Archive for May, 1994
- Michael Connelly’s “The Concrete Blonde” • May 22, 1994
In "The Concrete Blonde," Edgar Award-winning novelist Michael Connelly has a sharp eye for plotting and a perceptive ear for dialogue. Unfortunately, he doesn't possess much of a sense for originality.
- Haruki Murakami’s Dance Dance Dance and Ryu Murakami’s Sixty-Nine • May 11, 1994
This book review was originally published in the Baltimore City Paper on May 11, 1994.
In Jay McInerney’s underrated 1985 novel Ransom, Christopher Ransom flees from the materialistic excess of life in Hollywood to search for moral purity in the city of Kyoto, Japan. He abandons his drug and drinking habits, he tries to remain celibate, [...]
- Douglas Adams’ “Mostly Harmless” • May 9, 1994
Douglas Adams' fifteen minutes of fame as the author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series came to a close years ago. Why, then, should he suddenly add another installment to the humor/sci-fi story when he's moved on to more ambitious projects? After reading "Mostly Harmless," the series' fifth book, it seems plausible that Adams simply needs the money.
- John Updike’s “Brazil” • May 2, 1994
This book review was originally published in the Baltimore Evening Sun on May 2, 1994.
Write a score of enthusiastically received novels, break sexual and racial taboos, and successfully subvert literary conventions, and you might think you can do anything.
Only a writer with as many accolades under his belt as John Updike could write a book [...]
