Pechorin

LATEST ARTICLES ( 230 )

• I Was a Palm-wine Drinkard Since I Was a Boy of Ten Years of Age.

  

  The Palm-Wine Drinkard, by Amos Tutuola This is a hard book to describe, let alone review. First published in 1951 and based on Yoruba folktales it was... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• “They Ought to Start a Home for Incurable Romantics.”

  

  The King of a Rainy Country, by Brigid Brophy One of the oddities in getting older is the seeming culling of possible lives. I say seeming because our... Read more

  Posted on 18 May 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• “Relax! God is in Control.”

  

  Every Day is for the Thief, by Teju Cole Teju Cole’s remarkable Open City made him something of an instant literary star. It was widely described as his debut,... Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• All Europe Contributed to the Making of Kurtz

  

  Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness is one of those books so famous that actually reading it seems almost unnecessary. The journey up the... Read more

  Posted on 27 April 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Rick Was a Marked Man, a Lifelong Sucker for Syncopation.

  

  Young Man With A Horn, by Dorothy Baker Most people like music. They like it to dance to; they like it in the background at a restaurant; they like something... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Desolation Tries to Colonize You.

  

  Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer I grew up on horror. My early loves were (of course) HP Lovecraft; the now underappreciated James Herbert; Stephen King; Peter... Read more

  Posted on 07 April 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• It’s Not Another Way of Saying Things: These Are New Things.

  

  Signs Preceding the End of the World, by Yuri Herrera and translated by Lisa Dillman Some books just blaze off the page. Signs is one of them. I’ll be amazed... Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Train Tore Along with an Angry, Irregular Rhythm.

  

  Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith Strangers on a Train is one of my favourite Hitchcock movies. Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley is one of... Read more

  Posted on 01 April 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Sometimes the Biggest Disasters Aren’t Noticed at All – No One’s Around to...

  

  A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge Every now and then I like to dip my toe back into the waters of pure science fiction. If you don’t share that interest, an... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• London Had a Hint of Yellow to It Today, She Decided, a Septic Glare.

  

  A Lovely Way to Burn, by Louise Welsh The true test for any novel which is part of a series is whether the reader goes on to read the next in sequence. If they... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• a Front of Emphatic Respectability

  

  Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor Every now and then a book or an author gets recommended to me by almost everyone I know. When it happens, I pa... Read more

  Posted on 07 March 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• What We Won’t Do to Hang on to a Relationship That’s Slipping Away from Us, an...

  

  The Disappearance of Signora Giulia, by Piero Chiara and translated by Jill Foulston Back in 2009 the director Carol Morley made a documentary about Joyce... Read more

  Posted on 04 March 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Monks Loved to Rile Him by Asking Him About the Nature, Essence and Intrinsi...

  

  Azazeel, by  Youssef Ziedan and translated by Jonathan Wright The problem I generally have with historical fiction is that too often it captures the physical... Read more

  Posted on 02 March 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Language is Our Only Home

  

  Summer before the dark, by Volker Weidermann and translated by Carol Brown Laneway; Messages from a Lost World, by Stefan Zweig and translated by Will Stone... Read more

  Posted on 29 February 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Ansige Unreeled the Tale of His Tribulations, Thoroughly Ransacking the Truth an...

  

  Redemption in Indigo, by Karen Lord ‘I’m Giana. What’s your name?’ The djombi thought, shrugged and replied, ‘When I am without a shadow, I may be called... Read more

  Posted on 24 February 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Life Was Not an Art-form, Or Rather, It Was an Extremely Mixed Genre.

  

  Journey by Moonlight, by Antal Szerb and translated by Len Rix Some books are too subtle to be easily reviewed. You lose them as you try to describe them. Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Looking Back on #TBR20 and Forward to #TBR10

  

  Last year I took part in the #TBR20 project, started by Eva Stalker. My post about the concept, my reasons for taking part and the books I chose is here. Read more

  Posted on 15 February 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• One Doesn’t Step into Anyone’s Life, Not Even a Dead Man’s, Without Having to...

  

  I Was Jack Mortimer, by Alexander Lernet-Holenia and translated by Ignat Avsey As a kid I used to love the British TV show The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Never Had He Felt So Deeply That He Was an Old Man

  

  Late Fame, by Arthur Schnitzler and translated by Alexander Starritt I am, it’s fair to say, something of an Arthur Schnitzler fan. I’ve previously reviewed... Read more

  Posted on 09 February 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Who Was It Who Invented Coffee? He Must Be a Cousin of the Genius Who Invented...

  

  Game for Five, by Marco Malvaldi and translated by Howard Curtis Game for Five was the last book I read in 2015. I read it in the run up to New Year while... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE