To celebrate my birthday today - turning a frolicsome 54 - I compiled a list of 54 favorite books. The majority are novels, but there are also mysteries (Daphne du Maurier), memoirs (Patricia Hampl), Vietnam books (Tim O'Brien), classics (Norman MacLean), short stories (Ellen Gilchrist), Pulitzer Prize winners (Wallace Stegner) and more. Not a mere list, though, but also descriptions and commentary to help fill those summer reading totes.
Category: Classics
The answer’s in the carpet
"Of Human Bondage" is William Somerset Maugham's masterpiece and a classic coming-of-age story originally published in 1915. It follows protagonist Philip Carey, from childhood through young adult years, as an artist in Paris and a medical student in London. Along the way, he wrestles with the meaning of life.
The pony problem
Having come off two dark books, let alone a friend's doom and gloom email, I've been thinking about books that made me laugh. Sloane Crosley hits the top of the list with "I Was Told There'd Be Cake," as do two other all-time favorites.
The revolutionary road not taken
Richard Yates' 1961 novel "Revolutionary Road" now moves off my reading table. I read it compulsively, neglecting the books on my Currently Reading list. My attachment to the book - made into a movie starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio - surprised me.
No lucky guess, but a lucky child
In his moving Holocaust memoir, Thomas Burgenthal recounts the miraculous story of his survival in Auschwitz as a 10-year-old separated from his parents. In his Acknowledgements, he writes about the difficulties in getting his memoir published in the United States.
Three additions to My Reading Table
Three new books added to Kassie Rose's Reading Table: "Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates, "Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?" by Charlise Lyles and "Loneliness as a Way of Life" by Thomas Dumm.
One of the finest American short novels
Glenway Wescott's "The Pilgrim Hawk: A Love Story" is described by the New York Review of Books as "A work of classical elegance and concision" and says it "stands with Faulkner's 'The Bear' as one of the finest American short novels." I've reached a point in my life where I realize some books need to be read a second time to fully appreciate them, let alone understand the depths of their meaning. "The Pilgrim Hawk" is one of them.
Jennie Gerhardt is back
A few years ago, at some random point in my reading journey, an author or critic said he or she preferred Theodore Dreiser's Jennie Gerhardt, published in 1911, to the more famously known and assigned Dreiser classic Sister Carrie. Not just preferred, though -- the book was described as a favorite. I went online to purchase a copy, only … Continue reading Jennie Gerhardt is back
Will you be dispensable?
The Other Press is publishing The Unit in June, the first novel by Swedish author Ninni Holmqvist, translated byMarlaine Delargy. From what I read in the press release, it's sci-fi along the lines of Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World. Sci-fi is not a genre that calls to me, although I've read the aforementioned classics, … Continue reading Will you be dispensable?
A super son nevertheless: Michael Dirda
Michael Dirda reviews Jayne Anne Phillips Lark and Termite in the current New York Review of Books (April 30, 2009). His exceptional analysis of this dreamy, multi-narrated novel unravels the complexity that IMO makes the story less accessible to all readers. Anyone who's already read the novel or who plans to read it will find … Continue reading A super son nevertheless: Michael Dirda
The Longest Chapter 