12.17.2012

Best 'Morose' Reads of 2012

This picture has nothing to do with anything...just makes me laugh (image: flickr - Bede Jackson)

Selected from the books I read and reviewed in the year 2012. 

Worthy of Mention: The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
by James Weldon Johnson
Chosen for explaining the emotional torment of a man living a lie in order to survive. Its sad yet honest reflection on the question of race sheds light on a dark issue that is rarely acknowledged. 

3. Man Gone Down 
by Michael Thomas
Chosen for its gloomy depiction of a broken man in a broken family, trying to make the American Dream. The utter hopelessness in the stream-of-conscious narrative is raw, poetic and intellectual. 

2. Drowning Ruth 
by Christina Schwarz
Chosen for its somber portrayal of a family stripped down by shame, secrets and mental illness. The subtle mystery lining the flashbacks reveal imperfect characters that are perfect to read about and relate to. 

1. Coal Black Horse 
by Robert Olmstead
Chosen for its powerful language, and vivid and organic imagery of death. A seemingly impossible journey during a time of war instills unforgettable lessons upon anyone who reads them. 



4 comments:

  1. I'm going to have to check some of these out. Autobiography of an Ex Colored Man is on the reading list for my blog.

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    1. I'd like to know what you think of it...and Man Gone Down. I don't know anyone who has read them...

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  2. Drowning Ruth reminded me of the past 30 years of Canadian literature all packed into one novel. Happy New Year!

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    1. I chose Drowning Ruth to read when I was in a book club. I knew absolutely nothing about it--I just liked the title. And I'm so glad I read it...I didn't know it was written by a Canadian author. Does this mean you liked the book?

      Happy New Year! Thanks for stopping by, Ryan.

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