While we have been struggling with the various problems we face such as climate change, Putin and his nasty little war, supply chain issues, inflation, SCOTUS, Trump (possibly) resurgent and, here in the UK, the disaster of Brexit and having the worst prime minister in British history replaced by an even worse prime minister, spare … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Jon Fosse‘s Morgon og kveld (Morning and Evening) . We first meet Johannes as he is being born, the second child of Marta and Olai. When we next see him, he is old and aching. His beloved wife, Erna, is long since dead as is his best friend … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Luca Rastello‘s Piove all’insù (The Rain’s Falling Up. The book is primarily set in the 1970s-80s in Turin, though told from the perspective of a later date, in the 2000s. It is narrated by Pietro Miasco. We first meet him as a young boy but, as he grows … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Jon Fosse‘s Naustet (Boathouse). This is an early Fosse novel but still recognisable as part of his exploration of the dark Norwegian soul. Baard is in his thirties but still lives with his mother and has no job except occasionally playing guitar at weddings and dances. One day … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Cormac McCarthy‘s Stella Maris. As he is ninety, this may well be his last novel and he definitely goes out with a grim tale. The main character in this book – Alicia Western – had appeared in The Passenger, McCarthy’s previous book, published earlier this year. This novel … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Hiromi Ito‘s とげ抜き 新巣鴨地蔵縁起 (The Thorn Puller). She calls it a long poem but we might describe it as an autobiographical novel. On the one hand, she describes the difficult role that society that society imposes on women as a daughter and only child of ageing and ill … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Vassily Aksyonov‘s Апельсины из Марокко [Oranges from Morocco]. This book, Aksyonov’s second novel ,was something of a cult book in the Soviet Union, not least because it mildly (but only mildly) criticised the Soviet Union. It is interesting as it is set in Kamchatka. Not many Russian novels … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Nino Haratischwili‘s Mein sanfter Zwilling (My Soul Twin). Stella’s parents divorced when she she was six and she and her sister went to live with her father’s Aunt Tulia, as their mother had gone to the USA with her boyfriend. They were joined by Ivo, son of their … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Marvel Moreno‘s En diciembre llegaban las brisas (December Breeze). Marvel Moreno tells a series of interlinked stories, many of which show the cruelty of men towards women. Colombia is clearly a very patriarchal society and many of the women in this book suffer under it, with the men … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Sevgi Soysal‘s Şafak (Dawn). The story, partially based on the author’s own life is set in Adana, where Oya is in internal exile after a spell in prison. The period is during the Turkish military giovernment in 1971, when martial law has been imposed. She is invited to … Read more