Book Review

The Last Green Valley

Casey

It’s remarkable how many stories from World War II still slip under the radar—stories about human resilience and resolve that deserve to be told. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan feels like one of those stories. I’ve always been drawn to WWII narratives, particularly those set on the European front, but many focus primarily on the Holocaust and people fleeing Nazi persecution. While this novel does reference those atrocities, it tells a story I had never encountered before: a family attempting to find salvation with the Allied forces while fleeing Stalin’s army through Nazi-occupied Europe.

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Book Review

All the Pretty Horses

Casey

I really had to sit with this book after I finished it before I knew what I wanted to say—or even what I thought about it. As many readers know, Cormac McCarthy doesn’t use quotation marks (and sometimes even neglects apostrophes), which can make following dialogue a challenge. At times, I found myself expending more energy just reading the text than fully understanding what was happening on the page.

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Book Review

Dubliners

Casey

I gave Dubliners 4 stars, but that rating is more about the book’s place in literary history than my personal enjoyment. This collection of short stories by James Joyce is often seen as groundbreaking, and it’s easy to see why. I believe Joyce was one of the first to truly popularize the modern short story collection — one not driven by a single plot, but by theme, tone, and place.

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Book Review

Little Women

Casey

It may be little surprise to most and it may go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: This book was a joy to read. I’ve put off reading this because I thought it would be a “difficult” old classic, but it really isn’t all that hard of a read.

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Book Review

Heart of Darnkess

Casey

This is one of those books I hear about a lot. It seems its on all the lists of best books and is usually required reading in English literature programs. I can see why it’s considered so great, but, by Jove! it is dark… I imagine this is also frequently banned. The horror! The horror!

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Book Review

A Christmas Carol

Casey

I read A Christmas Carol every year at Christmastime. It is currently my all-time favorite book. I know the story by heart – who doesn’t? Scrooge is nearly as synonymous with Christmas as Jesus Himself! The book is extremely readable and short enough that I would encourage everyone to make reading this book part of their holiday tradition.

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Book Review

The Grapes of Wrath

Casey

I remember in high school having the choice of reading The Grapes of Wrath or To Kill a Mockingbird for class. I chose the latter. I was glad, too. I actually read Mockingbird and genuinely liked it. I also remember after we read the books, the students who read The Grapes of Wrath were all a-twitter about that final scene. Now that I’ve read it… I understand.

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