Amazing how accurate this is:
Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 75% General American English |
| 15% Upper Midwestern |
| 5% Midwestern |
| 5% Yankee |
| 0% Dixie |
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
Amazing how accurate this is:
Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 75% General American English |
| 15% Upper Midwestern |
| 5% Midwestern |
| 5% Yankee |
| 0% Dixie |
Last Call for Blackford Oakes by William F. Buckley Jr.
William F. Buckley Jr.(WFB) is iconic figure in my life. I will spare you the details (for more see here and here), but suffice it to say when a new WFB book comes out I rush to pick it up. Such was the case for Last Call for Blackford Oakes. It is fitting that as Buckley begins to pull back from some of his more famous activities (The Firing Line, public speaking, his boat, control of National Review, etc.) that he wrap up the series of spy novels centered around Blackford Oakes.
Despite my love of all things WFB, I have always been a fan of the type of spy novels Blackford Oakes was designed to counter: dark, gray, ambiguous; full of what conservatives would call moral equivalence. I used to read Le Carre, Deighton, et al voraciously. But this didn’t keep me from reading and enjoying Buckley’s spy novels.
The Blackford Oakes series is interesting because it sheds light on Buckley and his way of thinking; or perhaps more importantly his imagination. They are usually historical “what ifs” or “what might have beens.” Blackford Oakes is the dashing young American spy out to thwart the evil empire and its minions. The Americans are always the good guys and the Communists are always the bad guys. In his defense, Buckley’s bad guys are intelligent and believable, not simple caricatures. The books also include wry notes about National Review, key conservative politicians, and even Buckley himself. This is lively entertainment. They may not be his best work (Brothers No More is probably his strongest novel) but they are part of the larger Buckley phenomenon.
Those who have followed the series so far will likely enjoy this final volume (although Buckley hints that his assistant might “revive” the series). Picking up where he left off in A Very Private Plot, Last Call is set in the Reagan Era when Gorbachev is rolling out Perestroika and Glasnost and the US once again suspects a plot to assassinate the Russian Premiere. The aging Oakes is again sent to defuse the situation on orders of the President.
The H Word
I’ve always known I was a Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobic, but I didn’t know how to say it in public. Yesterday, Bill helped me come clean with this and other fears I may have.
The H Word
I’ve always known I was a Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobic, but I didn’t know how to say it in public. Yesterday, Bill helped me come clean with this and other fears I may have.
gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
This week the Friday Review features a debut author, Joshilyn Jackson, and her novel, gods in Alabama.
“There are gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel’s, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus.”
The novel’s opening line sets the tone for the story. If these icons on her short list suggest a culture conflicted, then Arlene Fleet is a poster child for shredded loyalties. Escaping Posset, Alabama Arlene lives in Chicago. She has an African American boyfriend, Burr, a deal with God, and no intention of ever setting foot in Alabama again. Her weekly telephone calls home set her against Aunt Florence, family matriarch, chair of the Baptist Ladies League, and the one person in the world Arlene truly fears.
Well, maybe not the only one. A young woman from her hometown arrives at Arlene’s door; Rose Mae is on a quest to find a good man, something her therapist assures her is possible if only theoretically. Rose Mae’s arrival triggers more than psychic panic; ten years earlier, while still in high school, Arlene Fleet killed a man.
Rose Mae incites the story, forcing Arlene to return home. An argument with Burr ends with Arlene agreeing to bring him along. The set up is the novel’s weakest point. Ms. Jackson deals with this through flashbacks to Arlene’s childhood, where her skill as a writer finds the power of her story. That skill is displayed best in the two characters Ms. Jackson creates in the center of the ring, Arlene and Florence. She draws these women with a sure hand and an artists’ eye: she prods and pushes into some dark corners and doesn’t flinch when writing about difficult issues.
gods in Alabama combines elements from several genres including traditional romance and mystery. As a debut novelist Joshilyn Jackson walks the tightrope between story and packaging; this is a serious novel that deserves a wide audience. The story’s ending seems right for the material and allows the author to bring her fine characterizations to fruition.
Fellas, it is okay for you to read gods in Alabama. It’s a good book. If you fear loss of manhood or expulsion from the fraternity, crush a beer can against your forehead. Just remember to read the book first. And make sure the beer can is empty.