Reviewed by Edwina Pendarvis These Particular Women (Sagging Meniscus 2023) offers a composite of particulars about eleven women who earned celebrity, large or small, in the 20th century, either through their own accomplishments—in one case a murder—or as wife or mother of a notably accomplished someone. Most of the women will be familiar and […]
“Another World: Ballet Lessons from Appalachia” by Edwina Pendarvis
December 6, 2022 by 1 Comment
Ballet is probably not the first kind of dancing people associate with Appalachia, Edwina Pendarvis acknowledges in the introduction to Another World: Ballet Lessons from Appalachia. Yet for the twenty-four women Pendarvis interviews for this engaging book, ballet assumed considerable importance in their lives. The fond memories and photographs of ballet lessons gathered for this […]
Oedipus, Jemima Puddle-Duck, and “Astonishing Primitives”
October 19, 2022 by Leave a Comment
“How to Read a Novel” by Caroline Gordon Cluny Media Edition, 2019; Originally published, 1953 “The Malefactors” by Caroline Gordon Cluny Media Edition, 2019; Originally published, 1956 Review Essay by Edwina Pendarvis Caroline Gordon’s How to Read a Novel is a little outdated, but still intriguing in its observations on the novel. Because her […]
“Our Love Affair With Murder”: Donna Meredith Reviews Five Mysteries
December 26, 2017 by 2 Comments
Reviews by Donna Meredith Sex sells, but crime pays too—at least for writers. Mystery and crime stories earn upwards of $730 million a year in book sales. That’s a lot of love for dead bodies, sales figures topped only slightly by the live bodies found in the romance genre. From the earliest mysteries penned by […]