Monday, June 14, 2010

Monday Mini Reviews - June 14

Welcome to our second Monday Mini Reviews! I've got five short stories to review this week, four of which are from my Study of Fiction course.

Stay tuned later this week for an interview with the author of Number Theory, Noah Bohdonoff.

Cathedral
Cathedral by Raymond Carver - 3/5 Stars
There wasn't really anything special about this one. It felt like the author was trying to portray a value or theme, but to me all I saw was a guy who likes to complain and smoke pot.





Everything That Rises Must ConvergeEverything That Rises Must Converge by Flanner O'Connor - 3/5 Stars
Another mediocre short story. I got the anti-racism theme for this one, but the story itself wasn't very likeable. I didn't really like either of the two main characters and if I wasn't reading this for a class, there wouldn't have been anything to keep me reading it.




The Conversion of the Jews The Conversion of the Jews by Philip Roth - 4/5 Stars
This was my favorite out of the three stories. It was very well written, had a clear moral and kept me interested! This is a story I'd highly recommend for those who are interested in literary fiction. Although it has a clear religious bias, it doesn't try to push the religion or smother you with it like some books do. It's a great book for younger readers as well since it teaches them to question things rather than blindly follow what others tell them and to think for themselves.


Number Theory
Number Theory by Noah Bogdonoff - 4/5 Stars
This was a cute piece of literary fiction. It was short and sweet with a little bit of m/m thrown in for flavor. It could've used some more details, but the author definitely has talent. I look forward to reading more from Noah.





The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie - 4/5 Stars
I really enjoyed reading this story. It was another literary fiction piece that I had to read for my Study of Fiction class. It has a clear theme (cultural identity) and is pretty easy to relate to, even for those who aren't part of an ethnic minority. It was also an interesting read that made you want to keep reading.

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