An Armload of Art-themed Novels
“Künstlerromane” are fictional depictions of the coming-of-age of artists or art prodigies – real or imagined, and their personal andContinue Reading
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The long, hard road to getting a book published – Josiah Bancroft responds to eager fans
Josiah Bancroft is one of those authors who has defined his creative process with care and can explain how heContinue Reading
Someone else calls it “indelibly awful” – The Mister, by E.L. James
It gives me great pleasure to re-post a review of E.L. James’ latest romance novel, The Mister, because I justContinue Reading
Read the books before you judge the films – GoT and Florence Foster Jenkins
Game of Thrones has now ended, and amid the uproar about the storyline and perceived-as-unsatisfactory conclusion of the final season, despairingContinue Reading
Picking up whispers of a murder – The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington
Forget for a moment that Leonora Carrington, who died in 2011 at the age of 94, was one of theContinue Reading
An Armload of Art-themed Novels
“Künstlerromane” are fictional depictions of the coming-of-age of artists or art prodigies – real or imagined, and their personal andContinue Reading
Best of 2018 Discussion of writing style Fairytales Review of literary fiction Review of previously published novel Review of translated novel
Luminous, mysterious and bothersome – The Taiga Syndrome, by Cristina Rivera Garza
#What is the Taiga? And what is the “Taiga Syndrome”? The Taiga is a snowy, fir-forested region in the highContinue Reading
“Don’t die, Dad – but they die.” Les Murray, The Bard of Bunyah, 17 October 1938 – 29 April 2019
The papers have been full with news of the death of Australia’s most world-famous poet, Les Murray. He died yesterdayContinue Reading
John Delacourt’s “Butterfly” in one-and-a-half minutes – Video-format review
Some novels really lend themselves to being discussed in visual terms – either their subject or setting is dramatic orContinue Reading
CanLit Discussion of genre Discussion of writing style List of similar books Review of Biographical Fiction Review of literary fiction Review of new book
A howl from the guts – White Out by Martine Delvaux
Before you read White Out it is best that you know that this book is written somewhat in the styleContinue Reading
Art-themed Fiction Backstories Discussion of writing style Review of classical fiction Review of classical novel Review of historical fiction Review of previously published novel
Two old people left behind, holding hands – The Fish Can Sing, by Halldór Laxness
A reader should approach with caution any book that has won a whole bunch of awards. A reader should alsoContinue Reading
So it won a Nobel – so what?
Every so often I discover a wonderful writer by some confluence of good fortune. In this case, I got myContinue Reading
Totally not Moomintrollish – The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson
I’m just such a sucker for a feel-good story and lovely gobs of happiness, which is why I so enjoyedContinue Reading
Does it work to pick from an author’s shortlist of favourites? – Sjón’s Top 10
Since I’m a devoted Sjón fan, I duly sat down and ordered the novels on this Top 10 list ofContinue Reading
I composed a bit like Bach! – Machine Learning and the joys of aspiring to great art
Computer-generated artistic text and images tend to resemble FrankenArt and FrankenFiction. Using machine learning, designers can build software programs thatContinue Reading
“When Facebook Went Down”, “The Germs of Love”, and other new silly rhymes
Here are four new rhymes; about the 13th of March when Facebook crashed, about someone who can’t sing, about catchingContinue Reading
How to squish Sjón’s 528-page “CoDex 1962” into 2.5 minutes
It took four posts to finish saying what I wanted to say about CoDex 1962, the strange but marvellous novelContinue Reading
Art Crimes and War Crimes – Butterfly, by John Delacourt
John Delacourt’s novel Butterfly is hard to read, not because of his writing style, but because of the subject matterContinue Reading
53-second take on Undermajordomo Minor, by Patrick deWitt
Some novels just cry out to be made into films. Undermajordomo Minor, by Patrick deWitt, is one of those. IContinue Reading
The Charm/Curse of Cliffhangers – The Hod King, by Josiah Bancroft
The Hod King, Bancroft’s third book in his Books of Babel tetralogy, is an exercise in exquisite torture through cliffhangers.Continue Reading
Discussion of author’s portfolio Review of Fantasy Review of new book Review of Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Hods are revolting – but we love them anyway – The Hod King, by Josiah Bancroft
