(G)rumblings and Ramblings

Title: Love in the time of Cholera Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Note: All efforts have been made to keep this review short and spoiler-free. However, there are some spoilers because analysis does require some factual substantiation.  I shall try and avoid adding too many facts. The point here is to provide an analysis. This is not a gateway for potential bluffing by lazy potatoes who would rather not read those 348 pages. I avoided most of the major works of Marquez for years. It was just one of those phenomena where one hears so much about something that one takes a cerebral detour due to being alienated by the hype. That, and in my time as an adolescent I did not wish to prove my sibling correct in his estimation of Marquez's literary prowess. Imagine my bemusement when this book was offered as a gift by someone who, ironically, has his birthday just two days before the sibling's birthday. Ah, life.. This novel appears to be placed somewhere in th...

Title: Lincoln in the Bardo Author: George Saunders                                               Note: All efforts have been made to keep this review short and spoiler-free. However, there are some spoilers because analysis does require some factual substantiation.  I shall try and avoid adding too many facts. The point here is to provide an analysis. This is not a gateway for potential bluffing by lazy potatoes who would rather not read those 341 pages. Saunders' work reverberates with double entendres that tickle the grey cells long after the last page has been turned. The writing is eloquent and crisp. However, the structure is a bit different so be prepared for that. I, for one, find a different structure intriguing. The idea of death and grief fascinates some and repulses many. While at first blush, this book appears to be a bit of an elegy in ...