AJ Dunn Reads

  Middlemarch by George Eliot Middlemarch is a book about the intertwining story lines and relationships of a few families, whose various marriages and employments either lead them to happiness or to ruin. Through the book we get a glimpse of several classes of characters in the late 1820s and early 1830s, but the story is chiefly concerned with Dorothea Brooke and Tertius Lydgate, both idealists in their own way who enter into marriages that are less than ideal. There is quite a bit of scandal in Middlemarch , chiefly in the exploration of love outside of unhappy marriages and in shady financial swindlings that result in both death and displacement. The book explores the condition of women during this time and how marriages were actually conducted. Something that sets Middelmarch apart is that it doesn't have the requisite happy ending of most books of this time, especially those written by women. There is also a sense of moral ambiguity. This is considered a work of realism, de...

  Milkman by Anna Burns Milkman is about control, lack of control, and trying to gain control of the self amidst a constant barrage of constrictions. The story takes place in late 1970s Northern Ireland during The Troubles and follows the main character, and eighteen year old young woman who calls herself middle sister. She is the type of girl who reads while walking, a behavior that draws attention to her even though she does it to escape what is going on around her in her various attempts to ignore what is happening and those involved. One day while doing this she is stopped by the title character who appears out of nowhere and begins a stalking type relationship with middle sister, who seems unsure whether or not Milkman means to to bodily harm to her since he never touches her and almost never looks at her directly. Rumors spread that she and this Milkman, who is a leader in the paramilitary resistance to the "other religion," are in a relationship, which ve...

  Skeleton Crew by Stephen King This is a mostly-successful short story collection, which includes the novella "The Mist," a film I really like and think was more successful than the story. The reason being mostly due to the story's ending, which is much more heart-rending and traumatic in the film. Other than "The Mist," Skeleton Crew contains a lot of very good stories, a couple not-so-good stories, and two poems that should not have been included. Some notable inclusions were "Survivor Type" and "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands," a story that takes place in the same universe as "Breathing Method" from the Different Seasons collection. It has a gothic tone I thought didn't work for king in "Breathing Method," but has me now changing my tune. I found it to be really effective and was one example of a story within a story, which Skeleton Crew has a lot of. Some more notable inclusions that take place in the Castle...

  Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel This is the second in the Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Cromwell is well-positioned with the king, but he finds that he is gaining enemies. Some of the nobles have become more irritated that someone as low born as Cromwell should have such wealth and influence. Anne has no more use for him now that Katherine is dead, and he finds that King Henry has been having meetings without him. Then Jane Seymour, one of Anne's ladies, catches Henry's eye and, when Anne miscarries again, Henry wonders  if his marriage is not legitimate in the eyes of God and he is being punished to continually not be given a male heir. Cromwell encourages the King's doubts and moves to gather the Boleyn enemies together to bring charges of adultery and treason against Anne and the many men that surround her. Though most of the men, as well as Anne herself, deny the charges, Cromwell is a master of word play and manipulation. He has a long memory and a knack for making e...

  The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett Sam Spade is a private detective in San Francisco. He is stoic, shows little emotion, and likes to be a thorn in the side of the police, who seem to have it out for him or are trying to find him at fault in some way. A woman named Brigid comes to him looking for help under an assumed name. She refuses to tell him how he can help her, but insists she needs him. Sam and his partner (Archer) take her case and Archer ends up murdered, along with another man who turns out to be Brigid's former associate in search of the Maltese Falcon, a gold statue that is worth a fortune. But they were not the only ones looking for it. Another set of characters was also on the hunt, among them the leader Gutman, the surprising gay character Cairo, and Wilmer Cook, a youth who is good with guns. A series of events leads the whole group to come together with Sam Spade trying to figure out how everyone is involved. He learns about their various connections to the ...

  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald This story follows Nick Carraway, a young man from the Midwest living on Long Island surrounded by the idle rich. Nick lives next to a millionaire named Jay Gatsby who hosts lavish parties at his mansion. Gatsby invites Nick to one of them and the two become friends, even though Nick despises Gatsby's life and pretty much everything he stands for. Across the water lives Nick's second cousin Daisy with her husband Tom Buchanan, the two of them also quite wealthy. Nick discovers that Gatsby and Daisy have known one another and are in love. The majority of the story is concerned with the carefree lives of these wealthy people and Nick's understanding that they are ultimately selfish people who do not take responsibility for their own actions, allowing others ot clean up after them or deal with the fallout from their mistakes. This is evident when a tragic accident occurs and the blame is left on Gatsby who was not responsible for it, y...