November 2014 archive

Nov 02 2014

The Days of the French Revolution by Christopher Hibbert

Of the half dozen or so books on the French Revolution I have read so far, this is probably the best one. Yet the Revolution continues to confuse and bewilder me. How could something that began so well turn out so badly? It began as a genuinely democratic movement, but soon degenerated into something far …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/02/the-days-of-the-french-revolution-by-christopher-hibbert/

Nov 01 2014

Endgame: The Calling by James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton

For a puzzle book, this is actually well-written. I sure as heck wasn’t expecting the death toll at the end (or even near the beginning: if I were a member of that particular bloodline, I’d be pissed,) but the authors certainly seem to be of the “kill your darlings” school of writing, which leads to …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/01/endgame-the-calling-by-james-frey-and-nils-johnson-shelton/

Nov 01 2014

The Stories Of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov

Dear short story collection, It’s not you, it’s me. I only knew Vladimir Nabokov from his exquisite Lolita, a tale which, if not quintessentially American, conjures a sort of louche Riviera frame of mind, and I think that’s what I expected from you, too. I hadn’t expected quite so much Russianness, though that wasn’t so …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/01/the-stories-of-vladimir-nabokov-by-vladimir-nabokov/