Edwidge Danticat – “Brother, I’m Dying”
“Brother, I’m Dying” is an autobiographical novel and account of Edwidge Danticat’s diaspora from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti to America. This novel and commentary on U.S. Immigration and world policies received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography. Danticat is also…
George Orwell – “Animal Farm”
“Four legs good, two legs bad,” chanted the pigs, horse and dogs. The theme of animals overtaking their farm from humans parallels the Russian Revolution in George Orwell’s famous novel “Animal Farm.” Old Major, a pig with great revolutionary ideals…
Antoine Saint – Exupery’s The Little Prince
I want to share with you a beautiful story about a little prince who lives on a planet far away in space. This little prince inhabits a planet that is not very large, and has a baobab tree. He keeps…
Charles Bukowski – Sifting Through the Madness
Had you met me five years ago you would have seen a shocked child walking around with what felt like the book of Satan. Perhaps we are all sheltered to a certain extent. I wonder if Charles Bukowski felt like…
Mathias Malzieu’s “The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart”
The cover of “The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” makes the book seem like a light read, maybe for young adults who can empathize with children, but this book is an adult’s tale in disguise. The story is about a…
Kurt Vonnegut’s “Player Piano”
If you are politically conscientious, enjoy a good satire, or are an avid reader of science fiction, I recommend Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Player Piano. The novel has some “all too close to our time” parallels to present day politics. Published…
Interview with the Vampire
When the “Twilight” books hit the scene a few years ago, they changed the way vampires were thought of. They were no longer horrid fanged creatures who said “I vant to suck your blood,” but instead sparkling romantic prospects with…
The Kite Runner
It was not until recently that I actually starting reading books for entertainment and not just for some school project. They mostly consist of subjects like racing, a zombie apocalypse and the biography of a favorite musician. But back in…
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Every story has a hero, a character that undergoes some sort of transformation or change as a result of the story’s plot. This is no accident, as Joseph Campbell proposes in his 1949 book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”…
At Home: A Short History of Private Life
Generally, I am in the minority when it comes to Bill Bryson’s works, preferring “Notes from a Small Island,” to his more acclaimed books like “A Walk Through The Woods.” His reputation is built on travel and his unquenchable curiosity…
