Grabbed from Hacking Netflix,
a silly survey about what movie best represents your personality type
And here I am
2006/11/17
2006 Books 76 - 80
76. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins - Young Adult Fiction - A simple, sweet het coming of age story with much deeper characterizations than most of this genre. It was strange and interesting reading this book so soon after reading Closer. They're both about young adults searching for some one or some thing to make them feel special, but with very different approaches to that goal.
77. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - What can I say? I feel like a total Epsilon Semi-Moron for waiting so long to read this book. Amazing.
78. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - The appreciation of this book most likely depends entirely on where the reader is spiritually in their journey through this life. I liked it.
79. The World of Christopher Marlowe by David Riggs - Riggs uses the New Historical approach in this biography and critical analysis. That works extremely well for a literary figure like Marlowe, a man who's life (and death) story is told more often through legend than fact. Even if you're not interested in the mechanics of Marlowe's writing, the documented details about the time, place, and people that made up Marlowe's world are fascinating.
80. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - A story within a story about a fledgling biographer being given the opportunity of a life time to record the untold life story of a famous author. The author's story is a good read - twisted, a little spooky, very gothic; but the biographer's story seemed contrived to me - too spot on for its purpose of connecting the two narrators.
77. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - What can I say? I feel like a total Epsilon Semi-Moron for waiting so long to read this book. Amazing.
78. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - The appreciation of this book most likely depends entirely on where the reader is spiritually in their journey through this life. I liked it.
79. The World of Christopher Marlowe by David Riggs - Riggs uses the New Historical approach in this biography and critical analysis. That works extremely well for a literary figure like Marlowe, a man who's life (and death) story is told more often through legend than fact. Even if you're not interested in the mechanics of Marlowe's writing, the documented details about the time, place, and people that made up Marlowe's world are fascinating.
80. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - A story within a story about a fledgling biographer being given the opportunity of a life time to record the untold life story of a famous author. The author's story is a good read - twisted, a little spooky, very gothic; but the biographer's story seemed contrived to me - too spot on for its purpose of connecting the two narrators.
2006 Books 71 - 75
71. Don't Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff - A collection of essays about wanting more, whether it be more beautiful, more self sufficient, more spiritual, or more included. Reading the essays one right after another was a bit much, I kept getting an image of Rakoff chortling "Oh the cleverness of me!" as he typed. Taken one at a time, they're entertaining and enlightening, especially the one about Log Cabin Republicans..
72. Closer by Dennis Cooper Dark, angsty, self-centered, violent and going places few stories that aren't simple hard core porn would risk going, this is the story of George, a young man looking for love and accepting anything in place of it; and the men who move through his life taking advantage of that need. Each chapter is told from the POV of a different character, except for George, who gets more than one chance to make the reader care about him. Once the plot actually starts to move foreward (unfortunately, almost half way through the book), it's not a bad read, if you like dark, angsty, violence leading to an attempt at a "happily ever after" ending.
73. The Innocent Man by John Grisham - Contrary to what the cover flap of this book promises, I wasn't shocked, disturbed or infuriated by what this book discloses. It's not news that the innocent are sometimes wrongly convicted in the United States. Grisham does an adequate job of relaying the story of how one man ended up on death row and another received a life sentence for crimes they didn't commit, but spends little time on why this happens - what motivates police and prosecutors to break the law in order to enforce it? That makes for a very flat, albeit detailed, read.
74. On Glory's Course by James Purdy - Everybody judges everybody in this story, set in a fictional town in middle American in 1930. With almost every taboo of that era (and this one, in at least two cases) hinted at or out-right admitted to, no character can take the high road. The plot is pure soap opera, but it's well written soap opera.
75. The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence - I was hooked on this book at the fifth paragraph. It's no wonder that the self-appointed moral watchdogs of 1915 were aghast at what he'd written. Lawrence packs more sensuality into a description of the agrarian life than most writers (past and present) could put into a narrative about a full on physical encounter.
72. Closer by Dennis Cooper Dark, angsty, self-centered, violent and going places few stories that aren't simple hard core porn would risk going, this is the story of George, a young man looking for love and accepting anything in place of it; and the men who move through his life taking advantage of that need. Each chapter is told from the POV of a different character, except for George, who gets more than one chance to make the reader care about him. Once the plot actually starts to move foreward (unfortunately, almost half way through the book), it's not a bad read, if you like dark, angsty, violence leading to an attempt at a "happily ever after" ending.
73. The Innocent Man by John Grisham - Contrary to what the cover flap of this book promises, I wasn't shocked, disturbed or infuriated by what this book discloses. It's not news that the innocent are sometimes wrongly convicted in the United States. Grisham does an adequate job of relaying the story of how one man ended up on death row and another received a life sentence for crimes they didn't commit, but spends little time on why this happens - what motivates police and prosecutors to break the law in order to enforce it? That makes for a very flat, albeit detailed, read.
74. On Glory's Course by James Purdy - Everybody judges everybody in this story, set in a fictional town in middle American in 1930. With almost every taboo of that era (and this one, in at least two cases) hinted at or out-right admitted to, no character can take the high road. The plot is pure soap opera, but it's well written soap opera.
75. The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence - I was hooked on this book at the fifth paragraph. It's no wonder that the self-appointed moral watchdogs of 1915 were aghast at what he'd written. Lawrence packs more sensuality into a description of the agrarian life than most writers (past and present) could put into a narrative about a full on physical encounter.
2006 Books 66 - 70
66.The Eccentricities Of A Nightingale, Summer And Smoke and Orpheus Descending with Battle of the Angels, all by Tennessee Williams - Each of these short books contain two versions of well known plays by Williams. There's more melodrama the second time around for each story, and the female characters come into their full eccentric selves. It's interesting to read them side by side, to see how Williams edited himself, each time creating shorter plays that were more intense.
67. Eight Mortal Ladies Possessed and The Knightly Quest and Other Short Stories by Tennessee Williams - In the short story form, Williams can go even further with his eccentric charters than he can in his plays. I'd strongly recommend the novella The Knightly Quest to anyone who thinks they know the style of Tennessee Williams.
68. Running With Scissors by Augesten Burroughs (Audiobook, read by the author) - I've always been of the opinion that a memoir is not entirely true (or why not call it an autobiography?), so I have no problem thinking that Mr. Burroughs is looking back at his life through a filter of the bizarre. That doesn't make this any less funny or sad or just plain mind boggling. I don't care if everything happens as he said, I had a good time listening to him tell the story.
69. The Night Watch by Sarah Walters - I am in awe of Sarah Walters' ability to research her time period so well and not lose her story in the process. The sense of place in this book, WW II London, is worth the read, all by itself. Add some intriguing characters, crossover relationships, and one of the better uses of telling a story backwards than I've read in fiction in a long time, and this is a really good book. No wonder it was short listed for this year's Booker Prize.
70. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson - More of a set of characters studies than a group of short stories, this collection reads like a primer for Southern Gothic. Anderson wrote a prologue titled "Grotesque" and it's the unifying theme for all the chapters - the grotesque that's inside everyone.
67. Eight Mortal Ladies Possessed and The Knightly Quest and Other Short Stories by Tennessee Williams - In the short story form, Williams can go even further with his eccentric charters than he can in his plays. I'd strongly recommend the novella The Knightly Quest to anyone who thinks they know the style of Tennessee Williams.
68. Running With Scissors by Augesten Burroughs (Audiobook, read by the author) - I've always been of the opinion that a memoir is not entirely true (or why not call it an autobiography?), so I have no problem thinking that Mr. Burroughs is looking back at his life through a filter of the bizarre. That doesn't make this any less funny or sad or just plain mind boggling. I don't care if everything happens as he said, I had a good time listening to him tell the story.
69. The Night Watch by Sarah Walters - I am in awe of Sarah Walters' ability to research her time period so well and not lose her story in the process. The sense of place in this book, WW II London, is worth the read, all by itself. Add some intriguing characters, crossover relationships, and one of the better uses of telling a story backwards than I've read in fiction in a long time, and this is a really good book. No wonder it was short listed for this year's Booker Prize.
70. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson - More of a set of characters studies than a group of short stories, this collection reads like a primer for Southern Gothic. Anderson wrote a prologue titled "Grotesque" and it's the unifying theme for all the chapters - the grotesque that's inside everyone.
2006 Books 61 - 65
61. We're In Trouble by Christopher Coake - The stories in this collection all deal with how death (the "Trouble" in the title) affects the living, the people who have to go on. Some of the stories show too much restraint for my taste, but the last two, Abandon about a weekend getaway gone very, very wrong, and All Through The House , where a small town sheriff faces the facts of a murder/suicide involving a close friend, break out with some surprises.
62. A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White - This book is considered a classic in the coming-of-age category of gay fiction. It's supposed to be one of White's best works. Frankly, I'm not feeling the love. White is a great writer, but I couldn't buy into someone the age of the main character being so self aware. If there were, I don't think they would have been so unhappy.
63. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner - Every year, I chose something I haven't read off of the frequently banned books among the top 100 novels of the 20th century to read during the ALA Banned Book Week.. What can I say about this book that hasn't been said by a thousand people before me? It's classic Faulkner, hard to get into but once you're in, you're hooked.
64. Kill Your Darlings by Terence Blacker - A one hit wonder author plagiarizes a student's work to put himself back on the publishing A-List. That's the short summary. To include every thing else that is going on in the life and mind of the main character would give away a very funny and dark story.
65. Mourners Below by James Purdy - A seventeen year old boy deals with the death of the brothers he idolized, a father that refuses to mourn, and the misplaced love of people all around him. In almost all of Purdy's books that I've read, his protagonists beg for sympathy. This is one of the rare times I felt like they deserved it.
62. A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White - This book is considered a classic in the coming-of-age category of gay fiction. It's supposed to be one of White's best works. Frankly, I'm not feeling the love. White is a great writer, but I couldn't buy into someone the age of the main character being so self aware. If there were, I don't think they would have been so unhappy.
63. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner - Every year, I chose something I haven't read off of the frequently banned books among the top 100 novels of the 20th century to read during the ALA Banned Book Week.. What can I say about this book that hasn't been said by a thousand people before me? It's classic Faulkner, hard to get into but once you're in, you're hooked.
64. Kill Your Darlings by Terence Blacker - A one hit wonder author plagiarizes a student's work to put himself back on the publishing A-List. That's the short summary. To include every thing else that is going on in the life and mind of the main character would give away a very funny and dark story.
65. Mourners Below by James Purdy - A seventeen year old boy deals with the death of the brothers he idolized, a father that refuses to mourn, and the misplaced love of people all around him. In almost all of Purdy's books that I've read, his protagonists beg for sympathy. This is one of the rare times I felt like they deserved it.
2006 Books 56 - 60
6. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution by David Carter - A detailed account of what started out as just one of many raids on Mafia ran, illegal gays bars in NYC during the summer of 1969, and turned into an event that brought about political, legal and cultural changes in the United States. Carter includes a history of Greenwich Village, the building itself, and the back stories of many of the people who were there that first night and at the subsequent riots, and then goes on to show how the actions of people that were at the time seen as the lowest rung of the gay community empowered an entire movement.
57. Stuart, A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters - The biographical story of a mentally ill, felonious, physically disabled homeless man, told with honesty and and a lot of humor. The title refers to the way the story is told, suggested by the subject himself: to tell it like a mystery, backwards: "What murdered the boy I was?".
58. Articles of Way by Nick Arvin - George "Heck" Tilson turns eighteen years old just in time to do a full turn of duty in WWII. This short novel is not the story of a hero, or even a patriot. It's the story of putting one foot in front of the other when all your instincts are telling to stop and run away. I thought the ending was a bit contrived (Heck's life becomes entwined with Pvt. Eddie Slovak's life), but until then, it was a good read.
59. The Cottagers by Marshall N. Klimasewiski - The main plot is interesting, the sense of place is fantastic, and the characters come with enough baggage for four or five books. I wish the author had spent less time telling us about what was going on inside these characters, and more time showing us how their relationships were changing them.
60. The House of the Solitary Maggot by James Purdy - Three brothers (or maybe not), their mother (or maybe not) and their father (most likely yes) live lives that give new scope to the term dysfunctional. This is Southern Gothic gone mad. I loved it!
57. Stuart, A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters - The biographical story of a mentally ill, felonious, physically disabled homeless man, told with honesty and and a lot of humor. The title refers to the way the story is told, suggested by the subject himself: to tell it like a mystery, backwards: "What murdered the boy I was?".
58. Articles of Way by Nick Arvin - George "Heck" Tilson turns eighteen years old just in time to do a full turn of duty in WWII. This short novel is not the story of a hero, or even a patriot. It's the story of putting one foot in front of the other when all your instincts are telling to stop and run away. I thought the ending was a bit contrived (Heck's life becomes entwined with Pvt. Eddie Slovak's life), but until then, it was a good read.
59. The Cottagers by Marshall N. Klimasewiski - The main plot is interesting, the sense of place is fantastic, and the characters come with enough baggage for four or five books. I wish the author had spent less time telling us about what was going on inside these characters, and more time showing us how their relationships were changing them.
60. The House of the Solitary Maggot by James Purdy - Three brothers (or maybe not), their mother (or maybe not) and their father (most likely yes) live lives that give new scope to the term dysfunctional. This is Southern Gothic gone mad. I loved it!
2006 Books 51 - 55
51.Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse - What a remarkable book! To say that it's about an artist's journey to understanding himself is a gross understatement, to say it's about a friendship of souls isn't enough, and to say that it's a parable of the spiritual vs. the physical doesn't cover it either. I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading it again, because I'm sure I'm only "getting" a small part of it.
52. Rocket Science by Jay Lake - Fun science fiction set in post WWII Kansas. This story reminds me of X-Files when it was at it's best - when it had a sense of humor.
53. Moe's Villa and Other Stories by James Purdy - This has been my "fill-in" book for the last month, the book I read when I've ran out of other books or don't have time to start a new book. That I was able to stop reading it whenever something different came along tells that there wasn't much to engage me in the collection. It's Purdy's most recently published, and all through it, I was wondering if his reputation stopped his editor from doing their job. I still think Purdy at his worst is better than a LOT of what gets published today, but it's sad when a favorite writer doesn't quite hit the mark.
54. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - I lost track of how many times I cried while reading this book. It's about loss and recovery, and that the latter doesn't negate the first.
55. You Are Not A Stranger Here by Adam Haslett - All of the stories in this collection deal with characters that are suffering emotionally. Sometimes, it is because of psychosis - in The Volunteer a woman who's break with reality occurred during the birth and death of her only child is befriended by a young man going through first love while his family fails to deal with it's own mental illness. Sometimes it is grief - in The Beginnings of Grief a young man masks the pain of the death of his parents by subjecting himself to abuse from an equally troubled fellow student; and several of the stories have persons suffering from bipolar disorder at the center. I'm not sure what Adam Haslett's background is, but he sure knows his stuff when it comes to pain.
52. Rocket Science by Jay Lake - Fun science fiction set in post WWII Kansas. This story reminds me of X-Files when it was at it's best - when it had a sense of humor.
53. Moe's Villa and Other Stories by James Purdy - This has been my "fill-in" book for the last month, the book I read when I've ran out of other books or don't have time to start a new book. That I was able to stop reading it whenever something different came along tells that there wasn't much to engage me in the collection. It's Purdy's most recently published, and all through it, I was wondering if his reputation stopped his editor from doing their job. I still think Purdy at his worst is better than a LOT of what gets published today, but it's sad when a favorite writer doesn't quite hit the mark.
54. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - I lost track of how many times I cried while reading this book. It's about loss and recovery, and that the latter doesn't negate the first.
55. You Are Not A Stranger Here by Adam Haslett - All of the stories in this collection deal with characters that are suffering emotionally. Sometimes, it is because of psychosis - in The Volunteer a woman who's break with reality occurred during the birth and death of her only child is befriended by a young man going through first love while his family fails to deal with it's own mental illness. Sometimes it is grief - in The Beginnings of Grief a young man masks the pain of the death of his parents by subjecting himself to abuse from an equally troubled fellow student; and several of the stories have persons suffering from bipolar disorder at the center. I'm not sure what Adam Haslett's background is, but he sure knows his stuff when it comes to pain.
2006 Books 46 - 50
46. Dogs In The Moonlight by Jay Lake- I almost stopped reading this short story collection after the first two works. They were incredibly strong with atmosphere (especially if you like stories set in the rural areas of Texas), and the characters were as quirky and truly southern as any I've ever read, but those first stories weren't short stories, imo, they were well crafted ideas for stories. But then I hit the first longer story, Oxygen Man, about an environmentally damaged world where people have to pay to breath, and I didn't stop reading until I'd finished the book. All of the stories deal with some form of supernatural or religious being, sometimes friendly, sometimes not, all very original and entertaining.
47. The Marble Quilt by David Leavitt - In this collection of eight short stories and one novella, only two entries stayed with me past the time it took to read them. Although Leavitt is mechanically a masterful writer, for the most part the stories in this collection lacked the intensity and originality that I think are necessary for a really good short stories. The exceptions, the stories that were still bouncing around in my head the day after I read them, were The Infection Scene, a story that weaves a character study of Alfred "Bosie" Douglas with the story of a young man determined to contract HIV that plays off the poison of Bosie's personality (using Bosie's own words from his autobiographies) against the poison of being too romantic; and The Black Box, a story of one man's troublesome journey into the grieving process when his partner is killed in a plane wreck.
48. The Page Turner by David Leavitt A coming of age story wrapped up inside the world of concert pianists. Characters come into the story when they have nothing to add, and go missing at points where you think they would be needed. The setting was interesting, but that's about all I can say for it.
49. A Journal of the Plague Year: 1665 by Daniel Defoe The most interesting thing I learned from this book was in the introduction, that this is in fact a work of fiction. Well researched fiction, but still, fiction written by Defoe almost 60 years after the event took place. I've seen this book sourced in non-fiction works on the Black Death and other epidemics, and never once did I see a foot name clarifying that no one knows how much is truth and how much Defoe made up. Once you get used to the excess verbiage of the time period, it's a fascinating read.
50. Pale Horse, Pale Rider; Three Short Novels by Katherine Anne Porter Three distinctly different stories, told in three distinct voices. The first story, Old Mortality deals with how childhood distorts our view of our families, the second, Noon Wine is about the changes a hired hand makes in the lives of a farm family (and yet, the hired hand is barely a character in the story), and the title piece about a young woman's brief love affair during the time of influenza and WWI. All of the stories are of the sneaky, get under your skin type.
47. The Marble Quilt by David Leavitt - In this collection of eight short stories and one novella, only two entries stayed with me past the time it took to read them. Although Leavitt is mechanically a masterful writer, for the most part the stories in this collection lacked the intensity and originality that I think are necessary for a really good short stories. The exceptions, the stories that were still bouncing around in my head the day after I read them, were The Infection Scene, a story that weaves a character study of Alfred "Bosie" Douglas with the story of a young man determined to contract HIV that plays off the poison of Bosie's personality (using Bosie's own words from his autobiographies) against the poison of being too romantic; and The Black Box, a story of one man's troublesome journey into the grieving process when his partner is killed in a plane wreck.
48. The Page Turner by David Leavitt A coming of age story wrapped up inside the world of concert pianists. Characters come into the story when they have nothing to add, and go missing at points where you think they would be needed. The setting was interesting, but that's about all I can say for it.
49. A Journal of the Plague Year: 1665 by Daniel Defoe The most interesting thing I learned from this book was in the introduction, that this is in fact a work of fiction. Well researched fiction, but still, fiction written by Defoe almost 60 years after the event took place. I've seen this book sourced in non-fiction works on the Black Death and other epidemics, and never once did I see a foot name clarifying that no one knows how much is truth and how much Defoe made up. Once you get used to the excess verbiage of the time period, it's a fascinating read.
50. Pale Horse, Pale Rider; Three Short Novels by Katherine Anne Porter Three distinctly different stories, told in three distinct voices. The first story, Old Mortality deals with how childhood distorts our view of our families, the second, Noon Wine is about the changes a hired hand makes in the lives of a farm family (and yet, the hired hand is barely a character in the story), and the title piece about a young woman's brief love affair during the time of influenza and WWI. All of the stories are of the sneaky, get under your skin type.
