I reread Isabel Allende’s “The House of Spirits” this year. I believe that she remains the most powerful master of magical realism. In my own writings, particularly in my first novella December on 5C4, I adapt magical realism to create characters who demonstrate either psychiatric issues or magical powers, or both, depending upon the reader's frame of reference. Her novel also inspired me to blend magical realism with social commentary. And her prose - though I’ve only read her in English translation - is just so lyrically beautiful! This book is incredible!
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“Spectacular...An absorbing and distinguished work...The House of the Spirits with its all-informing, generous, and humane sensibility, is a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present, and future of Latin America.” —The New York Times Book Review
Our Shared Shelf, Emma Watson Goodreads Book Club Pick November/December 2020!
The House of the Spirits, the unforgettable first novel that established Isabel Allende as one of the world’s most gifted storytellers, brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political…
I often enjoy writing about characters with various special powers and so I admire how Jackson Ford imbues his superheroes with such depth of characterization. This is the second book in the Frost Files series, which follows the adventures of a telekinetic heroine Teagan Frost. She is a compelling protagonist and written with such verisimilitude - if telekinesis existed, what would it really be like to have such a power? how would the government react to someone who could move objects with their mind? Jackson Ford’s answers to these questions, and his fast pacing with multiple cliffhangers, all made this book a delightful read!
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Originality: It felt fresh and original
'LIKE ALIAS MEETS X-MEN . . . I LOVED IT!' Maria Lewis on The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind
Full of imagination, wit and random sh*t flying through the air, this insane new Frost Files adventure will blow your tiny mind.
Teagan Frost's life is finally back on track. Her role working for the government as a telekinetic operative is going well and she might even be on course for convincing her crush to go out with her. But, little does she know, that sh*t is about to hit the fan . . .
Feh by Auslander is a darkly humorous memoir. Like this author, I too grew up in Monsey, New York, and it is often a struggle to reconcile my Jewish upbringing with the secular world. Shalom Auslander is a genius. His writings are witty and insightful, but also dysthymic, nihilistic, sardonic and cynical… The combination is complicated and nevertheless - due to some formula I have yet to decode - I cannot help but experience his odd existential darkness as uplifting.
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Thoughts: The thoughts it evoked
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Emotions: The emotions and feelings it evoked
From the acclaimed author of Foreskin’s Lament, a memoir of the author’s attempt to escape the biblical story he’d been raised on and his struggle to construct a new story for himself and his family
Shalom Auslander was raised like a veal in a dysfunctional family in the Orthodox community of Monsey, New York: the son of an alcoholic father; a guilt-wielding mother; and a violent, overbearing God. Now, as he reaches middle age, Auslander begins to suspect that what plagues him is something worse, something he can't so easily escape: a story. The story. One indelibly implanted in him…
December on 5C4 is a vibrant tale of magical realism set during the Christmas season, weaving together threads of Jewish folklore, New Testament narratives, and Santa Claus legends. This story unfolds in the unique environment of an urban psychiatric hospital, where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur. As the winter holidays progress, Josh and Nick—two very different patients, one with similarities to Jesus and the other Santa—find themselves on an unexpected journey of self-discovery and transformation. Their evolving friendship and shared experiences challenge them to reconcile their pasts, embrace their identities, and navigate the complexities of mental illness. December on 5C4 is a compelling exploration of belief, identity, and the magic that can emerge in the most unexpected of friendships.
