reviews

Head Games Author: Amelia Gray One might not expect a novel about a man who loses his grip after (or before, maybe) his wife’s mysterious death to be funny or beautiful, but there was more than one occasion in Threats that Amelia Gray caused me to guffaw or to rest on an image for several beats. Sometimes, my husband and I play a game in which we say terribly threatening things to one another; the first one to crack a smile loses. The threats Gray’s protagonist, David, begins to find in surprising places after his wife’s death are loaded with [...]

Literary Short Stories with a Gut Punch By: Michelle Brafman Miscarriage, infertility, desire, loss, women’s issues, and the poignancy of deep pain pervade We Named Them All, two short stories concentrating on a young Jewish couple. The first story, “Sylvia’s Spoon” delves into the premature loss of an unborn child through the mother’s prospective while also touching on women’s relationships, issues of jealousy, and the longing for what others seem to so easily have. The narrative is modern, yet ancient with the fluidity of pain. Most disturbing is the moment where we see Hannah’s miscarried baby, floating in the toilet [...]

A Literary Pioneer... Author:  John McPhee It all began in 1965, when he published a book that profiled a Princeton basketball player – and future NBA star and US Senator – named Bill Bradley.  Author John McPhee has continued prolifically writing since then, creating a collection of works that is unrivaled in its journalistic scope.  His half century of effort has resulted in the flourishing of a new literary genre known as creative nonfiction, a book species that is near and dear to my heart.  In 1975, McPhee published a collection of eleven short works, entitled Pieces of the Frame.  [...]