Saturday, January 23, 2021
Literary Reviews
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
    • Erotic Novels
    • BEST SELLING BOOKS
    • Science Fiction Books
    • Business and Management
    • Computing and IT
    • Cooking
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE
    • Erotic
    • Mysteries, Thrillers
    • Literary Themes
    • Business and Management
    • Literary Agents
    • Literary Devices
    • New Books
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults Novels
    • Computing and IT
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality Novels
No Result
View All Result
Literary Reviews
Home Literary Themes

Literary Links: One Read 2020

admin by admin
August 27, 2020
in Literary Themes
0
Literary Links: One Read 2020
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Related posts

Are You Cool Enough For The Grace Wales Bonner x Adidas Originals Literary Academy?

Are You Cool Enough For The Grace Wales Bonner x Adidas Originals Literary Academy?

January 23, 2021
Literary arts journal earns third consecutive international honor

Literary arts journal earns third consecutive international honor

January 23, 2021


Our 2020 One Read selection, “A Gentleman in Moscow” (Viking, 2016) by Amor Towles, was picked before the pandemic hit, but it shares an uncanny connection with what many of us have experienced — the theme of confinement.

The book is about Count Alexander Rostov, who is sentenced to house arrest in the luxurious Hotel Metropol in Moscow by the Bolsheviks (later known as the Communist Party). Count Rostov experiences a tumultuous 30 years of Russian history from the limited perspective of his attic room with news of the world filtered through the hotel guests and employees he encounters.

It is remarkable how much The Count still witnesses, despite his confinement, and how much subject matter the author covers. Life continues, and, sometimes, we can have a wide range of experiences within a limited space. So, here are some other novels that explore a diverse array of human experience within very limited settings.

“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” (A. A. Knopf, 1963) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, is also about a Russian prisoner, but here the conditions are far worse than the Hotel Metropol. Ivan Desinovich is a Russian soldier serving a 10-year sentence in a Siberian labor camp after being falsely accused of treason. The book chronicles a single routine, dehumanizing day in the camp, from when Ivan gets up to when he goes to sleep. His struggle to maintain dignity throughout the day is the heart of this story.

“The Mayakovsky Tapes” (Thomas Dunne Books, 2016) by Robert Littell, takes us back to the famous Hotel Metropol, specifically room 408, in 1953. There, four women have gathered to reminisce about Vladimir Mayakovsky, a poet who became a national idol of Soviet Russia after his death. Each woman was a muse of the poet, and through their reminiscence a complex character emerges. Mayakovsky’s history reflects Russian history, from his time as a leader of the Futurist movement to his work as a propagandist for the Revolution and later censorship battles that turned him against the state.

Some borders are more confining than others. The one that separates North Korea from the rest of the world is so confining that life behind it is a mystery to most of the world. “The Accusation” (Grove Press, 2014) by Bandi is a collection of short stories that offers a glimpse behind the border. Published by an anonymous writer, and snuck into South Korea for publication, the book contains seven stories set during the period of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il’s leadership. These stories provide a vivid depiction of life in a dictatorship and a rare look at the people living in that very isolated nation.

“The Lady Matador’s Hotel” (Scribner, 2010) by Cristina Garcia takes place in an unnamed Central American capital in the midst of political turmoil. It follows six men and women, residents of the eponymous hotel, during a week when their lives become entangled and conflicts erupt. The intertwining stories form a caustic social critique of the horrors of oppression and violence.

“The Mezzanine” (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1988) by Nicholson Baker, takes place during a one-story escalator ride. While embarking on this simple task, the narrator contemplates some of the mundane objects in our lives and activities we engage in. This de-familiarizes the familiar and becomes an exploration of the importance of everyday human experiences and the things around us.

The setting for “Cosmopolis” (Scribner, 2003) by Don DeLillo is the interior of a white stretch limousine. Inside rides a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager on his way across town to get a haircut. During this journey, he is in the middle of a risky bet against the yen and has many visitors and detours. The result is a perceptive, surreal and surprisingly epic story about a limo ride.

In “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” (Penguin Press, 2018) by Ottessa Moshfegh, the unnamed narrator wants to spend a year in the confines of her bed. After inheriting a large sum of money, she quits her job at an art gallery and somehow finds a doctor willing to supply her with the right combination of drugs to sleep a year away. Despite the absurd conceit, the book is about very real concerns, like alienation and loneliness. Will this long nap heal the narrator?

