StephenBarkley.com

Of Mice and Men © 1937 Bantam Books (1984) 118 pages I’m going to go ahead and assume you’ve already read this book. If you haven’t, go and read it then come back. It’s a classic for a reason! I spent the day after I finished to book wondering how I became so emotionally involved [...]

Armageddon in Retrospect © 2008 Berkley Books 232 pages This doesn’t feel like the posthumous collection it is. These stories are impeccably crafted, and fit perfectly together. That’s a credit to the skill of the writer: even his non-published works are eminently publishable. I started to read Vonnegut after watching him interact with Jon Stewart [...]

Kiss of the Fur Queen © 1998 Doubleday Canada Limited 310 pages I’m glad I picked this one up at the library instead of spending my hard-earned $32.95 on it. (Okay, I’m a pastor—some would debate “hard-earned”!) I know this is supposed to be a spirited tale of redemption, but it just felt tragic and [...]

The Corrections: A Novel © 2001 Farrar, Straus and Giroux 568 pages I took a quick look at the Amazon reviews for this book and was quite surprised. I just assumed everyone would love it—I certainly did! The Corrections is an massive work. The plot is simple on the surface: an elderly woman wants to [...]

The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation © 2000 Harper Collins 205 pages A stranger walks into an isolated village and offers unimaginable wealth to the villagers if someone is found murdered by the end of the week. What a great premise for a story! It’s sad that such an interesting idea came [...]

Wise Blood: A Novel © 1962 Farrar, Straus and Giroux 236 pages This book is overwhelming. O’Connor has a knack for placing her vividly imagined characters in bizarre (yet somehow appropriate) situations. I’ve often thought that “classic” novels should be read for the beauty of their prose–the plot is often irrelevant. For example, you can [...]

The Violent Bear It Away: A Novel © 1960 Farrar, Straus and Giroux 243 pages I’m almost at a loss for words after finishing this book. I picked it up after reading Rowan William‘s discussion of her work. I was unprepared for the power of her prose. O’Connor has an uncanny ability to get inside [...]

Hocus Pocus © 1990 New York: Berkley Books 325 pages If you’ve read Vonnegut, you’ll already know his distinct blend of irony and satire. If you’ve never read him, this is a good place to start. The humor in the narrative had me laughing out loud, while at the same time cringing from the truth [...]

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana © 2008 Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf 242 pages I bought the first book in this series, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt for its novelty.  The Vampire chronicler herself was tackling the life of Christ, and it seemed like an honest endeavour. I bought the sequel as soon [...]