ben Loory
It’s a deceptive little book. Not too thick; it’s compact and fits easily into your bag. Just pull it out while you wait at the car wash or in the subway. Something to pass the time. But that’s what it wants you to think. Soon you will be swept away into dimensions where a… Read More »
REVIEW: THE VANISHING OF KATHARINA LINDEN by Helen Grant
Who says you forget everything you learned in school? Admittedly, some details are clearer than others. I graduated from college nearly (gulp) ten years ago already and I still lapse into German when I am tired. And English is my first language. For some reason, the language stuck with me — as did the bizarre… Read More »
BOOK PHOTO: THE LANTERN by Deborah Lawrenson
From The Lantern: “At a stone hut, which must once have been a shepherd’s borie, I was directed to a field about a kilometer away. I arrived to find a field of hunched backs, the blue rows reverting to dusty green behind the women curled over like commas, cloth bags slung across their bodies.” …… Read More »
Sigh… *want* wwnorton: Look at these beautiful new P. G. Wodehouse paperbacks from Norton. Jus
Sigh… *want* wwnorton: Look at these beautiful new P. G. Wodehouse paperbacks from Norton. Just look at them!Read More »
Sounds interesting… and the cover art is wonderful! hmhbooks: New today, a brisk and enchantin
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This is AMAZING!! Love it. overlookpress: This still might be our favorite cover of our summer seas
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REVIEW: DRACULA by Bram Stoker
Novelist Bram Stoker It was absolutely fascinating to look back and see where this whole Vampire obsession started. And as with any original, I wanted to see how modern interpretations reflected their predecessors. I was surprised at how very close and certainly recognizable many of the main characters were: Jonathan Harker, Van Helsing, Renfield and… Read More »
REVIEW: DEATH AT THE CHATEAU BREMONT by M.L. Longworth
Any lover of wine, cigars, and old world charm — as well as a good yarn — should read this mystery. It poses no genre-defying questions, and it really doesn’t really hold any gasp-enducing surprises. But that’s ok, because it is the perfect hammock read for the summer. Antione Verlaque is a slightly cranky, somewhat… Read More »
REVIEW: MEDICAL MUSES by Asti Hustvedt
Hysteria in the Nineteenth Century Paris An absolutely stunning and amazing book. There were many overnight hours spent with a little light, awake and reading. Hustvedt demonstrates such thorough knowledge and ease about her topic that her academic precision never overpowers the compelling story of Charcot, Salpetriere and the “star” hysterics. Hustvedt uses three main… Read More »