Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

I discovered this anthology after reading Hills like White Elephants in a 200 level Lit Course. Men Without Women contains a number of bleak, gritty short stories. “The Undefeated” is a character study of a fatalistically courageous bullfighter; an athlete who has passed his prime. Hemingway’s bullfighter, Manuel Garcia, is the polar opposite of Hemingway’s repentant coward: Francis Macomber. “In Another Country” relates an unnamed protagonist’s convalescence in an Italian hospital and the strange amalgamation of camaraderie and enmity between the American protagonist and his Italian comrades.

The best story in the collection is “Now I Lay Me.” In “Now I Lay Me” Hemingway’s protagonist is a soldier, suffering from PTSD, who believes his soul will slip from his body if he sleeps. I highly recommend Men Without Women, particularly the stories “In Another Country,” “Hills Like White Elephant,” “The Undefeated”, and “Fifty Grand.”

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Read Marissa Parlock’s review of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.

The Reader is significant in so many ways: it is a parable, social commentary, and a love story. The Reader reminds me of a quote by Ali “There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance.” In Schlink’s novel, a young man named Michael Berg contracts a bad case of Hepatitis. Berg becomes sick on the way home from school and is assisted by a beautiful woman. Months later Michael recovers and falls in love with the woman, Hanna. Michael’s first relationship shapes a great deal of his life.

The Reader is a thought provoking, moving, and disquieting novel, originally published in German. As is often the case, the book outshines the film. Schlink’s novel conveys many episodes in Michael Berg’s adolescence, particularly the depth and breadth of his involvement in the Holocaust seminar. Whereas many of such details are omitted from the film; also of particular significance is the list of writers Hanna reads later in life. I highly recommend The Reader; also I highly recommend reading Schlink’s novel before seeing the film; although the film is very good too. The Reader is probably the best most moving and disquieting piece of Holocaust literature I have read, since Schindler’s Ark.

Read Jordan Gaines’ review of The Reader.

Availability: SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Yes, this is the book about the rabbits. But, it is better than it sounds, really. It is an epic tale, in which a bunch of rabbits escape certain destruction of their home and embark on an adventure to find a new one. The rabbits were living peacefully in their warren (like a collection of rabbit holes), when one of the rabbits, Fiver, gets a premonition that the entire warren is in danger. So, he goes with his brother, Hazel, to the head rabbit to warn him and organize an evacuation. Because they are both considered outcasts, as they are small and are not part of the warrior league known as the Owsla, they are not taken seriously and dismissed. Fiver insists something is going to happen, so he and Hazel make plans to leave that night. They are joined by other rabbits, mostly outcasts, but a few members of the Owsla looking for some adventure. They then set off to found their own warren, encountering dangers along the way, such as a 1984-esque warren led by the ruthless and bloodthirsty General Woundwort and countless elil (any animal they consider an enemy). But, what I really enjoyed was how the author gave the rabbits a culture, complete with their own language and belief-system. Overall, It is a great, well-written novel that I highly recommend everyone read.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Highly Recommended

Teacher Man is Frank McCourt’s final memoir, the story of a man who spent thirty years teaching English in four New York public high schools. McCourt also taught high school ESL classes and spent a year teaching community college. Teacher Man possesses a loose structure of chapters comprised of anecdotes: recollections of classes, students, and the unique problems teachers face. The structure is a bit haphazard although it works. McCourt’s voice is conversational, affable, lyrical, irreverent, and matter-of-fact. The structure and McCourt’s voice both follow the function of his memoir. What is the function? To humor and inform; in some ways Teacher Man is also a how-to guide for aspiring teachers.

