Re: Always

Funny how you can always tell a cult by who gets to have sex. In “Always,” by Karen Joy Fowler, the unnamed narrator is warned by her mother: if only the pastor is having sex, it’s a cult. When the narrator and her husband come to Always and discover exactly that about Brother Porter, she […]

Re: The Merchant and The Alchemist’s Gate

The story I have to tell is truly a strange one, and were the entirety to be tattooed at the corner of one’s eye, the marvel of its presentation would not exceed that of the events recounted… A lovely salute to the storytelling girl in The Orphan’s Tales, and a big claim to make. At […]

Re: Fountain of Age

When I read a story that I don’t like written by someone I admire, it makes feel like there’s something wrong with me. Nancy Kress, for example, is incredibly smart about writing, she gets her science right, she gets her people right–but every now and then I run across a story that rubs me the […]

Re: The Yiddish Policeman’s Union

The 2007 Nebula final ballot is out, and I’ve actually read a few of them. So let here’s what I think of the one novel I’ve read so far. You probably already know the premise of The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon. So far this and The Final Solution are the two Chabon books […]