“Complicity” by Iain Banks
I was attracted by the political element of the story, and also the fact that parts of it are written in second person, an interesting idea that I…
“Identity” by Milan Kundera
Warning: this review gives away the ending. There’s something intensely dissatisfying about stories that end “but it was all a dream and…
“Pandora in the Congo” by Albert Sanchez Pinol
I got this as a reviewing freebie from LibraryThing, which was good because with its title and retro cover of cartoonish man…
“Miracles” by C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis sets out to prove by logical argument that miracles are possible. The clear-headed writing style helps to draw you in,…
Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Alexis Wright at Southbank Centre
I took a long time to write about it, but a week ago I went to see Ngugi wa Thiong’o in conversation…
Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis and freedom of speech
I went to see Salman Rushdie in conversation with Lisa Appignanesi at the Southbank Centre last night. I have never been a particular Rushdie fan, so was pleasantly…
Edward Said – On Late Style
It’s good that Edward Said got far enough with the writing of this book to allow it to be published posthumously. It’s…
“The Undiscovered Self” by Carl Jung
Writing in 1957, Jung is very concerned with the Cold War, Communism and the threat of nuclear disaster. However, his points seem…
“Intimacy” by Hanif Kureishi
This was a strange book: all the reviews say how honest and uncompromising it is, and yet in the end I didn’t…