Chicago students in fiction

uocparent
Sat, 12 May 2018 19:35:33 +0000

Philip Roth’s Letting Go. Liking it so far. Enjoying his turn of phrases, ie: “receiving the balm of sympathy.” As I’ve gotten older, I started perceiving sympathy (unlike empathy) as more of a ‘weakener’–the recipient of so-called sympathy is weak and defenseless. But I guess sometimes, you just need a quick salve.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Got distracted from other books by this shinier, newer one. I don’t think the author went to UChicago, but the protagonist is a brilliant scientist, so of course, he graduated from UChicago, lol. The story also takes place in Chicago, so for Chicagoans, they’ll recognize some of the neighborhoods and landmarks mentioned. It’s a sci-fi, metaphysical, thriller. (I like those genres, but I’ll read anything.) Really enjoying it as well.