The character of Charles Strickland, an eccentric painter who deserted his family to paint, is based on the Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin. The narrator, after a knowing Strickland intermittently over a period of years shares what he knew of the man. The book was published in 1919, so the language took a little getting used to. But what makes the book a gem, are the generalizations about women that were assumedly accepted during that time.
Reviews
Uglies
By Scott WesterfeldTally is painfully aware that she is hideously ugly. But she is about to turn the much anticipated 16, and where Tally lives your 16th birthday marks the day you get full body plastic surgery. This is surgery unheard of in modern science, it isn't just some botox and a face-lift. This alters you forever. The doctors can change you hair, eye and skin colors, your bone structure, your curves, your muscles, your teeth, and more. It is a full body overhaul. Tally is looking forward to her 16th birthday and imagining how pretty she will be once the surgery is over.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
By Sherman AlexieWhen Junior announces that he wants to attend the white school off the reservation he is not only ostracized, but tormented by his own people. As he dips one foot into the strange world of white people and keeps the other firmly planted on the reservation he feels torn between the better life he glimpses at his new school and the life he has always known.
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
By Seth Grahame SmithThe romantic classic with ultra violent zombie mayhem! Think, jaded boyfriend forced to read sappy, period love story by (now ex) girlfriend and wants to get back all all women for upholding unrealistic ideas romance, inspired by the original Pride and Prejudice.
Pride and Prejudice = Awesome. Zombies = Awesome. Pride and Prejudice + Zombies = Really Awesome.
When Terry and Laura Sheldon lose their twin daughters in a flood, understandably, it takes them a few years to adjust to their seemingly empty life. Upon deciding to become foster parents they anxiously await the arrival of whom they envision to be a sweet, blonde-ringleted child who might resemble their own precious girls. They are charged, however, with Alfred, an introverted young black child who is as dismayed at his own presence in rural Vermont as the rural Vermontians are with him.
The original Star Wars movie (the one where Han shot first) came out when I was 7 years old. It changed my life. I loved the movie like I loved few other things. I had Star Wars posters in my room. I reenacted scenes with my friends at school. I played with Star Wars action figures, renaming the characters and making up my own stories. But oddly, I didn't buy the Star Wars comics published by Marvel Comics.
A Classic Tale Retold
By FUNimation EntertainmentFor those of you who love ol' Billy Shakespeare but never could really get into the language check out the new anime Romeo X Juliet. A futuristic cross gender tale of undying love! Scene: Neo-Verona, sometime in the future Characters:
10 Things I Hate About You
By ABC FamilyOk. I admit it. I am addicted. I was pretty skeptical when ABC Family announced that they were going to make a TV show out of one of my favorite 90's movies. I was ready to hate it. I almost didn't watch the premier. But somehow I ended sitting in front of my TV at 7pm on July 7th tuning into ABC Family. And even more unbelievable is that I liked it!I was ready to hate all the characters. Who could play Kat better than Julia Stiles, who could be Patrick Verona except the talented Heath Ledger?
Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: a Personal History
By Danzy SennaSenna’s narrative is very much in the vein of Walls’ The Glass Castle or Bragg’s All Over But the Shoutin. It surpasses both for its examination, not only of Senna’s parents relationship, but for its exploration of identity today, yesterday and tomorrow.