Characters. Writing. Detective. Surprises. Suspense. Weaknesses. Enjoyable. Pace. Depth. Yes.
Books
10 Word Review – Devil in the White City (book)
True. Crime. Architecture. Period. Feel. Murder. Mayhem. Progress. Congruent. Yes.
10 Word Review – Time Is a River (book)
Fiction. Fishing. Change. Discovery. Strength. Solitude. Mystery. Cabin. Textured. Yes.
10 Word Review – Seveneves (book)
Dystopian. Space. Survival. Long. Intense. World. Writing. Characters. Complex. Yes.
The Current Isolationism
The Current Isolationism
In the half-light, I am most
at home, my shadow
as company.
When I feel hot, I push a button
to make it stop. I mean this stain on my mind
I can’t get out. How human
I seem. Like modern man,
I traffic in extinction. I have a gift.
Like an animal, I sustain.
A flock of birds
when touched, I scatter. I won’t approach
until the back is turned.
My heart betrays. I confess: I am afraid.
How selfish of me.
When there’s no one here, I halve
the distance between
our bodies infinitesimally.
In this long passageway, I pose
against the wallpaper, dig
my heels in, catch the light.
In my vision, the back door opens
on a garden that is always
in bloom. The dogs
are chained so they can’t attack like I know
they want to. In the next yard
over, honeybees swarm
and their sound is huge.
~ CAMILLE RANKINE, Incorrect Merciful Impulses
10 Word Review – Two Weeks in the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook (book)
Immersive. Insightful. Writing. Atmosphere. Anecdotes. Feel. Place. Experiences. People. YES.
Some books propel you forward, urging you to get to the next exciting thing, a sort of mad dash to the finish. When you finally get there you are spent and nearly exhausted by the experience.
Other books, like this one, take their time. They invite you into the experience, where you walk leisurely down the avenue, trying to drink in all the sights, sounds, and smells around you.
There is nothing wrong with either one. I find myself enjoying each of them for the very different experiences they bring. But if I’m honest I would have to say I love these sorts of stories the best. I savor them. Enjoying the small details that add a depth and richness not found, or even wanted, in those mad dash books.
If you enjoy taking your time, savoring an experience, a place, soaking up a feeling, then this is the book for you. Roger Ebert won the Pulitzer, not for this work mind you, but he did, and after reading this I have to say that award was well deserved. His writing is emotional, empathetic, warm, and true.
“At the little newsstand on the other side of the market, I must buy today’s Herald-Tribune. I am always the first to ask for it, and the old woman inside the kiosk always has to unsnap the wire around the bundle, and she always has trouble finding her pliers, and this is important, too.”
“You have to understand that nobody is more impressed by celebrities than other celebrities; having spent a lifetime becoming famous, they value fame more than ordinary people, and are more impressed when they see it.”
10 Word Review – The Bone Clocks (book)
Disjointed. Beautiful. Parts. Voices. Worlds. Vision. Lives. Good. Evil. no.
