Ample Book Trivia: 45+ Online Literature Quizzes to Consume Your Day

May 10, 2017

Quizzes are meant to be quick. That’s the general understanding, at least. Maybe because of this, while there’s no shortage of book quizzes to be found on BuzzFeed, Sporcle and the like, many of them feature the same classic literary sediment being stirred up to the surface. Now, there’s nothing wrong with user-created quizzes on … More Ample Book Trivia: 45+ Online Literature Quizzes to Consume Your Day

Art That Makes You Feel Sick: Bae Suah’s A Greater Music, Translated by Deborah Smith

May 8, 2017

Bae Suah’s 에세이스트의 책상, translated into English by Deborah Smith and available as A Greater Music from Open Letter, has a wintry feel to it. To be fair, much of the book does take place in winter. But while A Greater Music covers a number of years and therefore seasons, it’s winter that casts its pervasive blanket over … More Art That Makes You Feel Sick: Bae Suah’s A Greater Music, Translated by Deborah Smith

More Twisted: Percival Everett’s Assumption Is Yours to Make

April 13, 2017

I may be developing a knack for reading books I can’t summarize. Sasha Sokolov’s Between Dog and Wolf was difficult to sum up because it lacks a linear plot. Percival Everett’s Assumption, on the other hand, has inspired personal reviews saying, in so many words, “Stop right here and go read the book! Everything is a spoiler!” … More More Twisted: Percival Everett’s Assumption Is Yours to Make

Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Sasha Sokolov’s Meaty Headtrip “Between Dog and Wolf,” Translated by Alexander Boguslawski

January 29, 2017

The painting shown above is Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Hunters in the Snow. As you can see, it’s a work of great depth and intricacy. However, as you may have guessed, I’ve placed it here because it’s special in the context of this review. References to The Hunters appear in translator Alexander Boguslawski’s notes for the … More Sasha Sokolov’s Meaty Headtrip “Between Dog and Wolf,” Translated by Alexander Boguslawski

Yiyun Li’s Story of Giving Up Her Mother Tongue Evokes the Value of the Personal

December 31, 2016

Language. Culture. Origins. These are known quantities. They’re obvious as money, healthy as kale. Aren’t they? In our pseudo-psychological society, outright rejecting any of the concepts above may be seen as grounds for pity. The vague and largely unexamined public value placed on these concepts is predicated on the idea that anything linked to one’s … More Yiyun Li’s Story of Giving Up Her Mother Tongue Evokes the Value of the Personal

[Milwaukee Rep Theater] Larry Shue’s Play “The Foreigner” Is Relevant, Pretty Damn Funny

December 12, 2016

Before going to see a performance of “The Foreigner” at the Milwaukee Rep Theater, I was looking forward to a welcome distraction from recent events. The only thing I really knew about the play was that it involved a man getting caught in a sticky situation in which he was forced or compelled to pretend … More [Milwaukee Rep Theater] Larry Shue’s Play “The Foreigner” Is Relevant, Pretty Damn Funny

5 Unexpectedly Beautiful Grave Sites of Famous Russian and Soviet Writers

November 24, 2016

I’m not the kind of person who gives a lot of thought to my own tombstone. Officially, I’d say I prefer to be cremated, but I’m really more of a “dump me in the nearest river” type. At the same time, I don’t particularly think of graves or graveyards as being creepy places. I think … More 5 Unexpectedly Beautiful Grave Sites of Famous Russian and Soviet Writers

3 Garden Path Sentence Headlines for Our Age of Fake News and Questionable Intentions

November 22, 2016

A couple nights ago, I listened to an NPR interviewee talk about Steve Bannon’s two-pronged threat to liberal politics as being a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” approach. References to various pieces of gothic literature, like Frankenstein, had already appeared as political commentary in some online arenas earlier in this year’s election season. When I … More 3 Garden Path Sentence Headlines for Our Age of Fake News and Questionable Intentions

What’s Wrong with Victor? The Root of Frankenstein’s Isolation

November 2, 2016

Isolation, alienation and loneliness are prominent themes in Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s 1818 classic novel Frankenstein. Some analyses theorize that Victor Frankenstein makes a misguided attempt to create a human being due to his isolation from friends and family. His solitude can be compared with that of Robert Walton, a sea captain on a mission to … More What’s Wrong with Victor? The Root of Frankenstein’s Isolation

[A Read-Online Comic] Stick-figure Summary of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley

October 31, 2016

Adapter’s note: While the following is a free adaptation of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s classic work and contains certain probably obvious elements not present in the original, it also more or less follows the actual plot of the book as put down by Ms. Shelley. This means spoilers spoilers spoilers. For your convenience and edification, any text … More [A Read-Online Comic] Stick-figure Summary of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley