The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

“I like long novels,” I overheard a bookstore clerk say years ago. “I like long novels that span years and in which characters change and grow.” Though I don’t believe she was talking about Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin, she could’ve been. This is a family saga that spans several generations, but it mostly...

The Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy

We read Thomas Hardy today because he’s still relevant, but perhaps the issues that made him relevant in his time, due to the changing nature of the world, are different than the things that make him relevant in our time. The relevancy of The Well-Beloved, dealing with the superficial nature of romantic love, makes...