Writer Nicholas Tucker said about Richard Adams’ 50-hankie-bunny-weepie, Watership Down, “Adams … has bravely and successfully resurrected the big picaresque adventureContinue Reading
Best of 2018 Discussion of writing style Review of modern fiction Review of new book Review of new novel
Death Made Beautiful – Beirut Hellfire Society, by Rawi Hage
This is one those novels that will change the way you look at death and burial methods – and Beirut.Continue Reading
Mining Lullaby and Office Blues
I work for a firm of consulting engineers in the oil & gas and mining industries (my day job, whichContinue Reading
Julian Barnes on hard work, luck and serendipity in his writing career
Here is the fascinating first-hand exposé of how Julian Barnes wrote his first novel, Metroland, and got it published inContinue Reading
Backstories Current events Discussion of writing style Media and Technology Review of anthology Review of new book Review of new science fiction Review of science fiction Reviews of short stories
Science Fiction versus HARD Science Fiction – The real science behind the Twelve Tomorrows Anthology
John Scalzi’s Science Fiction (SF) novel Head On was taken a step closer to being real when, in December 2018,Continue Reading
Into the mind of an author – Helena Gunter on what motivates her to write
In a previous post, I commented on Helena Gunter’s recently published anthology of short stories called Tweespoor (meaning “Double Track”).Continue Reading
What tickles your funny-bone? Rhett and Link caption The New Yorker’s cartoons
Here’s something entertaining: the appearance on The New Yorker magazine’s video channel of my favourite You-tubers, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal,Continue Reading
Mannered throwaway lines and very bad people – Undermajordomo Minor, by Patrick deWitt
It seems to me that Hollywood film producers keep rehashing the same subjects and plots, which is why I rarelyContinue Reading
“The private, freaky sensuality of childhood” – “Tweespoor”(“Double Track”), by Helena Gunter
Helena Gunter’s skinny two-part work, with its dull brown cover featuring a faded-looking abstract drawing, looks harmless enough. What itContinue Reading
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your website grow? Part 2 – Quite well, actually!
The statistics for 2018 for the Seven Circumstances book blog illustrate some basics about the world of book writing, publishingContinue Reading
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your website grow? Growth factors in a book blog (part 1)
The statistics for 2018 for the Seven Circumstances book blog, released just before New Year, illustrate some basics about theContinue Reading
A Year in Books – Video of 2018 on Seven Circumstances
Readers who enjoy reading about the books they have read, and are searching for the next good book to read,Continue Reading
Backstories Discussion of writing style Humor Humour Pastoral Literature Review of memoir Review of new book
Gentle Gallic Escapism – My Twenty-Five Years in Provence, by Peter Mayle
Recently my nose led me to a stall in down-town Vancouver where people were selling lavender products made in Provence,Continue Reading
Backstories Discussion of writing style literary romance Review of literary fiction Review of new book
A codex of an Icelandic writer and his roots – CoDex, by Sjón (Part 4 – The nuclear fallout)
Part 4/4 of The Long Read review of Codex 1962, by Sjón (Back to part 3/4 of the review) TheContinue Reading
Backstories Discussion of writing style Literary analysis Review of literary fiction Review of new book
A codex of an Icelandic writer and his roots – CoDex 1962, by Sjón (Part 3 – The clay child)
Back to part 2 of the review of Codex 1962, by Sjón The parts of the Trilogy The three partsContinue Reading
Backstories Discussion of writing style Literary analysis Review of literary fiction Review of new book
A codex of an Icelandic writer and his roots – CoDex 1962, by Sjón (Part 2 – Turning people into zebras)
Part 2 of the review of CoDex 1962, by Sjón (Back to part 1) Antagonist/Protagonist Sjón comes close to directlyContinue Reading
Backstories Best of 2018 Discussion of writing style Literary analysis Review of literary fiction Review of new book
A codex of an Icelandic author and his roots – CoDex 1962 by Sjón (Part 1 – Roll-call of the dead)
CoDex 1962 is Icelandic author Sjón’s first new novel since Moonstone – The Boy Who Never Was, published in translation inContinue Reading
Backstories Current events List of similar books Modern fiction Published books Publishing technologies
Dismissive of mass market paperbacks? Think again.
