The Houseguest

 

This was a pretty neat horror short story collection from a Mexican writer. I found out about it on goodreads through their Halloween recommendations. I'm surprised that not more has been translated from this writer. The back is right from they say she reminds someone of Poe or Shirley Jackson. My favorite stories in the collection are "The Last Summer" and "The Breakfast." In "The Last Summer" an overstressed woman in her 40's loses it when she finds out that she is having another baby. In "The Breakfast" a woman recalls a frightening dream that she had the last night over breakfast. The thin line between dreaming and reality gets questioned. Mexico has made several amazing horror movies and finding a book like this delighted me. I just wish that people would bother to translate more the cool stuff from their past. 

Sweet Diamond Dust

 

I love Rosario Ferre. She was a great Puetro Rican writer. I loved the soap opera drama The House on the Lagoon and especially her short story collection The Youngest Doll. This was good too. It's a collection of short stories that revolve around a sugar mill. My favorite story was the last one Captain Candelario's Heroic Last Stand about two friends in the military, one is rich and the other one poor. Their relationship is challenged when there are orders to stop the salsa dance. Sadly not many of her works are translated. 

The Bostonians

 

This isn't my favorite Henry James book but it was written well. This book is about suffrage movement. It is obvious that Henry James thinks a woman's place is at home. His attitude makes this book outdated and that's why it took me a couple of months to get through the whole thing. The book centers around a man named Basil and his love for Verena. But Verena is torn between her feelings between Basil and Olive, a feminist who is more or less her teacher. I have to give it to Henry James for daring to write about lesbianism in 1886. There was a movie with Christopher Reeves and Vanessa Redgrave made of this. I need to watch it some time.

A Hero ain't nothin' but a sandwich

 

This was a pretty good young adult book from the 1970s. I watched the movie which was also written by the author but the book is definitely the way to go. You get more involved with the characters. The book is about a teenaged junkie named Benjie. The book separates itself by letting all of the characters say their own perspective on the situation. You hear from the stepfather, the teachers at the school, his friends, and Benjie himself. The book may be on a depressing situation but it's actually a quick read and the characters for the most part are likable.