Read Your Way Through Edinburgh
Edinburgh calls to readers, its pearl-grey skies urging them to curl up with a book. Maggie O’Farrell, the author of “Hamnet,” suggests reading that best reflects her city.
Daughter of Darkness
UnCovered review by Elizabeth Sausto, ACLS Galloway Branch
Terry Brooks’ DAUGHTER
OF DARKNESS was much more emotional than I thought it would be when I
turned the first page. Picking up two years after CHILD OF LIGHT left
off, Auris is now fully integrated into her life in Viridian Deep as one of the
Fae and deeply invested to a life with her lover, Harrow. Her peaceful life is
suddenly shattered when a mysterious creature attacks and steals Harrow’s inish-
his very soul- and demands that Auris bring him a dragon for any hope of
restoring it. As Harrow falls into a comatose state, Auris goes on a dangerous
journey to save the love of her life and discovers more about her mysterious
past in the process.
This novel was a very
worthy follow-up to CHILD OF LIGHT. Along with a very useful map
included in the very beginning, the book introduced compelling new characters
and magical species. The fact that Auris had very little time to complete her
quest before Harrow’s demise also added some tension that made the book almost
impossible to put down.
However, DAUGHTER
OF DARKNESS suffered from many of the same problems as its predecessor. The
narrator, Auris, repeats herself much too often, which made the story a bit
tiring at times. I also longed for a more in-depth look into the culture and
history of the magical creatures introduced in this novel, but I believe Brooks
fell short in this regard. Lastly, I felt that the ending was a bit rushed.
There were many elements to the ending that I think should have been covered in
two chapters instead of just one.
Despite its flaws, I still enjoyed reading DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS and thoroughly hope that Brooks delivers more of Auris’ journey of self-discovery in the near future.
Book Review: ‘Beaverland,’ by Leila Philip
“Beaverland,” by Leila Philip, offers an appreciative account of the North American rodent, whose habit of taking down trees and causing floods has given it a reputation as a nuisance.
Book Review: ‘Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins,’ by Aidan Levy
Aidan Levy has written a revealing, comprehensive biography of the improviser-hero Sonny Rollins.
The Portrait Hung in Joan Didion’s Home. But Who Painted It?
No one in Didion’s circle knew the mysterious painting’s origin. The publicity created by an auction of her belongings brought the first clues in years — and the answer.
Essay: On Food in Cormac McCarthy’s Novels
His novels are full of food scenes, often in modest digs. Why do they resonate so much?
Book Review: ‘Motherfield,’ by Julia Cimafiejeva
In “Motherfield,” her first collection to appear in English, Julia Cimafiejeva grapples with questions of language, nationalism and oppression.
Book Review: ‘You Can’t Kill Snow White,’ by Beatrice Alemagna
Beatrice Alemagna’s “You Can’t Kill Snow White,” a picture book for older kids, mines the brutal envy that underpins the original Brothers Grimm tale.
Book Review: ‘Alte Zachen/Old Things,’ by Ziggy Hanaor, and ‘My Neighborhood,’ by María José Ferrada
These old people don’t exist only for their grandchildren, if they have any, and they don’t dispense wisdom or soup.
Book Review: ‘Scatterlings,’ by Resoketswe Manenzhe
Resoketswe Manenzhe’s debut novel, “Scatterlings,” witnesses the dissolution of a young family in the wake of South Africa’s Immorality Act, which outlawed interracial relationships.
9 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
Louise Penny Wrote a No. 1 Best Seller During Her Year Off
She meant to take a break but the Canadian author ended up doing what she always does: powering through a new novel.
Jane Smiley By the Book Interview
“It’s always tempting for readers to read novels about people like themselves,” says the author, whose latest novel is “A Dangerous Business.” “One of the benefits of literature classes in school is that kids get an early exposure to people who are not like them.”
Jane Smiley By the Book Interview
“It’s always tempting for readers to read novels about people like themselves,” says the author, whose latest novel is “A Dangerous Business.” “One of the benefits of literature classes in school is that kids get an early exposure to people who are not like them.”
Review: ‘The Tudors in Love,’ by Sarah Gristwood
In the historian Sarah Gristwood’s “Tudors in Love,” for both monarchs and courtiers the stakes are higher than romance.
Newly Published, From Feminist Resistance to Ancient Empire
A selection of recently published books.
A MAN OF IRON: THE TURBULENT LIFE AND IMPROBABLE PRESIDENCY OF GROVER CLEVELAND
unCovered review by Frank Tomasello, ACLS
Mays Landing Branch
Grover Cleveland served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States and today is generally remembered for that fact alone. Yet, sadly, there is much to the life and career of this remarkable man.
Grover Cleveland was born the fifth of nine children, in Caldwell, New Jersey, to a Congregationalist Minister. He dropped out of school at age 16 when his father died and he needed to support his family. Through family connections, he worked as a clerk in a law office and became a lawyer through a sort of apprenticeship. As a lawyer, Cleveland developed a reputation for unscrupulous honesty and 18-to 20-hour workdays. Most of his earnings went to support his family (including funding the college education denied him for one of his sisters). As one can imagine, this left no time for social life (not to mention the development of social skills), and Cleveland remained a bachelor until age 49 when he became the first President to be married in the White House. Difficult to believe is the fact that Cleveland’s political career, before being elected President, spanned a mere three years (Sheriff of Erie County, Mayor of Buffalo, and Governor of New York). The fact that Cleveland served non-consecutive terms is due to the inherent quirks of the Electoral College as he won the popular vote in three consecutive elections. The debate over the shortcomings of the Electoral College is still hotly debated today.
Elected as President based upon his reputation for honesty, he found that same quality and a strict constructionist policy towards the Constitution (along with the aforementioned lack of social skills), as a constant source of friction with Congress and his own political party. Fortunately, his marriage to Frances Folsom seemed to have mellowed him and his second term was marked by a somewhat more willingness to compromise. Despite the fact of severe economic depression and a growing trend away from conservatism and towards progressivism in his second term, Cleveland’s legacy has been consigned to the dustbin of history. He surely deserves better and there are lessons for the present in the life and Presidency of Grover Cleveland as well.
This book, by Troy Senik, was interesting and readable. My only criticism is the author’s overuse of obscure vocabulary as though his target audience is a Ph.D. committee on the English language and not the average historian.
Book Review: ‘The Wind at My Back,’ by Misty Copeland; ‘Weightless,’ by Evette Dionne; ‘A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing,’ by Mary-Alice Daniel
Personal reflections by three women about art and adversity, fat-phobia and diaspora.
Book Review: ‘The Tatami Galaxy,’ by Tomihiko Morimi
In Tomihiko Morimi’s novel, a college junior in Kyoto has four chances at happiness, with frustratingly similar results.
Book Review: ‘Gunk Baby,’ by Jamie Marina Lau
Jamie Marina Lau’s “Gunk Baby” sets a workers’ revolution in a cheesy shopping mall.
Pages
Search this Site
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