This is the rack of “mass market” paperbacks that I see when I stand in the queue, every time IContinue Reading
The Genius of Genndy Tartakovsky – “Samurai Jack” returns one last time
I’m not an anime fan. I don’t do cosplay, and I generally like Hard Science Fiction more than novels aboutContinue Reading
This book needs no review – The Accidental Further Adventure of the Hundred-Year-old Man, by Jonas Jonasson
I have never written an easier review of a novel, than this one. Why? Because it does not need reviewingContinue Reading
Backstories Discussion of writing style Mysteries and Thrillers Review of modern fiction Review of new book Trending
“Bond” is back, courtesy of Anthony Horowitz in “Trigger Mortis” and “Forever and a Day”
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” – “the more things change, the more they stay the same”, said by French critic Alphonse Karr,Continue Reading
crime fiction Detective fiction Discussion of genre Discussion of writing style Modern fiction Review of Mysteries and Thrillers Review of new book
Homage to the Bard with Bloody-Handed Bastards and Gold Bars – Macbeth, by Jo Nesbo
Jo Nesbo is a masterful writer of crime fiction. In his particular niche, he is superb. That said, it probablyContinue Reading
One-minute video review – The Only Story by Julian Barnes
The novel is downbeat and intense, but demonstrates that what matters is love, what keeps people going is love, andContinue Reading
Constructed World Novel Discussion of writing style Review of previously published novel Review of science fiction
Want some Whuffie for that? Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom – The reprint edition
Cory Doctorow writes about the future as if it were today, as if it were about him and his buddies,Continue Reading
Indie author causes uproar in the French publishing industry – shrugs it off as a matter of survival
I rarely repost news articles in their entirety but this one is a real eyebrow-raiser: – an independent author’s novel,Continue Reading
The Creative Process & Publishing III – Meet the “Four Brothers Buksalesnikov”
In previous posts on this subject, I focused on finding a publisher, finding an agent and finding your voice asContinue Reading
Detective fiction detective novel Discussion of writing style Review of new book Review of science fiction
Not exactly lightheaded – Head On by John Scalzi
The last novel by John Scalzi I read, before this one, was Agent To the Stars (Tor Books, 2008), andContinue Reading
So many superlatives to fit in – Calypso by David Sedaris (a video critique)
The more I think about David Sedaris’ writing, the more I realize I’ve been missing out on a good thingContinue Reading
The Creative Process & Publishing II – Literary Agents
Step 2: Find a literary agent In my previous post, I went into why and how writers connect with publishersContinue Reading
Constructed World Novel Discussion of author’s portfolio Discussion of writing style Review of Fantasy
Death and the Flight of Birds in The Discworld – Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett
Death is a difficult subject to write about, but particularly when it is not coincidental but core to a book’s theme orContinue Reading
Marthe Bijman (left) reads for pleasure and in order to produce reviews for this website, and certain publishers. She likes Literary Fiction and Science Fiction and finds the translated work of Chinese and Scandinavian authors particularly interesting. She is a fan of Star Trek and James Bond – but her taste in literature is eclectic. She lives on the outskirts of Vancouver, Canada, and works on a big old iMac and various other PCs and Apple gadgets. 
