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
Latest Posts
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
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. 