2006 Books 36 - 40
36. Short Novels of Henry James -(Daisy Miller, Washington Square, The Aspern Papers, The Pupil, The Turn of the Screw) Henry James' work had shown up several times as optional choices in my academic years of reading. I never chose him because, based on the summaries I'd read, I though his plots sounded dull and cliche. Boy, was I wrong! All of his works have that twist of cruelty that makes Victorian era lit readable, no matter how over-written the dialog is. I especially liked The Aspern Papers - a story of a stalker getting his just reward.
37. 63:Dream Place, Selected Stories 1956 - 1987 by James Purdy- 27 short stories in all. My favorite was the title piece, a dark story about a brother who's not cut out to be the caretaker of his sickly younger brother. By the time you realize how the story has to end, you can't look away. There's also a bittersweet story about an young boy and his grandfather, Home By Dark, written so well it was like being right there on the front porch with the characters.
38. Cabot Wright Begins by James Purdy - This was Purdy's first full length novel to be published, and a lot of the themes that would be examined in greater detail in later books are jammed into this story about the people involved in getting a book about a convicted rapist published. It's Purdy's characters that keep this from being a total wallow in cynicism - they're the extremes of humanity.
38. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - Once again, I discover how much I admire Woolf's observational skills and can't stand her writing. For some reason, I seem to need to rediscover that every four or five years.
39. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman - A fun read with a nice little message about the importance of stories mixed in with the usual (or unusual?) Gaiman characters.
40. The Alchemist by Paul Coelho - If you believe in yourself, everything turns out for the best.
37. 63:Dream Place, Selected Stories 1956 - 1987 by James Purdy- 27 short stories in all. My favorite was the title piece, a dark story about a brother who's not cut out to be the caretaker of his sickly younger brother. By the time you realize how the story has to end, you can't look away. There's also a bittersweet story about an young boy and his grandfather, Home By Dark, written so well it was like being right there on the front porch with the characters.
38. Cabot Wright Begins by James Purdy - This was Purdy's first full length novel to be published, and a lot of the themes that would be examined in greater detail in later books are jammed into this story about the people involved in getting a book about a convicted rapist published. It's Purdy's characters that keep this from being a total wallow in cynicism - they're the extremes of humanity.
38. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - Once again, I discover how much I admire Woolf's observational skills and can't stand her writing. For some reason, I seem to need to rediscover that every four or five years.
39. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman - A fun read with a nice little message about the importance of stories mixed in with the usual (or unusual?) Gaiman characters.
40. The Alchemist by Paul Coelho - If you believe in yourself, everything turns out for the best.
2006 Books 31 - 35
31. The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy - Sex and booze and blasphemy are the trinity of this story. The writing style was a little hard to get used to, but once I gave up and simply went with the flow, I enjoyed this book.
32. In The Hollow Of His Hands by James Purdy- A man comes home to claim his biological son who looks exactly like him, although no one seemed to notice that little fact, including the man who thought he was the boy's father. If you can accept that plot point, you can accept any of the crazy twists in this story. This is Purdy writing comedy. I'd call it more bizarre than funny.
33. A Night Out, Night School, Revue Sketches: Early Plays by Harold Pinter - Two of Pinter's earliest works written for television and five detached character scenes. I think the first play, "A Night Out", is as good as anything Pinter wrote in the rest of his career.
34. All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren- Fascinating characters, a plot that's a challenge to keep up with, and some insights into the human heart that are so well written they gave me goosebumps.
35. The Nephew by James Purdy - A short novel about small town life with a better eye for detail than most. The moral of the story is we sometimes know the least about the people that we think we're the closest to.
32. In The Hollow Of His Hands by James Purdy- A man comes home to claim his biological son who looks exactly like him, although no one seemed to notice that little fact, including the man who thought he was the boy's father. If you can accept that plot point, you can accept any of the crazy twists in this story. This is Purdy writing comedy. I'd call it more bizarre than funny.
33. A Night Out, Night School, Revue Sketches: Early Plays by Harold Pinter - Two of Pinter's earliest works written for television and five detached character scenes. I think the first play, "A Night Out", is as good as anything Pinter wrote in the rest of his career.
34. All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren- Fascinating characters, a plot that's a challenge to keep up with, and some insights into the human heart that are so well written they gave me goosebumps.
35. The Nephew by James Purdy - A short novel about small town life with a better eye for detail than most. The moral of the story is we sometimes know the least about the people that we think we're the closest to.
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