Sadly, two writers whom I have not read but should have done, died yesterday. Assia Djebar was an Algerian writer and wrote novels with a feminist viewpoint. She was also a member of the Académie française. Several of her works have been translated into English. André Brink was a noted South African novelist, best known … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Enrique Vila-Matas‘ París no se acaba nunca (Never Any End to Paris). This is a fun post-modern novel, nominally about the two years the unnamed author, but clearly Vila-Matas himself, spent in Paris writing his first novel. It is told in the form of a three day lecture … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Nuruddin Farah‘s Knots, the second in a trilogy of novels about expatriate Somalis visiting Somalia during the early part of this century, when the situation was really grim. This one follows Cambara, a Somali woman who is living in Canada. She married an expatriate Somali, Wardi, who married … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Junot Díaz‘s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. As this was voted best novel of the century (so far), I really had to read it to see if it was the best. It is not the best novel of the century so far but it is still … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Nuruddin Farah‘s Links, the first book in a trilogy about the disastrous situation in Somalia, at the beginning of the 21st century. The basic story line in all three books is the arrival in Mogadishu of one or more expatriate Somalis, who had been living in Canada, coming … Read more
The latest addition to my website is George Packer‘s The Unwinding: Thirty Years of American Decline. Though not a novel Die Zeit described it as the first Great American novel of the 21st century. While it is entirely factual, it is consciously modelled on John Dos Passos‘ U.S.A.. It tells the stories of variety of … Read more
I have just returned from four weeks in New Zealand. There were two reasons for going. The first, of course, was to escape the English January weather, though this plan has not always proved to be entirely successful, as it was snowing when we returned. The second was because we very much like New Zealand … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Mia Couto‘s Jesusalém (Brazil: Antes de nascer o mundo) (Tuner of Silences). As with his other books, this book is set in Mozambique during the war. Though not specified, it is presumably the Mozambican Civil War. Silvestre Vitalício, (whose his real name is Mateus Ventura) leaves the city … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Gonçalo M. Tavares‘ Jerusalém (O Reino (The Kingdom) series) (Jerusalem). This is another gloomy, depressing book from Tavares. Much of it is set in the early hours of the morning in the usual unnamed city, with the main characters wandering around. The book eventually explains why they are … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Michel Houellebecq‘s Soumission [Submission]. This novel has received considerable pre-publication publicity because of its controversial subject matter. The book, set in 2022, follows François, a university professor who teaches nineteenth century French literature in the University of Paris III and is a specialist on the writer, J-K Huysmans. … Read more