Tag: fiction

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Standing at the Crossroads by Charles Davis

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Strange and short, straddling realism and fable, Standing at the Crossroads by Charles Davis tells the tale of Ishmael, his encounters, his adventures, and, above all, his love for literature.  Employed as “The Walking Librarian,” he cuts a muscular figure from the heavy books he carries from village to village.  For now, his books lay buried in a dry well and he finds himself on a journey with a strident woman named Kate. Ishmael grew up in the harsh land of an unnamed African nation, now a failed state filled with militias sporting anemic acronyms and engaging in atrocities.  One … Continue reading Standing at the Crossroads by Charles Davis

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Critical Appraisals: Death on the Installment Plan by Louis-Ferdinand Céline

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During the Thirties, Louis-Ferdinand Céline shocked the literary establishment with the release of two novels: Journey to the End of the Night (1932) and Death on the Installment Plan (1936).  Both novels acted as companions to each other, focusing on different parts of re-imagined autobiographical material set within fictional narratives.  Ralph Manheim, the translator of Death on the Installment Plan, dubbed the genre “creative confessions.” The original French title is Mort à crédit, a staccato-sounding title that became translated as Death on Credit by John H. P. Marks.  The book braids together the strands of comedy, despair, and debt, since … Continue reading Critical Appraisals: Death on the Installment Plan by Louis-Ferdinand Céline

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Dead Center by Joanna Higgins

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Joanna Higgins crafts a novel that extends beyond the normal genre boundaries of the murder mystery and courtroom drama.  Dead Center revolves around the Weber family.  Dr. Benjamin Weber is a beloved pediatrician with a practice in Hawaii.  He lives with his wife Karen.  Prior to marrying Ben, Karen had two daughters, Laura and Lin, from a previous marriage.  Ben and Karen also have a daughter of their own, Katherine.  Ben Weber married Karen following the death of her husband, Peter Hyland.  Ben was present when Peter died in Tunley, Michigan.  Was it an accident?  Was it murder?  Now, twenty … Continue reading Dead Center by Joanna Higgins

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Internecine by David Schow @ Joe Bob Briggs

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Conrad Maddox is the Vice President in charge of development for Kroeger Concepts, Ltd. He’s an ad man who specializes in selling our dreams and desires back to us a steep price. On his return from a business trip, he discovered a key in his rental car. The key belonged to a locker that contained a Halliburton-style briefcase. The briefcase contained fake IDs, cash, a cell phone and several guns. Conrad calls the number on the cell phone. As they say, hilarity ensues. Internecine is a thriller written by David J. Schow. Schow is the Hollywood scribe who wrote Critters … Continue reading Internecine by David Schow @ Joe Bob Briggs

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Interview with Martin Shepard, co-founder of the Permanent Press

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The Permanent Press is a small publisher based in Sag Harbor, New York.  With high standards and a small staff, the Permanent Press possesses both the longevity and critical acclaim usually associated with larger publishers.  Martin and Judy Shepard approach the business of publishing with small print runs and putting out only a dozen new titles every year.  Unlike the mainstream conglomerates, the Permanent Press is more of an artisan than an agent of mass production. Martin Shepard, co-founder of the Permanent Press I had the opportunity to ask Martin Shepard, co-founder of Permanent Press, some questions about the book … Continue reading Interview with Martin Shepard, co-founder of the Permanent Press

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To Account for Murder by William C. Whitbeck

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If Permanent Press had a prestige novel, To Account for Murder by William C. Whitbeck would it.  The novel presents a fictionalized version of real life events that happened in Michigan.  In 1945, Senator Warren G. Hooper was murdered in a gangland-style slaying.  To this day, the murder case has never been solved.  William C. Whitbeck, the author of the novel, also works as Chief Judge of the Michigan Court.  He presents us with the tale of one Charlie Cahill, a disabled vet, prosecutor, and son of an Irish bootlegger. Set in Lansing during 1945 and into 1946, Whitbeck paints … Continue reading To Account for Murder by William C. Whitbeck

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The Beloved @ Joe Bob Briggs

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There’s something rotten in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It corrupts relationships, threatens children, drives people to murder, and leaves a wake of destruction whatever it touches. It would be one thing if it were a hideous monster or some crazy murderer on the loose. What if it was your boyfriend or girlfriend? The Beloved by J.F. Gonzalez tells the tale of Ronnie Baker and Diana Marshfield, a new couple facing resistance from Ronnie’s family. Ronnie, a recovering drug abuser and recently divorced from Cindy, met Diana online. Now Diana has agreed to move in with Ronnie, despite never having met his family. … Continue reading The Beloved @ Joe Bob Briggs

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The Dissemblers by Liza Campbell

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The Dissemblers is a story about creativity, betrayal, art, crime, and jealousy.  Ivy Wilkes has recently graduated from art school and has moved to New Mexico to work in the Georgie O’Keeffee Museum.  She works as a cashier, but hopes being close to where O’Keeffe created her work will inspire her to do the same.  Ivy lives below a couple of musicians, Jake and Maya.  When not playing with the orchestra, Jake works as a guard at the museum.  Ivy eventually becomes romantically involved with Omar, café owner and Jake’s brother. As an artist, Ivy is remarkably perceptive.  She narrates … Continue reading The Dissemblers by Liza Campbell

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Critical Appraisal: The Landscape of Hell

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The representation of Hell as a cartographic region has its origins in Dante’s Divine Comedy.  Dante adapted the imagery already present in medieval painting and sculpture to comment on his political situation and his own scientific and theological beliefs.  He populated it with real people, including political heroes and villains, good popes and bad popes, adulterous princesses, and monsters human and mythological.  On Dante’s spiritual journey, he traveled with the Roman poet Vergil down the various circles of Hell and then up Mount Purgatory.  Finally, led by his beloved Beatrice, he journeyed through the heavenly spheres until he was in … Continue reading Critical Appraisal: The Landscape of Hell

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The Road by Vasily Grossman

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Best known for his novel Life and Fate, Vasily Grossman also wrote short stories and worked as a war correspondent in the Second World War.  A Ukrainian Jew with parents who worked as urban professionals, Grossman did not represent the common stereotype of the Eastern European Jew living in a “Litvak shtetl.”  The Road, a collection of short stories, journalism, and letters published by New York Review Books, provides a useful jumping off point for anyone interested in the life and work of Vasily Grossman.  It includes his earliest stories and his last short story he wrote.  “The Hell of … Continue reading The Road by Vasily Grossman

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