Man Booker prize 2012
For the first (and probably last) time ever, I have managed to read all the books on Man Booker shortlist and, amazingly, read them before the winner is announced. I…
Jewish literature and the Soviet Union
If you ask most people who was the greatest criminal of the twentieth century, nine times out of ten Adolf Hitler would top the list and with very good reason.…
19th century – good; 20th century – not so good
If I had to choose the countries that produced the best novels in the 19th century, the top three countries would undoubtedly be England, Russia and France in that order.…
What is a modern classic?
In a a review in the TLS, D J Taylor sort of discusses what a modern classic is. He quotes the blurb on the back of current Penguin Modern Classics…
Not the Nobel Prize
No, I am not going to talk about the Nobel Prize, except that I am. I was determined not to but I am essentially weak-willed. Michael Orthofer at Literary Saloon…
Englishness
I have just added a list of novels featuring Englishness to my site. I have been considering this for a long time but have hesitated for a number of reasons.…
Novels with a political background
O I have just uploaded a list of Wende novels (i.e. novels about the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification in 1989-1990). If you look at the lists…
The Oh No, I am not going to write a post on the Booker post
Right. As I said, I shall not write another post on the Man Booker Prize. Never again. Except for this one. And maybe another one. It's like a disease. Or…
More about literary prizes
Paul Bailey had an interesting comment in The Guardian on literary prizes. I have commented on lit prizes before, e.g. here, and make no bones about the fact that I…
Montenegro
Having just returned from a holiday in Montenegro, I thought that I would take the opportunity to talk briefly about Montenegrin literature. But first a quick word about Montenegro and…