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
The latest addition to my website is Enrique Vila-Matas‘ La asesina ilustrada [The Illustrated Murderess]. This is a strange story about a story, called La asesina ilustrada, which seems to have the effect that those who read it, die. The key person is Elena Villena. It is she who wrote the story, she who is … Read more
I have been following the various best of the year lists, as I enjoy a list as much as the next person. Inevitably, I have learned about some interesting books that I was not aware of. I have not learned about Lena Dunham, whoever she may be, but she does appear on a lot of … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Javier Cercas‘ El Impostor [The Impostor]. This is what Cercas describes as a novel without fiction, i.e a novel based on a real life person and/or events. In this case, it is about the very real Enric Marco, a man who had been the charismatic and hard-working head … Read more
The latest addition to my website is V. Y. Mudimbe‘s Entre les eaux (Between Tides), a fairly rare occurrence of a novel from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has been translated into English. This one is about Pierre Landu, a black African Catholic priest who is struggling with his faith. He is serving … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Tryno Maldonado‘s Teoría de las catástrofes [Catastrophe Theory. This novel is set in Oaxaca, Mexico, during the 2006 protests, arising from a teacher’s strike. Anselmo is a teacher of maths, who has come to Oaxaca and managed to find a few occasional and usually badly paid jobs teaching … Read more
The latest addition to my website is Oskar Maria Graf‘s Das Leben meiner Mutter (The Life of My Mother). This is an excellent autobiographical novel, about, of course, Oskar Maria Graf’s mother, Theres (but always known as Resl) née Heimrath, but it is also about the politics and history of the region (Lake Starnberg, in … Read more