The fact is that “classics” are not born immediately after publication. Nor do lauded books stay that way over time. Books’ popularity and acclaim rise or decline according to trends and public opinion. In 2023, we have a need to reexamine what we consider worthwhile. I hope high schools...
Mencken’s caustic view of life remained with him throughout his career, and in the 1930s and ’40s he altered considerably less than the world around him, with the result that his influence almost disappeared. Few people found theGreat Depressiona subject forsatireof any sort, yet he was ...
In 1815 Irving went toLiverpoolto look after the interests of his brothers’ firm. In London he metSir Walter Scott, who encouraged him to renewed effort. The result wasThe Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent(1819–20), a collection of stories and essays that mixsatireand whimsicality with...
satire in the depiction of Braithwaite’s rivalries with his contemporaries, reminiscent of the spoof biographies inTheir Brilliant Careers by Ryan O’Neill, while pertinent questions about the nature of identity and reality are posed in “Rebecca’s” pursuit for answers. ‘Case Study’ is ...
Over 3K readers have voted on the 70+ books on Required Reading That You Actually Ended Up Loving. Current Top 3: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Outsiders, The ...
These are books that have 4.5 stars rating on 100+ Reviews. [Pick of the Day]/[Pick of the Week] – Book that stands out even amongst the *** ones and ** ones. Wild Card Pick – Not enough reviews but we think it’s a winner. That over time it would be * or ** or even ...
Six, a musical that is currently playing on Broadway hasn’t piqued my interest yet – I still have to get around the weirdness of having a lot of singing and dancing based on what are almost all pretty tragic stories. Truly, Anne of Cleves (#4) was the only one of the six who man...
satire or fraud and had even written on how celebrity authors had the authority to break from community norms to create an identity through their language choices (Hyland, 2008, 2010). Overall though, by describing the conventions that embody disciplinary ideologies and customs, I probably helped ...
are others that echo more loudly with the passing of the years. Sometimes there is a correlation between the two, as withThe Prophets of Eternal Fjord. But often books that are big when they come out fall away in time: many of the literary stars of previous eras are barely remembered ...
Books: On an Island of Lost Souls Valentine Cunningham on a Satire That Takes the Pith out of Our PastCunningham, Valentine