Category Archives: Prose

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Thistle

Flavia de Luce, an eleven-year-old chemistry prodigy in 1950 England, is taken by surprise early one morning by the discovery of a body in the garden of her house. The police are called in, but Flavia, not wanting to be … Continue reading →

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Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Thistle

No Spoilers Section Excited anticipation, with a little hesitance as well – that’s how I met with Mockingjay the morning I got up early and went to Walmart, forcing the lady stocking the books to open up a box so … Continue reading →

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Kindred, by Octavia Butler

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Thistle

The year is 1976. Dana, as a black woman married to a white man, has a myriad of race-related issues in her life. It’s not a good time period for interracial marriages, and both family and friends (on both sides) … Continue reading →

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The Black City, by George Sand

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Thistle

Étienne, nicknamed Sept-Epées for his expertise with metalwork, is a young man in mid-1800s France. He belongs to the lower class, but dreams of one day escaping poverty and the doldrums of daily work to live in the Upper Town … Continue reading →

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Rage: A Love Story, by Julie Anne Peters

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Thistle

Johanna’s life has been hard. Her father died when she was young, and she watched her mother slip away not long before she reached her senior year in high school. Now she lives on her sister’s mercy, and their relationship … Continue reading →

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The Summing Up, by William Somerset Maugham

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Thistle

The Summing Up is a combination memoir and writer’s manual, similar to On Writing by Stephen King. Maugham wrote it in his mid-60s, fearing that he might be close to death and thus that he should complete this before he … Continue reading →

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A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Thistle

Lieutenant Henry is an American. He’s in the Italian army. The time period is World War I. Henry drives ambulances. He drinks a lot. He eats a lot. He falls in love with a nurse named Catherine Barker. Or at … Continue reading →

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The Patron Saint of Butterflies, by Cecilia Galante

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Thistle

Agnes and Honey live in a religious commune in Connecticut. The two girls grew up together and were always best friends, but the last couple years have driven them apart. Agnes has become obsessed with perfecting herself and living like … Continue reading →

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The Lies We Told, by Diane Chamberlain

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Thistle

I’m honestly not sure how to summarize this book. The back of the book description gives away nearly everything from beginning to end, all but one secret, but I can’t think of any way to describe this other than by … Continue reading →

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Thérèse Raquin, by Émile Zola

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Thistle

Thérèse lives a miserable life in a small shop in Paris. She lives with her aunt and cousin Camille. Camille is a man with poor health and a fantastic amount of pride, and Thérèse is forced to succumb both to … Continue reading →

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