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October 2009

Women on the Move

Sunday, October 25, 2009

“They had been in England for three days but they knew no one here. This country was just a safe place. Now all the money they had could be lifted in the palm of a hand to a stranger in a toilet.”—Andrea Levy, “Loose Change.”
Three contemporary female authors, three splendid actresses and three rather different stories, each about women in transition—geographically, morally, or emotionally.


A Tale of Terror

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Something bad has been looking for him for a long time, he thinks, and now, at last, it is growing near.”—Dan Chaon, “The Bees.”
A man’s past envelops his present in this eerie tale.


French Fictions

Sunday, October 11, 2009

From where she lived, she looked on Paris as representing the height of all magnificent luxury as well as licentiousness…It seemed to her that hidden behind the facades of the houses lining the canyon-like boulevards of the city, some amazing erotic secret must lie.”—Guy de Maupassant, “A Parisian Affair.”
France—romantic, multi-ethnic, and surreal, in three tales classic and contemporary.


Please Don’t Explain

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Faced with the challenge of explaining the cornerstone of Christianity, we did what any self-respecting group of people might do. We talked about food instead.—David Sedaris, “Jesus Shaves”.
David Sedaris learns French, and three other tales involving elaborate explanations that only make things worse.