December 19, 2004

Motherless Brooklyn

Well, now that my semester is over, all of my work is turned on, and I am in full-on vacation mode, I am back (yay!) to my pleasure reading. I finished Motherless Brooklyn today, a novel by Jonathan Lethem.

I've never read Lethem before, having gotten this book at the campus library on a lark. The novel is about a man, orphaned as a baby, who grows up to work for a father figure/small-time hood. Oh, and our protagonist also has Tourette's Syndrome.

It's a pretty pleasant read. For a detective/mystery story, it kind of ambles, never too forceful, never too grisly. A group of Zen Buddhists figure into the plot, and the novel as a whole has a kind of zen feeling about it. I liked the novel, in general, but it unfortunately didn't really grab me--unfortunate because I didn't force myself to make time for it during my incredibly crazy November and December. I don't read many novels that include virtually all men, and detectives at that, so this was a departure for me. Lethem has several moments of true linguistic brilliance: one of his major strengths.

Next up: Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope.

Posted by waking slow at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)

December 03, 2004

December 01, 2004

A brief update

Poor wakingslow.com. So neglected. Student teaching and staying on top of my coursework has been a beyond full time endeavor this semester. I am done in just over two weeks; however, after which wakingslow.com should be a bit more lively.

Student teaching has been marvelous. Next semester I just take courses at Smith, which will mean sleeping later and more casual clothes, both things that make me very happy. I plan to enjoy next semester as it will be my last chance for a while to be a student.

Posted by waking slow at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)