Wuthering Heights is a classic tale of possessive and thwarted passion, one of the forerunners of today’s soap operas and romance novels. The tempestuous and mythic story of Catherine Earnshaw, the precocious daughter of the house, and the ruggedly handsome, uncultured foundling her father brings home and names Heathcliff, is played out against the backdrop of English moors no less wild and raw than the love they develop for one another. Continue reading →.

Strange to say, the book has some merit as a sensation novel, and, in spite of this puffery, will make its way. It is, in fact, just the sort of book to be read by everybody, – not too sentimental for a man’s requirements, nor too useful for a woman’s; having no end of plots and conspiracies for those who like plots, and plenty of light, easy, agreeable conversation for those who do not. Continue reading →.

Isolation is a topic that spans lifetimes and generations, an identifiable feeling that crosses cultures and continents. Monique Truong’s The Book of Salt is an effort to capture this feeling and describe it with a story. Truong’s novel follows the tumultuous life of Binh, a Vietnamese man who is ousted from his home country and … Continue reading →.

Edna Pontellier, the heroine of The Awakening, shocked readers in 1899 and the scandal created by the book haunted Kate Chopin for the rest of her life. The Awakening begins at a crisis point in twenty-eight year-old Edna Pontellier’s life. Continue reading →.

Though many who participate in the study of literature scoff at the literary merit of graphic novels, Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, offers a fresh and unique perspective on an historical subject. Chronicling her young life in Iran during the turbulent first years of the Islamic Revolution, Satrapi literally illustrates her … Continue reading →.

I simply had to share some recent news I’ve been reading on AustenBlog about the new Jane Austen movie, Becoming Jane. First is a great review by Anne Wagner of The Stranger: There isn’t one irritating thing about Becoming Jane, there are about fifty. Even if you don’t care that Anne Hathaway is way too … Continue reading →.