Archives: Fiction O-R

Welcome to the Fiction O-R aisle.

Rating	Meaning
****	A must read. If you've already read it, read again!
***	A good read, well worth your time.
**	Not an entirely bad book, but only read it if you're interested in the subject matter.
*	Don't bother, unless you're on an island without anything else.
none	Under no circumstances should you read this book!

at swim-two-birds Tribal Scars

by flann o'brien by Sembene Ousmane

© 1951 ISBN # (none) © 1962 ISBN # 0-435-90142-7

Lost the review, It'll turn up... A collection of short stories by the only Senegalian (Is that a word?) writer I've seen. They're all well written and contain quite a bit of African folklore. Very entertaining indeed.

Rating: ? Rating: ***

The Inner Side of the Wind A Void

by Milorad Pavic by Georges Perec

© 1991 ISBN # 0-679-42085-1 © 1969 ISBN # 1 86046 098 4

Another masterpiece from Pavic (How come there's no special HTML character for c with a' above it?) This love story can be read from either viewpoint first (just flip the book over!) Two lovers whose lives are 200 years apart meet at the center of the book. Turn it over to read the other's story. Brilliant in every way. Anton Vowl is missing, his friends start to search for him. Full of twists, wordplay, & parody; this novel is written without the use of the letter "E." Kudos must go out to Gilbert Adair, who painstakingly translated this book from French and kept the author's dream alive. I only wish I knew French, so that I could read the book in it's original form.

Rating: **** Rating: ****

Things & A Man Asleep Mason & Dixon

by Georges Perec by Thomas Pynchon

© 1965 & 1967 ISBN # 0-87923-857-7 © 1997 ISBN # 0-8050-3758-6 (alk. paper)

Two short novels in one book. Things is about 2 young people looking for happiness in possessions. A Man Asleep is a Kafkaesque story about loneliness. Perec's style is brilliant even in the rewriting of Metamorphisis. This historical fiction novel follows the exploits of British surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. Along the way you'll meet such characters as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Rounded out with the Learnèd Dog (he talks), an Erotik Mechanical Duck and hundreds of memorable characters; this novel is pure Pynchon.

Rating: *** Rating: ****

The Decapitated Chicken & Other Stories The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

by Horacio Quiroga by Mordecai Richler

© 1976 ISBN # 0-292-71541-2 pbk. © 1959 ISBN # 0 14 01.5296 2

An even dozen stories ranging from Gothic horror to children's fables. Quiroga tells his tales without much dialog. To him, every word is sacred. He developes characters and completely writes a story in only a few pages. The Feather Pillow is a horror tale reminiscent of Poe, but written with a better style. The ending is put out there for the reader, but still comes as a surprise. The title story contains the elements of a great story: a chicken, four idiot children, & death. If these stories are representive of Quiroga's work, then I urge everybody to find some. A Canadian rags-to-riches story. Duddy is told by his grandfather that, "a man without land is nobody." He works many jobs and scams, goes bankrupt, and much later gets his property by the lake. Boring and poorly written, I don't wish this book on anyone.

Rating: **** Rating: (none)

The Sea of Grass This Is The Place

by Conrad Richter by Peter Rock

© 1936 ISBN # (none in my copy) © 1997 ISBN # 0-385-48598-0

An excruciatingly boring book(let) about being a child in the old west. Living on "a ranch larger than Massachusetts with Connecticut thrown in," Hal deals with his Aunt's infidelity and his Uncle's eventual downfall. The style & writing are done well, but the story is a complete yawn. On my "to be read" pile. Review forthcoming.

Rating: * + (1/2) Rating:

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at swim-two-birds		Tribal Scars
by flann o'brien		by Sembene Ousmane
© 1951	ISBN # (none)	© 1962	ISBN # 0-435-90142-7
Lost the review, It'll turn up...		A collection of short stories by the only Senegalian (Is that a word?) writer I've seen. They're all well written and contain quite a bit of African folklore. Very entertaining indeed.
Rating: ?		Rating: ***

The Inner Side of the Wind		A Void
by Milorad Pavic		by Georges Perec
© 1991	ISBN # 0-679-42085-1	© 1969	ISBN # 1 86046 098 4
Another masterpiece from Pavic (How come there's no special HTML character for c with a' above it?) This love story can be read from either viewpoint first (just flip the book over!) Two lovers whose lives are 200 years apart meet at the center of the book. Turn it over to read the other's story. Brilliant in every way.		Anton Vowl is missing, his friends start to search for him. Full of twists, wordplay, & parody; this novel is written without the use of the letter "E." Kudos must go out to Gilbert Adair, who painstakingly translated this book from French and kept the author's dream alive. I only wish I knew French, so that I could read the book in it's original form.
Rating: ****		Rating: ****

Things & A Man Asleep		Mason & Dixon
by Georges Perec		by Thomas Pynchon
© 1965 & 1967	ISBN # 0-87923-857-7	© 1997	ISBN # 0-8050-3758-6 (alk. paper)
Two short novels in one book. Things is about 2 young people looking for happiness in possessions. A Man Asleep is a Kafkaesque story about loneliness. Perec's style is brilliant even in the rewriting of Metamorphisis.		This historical fiction novel follows the exploits of British surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. Along the way you'll meet such characters as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Rounded out with the Learnèd Dog (he talks), an Erotik Mechanical Duck and hundreds of memorable characters; this novel is pure Pynchon.
Rating: ***		Rating: ****

The Decapitated Chicken & Other Stories		The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
by Horacio Quiroga		by Mordecai Richler
© 1976	ISBN # 0-292-71541-2 pbk.	© 1959	ISBN # 0 14 01.5296 2
An even dozen stories ranging from Gothic horror to children's fables. Quiroga tells his tales without much dialog. To him, every word is sacred. He developes characters and completely writes a story in only a few pages. The Feather Pillow is a horror tale reminiscent of Poe, but written with a better style. The ending is put out there for the reader, but still comes as a surprise. The title story contains the elements of a great story: a chicken, four idiot children, & death. If these stories are representive of Quiroga's work, then I urge everybody to find some.		A Canadian rags-to-riches story. Duddy is told by his grandfather that, "a man without land is nobody." He works many jobs and scams, goes bankrupt, and much later gets his property by the lake. Boring and poorly written, I don't wish this book on anyone.
Rating: ****		Rating: (none)

The Sea of Grass		This Is The Place
by Conrad Richter		by Peter Rock
© 1936	ISBN # (none in my copy)	© 1997	ISBN # 0-385-48598-0
An excruciatingly boring book(let) about being a child in the old west. Living on "a ranch larger than Massachusetts with Connecticut thrown in," Hal deals with his Aunt's infidelity and his Uncle's eventual downfall. The style & writing are done well, but the story is a complete yawn.		On my "to be read" pile. Review forthcoming.
Rating: * + (1/2)		Rating: