Book Review: The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)

The Bell Jar was a bit of a head scratcher for me. It was not what I had expected based on its renown in the literary canon of feminism. I experienced it as a rather depressing novel about a young woman’s struggle with mental health, with only a slight undertone...

Book Review: Giovanni’s Room (James Baldwin)

Until now I have only read James Baldwin’s nonfiction works, which have largely been focused on racism and the civil rights movement in the United States. Giovanni’s Room therefore represents my first foray into Baldwin’s literary fiction repertoire....

Book Review: In the Castle of My Skin (George Lamming)

As a native of Barbados, who grew up on the island until the age of eighteen, I feel I bring a different perspective to the experience of reading In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming. The setting is not only familiar, but the dialect and the way of thinking...

Book Review: The Metamorphosis and Other Stories (Franz Kafka)

As a preface to my review I would like to mention that I have been quite intrigued by Franz Kafka for many years, as he is a renowned and respected author, but I have not managed to get around to reading any of his writings until now. True story, I stumbled upon The...

Book Review: Notes of a Native Son (James Baldwin)

Of the books by James Baldwin that I have read so far (The Fire Next Time, No Name In the Street and Notes of a Native Son), this was the one I enjoyed the least. Notes of a Native Son reads like a random collection of rants from Baldwin about his life growing up as a...

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