Category Archives: Adult

Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Thistle

It’s been awhile since I read a slow classic, over several days, and Death Comes for the Archbishop was just perfect for me: nicely paced, quiet and calm, evocative, and something that transported me to a different time. This was … Continue reading →

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Posted on June 21, 2009 by Thistle

Pretty much everyone knows the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and if you don’t know, it’d be better if I don’t give any details at all, so I’m not going to talk about the plot at all. I … Continue reading →

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The Death of Ivan Ilych, by Leo Tolstoy

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Thistle

What if my entire nature, my entire conscious life, simply was not the real thing? …Not the real thing. Everything you lived by and still live by is a lie, a deception that blinds you from the reality of life … Continue reading →

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Protected: Atonement, by Ian McEwan

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Thistle

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Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Thistle

A parson named Kumalo from a small town in South Africa is called by another parson to Johannesburg to help his “ill” sister (meaning she’s gotten into prostitution and illegal alcohol/drug distribution). Kumalo fears Johannesburg – every member of his … Continue reading →

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Protected: Pickup Games, by Marcia Mickelson

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Thistle

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Lost in a Good Book, by Jasper Fforde

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Thistle

I don’t usually use the book-jacket description, but in this case, I couldn’t explain the essence of this followup to The Eyre Affair better: If Thursday thought she could avoid the spotlight after her heroic escapades in the pages of … Continue reading →

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One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Thistle

This book is exactly what the title suggests: a look at one day in Ivan Denisovich (Shukhov)’s life. Shukhov was arrested on baseless charges – fairly common at that time – and was sentenced to ten years in a Siberian … Continue reading →

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Liza of Lambeth, by William Somerset Maugham

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Thistle

Liza of Lambeth takes a look at life in Lambeth – a poor, working class section of London. Liza is an 18-year-old beauty who attracts a lot of suitors, but she doesn’t get smitten herself until Jim Blakestone moves onto … Continue reading →

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The Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank

Posted on May 9, 2009 by Thistle

Anne Frank began this diary on her 13th birthday, June 14, 1942. A couple months later, her family went into hiding in Amsterdam with two other families. For two years, they lived in tense conditions. The diary closes on August … Continue reading →

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