Amazing collection. If you're just dipping in to Russian literature beyond the usual suspects, this is a great place to start. The editor notes the interesting contrast between the first two stories: "The Queen of Spades," by Pushkin, which could have been written by a French or British author, and "The Cloak," by Gogol, which is simply Russian.
This is an unhappy book, interesting but not cheerful. The actor's wife tells the story of her growing disillusionment with her husband, who as a succesful stage actor never can leave behind his massive ego, love of late nights, and the loose ways of the theater world. When she begins to be pulled into his less then moral doings, watch out.
This is a perfect book to read before bed, or on a rainy day, on a plane or on vacation. Sweet-natured but not without bite, it's a well-reported look at the gentle absurdities of English village life in the Napoleonic era. Worth noting: it's written in fresh, thoughtful, modern language that requires no effort to dive right into. Recommended, and if you like this, try "Wives and Daughters."
Looking at the cover you wouldn't assume there's much character development going on, but this is a pretty rich little story. The hero, Kevven Tomari, spends much of the book meeting odd creatures from around the universe and figuring out how to not get annoyed with them. It's a metaphor but a really fun one, with an imaginative cast. The actual plot is a run-and-gun space war with a heartfelt payoff. The first few scenes of the book are overwritten and even a bit hard to follow, but be patient; the author finds his groove. If your favorite part of Star Wars is the cantina scene, try this book.
This was fairly tedious and repetitive, as other reviewers mention. I found myself skipping over pages and pages of re-told stories, to the point where I wondered if this was a literary device I was missing the point of. But it wasn't. Not the best mystery on manybooks.
The title might sound allegorical, but the bulk of this lecture is really about clouds. His thesis is that the weather in early-1880s London is unusually gray, terrible and foreboding, and that this terrible weather has given rise to some equally terrible social conditions. If you're a student of weather and enjoy books like The Little Ice Age, this will be completely fascinating. It's also nifty to see the mind of an art critic applied to natural phenomena. This book is odd, to be sure, but worth checking out.
Carter’s book reviews