Underrated Reads

America, Join us today for a National Day of Action!

Posted on June 15, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) The future of our country is in danger! Trump committed impeachable offenses from Day 1 by not even attempting to protect the integrity of our elections from Russian interference. Then there was the family separation at the southern border. Then the outcome of the Mueller report. Now there's even more! Join…

Posted in Let's talk, Revisited | Comments Off

Man of the Year – Caroline Louise Walker

Posted on June 11, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The lovesick, the betrayed, and the jealous all smell alike.” -Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette Internist, Dr. Robert Hart was named Sag Harbor Citizen of the Year. Everyone seems to be jealous of him and his charismatic wife, Elizabeth. But do they really know them? Robert’s son, Jonah comes back from college, and brings…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Tagged death, family, infidelity, literature | Comments Off

Revisited: Verklempt – Peter Sichrovsky (Author), Ari Roth (Foreword), John Howard (Translator)

Posted on June 8, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Thomas remained a man without a past, without memories, without old photographs and without stories from earlier years.” He is just one of the many Jews who chose to live in a land where their parents were once hunted down. It’s around 1985 and whether it’s Berlin or Vienna, “The children…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Austria, Germany, Judaism, Poland, Prague | Comments Off

Constance: One Road to Take: The Life and Photography of Constance Stuart Larrabee (1914–2000) – Peter Elliott

Posted on June 4, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Constance is not so much of a biography but an attempt to put Constance Stuart Larrabee’s life into perspective using her photography. The attempt is to gain more of an understanding of her work, thus allowing the reader a glimpse into her personal life, past and present. What you appreciate is…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs | Tagged biography | Comments Off

Job 2.0: God and Lucifer battle again for a single soul – Del Staecker

Posted on May 28, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “God really liked Lucifer, despite the bad jokes, the rancorous departure, all the efforts to misdirect humankind, and even his plan to take over Heaven. But God did not want to encourage Lucifer’s bad behavior. God still had hopes for Lucifer. “ Still, God accepted his challenge. Lucifer would …

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Book of Job, God, humor, inspirational, Lucifer, philosophy, short books | Comments Off

The Illustrated Guide To Insanity – F. and Violet Mole

Posted on May 25, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” - Mark Twain “All art is neurosis” - Sigmund Freud The essence of these quotes is embodied in the single-frame cartoons in The Illustrated Guide To Insanity. Though the drawings look spontaneous, they were drawn over a…

Posted in More fiction | Tagged humor, insanity, psychology, short books, Sigmund Freud | Comments Off

Amsterdam Noir (Akashic Noir Series) -René Appel and Josh Pachter (Editors), Josh Pachter (Translator)

Posted on May 22, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “It wasn’t until he’d come to see me a dozen times that he told me he wanted to concentrate on women who looked like the victims who’d escaped from him his first time around.” This man thinks that executed serial killer Ted Bundy comes out at night to instruct him how…

Posted in Short stories, World Literature | Tagged Amsterdam, crime fiction, noir, short stories, translated literature | Comments Off

The Unlikely Occultist: A Biographical Novel of Alice A. Bailey – Isobel Blackthorn

Posted on May 19, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) In The Unlikely Occultist the author uses historical references and records in order to write a fictional tale about Alice’s life. A few characters are invented and fabricated in order to produce a beautiful narrative. However she stays true to Alice’s personality and character teachings. The story is written in two…

Posted in Historical Fiction | Tagged biographical novel, Historical fiction | Comments Off

Dark Paradise: A Caribbean Noir Murder Mystery (Boise Montague Book 1) – Gene Desrochers

Posted on May 15, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The St. Thomas I knew died long ago, even longer than Roger. Maybe I’d changed so profoundly in California that the whole world felt like a strange land.” After his wife’s untimely death, PI Boise Montague left Los Angeles to go back home to St. Thomas, US VI. Though he left…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged crime fiction, drugs, St. Thomas, USVI | Comments Off