Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Missouri "I knew a woman once who was so lonely...she drove all the way to Missouri...she said her mother had changed so much she wouldn't have recognized her on the street." Death "Every spirit passing through the world fingers the tangible and mars the mutable. And finally has come to look and not to buy." Craving "To crave and to have are as alike as a thing and its shadow. For when does a berry break upon the tongue as sweetly as when one longs to taste it? And when do ours senses know... read more

Caveat: Spelling errors that may be present belong to original postings, which I did not edit. Absurdistan is a satire that skewers virtually every topic it touches; it manages to cover plenty of ground. As the reader, it's strangely difficult to get your intellectual bearings, but you never become completely unmoored - it's an interesting sensation, something similar to how I feel reading Vonnegut and quite an accomplishment for an author. The book follows the misguided adventures of an overweight...

http://readingroom.blogs.nytimes.com/ No matter how generous or discerning its reviewer, the new release -- accompanied by a fanfare of blurbage, hype, and skepticism -- does not permit a slow or distanced read. Only the passage of time can shape a particular dimension of context. In the beginning we have the book itself, the author's previous works, the ancient story her novel has reimagined, the resemblance of the main character to a well-known political figure. We have possibility, freshness...

I finished this novel sometime last week. This was a birthday gift from a friend who has introduced me to some fabulous contemporary female authors. When we were in San Fransisco we met a lady who insisted that she only read male authors because she didn't like novels written by women. This completely blew my mind and made me think less of her immediately. I've never heard anyone say something so wrong so confidently. Anyway, I feel lucky to have a friend that vehemently understands the value...