kevin_macdonell's Reviews (81)

Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche

James Miller

3.0

Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life

Winifred Gallagher

2.0

A Poetry Handbook

Mary Oliver

5.0

Animal Person

Alexander MacLeod

5.0

Hiroshima by John Hersey

John Hersey

5.0

The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative

Vivian Gornick

4.0

Storylines: How Words Shape Our World

J. Edward Chamberlin

4.0

Alibis: Essays on Elsewhere

André Aciman

4.0

Fugitive Pieces

Anne Michaels

5.0

---

I knew I had read this before, but I couldn't remember when ... until a ticket stub from 1996 fell out from between the pages. So I probably read it not long after it was first published. (I actually have the hardcover -- not sure why Goodreads splits hairs by edition.) Having just reread it, I appreciate anew that it has earned its place on our shelves, despite several moves. With any great novel I can't say why I like it -- that's enchantment for you. I'll put it down to its consistently held wavelength of mood, and leave it there.

My reason for rereading is the arrival of a new novel by Anne Michaels, "Held", which I look forward to.

Swann's Way

Marcel Proust

5.0