5/31/2023 0 Comments Book people we meet on vacation![]() ![]() I’m too much of a homebody to travel like she does, so it’s always great to get lost in a story of someone who lives life differently than I do. I loved living a life I could never through Poppy. I loved the relationship between Poppy and Alex – how they would banter, how they would support each other, and how they were on vacation. What didn’t I love would be the easier thing to answer. ![]() ![]() I kept turning pages to see what happened in the past that landed them in the situation they were in now, and where they would end up! In other books, I was not a fan of this style, but in this story I found that it works. ![]() But every summer isn’t as carefree and easy as it sounds.Īs the chapters transition in a non-linear format (for example, from present day to a vacation from the past, and back to the present, etc.) we learn about Alex and Poppy’s relationship and why they have not spoken for 2 years. They have been long-distance friends for 10 years, but every summer they make a point to get together for a vacation. This time around we meet Alex and Poppy while they are on vacation. Thank you to NetGalley and the UK publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ![]()
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5/31/2023 0 Comments Dostoevsky a writer in his time![]() ![]() For those who don't know the story, Dostoevsky's first novel Poor Folk was passed before publication to a legendary critic/blowhard called Vissarion Belinsky who promptly declared that Dostoevsky was the heir to Gogol. Meanwhile I have been reminded of Dostoevsky's dramatic life story: his father's murder his mock execution and exile his gambling madness and his calamitous debut on the St Petersburg literary scene. It's fascinating to observe how both the racy volume and dryly critical work were constructed from the same source materials. (I'm saving Joseph Frank's five-volume epic for later). It's a great read, so much so that I decided to ride the wave of pleasure and seize the moment to simultaneously plough through some of the heavier Dostoevsky tomes sitting on my shelves, including the selected letters and the joyless prose of Konstantin Mochulsky's critical biography. Recently I picked up Henri Troyat's Firebrand which is an old-fashioned, novelistic account of FD's life. My favourite Russian author is Dostoevsky, whose best books are not just profound examinations of the human soul etc, but also nasty, violent, ironic, caustic, and (at times) extremely funny. ![]() 5/31/2023 0 Comments Sustained by Emma Chase![]() Then Chelsea McQuaid and her six orphaned nieces and nephews came along and complicated the ever-loving hell out of my life. ![]() I’m not a therapist or Prince Charming-and I don’t pretend to be. ![]() If you’re my date, stick to what will turn you on. If you’re my client, tell me the basic facts. In fact, it’s necessary when I’m breaking down a witness on the stand.Ĭomplications don’t work for me-I’m a “need-to-know” type of man. ![]() I, Jake Becker, have a reputation for being cold, callous, and intimidating-and that suits me just fine. When you’re a defense attorney in Washington, DC, you see firsthand how hard life can be, and that sometimes the only way to survive is to be harder. A knight in tarnished armor is still a knight. ![]() |