“….an existence so so splendid, so compelling, that the paltry realities of this world grew faint by comparison.” – Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured, by Kathryn Harrison
This fanciful depiction of the maid of Orleans, or La Pucelle, is one of the images that haunted my childhood. This is another: This is one of the first paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I came to know and love. My mother could hardly wait to show it to me. She knew […]
“The sequence of any fiction is, by its nature, the path of time evaporating.” – The Art of Time in Fiction: As Long As It Takes, by Joan Silber
In this extended essay, Joan Silber undertakes to explain the way in which “…a story is entirely determined by what portion of time it chooses to narrate.” This can be a moment, a day, a season, a lifetime. She illustrates her thesis with a fascinating mix of works, ranging from the established classics to unknown […]
Ideas of Heaven by Joan Silber
Ideas of Heaven by Joan Silber is subtitled, “A Ring of Stories.” In each tale, there is embedded a specific link to the next. Looking for these connectors becomes part of the pleasure of reading this book. Ordinarily, I might look with suspicion on a device that comes perilously close to gimmickry, but somehow, Silber […]
Adventures in art history: Seductive Paris, Part Two
French naturalism was a direct outgrowth of the realist movement in art. The distinction between the two is rather subtle; ergo, I’ll direct you to the relevant entry in the Visual Arts Encyclopedia. Ms Billman cited Jules Bastien-Lepage as one of the main exponents of naturalism. I was thrilled to hear that name, as I […]
Best reading in 2015: Nonfiction
My reading in nonfiction this year was heavily influenced – indeed, largely determined, at least initially – by the course in the literature of true crime which I taught back in February and March. This proved to be an exhilarating experience on all levels: the interaction with genuine, enthusiastic, and unapologetic intellectuals, the chance to […]
Six nonfiction titles I’ve read and esteemed so far this year
My nonfiction reading this year was heavily influenced by the presence of the true crime class in my life. Among other readings, I finally got around to reading The Stranger Beside Me, Ann Rule‘s classic account of her strange and curiously compelling friendship with serial killer Ted Bundy. And so this seems like the […]
‘100 Best English Language Novels from 1923 to the Present’ ( actually 2005), according to Time Magazine
I love lists like this! With this one, in particular, I found myself careening between books I could not get through to books I loved. Here’s a link to the list. And here are some (totally subjective) examples: Books I couldn’t get through: Call It Sleep by Henry Roth Light in August and The Sound […]
Latest entries in three long running mystery series of which I am inordinately fond (good grief…)
Well, gosh, I can hardly believe that we’re already up to Number 27 in the Inspector Banks series. It seems like only yesterday when the first in the series, Gallows View (1987), came out. My library buddy Marge and I scarfed it up at once, and have remained more or less faithful throughout. A glance […]
Art to calm and to inspire
Art and books, art and books! I am awash in both. I know…lucky, lucky me. Here are some paintings that I have recently come to know and love – in no particular order: You could almost forget that this is a religious depiction, the landscape is so compelling and beautiful. Yet it is vital to […]
Books to the Ceiling 