rakemag I really enjoy your magazine—except for the fact that you apparently worship the insufferably smug Al Franken as some kind of god [“Al Franken Is a Big Fat Genius,” October]. He impresses me not at all, and never has. I never thought Franken and Davis were even remotely amusing when they were on Saturday Night … Read more
Bravo to The Rake on its series of stories on shipwrecks [“Too Deep, Too Dark, Too Cold,” November] These were very well-researched and well-put-together articles and I very much enjoyed reading them. As a result of your articles, my husband and I will be attending the Gales of November conference in Duluth next weekend and … Read more
Stuart Greene [Sex & The Married Man, “Dancing With Myself”] has guts. Yes, we all do it. No, we never admit it. And I think his statement that sometimes sex for men is just a physical thing is true. That doesn’t mean we can’t have deep loving relationships, and we prove it all the time. … Read more
I just read your article on strip clubs [Sex & The Married Man, “Should Married Men Go to Strip Clubs?” August]. Strangely enough, someone posted it on our bathroom stall in my college dorm. So your friends regularly attend strip clubs. Good, wholesome fun, right? They’re not hurting anyone. I could not disagree more. One … Read more
Already the only writer to win the Booker Prize twice, South African novelist Coetzee nabbed an even bigger honor in October in this year’s Nobel. He certainly didn’t net such accolades by avoiding controversial topics-consider 1999’s Disgrace, a complex story about animal rights, racism, and his homeland’s iniquitous history and uncertain future. He’s notoriously enigmatic, … Read more
Often considered Holland’s best hope to win the Nobel Prize, Harry Mulisch has built a reputation chiefly on two powerhouse novels-his World War II epic The Assault, and his sky-spanningly surreal The Discovery of Heaven, an ambitious work in the Umberto Eco vein. Mulisch’s aim in his latest, Siegfried, is pretty ambitious as well-an attempt … Read more
Like his previous novels, Snow Falling on Cedars and East of the Mountains, David Guterson’s latest, Our Lady of the Forest, follows another band of confused, rain-chilled characters battling tragic pasts and uncertain futures. In the sodden forests of North Fork, Washington, a homeless and asthmatic teenage pothead named Ann Holmes claims to be visited … Read more
As a playwright, Ann-Marie MacDonald is best known for the lighthearted Shakespeare parody Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), but her novels travel a considerably darker emotional terrain. In her Oprah-blessed debut Fall on Your Knees, she detailed the corrosive secrets and lies destroying a dysfunctional Nova Scotian family. Her followup, The Way the Crow Flies, … Read more
A whisper in your ear: Canadian author Itani’s debut novel, Deafening, is a true joy, a moving and observant story of love, sorrow, and survival during the days of World War I. It’s made up of three entwining stories: a girl named Grania (inspired by Itani’s grandmother) learning how to cope with profound deafness in … Read more
Children’s books are not immune to the trends of adult publishing-in fact some grand old pretensions of the book trade do best in titles for the little people, like pop-ups and picture books. Czech-born Peter Sís is an extraordinary artist whose books are works of fine art that can be cherished by and for generations. … Read more