Author: Justine Nurse-McLeod

So I know Ernest Hemingway is supposed to be one of the greatest novelists of all time etc. but I have to be honest and say that so far… I’m not loving it. His characters seem to go off on long boring tangents that are literally tedious to read. Unfortunately it’s the kind of work […] Read more →

Before entering into the labyrinth for what would ultimately be his final expedition, Navidson packs an array of supplies to take with him. One of the items that Navidson takes with him happens to be a book. Considering the past events that occurred within the labyrinth, I found this odd. When would Navidson have the […] Read more →

After going through the second portion of The House of Leaves, something that really stood out to me was the idea of the labyrinth within The Navidson Record. So we know enough now to understand that we’re not dealing with a simple hallway, but rather an intricate maze, aka a labyrinth. On page 113, Zampano […] Read more →

When reading House of Leaves, I found the multiple layers of narrative and overall layout of the novel to be confusing and often found that attempting to keep up with both layers, inhibited my understanding of each story. Nevertheless, both of the narratives have piqued my curiosity and I am trying my best not to […] Read more →

I found researching “ from Mrs. Tiresias to be much different than “Foreign”. Unlike “Foreign” there was multiple different drafts scattered throughout the notebook which gave me a lot more to work with! It appeared as though she wrote the poems in chunks, slowly adding on with each additional draft that she wrote. This made […] Read more →

Two days, one weekend and 7 beach days later… I am finally getting around to blogging about the Duffy manuscripts I checked out. First off, I have to say I’m happy with how the overall experience at MARBL went. I fully expected to be the one person who accidentally ripped a page or caused an […] Read more →

There’s a popular saying that says “Behind every strong man is an even stronger woman”. There’s an even better version which claims, “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes”. In my opinion this quote isn’t too far off and Duffy brings this idea to light in The World’s Wife. I personally found […] Read more →

When approaching Carol Ann Duffy’s, Selling Manhattan, my very first thought questioned the title of the book which I thought showed promise. Twenty poems later (one entitled “Selling Manhattan” itself), I’m still clueless as to why she chose this title. But on to the actual poetry! For the most part, I generally hate poetry. Why? […] Read more →

  “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” they say. However, with only a title to provide me with an idea of what I was getting myself into, I must admit I found myself entering into the novel, Mrs. Dalloway, with the slightest bit of trepidation. Quite the opposite initial reaction of “Sexy”, I mentally […] Read more →