Book Reviews & Essays on Literature
Wolf Hall is 672 pages long. It is 672 pages in which every single line and every single word haveContinue Reading
On the subscription film channel, MUBI, there’s a documentary about the writer Charles Bukowski (1920 – 1994), who wrote acerbic,Continue Reading
While looking at First Person Singular, by acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Murakami, I asked myself three questions in order toContinue Reading
Trying to make sense of the new collection of stories by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, I asked the question: WhatContinue Reading
Acclaimed Fantasy author Neil Gaiman teaches in his Masterclass course on The Art of Storytelling, that a writer and aContinue Reading
As my reward for having gotten through 2020 without any major ructions, while at the same time staying productive, IContinue Reading
My discovery of the Google Doodle which celebrated the music of Johann Sebastian Bach started me on the road toContinue Reading
Pondering creativity When you have read and reviewed many books, as I have done, you eventually realize that even theContinue Reading
Nick Cave has become a writer of note in addition to being a celebrated musician, lyricist and composer. His blog,Continue Reading
Here is the sad tale of a quite discombobulated radio interview. In the post before this one I discussed theContinue Reading
The use of videotelephony software, such as Zoom, Facebook Live, Skype or Teams, for video and audio streaming of whatContinue Reading
I know from personal experience how tiresome and aggravating it is to pick up mistakes in something you’ve made afterContinue Reading
For the first time in a very long while, I could feel tears coming to my eyes while I wasContinue Reading
What is Stephen King known for? Horror Fiction. Suspenseful mysteries. I bought If It Bleeds in the hope that IContinue Reading
This small book, with the tremendously long title printed in gold letters on the cover, is classified as a LiteraryContinue Reading
One of the books I’m reading now is William Shakespeare’s Get Thee…Back to the Future, by Ian Doescher, which isContinue Reading
Here’s news from one of the writers I admire – Jenny Lawson, who made me laugh long and loud atContinue Reading
In this post I continue looking into the subject of factual accuracy in Fiction, and specifically Realistic Fiction and theContinue Reading
This month’s site header (below) is of a painting called The Tooth Extractor, by Dutch artist Theodoor Rombouts (1597–1637), in theContinue Reading
In my review of Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon, I wrote that season 1 of the TV version of the bookContinue Reading
Writers could encounter two problems specific to their profession: One is finding the right line or the right word, andContinue Reading
Reading the screenplay of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs by Joel and Ethan Coen led me to the real artistContinue Reading
One of the enjoyable aspects of reading, is that in the process of sniffing out a particular book or authorContinue Reading
This post from Nick Cave’s Red Hand Files is too good not to share. From: Nick Cave Date: October 22,Continue Reading
A recent comment from an author on one of my book reviews got me thinking. I was pleased at theContinue Reading
On the subject of fictional worlds: I’d like to introduce you to “Rebusfontein”. Rebusfontein (pronounced rhéá-booz-fonteyn) is an Afrikaans name meaningContinue Reading
In the last of this series of posts on Fictional Fiction, I look into those famous authors whose invented booksContinue Reading
In this series of posts, I’m looking into some examples of “fictional fiction”. I’ve already spoiled the fun about books in Dr.Continue Reading
Books associated with characters in a book or a film sometimes look real and are actual published books. But sometimesContinue Reading
In a world filled with loud, angry voices, there’s something to be said for the quiet, thoughtful voice. Nick Cave,Continue Reading
Rhyming is devilishly difficult. It’s a serious head-scratcher, as people who write poems, lyrics and rap well know. If youContinue Reading
In the past few years, I have met quite a few authors, including self-published ones, who began writing late inContinue Reading
When embarking on Greg Hickey’s novel, The Friar’s Lantern, you would be forgiven for thinking you are about to startContinue Reading
Josiah Bancroft is one of those authors who has defined his creative process with care and can explain how heContinue Reading
Killing Commendatore was published in Japanese with the title 騎士団長殺し (Kishidancho Goroshi) in 2017, and the English translation came outContinue Reading
The Hod King, Bancroft’s third book in his Books of Babel tetralogy, is an exercise in exquisite torture through cliffhangers.Continue Reading
Here is the fascinating first-hand exposé of how Julian Barnes wrote his first novel, Metroland, and got it published inContinue Reading
In a previous post, I commented on Helena Gunter’s recently published anthology of short stories called Tweespoor (meaning “Double Track”).Continue Reading
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES