Tag Archives: American

Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , ,

Most of the grief-lit that I read is nonfiction (either memoir or academic texts about grief). Lots of fiction that I read has elements of grief but rarely is it the main theme – I tend to avoid these because I fear there will be something that doesn’t ring true, which then colours my opinion of the entire book (probably unfairly).

So with that said, why did I pick up Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer? I was intrigued by the blurb that alluded to a ‘surprising’ end-of-life request. Continue reading →

The Four Spent the Day Together by Chris Kraus

Posted by Kate W in Fiction, Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Are you familiar with Chris Kraus’s writing? I have never read her seminal work, I Love Dick, but did enjoy the TV series based on the book that came out a couple of years ago. It’s certainly not necessary to have read her previous work to appreciate her latest ‘novel’ (it’s actually a combination of  autofiction, memoir and true crime), The Four Spent the Day Together, however, I suspect it would have been a richer reading experience had I. Continue reading →

We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Looking for something bonkers? Look no further than We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad. It’s both a prequel and a sequel to Awad’s breakout novel, Bunny (technically, it could standalone, but I reckon it would too weird if you hadn’t read Bunny).

The story opens with the Bunnies kidnapping Samantha, who has just published her first novel to critical acclaim (exposing the Bunnies and the highly selective writing workshop that they had all participated in). At the New England stop on Sam’s book tour, her one-time frenemies literally make her their captive audience, to tell their side of the story.

…Samantha’s a fucking asshole, and I do want her to fucking die, but then I thought: Why give her better book sales? Why go to jail for her when I don’t even like orange? Continue reading →

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , ,

Aesthetics are higher than ethics.
– Oscar Wilde

When I was on my recent beach holiday, I read a book a day. I locked-in quickly on the day I picked up The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. It was gripping.

In a nutshell, it’s the true-crime story of Swiss master art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser, and his girfriend, Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus. Over the course of eight years, Breitwieser stole more than three hundred rare and precious objects, from paintings and ivory carvings to silver ware and weapons (he had a penchant for 16th century pieces). He targeted smaller museums and cathedrals all over Europe and the robberies occurred in broad daylight. His tools were nothing more than a Swiss army knife, stylish clothing, and his girlfriend’s designer handbag. As he later revealed, ‘…all forms of security have a weakness‘ and ‘…it isn’t action … that usually lands a thief in prison. It’s hesitation.’ Continue reading →

Two memoirs

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Not quite sure what compelled me to read these two memoirs one after the other, given that both deal with the topic of suicide (although the focus of the Toews is on her writing and how her life experiences have shaped that – those experiences include the death of her father and her sister by suicide). Anyway, it wasn’t the cry-fest I anticipated. In fact, not a tear was shed. Partly because Li has quite a different perspective on suicide than others I’ve come across, and in reading Toews, I was marvellously distracted by her plans for a wind museum. Continue reading →

Literary Wives Club: Mrs Bridge by Evan S. Connell

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , ,

For the same reasons I enjoy the work of Richard Yates, I enjoyed Evan S. Connell’s novel, Mrs Bridge  – spare prose (not a single unnecessary word); intensely depressing; bleakly suburban; and satirical.

It does not go unnoticed that the protagonist, Mrs Bridge, has an exotic name – India – and that despite initially thinking to herself that ‘…she could get along very nicely without a husband’, she marries Walter (Mr Bridge) who promises her that ‘…one day he would take his wife on a tour of Europe.‘ Mr Bridge proceeds to focus on building his law practice, and providing well for his family (they have three children, Ruth, Carolyn (Corky), and Douglas). And India leads a very staid, conservative suburban life.

They had started off together to explore something that promised to be wonderful, and, of course, there had been wonderful times. And yet, thought Mrs Bridge, why is it that we haven’t – that nothing has – that whatever we–? Continue reading →

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dear Ann,

I am writing to congratulate you on your most recent novel, State of Wonder, which was given to me for my birthday by my brother…

Yes, the protagonist, Sybil Van Atwerp, is referring to Ann Patchett. She goes on to say that if Ann was to ever visit Annapolis, she’d be glad to host her. Sybil’s familiar tone (which she also employs in letters to Joan Didion and Kazuo Ishiguro) is wonderfully endearing and I’d like to imagine, disarming for the receivers of those letters.

However, letters to authors are just a small part of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Continue reading →