Month: February 2017

Review: The Sellout by Paul Beatty

E.F. Sunland

I haven’t read much modern satire and Paul Beatty’s The Sellout convinced me I should start. The Sellout’s depiction of the Supreme Court in the prologue is so pointed (and uproariously funny) because everyone knows which Justices are being mocked with no footnotes necessary. It takes some of the sting out if, after reading a line, you’re required to flip to the back for a history lecture before nodding and saying, “I get it now. That’s hilarious.” read more

Review: Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

E.F. Sunland

Jamaica Inn is the most guilty-pleasure-y of the Daphne du Maurier books I’ve read. The romantic and melodramatic elements are over the top; it’s salacious, it’s predictable, and yet it’s so entertaining. That said, I don’t want to knock it too hard for its cliched elements as some of the set pieces might have been less tired 1936. You may see the end coming a mile away, but you’ll want to keep reading. For a book whose problems could be easily solved by a cell-phone , it has aged astonishingly well. read more