Books

Of Mice and Men

Two migrant workers have a bad time settling into a new gig. 

Steinbeck is a strange animal. His prose is great—sharp, direct, and natural. The stories are good. Nothing mind blowing, but always solid. The characters are especially memorable, but even adjusting for that, his books hit way harder than you’d expect. There’s some secret alchemy to them that just reaches into you and torques your insides. 

It feels more like a gigantic short story than a novel. It’s all one big push to a single big idea. And holy shit, when you get there it’s so intense. 

This was my first pass through it. I don’t want to spoil any of it, but the ninth grade English teachers were right about this one. I finished it around a week ago and I still can’t stop thinking about it. Pound for pound it’s one of the best books of all time. 

Strongest recommendation, a universal must read book.

The Turn of the Screw

Governess either sees ghosts or loses her mind.

The ambiguity about whether the narrator is actually seeing ghosts or is merely hallucinating them gives this book a more effectively horrifying character than most gothic horror. She’s intensely protective of her charges, but the whole time you’re wondering whether some well intentioned act is going to result in tragedy. 

Recommended if you’re into ghost stories or horror.

Was mesmerized by this story. I also remember loving the way that the story is part of a larger narrative story. 

It felt super artful compared to just diving into the governess’s consciousness in res. Made me think about what a story stories do for us (ie, how they sometimes work through or rewrite the past)