The Orphan Master’s Son
“But people do things to survive, and then after they survive, they can’t live with what they’ve done.” So, this is going to be a little lengthy, especially because I ended up reading up a fair amount on North Korea after I finished the book. I’ll split it into parts though to make it a …
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
– It really is you…Yury finally managed to exclaim. But…You speak Russian? – Yes, I went on a five-year course in your country’s language shortly after we last met, said Allan. The school was called Gulag. What about that vodka? The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassen is kind …
The Rosie Project
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is a lighthearted, funny, and highly enjoyable love story for all the nerds out there. Professor Don Tillman is a geneticist with Asperger’s Syndrome who embarks on a project to find a “suitable mate” (the “Wife Project”). But instead, he gets sidetracked by a woman named Rosie and her …
Armageddon in Retrospect
And how should we behave during this Apocalypse? We should be unusually kind to one another, certainly. But we should also stop being so serious. Jokes help a lot. And get a dog, if you don’t already have one. Whenever strangers or acquaintances ask me who my favorite writer is, I always say Kurt Vonnegut. …
State of Wonder
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Bel Canto, The Magician’s Assistant) tells the story of a doctor, Mariana, who is sent to Brazil, at the behest of the pharmaceutical company she works for, to locate an elusive scientist who was once her teacher, a Dr. Annika Swenson. Dr. Swenson has, for many years, been given …