Book Review - "A Fairy Tale of New York"

"A Fairy Tale of New York" by J. P. Donleavy

My grade: A-

In some sort of way, this book reminded me a lot of "The American Psycho", although I didn't like the latter at all. This novel, however, is quite amazing on several different levels. Firstly, I have to admit, its abstractedness left me quite lost at moments, and I think to fully understand it, one would have to read the novel a few times. Having said that, though, it at (many) times captured reality so poignantly that I found myself struck by its candidness and simplicity.

Hidden beneath layers of sarcasm and wit is both a story and commentary on New York in particular, and the U.S. and humankind more globally. It's fast-paced, unusually written (e.g., the author uses no question marks, although there certainly are questions asked), exceptional and smart. My one criticism of it is the unnecessary abundance of sex and sexual perversion, and the vulgarity that accompanies that.

Book Review - "Architecture of the Novel"

"Architecture of the Novel: A Writer's Handbook" by Jane Vandenburgh

My grade: B-

As the title cleverly suggests, this book is about the art of writing. As is likewise suggested, the focus of the book is almost exclusively on writing longer narratives, and I found a lot of the advice offered not at all pertinent to writing shorter pieces, such as short stories. Having said that, there was nonetheless useful information and tips on writing, in general.

I was a bit put off with Vandenburgh's style of writing. I'm not sure whether she teaches, but she definitely speaks to the reader as one, with a somewhat patronizing tone. She is also very closed-minded in her vision of what a novel is; for example, she constantly demands on pointing out that a novel must resemble real life because otherwise people wouldn't read books. I beg to differ! It's boring to read books that resemble life too closely, and one of the reasons I read books, personally, is to get a feel of surrealism. I am curious now to read what Vandenburgh has to offer in the form of fiction.

Book Review - "Medea and Her Children"

"Medea and Her Children" by Ludmila Ulitskaya

My grade: C

I really must begin by saying that the translation of this book is quite bad. Instead of reading it in the original Russian (which I could have done), I for some reason decided to read it in English. It was quite obvious though in many places that the author was translating directly from the Russian, and the wording of certain sentences was not very 'English'-sounding.

Additionally, the original work is quite lacking. I almost feel like the author ran out of things to say, and pulled this book together out of thin air. She tells the story of about 50 different characters, who are only slightly connected with each other. Their stories are neither unique nor interesting, and one is left with this question: what is the point/message of all this? In the end, I found none.

The characters are likewise entirely undeveloped, maybe only partially because there are so many of them. Medea herself, who I guess is supposed to be the protagonist, is undeveloped. Not a single one is believable or true to himself, and not a single emotion is evoked throughout the whole thing. Even when Masha herself (here's a bit of a spoiler...) commits suicide, one only asks: who cares? My overall judgment: not worth your, or anybody's, time.

Are you a writer?

Don't know if any of you writers out there have (or had) this problem: I have a hard time calling myself a writer as I am yet unpublished. Since I work as a freelance writer, I do call myself that, but the implications are completely different for 'writer' and 'freelance writer'. It never fails to amaze me, however, how many people use the term (writer, that is) so freely. Every second person I meet is a 'writer'. And I always want to ask, "What does that mean exactly?" After all, if I play tennis once a month with a friend, does that make me a tennis player? Shouldn't we be more careful with the connotations and implications these titles give off? Or are titles too overrated in our drastically-politicized world?

The Search - FICTION

Is this where we search for one another, in unpaid bills and abandoned rooms? Does one's absence say more than one's presence? Are we so quick with judgement to look for flaws and silence praise?

Vacancy - FICTION

We're sitting with each other, each of us alone. I wonder how it has come to this. It was so good before, it felt so right. And now I look through vacant eyes, once my shelter. They hold nothing for me now, no promise of a distant comfort, no hint of recognition. They are just... eyes.

Book Review - "De Profundis"

"De Profundis" by Oscar Wilde

My grade: A

As the title appropriately suggests, this piece is actually quite profound. Written in the form of a letter to his lover, Wilde wrote this while he served his jail sentence for sodomy. He describes, among other things, the tremendous sorrow he feels, and the nature of sorrow itself. He likewise discusses human nature as he sees it, in both its doom and glory. While I cannot agree with everything Wilde proclaims, he has certainly provided much to think about and offered an extremely erudite well-thought-out philosophy of sorts. One thing I may agree with him on: perhaps it really does take an experience similar to imprisonment to arrive at such conclusions.