Google Me Stupid
Just read a great article by Rita Carter in the Spring edition of The Author. It’s not available online, but it makes reference to, and explores many of the same issues as, this Atlantic article by Nicholas Carr. The basic…
“A Million Little Pieces” by James Frey
I read this book before it was exposed as containing significant doses of fiction. I was blown away by the raw power of the story and the spare, hard-hitting writing. It’s hard for me to say how much of that…
“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
This is a deeply religious book, in a couple of different senses. First of all, the main character, Celie, narrates the book through letters she writes to God. She is trapped in abusive relationships, first with Pa and then with…
“Nocturnes” by Kazuo Ishiguro
First of all, let me say that I’m a bit of an Ishiguro fan. I’ve read all but one of his novels, and love his understated writing style and knack of dealing with big themes while appearing to do no…
“The Pollen Room” by Zoe Jenny
A short, beautiful novel about loss and the fragility of human relationships. It begins with an introduction narrated by a young girl of 5 or 6 whose mother has just walked out on her. Consistent with the view of a…
“If on a winter’s night a traveler” by Italo Calvino
Reviewing this book in the New Yorker, John Updike said that it “manages to charm and entertain the reader in the teeth of a scheme designed to frustrate all reasonable readerly intentions.” I don’t think I can put it any…
“Life of Pi” by Yann Martel
I’ve heard good things about this book for ages, ever since it won the Booker Prize back in 2002, but for some reason I always resisted reading it. Perhaps it’s because I tend to prefer books that stay quite close…
Wislawa Szymborska
Just discovered the work of Wislawa Szymborska through a poem reprinted in an old edition of New Internationalist from last year. It was called Psalm and I thought it was a beautiful and humorous poem, perfectly illustrating the absurdity of…
“Mr Palomar” by Italo Calvino
Mr. Palomar sets out to examine every possible aspect of his life and the world around him, trying to name everything and categorise everything scientifically. Of course he fails, and it’s in the episodes of life squirming away from his…