Man Booker Prize
Now that the Nobel Prize - congratulations to Alice Munro but, as I almost never read short stories, I am afraid that I have not read her nor do I…
Colm Tóibín: The Testament of Mary
The latest addition to my website is Colm Tóibín's The Testament of Mary. I have generally not enjoyed Tóibín's work and this was no exception. Indeed, I only read it…
NoViolet Bulawayo: We Need New Names
The latest addition to my website is NoViolet Bulawayo's We Need New Names. Narrated by a ten-year old girl, Darling, in Zimbabwe, this novel recounts, on the one hand, the…
Christian Gailly
French writer Christian Gailly died earlier this week. He was part of the Editions de Minuit/minimalist group. Though barely known in the English-speaking world, three of his novels have been…
Jhumpa Lahiri: Two Novels
The latest additions to my website are the two novels by Jhumpa Lahiri. The first is The Namesake, a novel which has deservedly received much acclaim and has been made…
The intangible benefits of literary fiction
Scientists have now "proved" that reading literary fiction makes you a more feeling person. After reading literary fiction, as opposed to popular fiction or serious nonfiction, people performed better on…
Lawrence Durrell: The Black Book
The latest addition to my website is Lawrence Durrell's The Black Book. This was Durrell's first novel, written when he was twenty-two and published in France when he was twenty-four…
Arnon Grunberg: Figuranten (Silent Extras)
The latest addition to my website is Arnon Grunberg's Figuranten (Silent Extras). Grunberg tells the story of three young people - two Dutch men and and an Argentinian woman -…
Georges Ngal: L’Errance [Wandering]
The latest addition to my website is Georges Ngal's L'Errance [Wandering]. This is a follow-up to his Giambatista Viko ou Le Viol du discours africain [Giambatista Viko or the Rape…
A Reading List for David Gilmour
As has been extensively reported Canadian writer and professor David Gilmour (no, not that David Gilmour) has made a bit of fool of himself, basically saying that there are no…