Ambrose Bierce was a true American original. Civil War hero. Journalist. A true master of the English language who lived by the maxim "Less is more" in his writing. (He defined a novel as "a short story, padded"). Gifted with a razor sharp mind and a wit commonly referred to as "pure venom", Bierce'...
SPOULER FREE!!!ON COMPLETION: Below I state that the author was teaching on all of her trips. This is not trueI She returned for other reasons, which you will find out by reading the book.Furthermore, Cathy, in fact returns a fifth time in 2005, 10 years after the the earthquake in Kobe on January 1...
As a word assassin (i.e. editor) by day, I find Bierce's talent for word conservation stunning. I didn't know diction (and fiction) could feel so efficient. But, because no story is longer than 5 or so pages, this collection can feel draining, especially since the stronger works are in the last two ...
An American’s close look at Japan. The author sees many of the troubling aspects of Japan that receive so much press, but she also takes on wife-husband relationship difficulties, students’ inability to shake off conformity, and Japanese social pressures.
Log in with Facebook 
