Roman à clef is a form of fiction I’ve always enjoyed reading, from Primary Colors to The Devil Wears Prada). Encyclopaedia Britannica defines roman à clef like this: (French: “novel with a key”) novel that has the extraliterary interest of portraying well-known real people more or less thinly disguised as fictional characters. In The Widow of … Read more
What’s the word for impotent worry activated by reading the morning paper? When your mind swirls with horror at people’s pain and you think of how you can effect, perhaps, if you work very hard, a fingernail’s length of change. Perhaps the word should be horror-fever. Symptoms: choking on overseas flood worry, aching with news … Read more
Re-reading . . . how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love the guaranteed happiness (how often does one get that?); I love meeting old friends and familiar enemies; and oh, how I love the anticipation of coloring in the faintly remembered. Truly-addicted readers have books to which they repeatedly return; … Read more
Could it be possible that our lust for the bad boys—a hunger which begets dreams that bear nightmares—begins the night we aim our reading flashlights on Rhett Butler and his ilk? Face it—who took away our breath? Who were we trained to want? Namby-pamby Ashley or the dashing Rhett? How about the other side? The … Read more
Stories of survival fill me with shivery delight. I rarely meet a story of man/woman/elements that doesn’t keep me up till all hours—it’s no doubt one of my favorite sub-genres. Below are two recent entries into my hall of fame, along with an evergreen selection. I practically leapt into my car to buy Ruthless River … Read more