Reading Archives - Page 32 of 42

Reading

“So Long, See You Tomorrow” by William Maxwell

I love Harvill Press. Normally I don’t pay a lot of attention to the publishers, because I find most of them produce roughly the same mix of books I love, books I hate and books I don’t care about. But…

Reading

“t zero” by Italo Calvino

This is a bit of a strange mix of stories. Some are narrated by Qfwfq, who tells in first person stories of his experiences as various entities such as a unicellular organism at the creation of the universe. Others read…

Reading

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 5

The final part in my journey through Russian literature. For the original post in the series, please click here. Varlam Shalamov Here we move into the Stalinist era and writing about the Gulag. Through the Snow is a beautiful extended…

Reading

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 4

For the original post in this series, click here. Isaak Babel These three stories come from Babel’s posting as the equivalent of an embedded war correspondent with a Cossack regiment in Poland in 1920. They are not compromised or sanitised…

Reading

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 3

For the original post in this series, click here. The Gentleman from San Francisco and In Paris by Ivan Bunin Two stories about abrupt deaths, both beautifully written, both very different. The Gentleman from San Francisco is about the transitory…

Reading

“Out of Office” by Mark Piggott

When I lived in America, I went driving along the coast of Maine once. My girlfriend at the time was experimenting with a new photographic technique, some way of punching up the colours so that when I look at our…

Reading

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 2

Continuing my journey through Russian literature: if you want to see the introduction and reviews of earlier stories, click here. Bobok by Fyodor Dostoevsky Not my favourite Dostoevsky, this one. It’s quite a funny little story about a man who…

Reading

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 1

I was always going to enjoy this book. I have loved Russian literature from an early age, and this short story collection is a Hall of Fame of Russian literature. With a few exceptions, which the editor Robert Chandler highlights…

Reading

“The World Is What It Is” by Patrick French

A lot has been made of how frank this biography is. It’s certainly true that V.S. Naipaul gave his biographer Patrick French access to a huge amount of material, including things that other people would have tried to keep quiet…

Andrew Blackman

Andrew Blackman

Andrew Blackman

Reading

“So Long, See You Tomorrow” by William Maxwell

“t zero” by Italo Calvino

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 5

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 4

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 3

“Out of Office” by Mark Piggott

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 2

“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 1

“The World Is What It Is” by Patrick French