Borges Marathon, Part 17: The Garden of Forking Paths
A pacy wartime thriller mixes with an abstract meditation on the forking paths of time and fate in a classic short story by Jorge Luis Borges.
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
After Dark is a strange, elliptical novel that weaves together layers of meaning in a story that unfolds over a single Tokyo night. Here's my take on what it all means.
Borges Marathon, Part 16: The Library of Babel
An infinite library of every possible book sounds wonderful until you contemplate the realities of it, which Jorge Luis Borges does masterfully in "The Library of Babel".
November 2024 Reading Roundup
From Indigenous Americans discovering Europe to Voltaire destroying my last shred of optimism, here's a summary of my reading this month.
Borges Marathon, Part 15: A Survey of the Works of Herbert Quain
Join me as I survey Jorge Luis Borges's survey of the works of the non-existent writer Herbert Quain.
Review: The Other Side by Alfred Kubin
What would a dream world look like? A world in which the normal rules of cause and effect don't exist, in which social obligations are subordinate to each individual's ability to dream? In Alfred Kubin's vision, it looks a lot…
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Why was I disappointed by a novel that everyone else seems to love? Follow me as I try to find the answers.
Review: 912 Batu Road by Viji Krishnamoorthy
A Malaysian debut novelist combines a contemporary love story with a historical narrative of Japanese occupation. I enjoyed one much more than the other, but would recommend it nonetheless.
Norng Chan Phal: The Mystery of the Boy at S-21
A harrowing true account of a small child surviving the Cambodian genocide.