The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Horror fiction is at its best in its subtlety.  It’s not necessarily the immediate shock factor, but the psychological reverberations, the feeling of unsettlement, that last long after the final page.  Good horror writing will screw you up way past the actual reading. Such is the case for The Haunting of Hill House, which Shirley [...]

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

This historical novel takes place in London and Paris during the late 18th century.  Dickens portrays cruel aristocrats in France during the monarchy and also depicts the horror of the French Revolution, when the lower classes used the guillotine to get revenge on anyone whom they considered to be involved in oppressing them. As the [...]

The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler

This novel begins, “The strangest thing about my wife’s return from the dead was how other people reacted.” After her death, Aaron wonders if he can possibly continue without her.  As he sums it up, “That was one of the worst things about losing your wife: your wife is the very person you want to [...]

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The 100th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth was in February, 2012.  After reading an article about Dickens’ birthday, I decided to refresh my memory of this famous English author, since I had not read any of his books since my high school years.  I recently read David Copperfield, which is somewhat autobiographical, and Great Expectations, [...]

The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw

Recently, my sister referred me to the author Margo Lanagan.  I do eventually want to read her books, and we have a couple of them here at the library, but I really wanted to read something lighter in the fantasy/folk tale fiction mode.  That’s when I found a favorable review to The Moorchild. It’s a children’s book and [...]

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

If you saw the first season of the HBO television series, you should definitely consider reading A Game of Thrones.  I saw the series before starting the book, and I’ve found it fascinating to learn more details about the characters and plot.  Also, as I read, I enjoyed seeing the characters in my mind. If you [...]

Jack Holmes and His Friend by Edmund White

Beginning in the 1960s, Jack and Will become friends in New York City while working drudge jobs at a small specialty magazine.  Jack is a likeable Midwesterner who early on questions his sexuality.  He falls in love with Will in the process, and never completely gets over his infatuation, even as Will marries and moves away from the city and Jack.  The [...]

The Legacy by Katherine Webb

In 1902, Caroline, a young woman from New York City, marries a rancher.  Although she adores him and he treats her well, she has great difficulty in adjusting to life on his isolated ranch.  Also, her longing for children is unfulfilled, and—to make this more painful– she fears that her husband is the father of [...]

Darkness Bids the Dead Goodbye by Gary McKinney

Gavin Pruitt is the sheriff of fictional Willapa County in Washington State and a Deadhead from years back.  It’s the summer of 1995 (if you keep up with the Grateful Dead, this year is extremely significant) and the unsolved murder of Wilma, a well-liked member of the local police force, has the community bewildered. As the case progresses, it turns out [...]

Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

Kelly, an attractive but self-deprecating young woman, meets a prominent politician at a mutual friend’s island vacation home.  Together they leave a dinner party early to catch a ferry back to the mainland, but instead run off the road into a swamp.  The Senator (we never learn the his real name) is able to leave the submerged car, but [...]