McCourt arrives at Mckee Vocational and Technical High School in the fifties and discovers he’s way over his head. Thirty years later students and parents at Stuyvesant High School are literally begging for admittance to his overbooked creative writing courses. Teacher Man, McCourt’s last memoir, is somber, heartbreaking, heartwarming, sharp, and inspiring; it’s unfortunate that McCourt only wrote three memoirs.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Must Read

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, was one of those required reads in high school that I never actually read and got away with only reading the first few chapters. I decided to give it another try and actually complete it. I did not particularly care for the book, as I found it to be exceedingly dull and uneventful. There was no character development or any description of any kind, even of their surroundings. I also detested each and every character. They were all shallow, snobby, and spoiled. All they ever really did was drink until they got drunk, watched bull-fights, and talked about nothing more than their hatred for Robert Cohn or how drunk they were at the time. The one thing I commend Hemingway on is capturing the very essence of the Lost Generation, which every character was a “member” of. I would not recommend this book to anyone to read, which is a shame since it was considered to be one of Hemingway’s best novels.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Not Recommended

This is the story of Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Susan Pevensie and Narnia’s eternal winter. The Pevensie children are evacuated to rural England during the Blitz and Lucy Pevensie discovers a gateway to a fantastical realm, Narnia, in their caretaker’s wardrobe. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe overflows with magic and biblical allegory. C.S. Lewis describes a child’s perceptions of the world in a manner that makes adult readers recall childhood.

George R.R. Martin said “[revisiting] old stories is like [revisiting] old friends.” My sister read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to me when I was six; I read it to one of my nieces over the summer and she loved it. Lewis’s novel set a high bar for future children’s and fantasy authors. If at all possible obtain a copy with the illustrations by Pauline Baynes; her illustrations immerse young readers in Narnia.

Availability: SMCM
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

After spending two decades in Europe, travel memoir humorist Bill Bryson returns home to New Hampshire and decides there is no better welcome back for him than a hike on the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, a feat about which he knows nothing. This hilarious account, sprinkled with interesting history of the trail, is full of humorous anecdotes and challenges he faced during his hike. I highly recommend this book if you want a light, fun, and interesting read.

Availability: SMCM
Review Submitted by: Jordan Gaines
Rating: Must Read

Marissa Parlock has won the monthly prize drawing for July.

Submit a review by August 15 to be eligible for the our next drawing. Don’t forget prizes are available for all participants who submitted reviews between June 1 and August 15.

1. Submit one review and win a mini puzzle.
2. Submit three reviews and win a set of postcards.
3. Submit five reviews and win a poster from Unshelved.
4. Submit seven reviews and win a refrigerator magnet.
5. Submit 10 reviews and win a bag of library swag.
6. Monthly prize drawings.

Angela’s Ashe’s is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Frank McCourt’s memoir is heartbreaking, heartwarming, and hilarious. The first of three memoirs, Angela’s Ashes relates McCourt’s youth and adolescence in Limerick and Brooklyn; McCourt grew up in a broken home with an alcoholic father and a proverbial wolf at the door; death, alcoholism, faith, and hunger are recurring themes in McCourt’s memoir. It is difficult to list all the memorable anecdotes contained in McCourt’s memoir a few that stand out are, the generosity of the Italian Grocer in Brooklyn and McCourt’s first Holy Communion, wherein God was regurgitated into his Grandmother’s garden. McCourt’s voice is fresh, conversational and engaging it was all but impossible to set Angela’s Ashes down.

Availability: SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Must Read

Continuing in my recent obsession with reading plays, Rabbit Hole presents a heart-wrenching picture of moving on after the death of a child. This play drops you in the center of the action several months after the death of Becca and David’s 4 year old son. Though he gives very little stage direction, one of the most important notes Lindsay-Abaire makes is that actors must avoid sentimentality at all costs. While the play grapples with loss, anguish, and bereavement, it is not full of tears. Instead, Lindsay-Abaire gives you a real picture of the almost cruel way life must go on after the death of a child. As you can easily guess, while I think the work is amazing, it is not for the faint hearted. Lindsay-Abaire’s dialogue refuses to ever give the audience a complete picture of the characters emotions and leaves the audience with questions rather than resolution. It is the type of read that stays with you long after you finish the last scene and opens up a clear insight into life after loss. However, if you’re want to have a quick read that will leave you thinking, I highly recommend Rabbit Hole.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Lauren Grey
Rating: Highly Recommended