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 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 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 Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a book that we’re all familiar with, and has become something of a cultural touchstone. It’s not quite Science Fiction, though its set in “the future”, and unlike most Dystopian works in that it has a semi-happy and hopeful ending. Nevertheless, Fahrenheit 451 left these reviewers feeling [...]

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald summons up images of the Roaring 20s, doomed ambition, and for students at Southern Illinois University, an infamous bar. An American Classic? Well, not according to these reviewers:
i personally had no desire to read about spoiled rich people who had problems. omg i really had no [...]

The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is a curious little book, and one that I found fairly off-putting when I first read it. As most know, it deals with the story of a young Union Soldier and his experiences during a few days of battle. If you’re looking for the Glory [...]

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller has the honor of its title becoming a true “catchphrase” in American Slang, and, sources say, a line in a Metallica song. A Catch-22 can be defined as “a general situation in which an individual has to accomplish two actions which are mutually dependent on the other action being completed [...]

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a book that I have yet to read, and I’ve been told that the Demi Moore movie version was not the most faithful screen translation – too many bathing scenes. Anyway, it’s certainly still read today, though it wouldn’t be if these reviewers had their way:
The Scarlet [...]

Watership Down, by Richard Adams

Watership Down by Richard Adams will be an eye opener to those that have never had country neighbors that kept Rabbits. I will never forget going up to the cage in our neighbor’s yard to find not cute little baby bunnys but rather, a bunny version of the Silence of the Lambs. << [...]