Scathing Book Reviews of The Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank, (naturally) is one of those books that I just can’t bring myself to read because of the “depression factor”.  I’ve seen two Film Adaptations of the Diary of Anne Frank and I just can’t bring myself to read the book, because you know, there just isn’t going [...]

Scathing Book Reviews of The Glass Menagerie, by Tennesee Williams

The Glass Menagerie by Tennesee Williams isn’t a book per se, but a play, but on the other hand, I had to read it in Mrs. Williams English III Class, so there.  It’s most famous as New York Stage Production, but was originally written as a screenplay, and filmed twice, once in 1950, and again [...]

Scathing Book Reviews of Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut is a book that I read by choice, and after I read it, I had two reactions.  The first was “huh?” and the second was, “I’m only 18.  I guess I’m not mature enough to appreciate it.  Well, I reread it recently, and while my first reaction was still “huh”, [...]

Scathing Book Reviews of The Odyssey, by Homer

The Odyssey was written by Homer. If you say that to anyone born after 1980, they’ll immediately imagine Homer Simpson in a Toga, or Ulysses fleeing from the Cyclops, tripping and saying “D’oh!”. Now before you dismay over the decline of Western Civilization, remember that from 1900 to 1988, when someone said “Homer”, [...]

Scathing Book Reviews of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeareis certainly a story you can’t avoid. They say the story of star-crossed lovers was old even when Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, but even if its true, its never been done so indelibly.
Take Romeo and Juliet away and you also lose West Side Storyand a good hunk of Shakespeare [...]

Scathing Book Reviews of “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is one of those books that hovered about the edge of my male consciousness, vaguely associated with “Wuthering Heights”, men in Top Hats and PBS.
Then my wife and I somehow got into a “Jane Austen movie” viewing jag, or let’s say she did and I was along for the [...]

Scathing Reviews of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is the kind of book you hear about in the general culture even before High School, when most of us read it. I heard about in Elementary School and thought, for the longest time, that it was about baseball (no joke.)
Then in High School, it [...]

Scathing Reviews of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

My first introduction to Hamlet by William Shakespeare was, like millions of other kids, from that redoubtable source of literary insight, Gilligan’s Island.
No, I’m serious… There was an episode guest starring Phil Silvers as a Hollywood Producer who came to the Island to get away from it all. The castaways put on a [...]

Scathing Book Reviews of The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck has shaped the way that generations have thought about the Great Depression. The book itself is a classic, but the 1939 film adaptation by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda, solidified its position in American culture. Some have questioned the book’s veracity in portraying the actual conditions [...]

Scathing Book Reviews of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is probably the most famous book that the fewest have ever read. To rephrase, we’ve all heard of it. Most of us haven’t read it.
Why? Its reputation for complexity and for length (although it’s 2 places behind Atlas Shrugged in the list of longest novels.) [...]