I hope you’ve been able to read “A Gentleman in Moscow” and that it has helped expand your experience of the world, as many books can, during this time of social distancing. Perhaps some of these other titles can do the same. In September, you will be able to explore the topics and themes of the book online through discussions, an art exhibit and other programs, culminating with an author’s talk live via Zoom on Sept. 22. For more information, visit the One Read website at www.oneread.org.

Eric Schmeck is a public services librarian with Daniel Boone Regional Library.

Tags: LinksliteraryRead
Previous Post

Edith Wharton's Summer Is the Perfect End-of-Summer Read

Next Post

What do you do when modern life makes you sick? Amherst writer’s new book examines the problem of environmental illness

Next Post
What do you do when modern life makes you sick? Amherst writer’s new book examines the problem of environmental illness

What do you do when modern life makes you sick? Amherst writer’s new book examines the problem of environmental illness

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

Hollywood’s haunting stories fuel Instagram star Carla Valderrama’s new book – Daily News

Hollywood’s haunting stories fuel Instagram star Carla Valderrama’s new book – Press Telegram

2 months ago
Top 30 best mystery books that maintain suspense until the end ▷ Legit.ng

Top 30 best mystery books that maintain suspense until the end ▷ Legit.ng

6 months ago
MOHAMED BAKARI – The Return of the Repressed: Religion in the Fictions of Leila Aboulela and Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye

MOHAMED BAKARI – The Return of the Repressed: Religion in the Fictions of Leila Aboulela and Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye

7 months ago
Written in Bone: Professor Dame Sue Black’s new book explores the secrets hidden in our bones

Written in Bone: Professor Dame Sue Black’s new book explores the secrets hidden in our bones

5 months ago

Products

  • New Teen Titans Omnibus Volume 4 (The New Teen Titans Omnibus) £55.99
  • CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Supporting Teaching and Learning £25.39
  • 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four (Penguin Modern Classics) £7.37
  • Calm: Working through life's daily stresses to find a peaceful centre £3.00
  • Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook: Over 650 recipes £22.22

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Book Writing
  • Business and Management
  • Computing and IT
  • Cooking Books
  • Education
  • Erotic
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Literary Agents
  • Literary Devices
  • Literary Review
  • Literary Themes
  • Literature
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • New Books
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Romantic Novels
  • Science Fiction
  • Self Help

RELATED PRODUCTS

  • The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A: The Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time Chosen by the Members… £15.12
  • TILL DEATH - MARK KANE MYSTERIES - BOOK FOUR: A Private Investigator Mystery & Suspense Series. Whodunits & Murder… £2.99
  • The Witch's Book of Self-Care: Magical Ways to Pamper, Soothe, and Care for Your Body and Spirit £9.79
  • GCSE Computer Science OCR Complete Revision & Practice: perfect for home learning and 2021 assessments (CGP GCSE… £9.43
  • Kama Sutra Connect-The-Dots £7.74

PRODUCT CATEGORIES

  • Best Selling Books
  • Erotic
  • Science Fiction Books
  • Cooking
  • Business and Management
  • Education
  • Computing and IT
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Teens & Young Adults
  • Self Help
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • Romance Books
Literary Reviews

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • How ‘Batman’s most romantic writer inspired ‘WandaVision’
  • Are You Cool Enough For The Grace Wales Bonner x Adidas Originals Literary Academy?
  • Alex Assan Sells Graphic Novel Sunhead To Harper Alley

Category

  • Book Writing
  • Business and Management
  • Computing and IT
  • Cooking Books
  • Education
  • Erotic
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Literary Agents
  • Literary Devices
  • Literary Review
  • Literary Themes
  • Literature
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • New Books
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Romantic Novels
  • Science Fiction
  • Self Help

Recent News

How ‘Batman’s most romantic writer inspired ‘WandaVision’

How ‘Batman’s most romantic writer inspired ‘WandaVision’

January 23, 2021
Are You Cool Enough For The Grace Wales Bonner x Adidas Originals Literary Academy?

Are You Cool Enough For The Grace Wales Bonner x Adidas Originals Literary Academy?

January 23, 2021
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE

© 2020 literaryreviews

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
    • Erotic Novels
    • BEST SELLING BOOKS
    • Science Fiction Books
    • Business and Management
    • Computing and IT
    • Cooking
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE
    • Erotic
    • Mysteries, Thrillers
    • Literary Themes
    • Business and Management
    • Literary Agents
    • Literary Devices
    • New Books
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults Novels
    • Computing and IT
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality Novels

© 2020 literaryreviews

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In