This novel is the perfect example of "lost in translation". Nearly every page has a footnote which has to explain a joke that doesn't work in English This novel is the perfect example of "lost in translation". Nearly every page has a footnote which has to explain a joke that doesn't work in English or tell you that Gadda is basically subtweeting Mussolini here. I'm sure in its original language this novel is a masterful critique of Italian politics that inspired both Calvino and Pasolini. However, in English, this novel is like walking into a joke and only hearing the punchline....more
The plot follows a group of Indian men as they try to find work and livelihood in modern-day Britain. This whole novel is a character study of these mThe plot follows a group of Indian men as they try to find work and livelihood in modern-day Britain. This whole novel is a character study of these men as we follow their lives for one year in 400ish pages. Sadly, this novel is so lacking in engaging prose or fully-rounded characters that one does not read this novel, they stare and wait for it to end. I did not care about any of these characters. There was nothing there to care about. And since I didn't care, I didn't derive any enjoyment from this. I was utterly bored from page 20 onwards. Such a pity. ...more
One of the greatest tragedies of 20th century literature was the death of Raymond Radiguet in 1923. Having written this novel in his teens he finally One of the greatest tragedies of 20th century literature was the death of Raymond Radiguet in 1923. Having written this novel in his teens he finally succumbed to typhoid at the age of 20. In his short life he dazzled France's artistic community, becoming friends with Picasso and Jean Cocteau, even Coco Chanel arranged his funeral. When we discuss him we can only make assumptions and question what he would have become if he hadn't died so young. However, we can keep him alive by reading what little work he left us in his wake.
The Devil in the Flesh concerns the love affair between a 16y/o boy and a 19y/o married woman whose husband is away fighting in WWI. Like in Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man we are presented with a highly precocious youth who seems to know the true meaning of life and love whilst in his mid-teens. The torrid love affair is depicted with all the difficulties and foibles that we find in many of these "forbidden love" novels that saturated 19th-century France. However this one differs because it feels fresh. One must remember that this was written by a teenager so the teenage voice of our main character is truly a teenage voice. This isn't some white guy in his mid-30s trying to depict teenagers having sex, this is an actual teenager writing about what he knows and through that we discover one of the most believable and relatable teenage voices in fiction.
Anyone who knows anything about Radiguet will realise that this is clearly a highly autobiographical work. Not only was he famous for his writing, he was also known for being quite... amorous. I mean, if Hemingway makes jokes about how much sex you have then you know you lead a pretty busy life. Thus the depiction of the affair is told through a highly eroticised eye. However, we're used to that, this is a French novel of course.
Overall this is a wonderful little novel of romance, secrecy and the erotic. I mean, the fact that this book written by a 19-year-old is published by Penguin Modern Classics kind of explains everything. It's a true French classic. I was shocked when I logged on here to write my review and I noticed that this hasn't even received 2,000 ratings. Ugh, the best ones are never read are they? So I will hold this book aloft and hope the world sees it. Radiguet isn't dead, every page keeps him alive. ...more
In The Story of the Night, Colm Tóibín told the stories of men living with AIDS in New York in the late 80s. In The Blackwater Lightship, he transposeIn The Story of the Night, Colm Tóibín told the stories of men living with AIDS in New York in the late 80s. In The Blackwater Lightship, he transposes this storyline to Ireland in the late 90s, a vastly different setting. Helen, a school principal, discovers that her brother Declan is in hospital with AIDS. She has to work out how to tell their mother and grandmother about his diagnoses which he's apparently had "for years". Published just six years after Ireland's decision to decriminalise homosexuality, I feel that its effect was more profound and radical in the late 90s than it is now in 2015.
The Blackwater Lightship is somewhat of a companion to The Heather Blazing. They are both set in the same area with the Redmond's from Blazing turning up again here. Both novels perfectly encapsulate 90s Ireland, the sensibilities and the lavishness. Characters are school principals and lawyers, they live in noisy cities while their parents are held up in crumbing houses in the countryside. The clash of the nouveau riche with old Catholic Ireland play central parts in both novels. The character of the grandmother in The Blackwater Lightship is just fantastic, she binds these two generations together with flawless comical insights. She is the typical Irish grandmother, an embracer, a voice of solace.
I do think this is the superior novel to The Heather Blazing, it is a novel about family, whether they be nuclear or non-traditional. It's about who we really go to in our hours of need and who we share our lives with, whether we be stable or crumbling away, into the waves....more
What do I think of this? On one hand I want to laud it as being a classic of Italian literature, imbued with the essence of Lermontov and breadth of TWhat do I think of this? On one hand I want to laud it as being a classic of Italian literature, imbued with the essence of Lermontov and breadth of Tolstoy. However, on the other hand, this is essentially just one long episode of Downton Abbey but with less Maggie Smith and more Garibaldi. I'm conflicted about this one a bit because it does have some really boring parts but then it has some just magical passages. Eh, I liked it, but it's barely clinging on to those three stars. ...more
What a strange but poignant play. There are some images in this that will take a while to forget. However, it is quite slow, somewhat over-long and thWhat a strange but poignant play. There are some images in this that will take a while to forget. However, it is quite slow, somewhat over-long and the songs get tiring by the end of Act 1. *shrugs*...more
This can be seen as Bolaño's Death of Ivan Ilyich. A dying man recounts his earlier years spent with Neruda et al. This seems to be one of Bolaño's moThis can be seen as Bolaño's Death of Ivan Ilyich. A dying man recounts his earlier years spent with Neruda et al. This seems to be one of Bolaño's most popular works according to this website and I just cannot think why. The entire novel is one solid block of text, the narrator rambles a lot and it's basically a poor man's version of Amulet. While the prose is as excellent as ever I did find myself fading in and out of this narrative, nothing stuck. It's a pity really. Bolaño is better than this....more
This novel is an extension of the last entry in Bolaño's wonderful earlier work Nazi Literature in the Americas. It's clear why Bolaño made it into a This novel is an extension of the last entry in Bolaño's wonderful earlier work Nazi Literature in the Americas. It's clear why Bolaño made it into a novel, it's one of the most memorable sections of the book. A poet is forced into the Chilean air force and starts a new literary movement by writing poems in the sky above the Andes mountains...
I feel that because I've already read the story which inspired this I didn't really get anything new out of it. However, it is thoroughly enjoyable and probably one of Bolaño's best narratives. I must applaud it for sheer inventiveness and bits of it definitely precurse certain parts of 2666. I think this would be a good one for Bolaño newbies. It's fairly straightforward and is a great example of his unique prose and admirable characters. ...more
Hmmm I've read this and I still have no clue what it is. This is just a pocket book. 78-pages in all. Split into 56 vignettes. You could call it a criHmmm I've read this and I still have no clue what it is. This is just a pocket book. 78-pages in all. Split into 56 vignettes. You could call it a crime story but there is no evidence. There is a narrative but only Bolaño knows where that is. It's like a cake before entering the oven. All the ingredients are there, the flour, the baking powder, the eggs, but it's still not a cake. I think I liked this. I think. ...more
In a famed play from the "kitchen sink" period, Wesker attempts to portray the dichotomy of the city and the country through young Beatie Bryant. ThisIn a famed play from the "kitchen sink" period, Wesker attempts to portray the dichotomy of the city and the country through young Beatie Bryant. This play is typical of works which followed in the aftermath of Look Back in Anger. Social realism, long speeches, class divides. I think I'd categorise this under, "must have been more effective in its day"....more
Set in Paris in 2022, a controversial Muslim leader wins the presidential election and introduces Islamic law throughout the country. An academic, FraSet in Paris in 2022, a controversial Muslim leader wins the presidential election and introduces Islamic law throughout the country. An academic, François, now has to try and deal with a Paris in which all women must be veiled and his job at the Islamic University of Paris-Sorbonne is in jeopardy.
I really quite enjoyed this novel in the beginning. The translation is very good, the whole thing flows well. The musings of François are interesting if highly conceited and insufferable. I liked being with him however, he somehow drew me in. The problem with his novel is that it is plagued with long and boring passages every couple of pages that really take you out of the work. Luckily, the good and the bad is 50/50 throughout and I can say that this is overall a good and somewhat memorable book. ...more
I haven't much to say about this. It's typical Tyler. It shows that she is still very much in charge of the "family saga" genre that she pioneered oveI haven't much to say about this. It's typical Tyler. It shows that she is still very much in charge of the "family saga" genre that she pioneered over fifty years ago. The first part is clearly where the life of this novel lays, the second half wobbles slightly. Anne Tyler is the literary equivalent of easy listening music. ...more
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a truly great work. Since its publication it has become a pillar of dystopian fict...
*knock on the door*
Oh, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a truly great work. Since its publication it has become a pillar of dystopian fict...
*knock on the door*
Oh, one sec.
"Yeah, come in!"
"Barry, I heard you speaking out loud whilst you were typing and you mentioned The Handmaid's Tale?"
"Yeah, I'm reviewing it right now"
"Uhm, Barry, you read and reviewed The Handmaid's Talemonths ago..."
"No I didn't! I literally just finished reading it," I hold up the book. "Look!"
"Barry that says Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill"
"Ha ha, good one!" I look at the cover. "Oh god! What is this!? I swear I just read The Handmaid's Tale!"
"No, that's Only Ever Yours, the debut novel from Irish YA writer Louise O'Neill. Look, it has a Jeanette Winterson quote on the cover"
"I'm 99% sure I just read The Handmaid's Tale. I mean, it's the same book! Same setting, same characters, same message!"
"No, Barry"
"B... but..."
"Come along with me Barry. Come along, into the van"
I stand up and leave the room with this stranger. When he opens the front door the sunlight almost blinds me. I can hear someone cutting grass somewhere. He grabs hold on my sleeve and begins to drag me towards a black van. The birds begin to sing....more
Macon Leary writes travel companions under the nom de plume The Accidental Tourist. The irony is that while he helps thousands of people keep their liMacon Leary writes travel companions under the nom de plume The Accidental Tourist. The irony is that while he helps thousands of people keep their lives together as they travel, he cannot help his own life from falling apart before his eyes.
This is my first Anne Tyler, a writer who I've always relegated to someone that my mother might enjoy. To give context, my mother's reading habits consist of whatever was 3 for 2 in Tesco. However, since many people who I respect have given very positive reviews to Tyler in the past I thought I'd give her a go. Sadly, this didn't really do anything for me. I did enjoy the overall plot but the characters, especially Macon, were just such boring people. The type that you'd cross the road for if you saw them walking towards you. I found myself putting this novel down more than I picked it up. Its slice-of-life monotony is usually something that I look for in a novel but The Accidental Tourist just gave me... monotonous monotony. Oh well. I haven't given up all hope though. I'll definitely be visiting Anne Tyler again soon. ...more
Not in a million years would I have put this novel in Colm Tóibín's bibliography. It isn't set in Ireland, there isn't a woman running way from somethNot in a million years would I have put this novel in Colm Tóibín's bibliography. It isn't set in Ireland, there isn't a woman running way from something, and it's received little-to-no awards. However, and I may be premature in this decision, I think this might be Tóibín's masterpiece.
Split into three parts, we follow Richard's journey from Argentina during the Falklands War, through the entire decade, up to the AIDS crisis of New York in the late 80s. It goes from Giovanni's Room to Angels in America and it thoroughly deserves those comparisons. The Story of the Night is the unknown Irish classic. Richard's story is memorable, funny, and utterly heartbreaking. One could suggest that it droops a bit in the middle but its overall mastery makes up for that. This is one of the best books I've read this year. It's just wonderful and it will break you. So look forward to that....more
When I read the blurb of this novel I laughed. "This is so Bolaño," I thought.
A woman recounts her colourful life in Mexico but... she's telling us aWhen I read the blurb of this novel I laughed. "This is so Bolaño," I thought.
A woman recounts her colourful life in Mexico but... she's telling us all this whilst hiding from members of a right-wing army who have just invaded the university in which she works. Is that Bolaño enough for you?
This might be one of my favourite Bolaño novels. The prose is near lucid but doesn't fall into any of the traps that Monsieur Pain did and is just short enough to keep your attention through any of the more experimental pieces. This is sort of like if A Moveable Feast fucked The Company She Keeps whilst both were on benzos and the aborted baby managed to dictate a book. It's that good. ...more
In his first novel set entirely in Enniscorthy, Colm Tóibín tells the tale of a high court judge, Eamon, living in late 20th century Ireland. I feel tIn his first novel set entirely in Enniscorthy, Colm Tóibín tells the tale of a high court judge, Eamon, living in late 20th century Ireland. I feel that this would be his hardest novel to get into if the reader isn't Irish or unless you have strangely intimate knowledge of 20th century Irish politics. With cameos from Lemass, de Valera, and Haughey, you can already tell that this novel is steeped in politics that many would find either dry or highly testing. However it is more than just a political novel, it is a portrait of a man trying to keep his life together. Like Katherine in The South, we strive for things to come together but then we remember that this is a Colm Tóibín novel and that never happens. Overall this is enjoyable but is more of a sign of things to come. ...more
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