Category Archives: Skinny reads
January – Sara Gallardo, translated by Frances Riddle
(reviewed by JD Jung) January (Enero) first published in Spanish in 1958, follows the daily life and thoughts of sixteen-year-old Nefer, who finds she is pregnant after a rape. Nefer works on the family farm, and lives in the shadow … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Latin American Literature, Lost and almost forgotten, Skinny reads
Tagged abortion, Argentina, class, culture, rape
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Naked Came the Detective – Glendall C. Jackson III
(reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned Washington D.C. journalist “Chris” was always thinking about what happened to a high-end call girl he was obsessed with. One day he received an envelope from her, the contents in memoir form. He shares it … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Skinny reads
Tagged murder, prostitution
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The Flowers of Buffoonery – Os Amu Dazai, (translated by Sam Bett)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “A man crushed by reality puts on a show of endurance.” This is exactly the case with twenty-five-year-old Yozo Oba, who is sent to a seaside sanitarium to recover from injuries due to failed suicide … Continue reading
Posted in Far Eastern Literature, Humor & Satire, Lost and almost forgotten, Skinny reads
Tagged Japan, mental illness, suicide
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The Book of Morfeo – Stefano Benni
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “What you do is supposed to be sacred. It’s supposed to be about healing. You should be taking it seriously, as seriously as death.” Italian writer, Stefano Benni addresses a serious issue that is prevalent … Continue reading
Posted in Humor & Satire, Italian Literature, Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Mythology, Skinny reads
Tagged angels, death, God, greed, healthcare, magical realism, profits, Religion
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Rose Royal: A Love Story- Nicolas Mathieu (Translated from the French by Sam Taylor)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Looking back over all those men, all those failed relationships, she came to one conclusion. She should never have loved them as much as she … Continue reading
Posted in French Literature, Modern Literary Fiction, Noir-esque fiction, Skinny reads
Tagged French literature, French noir
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The Proud & the Dumb – Bob Freville
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Don’t get all bogged down in so-called facts. That’s the whole problem.” A gang of racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic (I could go on and on), white nationalists regularly hang out at the Swindlehurst Diner. It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Humor & Satire, Political fiction, Skinny reads
Tagged hate, mysogeny, novella, Social satire, White-nationalism
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Law of the Jungle – Christina Hoag
(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned Rowena Aldus is an Oxford scholar whose passion is researching the venom in spiders to use for medicinal purposes in humans. Though she finds this fascinating, she struggles to get funding. Author Christina Hoag details … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Skinny reads
Tagged Amazon jungle, crime fiction
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The Professor’s Wife – Marina DelVecchio
Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “She was not what she had promised, what she had led him to believe. And he couldn’t help but feel deceived. Tricked, somehow. Bitterness coursed through his bloodstream like an invisible worm consuming him from … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Skinny reads
Tagged mental illness, Romance, sex
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The Delivery – K.M. Halpern
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Was it better to be sad in a world that made sense or happy in a world that did not.” When forty-six-year-old Wilbur came home from work one day, his grumpy, over-bearing wife Sarah informed him … Continue reading
Posted in Humor & Satire, Skinny reads
Tagged 1950's, book reviews, humor
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She Shits Bricks and Other Short Stories – Samson Tonauac
(reviewed by JD Jung) We’ve all been through a lot this past year and a half. Not just with COVID-19, but with social unrest, political chaos, and dealing with people who won’t accept basic facts as reality. Everyday life has … Continue reading
Posted in Humor & Satire, Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Mythology, Skinny reads
Tagged compulsion, corruption, dark humor, futuristic, greed, money, reality, science fiction, sex
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