fiction and creative non-fiction from Brennan Quenneville
My sister, Michelle, and I have a long-standing tradition: whenever either of us goes on a vacation, we bring the other back the most grotesque, cringe-worthy (or at least stupid) gift that we can find. This hallowed practice actually began some fifteen years ago when, on a family vacation with our parents, Michelle and I [...]
Before I dove into my epic project of annual rereading I decided to make my way, for the first time, through one of Caitlin's favorite books from her childhood: Ellen Raskin's murder mystery The Westing Game. The book's events are set in motion by the will of corporate mogul Sam Westing as Westing's posthumous commands [...]
For more than two years, as a college student, I worked for a public library. The best part of that job was when, every few weeks, I got to empty a giant bin of books into the recycling. These books were damaged or out of date or donations for which space couldn't be found. If you're [...]
One of the hardest things to do as a writer is put your reader squarely in the mind of a unique and intricate character. Mark Haddon, with The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time, has done this just about as well as anyone I've ever read. Through the eyes of Christopher John Francis [...]
I once told a friend that I didn't have any guilty pleasures because I don't understand feeling guilty about whatever art you happen to enjoy. This remains true. However, as we've seen, sometimes this lack of guilt/shame means that I end up investing in works for which I am way, way outside of the target [...]
It's just about time. As is the case every year, I simultaneously feel like it's snuck up on me and that I've been awaiting it for months. I'm talking, of course, about my annual reading of The Lord of the Rings. For those of you previously unaware of this annual tradition, which I've been doing [...]
Caitlin often chastises me for being the kind of person who recommends a lot of books and very rarely accepts (and subsequently reads) the recommendations of others. She is, of course, very right about all of this. So, partly in an effort to appease her and partly to see how the other side lives, I [...]
No one really compares to Kurt Vonnegut, do they? His voice was so unique among his peers that it became almost instantly recognizable. And it first fully took shape in 1959's The Sirens of Titan. Following on the relatively unremarkable heels of Player Piano, his 1952 debut, The Sirens of Titan is brimming with the sharp wit and [...]
An Abundance of Katherines is a book about an anagrammatically-minded child prodigy struggling with the fact that he might not be so special after all. It's also a book about a romance-predicting algorithm, a road trip, and coming out of your shell. Oh, and it's kind of a comedy. It's a complicated - and excellent [...]
Well, shit. (And, as you'll come to see, I mean that literally.) So a little rainstorm blew through southeast Michigan a few days ago and, in addition to keeping me from my regularly scheduled blogging output, made an already depressing day that much worse. Unable to properly funnel the downpour, sewer systems backed up and streets [...]
Songs & Stories 