Here Comes a Book Rant
July 16, 2019
A review/rant about Bianca Marais’ novel If You Want to Make God Laugh, an unintentionally offensive story about three women in post-apartheid South Africa. … More Here Comes a Book Rant
Tag: AIDs
Motherhood, Charity, and Africa’s AIDS Orphans: There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene
February 19, 2019
A review of a nonfiction account of one woman’s quest to save children orphaned by or suffering from AIDS in Ethiopia. … More Motherhood, Charity, and Africa’s AIDS Orphans: There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene
A Handbook for Helping the Dying: The Gifts of the Body, by Rebecca Brown
February 19, 2019
A humane, sharply observed set of interlocked stories about a home care worker taking care of AIDS patients in the 1990s. … More A Handbook for Helping the Dying: The Gifts of the Body, by Rebecca Brown
Living and Dying in Times of Crisis: The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai
July 19, 2018
“It’s always a matter, isn’t it, of waiting for the world to come unraveled? When things hold together, it’s only temporary.” Simply put, The Great Believers is a novel about the fragility of life; how tenuous our grasp on it–and each other–is. It is also beautiful, honest, and funny. I am not ashamed to admit that … More Living and Dying in Times of Crisis: The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai
When We Rise: Cleve Jones and His Life in the Gay Rights Movement
June 26, 2018
It may seem surprising that more than half of Cleve Jones’ memoir is taken up with his life before activism–before, that is, his work with Harvey Milk or creating the AIDs Memorial Quilt–but that is the whole point. Admittedly, it does feel as though the first part meanders as Jones moves around, travels, parties, hooks up, … More When We Rise: Cleve Jones and His Life in the Gay Rights Movement
Book Review: Tell the Wolves I’m Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt
June 13, 2013
“You can build a whole world around the tiniest of touches.” I’m just going to say it straight out: this book kinda creeped me out. And not in a good way. The year is 1987. June Elbus is one of those quirky, misunderstood teens in the Royal Tenenbaums, Harold and Maude mold. None of her … More Book Review: Tell the Wolves I’m Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt
Supposedly Fun 