Book Reviews & Essays on Literature
After my wee bit of silliness last week, here is my actual review of Once Upon a Time in HollywoodContinue Reading
A review to suit a modern fairytale Once upon a time… Once upon a time, in a big, shiny cityContinue Reading
When I first had this novel in my hands, I looked at the decidedly odd cover design (thinking “What’s thisContinue 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
The latest novel by Isabel Allende is a family saga that depicts the modern history of Chile as well asContinue Reading
Fredrik Backman’s latest novel, Anxious People, published in Sept. 2020, is well-timed, written for people who feel anxious in theseContinue Reading
Sometimes a new book comes out of which the plot or theme feels unimportant or irrelevant. But sometimes global eventsContinue Reading
What is Stephen King known for? Horror Fiction. Suspenseful mysteries. I bought If It Bleeds in the hope that IContinue Reading
All the Aging Groovies like me out there would know the name Pete Townshend, the Pete Townshend – a.k.a. Peter DennisContinue Reading
To alleviate the “morbs” that might have descended on you from reading those books with pandemic and epidemics as themes,Continue Reading
After having enjoyed Patrick deWitt’s Undermajordomo Minor (2015) his most recent novel, French Exit, was a must-read. A “French exit” isContinue Reading
Some books have exotic contexts – there is a story about the story, and it helps the promotion of theContinue Reading
“Anonymous”, also known as “Hendrik Groen” (a pseudonym) is famous for his creation of a gang of crotchety old folksContinue Reading
Forget for a moment that Leonora Carrington, who died in 2011 at the age of 94, was one of theContinue 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
Some novels really lend themselves to being discussed in visual terms – either their subject or setting is dramatic orContinue Reading
I’m just such a sucker for a feel-good story and lovely gobs of happiness, which is why I so enjoyedContinue Reading
John Delacourt’s novel Butterfly is hard to read, not because of his writing style, but because of the subject matterContinue Reading
This is one those novels that will change the way you look at death and burial methods – and Beirut.Continue Reading
I have never written an easier review of a novel, than this one. Why? Because it does not need reviewingContinue Reading
“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
The novel is downbeat and intense, but demonstrates that what matters is love, what keeps people going is love, andContinue Reading
“Sjón, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Reader of Sjón. Her current mission: to explore strange new worlds, toContinue Reading
What is the connection between Mining Engineering and writing fiction? None. In fact, the minds of Mining Engineers often workContinue Reading
Julian Barnes’ latest novel is called The Only Story and, despite the subject (the “scandalous” love affair between a manContinue Reading
Comment from Brian Bilston: Brian Bilston “What a lovely review. Thank you so much. I’m delighted you enjoyed it – andContinue Reading
Compact Crit. #10 – On the Bright Side – The New Diary of Hendrik Groen (a.k.a. Zolang Er Leven IsContinue Reading
Despite two trips to Australia, I have failed to figure out the archetypal Australian or the layout of the country.Continue Reading
The mystery over who “Hendrik Groen” is, continues. Groen is the pseudonym of a Dutch author who has produced twoContinue Reading
This is satire, and it bites hard. “Lionel ASBO” ( his surname stands for Anti-Social Behaviour Order, which was placedContinue Reading
Taking a lesson from one of my favourite bloggers, Seth Godin, I am from now on going to compact myContinue Reading
I did not think that I would get tired of reading the heavily stylized and very British English of StephenContinue Reading
Prue Leith, as Anglophiles and food show fans would know, replaced Mary Berry as the co-judge with Paul Hollywood whenContinue Reading
In popular author Kathy Lette’s latest novel, Best Laid Plans, her writing style is a torrent of words, which you eventuallyContinue Reading
There is a current trend for novels with long titles about eccentric old people: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed OutContinue Reading
Julian Barnes October 8 at 7:03pm · Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, on Julian Barnes’s novel The Noise of TimeContinue Reading
Update In June 2017 it was announced that the Italian production company Cattleya had picked up the rights for theContinue Reading
Douglas Coupland, the artist, is terribly famous, not only in Canada. He has won heaps of awards. When I wasContinue Reading
Sometimes a novel just flummoxes me. I have tried my best to get to grips with “J” by Howard Jacobson, whichContinue Reading
I imagine a woman must’ve sat Kevin Wilson down and explained to him in excruciating detail what pregnancy, childbirth, breast-feeding andContinue Reading
I did not like Backman’s previous novel, A Man Called Ove, but was spurred on to buy book no.3, Britt-MarieContinue Reading
Some magazines don’t publish negative reviews because they want to review books that people will buy. The problem with that argument isContinue Reading
Hard to read but worthwhile reading Some books are hard to read and hard to finish. It could be becauseContinue Reading
For the last in my series of festive season books, the theme is romance and erotica, and I have someContinue Reading
This novel cannot be discussed without reference to Lee’s first and famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. However, as Go SetContinue Reading
The lead character in Hausfrau, “Anna Benz”, must be one of the most disagreeable people I have had the misfortuneContinue Reading
Recently, while PBS was airing the documentary The Dust Bowl by Ken Burns, I bought Mary Coin by Marisa Silver. IContinue Reading
In Peter Carey’s new novel, Amnesia, the subtext of press freedom is woven through a plot about hacking, love, eco-terrorism,Continue Reading
Three novels I recently read have a plot in common: an individual’s urge to ferret out the truth, come hellContinue Reading
Goodreads, bless their little algorithmic socks, let me know this week that I’ve read 14 books this year. Yep, allContinue Reading
Remembrance of horrors past Here are two novels suitable for Halloween – the real Halloween: The Fat Years by Chan KoonchungContinue Reading
Larry McMurtry knows how to write, that’s for sure. His writing style is perfectly suited to the settings of many ofContinue Reading
Vicariously living the drug-addled, suicide-obsessed life of the delinquent first-person narrator, “Gabriel Brockwell”, in DBC Pierre’s Lights Out in Wonderland, wasContinue Reading
New spins on old fables The past few years have seen an increase in films and novels that rework andContinue Reading
Update The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Amazon selected the novel as the 2013 Best Book ofContinue Reading
Overview I initially liked this novel, written from the point of view of a man who shows quite a fewContinue Reading
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES