Author: driftlessareareview

Besides writing book reviews for his own blog, Karl writes reviews and essays for several other venues. He lives in the Midwest and has a full-time job. Posts might be irregular, but a commitment to quality is the first priority. The blog has a variety of subject matter, ranging from guilty pleasures to out-of-print hidden gems.
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Journey to the End of the Night (1932), by Louis-Ferdinand Céline

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In the black heart of the Great Depression, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler rose to power, Louis-Ferdinand Cèline set the French literary scene afire with Journey to the End of the Night.  By turns darkly comical, hallucinatory, and picaresque, the novel charts the misadventures of Bardamu.  From the trenches of the First World War to French colonial Africa to New York City and Detroit, Bardamu experiences each place with his own jaundiced eyes.  Eventually he returns back to suburban Paris, a small-time doctor working with impoverished patients.  Bardamu is not alone.  His friend, one Robinson, accompanies him as … Continue reading Journey to the End of the Night (1932), by Louis-Ferdinand Céline

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The Temptation of St. Anthony by Gustave Flaubert

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A work of singular genius.  The plot is simple: Anthony, a monk, goes out to the desert to meditate, gets tempted.  But what temptations!  Flaubert pulls out all the stops in a decadent, phantasmagorical, hallucinatory, excessively brilliant novel.  While the book is written like a play, it is clearly a novel, since staging this would be impossible. (Maybe Terry Gilliam or Michel Gondry could film it?) Our benighted monk gets tempted by all manner of beasts, demons, and sexy ladies, while the reader is treated to a panoply of cults, heresies, and sects, fighting for his attention. While a literary … Continue reading The Temptation of St. Anthony by Gustave Flaubert

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Hard Times by Charles Dickens

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Yuck! Soot, coal, suffering. Rinse, lather, repeat. Even by the standards of Dickens’ classic sentimentality for the underdog, this novel is a dud. Probably not the best introduction to Charles Dickens unless you want your child to enjoy the pleasures of never reading again. This novel makes Zola’s Germinal, also about downtrodden coal miners, seem like a work of candy-colored upbeat positivity. Dickens’s advice to coal miners getting steamrolled by the Man. Continue reading Hard Times by Charles Dickens

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Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #7: Dollhouse sent to the Attic

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Good bye, Echo. Sent to the Attic Echo: Everyone’s unhappy today. Topher: Somebody put her tiny little thinking cap on! Spy in the House of Love The inevitable has occurred.  Dollhouse, the science fiction series masterminded by Joss Whedon, fought against dismal ratings and executive meddling only to finally get canceled after two seasons.  To use the jargon of Adele DeWitt, the series was “sent to the Attic.” While the Dollhouse cancellation is traumatic for fans, viewers must also take a step back from emotional reaction and explore the possibilities.  The TV landscape and the media landscape are radically different … Continue reading Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #7: Dollhouse sent to the Attic

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Sex Scandal America: Politics & the Ritual of Public Shaming, by David Rosen

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“Americans love sex scandals, and nothing better tells the story of American than sex scandals.”  So begins David Rosen’s Sex Scandal America: Politics & the Ritual of Public Shaming.  Sensational title aside, Rosen charts the hidden history of America from the erotic shenanigans of the Puritans to the erotic shenanigans of Eliot Spitzer, Larry Craig, and Ted Haggard.  Rosen does a magnificent job of placing sex scandals into a historical context.  Each era derived specific things from the sex scandals.  These sex scandals found use as either cautionary tales or political fodder or entertainment. Rosen remains even-handed on a topic … Continue reading Sex Scandal America: Politics & the Ritual of Public Shaming, by David Rosen

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book reviews, books, The Horus Heresy, Warhammer 40K1 Comment

Battle for the Abyss (The Horus Heresy, Book 8) by Ben Counter

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Battle for the Abyss by Ben Counter begins with the construction of the gigantic battleship, the Furious Abyss, within the hollow center of Thule, a moon of Saturn.  The Mechanicum construct the ship using the ancient technologies they preserve.  Unbeknownst to the Emperor, the Mechanicum build the massive warship for the Word Bearer Traitor Legion.  Those familiar with the Cylon basestars of Battlestar Galactica will recognize the Furious Abyss.  Heavily armed and holding a contingent of fighters, the Furious Abyss is an intimidating force.  Unlike the sleek basestars, the Furious Abyss resembles a giant battlestar with Chartres Cathedral sitting on … Continue reading Battle for the Abyss (The Horus Heresy, Book 8) by Ben Counter

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The Art of Reviewing: Clive James

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Clive James and his many books Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society.  During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit.  Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Clive James and the Spice Girls.  A fascinating interview. Clive James has done it all.  He’s a poet, wit, lyricist, TV presenter, cultural commentator, author, and memoirist.  This Australian native represents the Old Guard, sharing a similar background with Christopher Hitchens and Martin Amis.  His critical stance may be a … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Clive James

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99 Novels, book reviews, books, film, TVLeave a comment

Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder (1945) by Evelyn Waugh

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In Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, Pozzo remarks, “They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more.”  Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh represents one of those lights gleaming in the darkness between the grave of the First World War and the impending night of the Second.  The novel, published in 1945, is the reminiscence of Captain Charles Ryder.  The story opens with Captain Ryder’s Army Company transferring to Castle Marchmain, an estate all too familiar to him.  Since he looks back on the past, a heady mix of nostalgia and satire … Continue reading Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder (1945) by Evelyn Waugh

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Dollhouse Riffs, TV1 Comment

Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #6: The Sierra Club; or Human Labor-power, Commodity Fetishism, and Workplace Rape

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Commodities and human labor-power Arrows and Aphorisms “Remember Jamie Leigh Jones, the Halliburton/KBR contractor who alleged she was gang raped by her co-workers in Iraq and then imprisoned in a shipping container after she reported the attack to the company? Well, it looks like she’s finally get to sue the company, in a real courthouse, over her ordeal. “Her legal saga started after Halliburton failed to take any action against her alleged attackers, and the Justice Department and military also failed to prosecute. Jones then tried to sue the company for failing to protect her. But thanks to an employment … Continue reading Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #6: The Sierra Club; or Human Labor-power, Commodity Fetishism, and Workplace Rape

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