Audition – Katie Kitamura

This starts as a tense and austere description of an ambiguous relationship, as a young man comes into the life of a successful older actress. He’s a bit odd – his story doesn’t quite seem to add up. Just as I am wondering how things are going to progress, suddenly everything changes and the whole story is recast and effectively begins again. Like a rude awakening! From that point the story continues its highly strung narrative. The characters are in a pressure cooker and the pressure is unrelenting and things begin to unravel to some extent. The prose is claustrophobic and unrelenting and fascinating and the whole book is like a tiny self-contained world. When I finished it was like emerging into the daylight from a darkened cinema.

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The Trial

Orson Welles’ adaptation of Franz Kafka’s The Trial was screened at the Capitol Cinema Film Club near my house. What an amazingly stylish film – it really played up the “nightmare” aesthetic. Everything looked a bit surreal, including Anthony Perkins … Continue reading

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Plumb — Maurice Gee

Plumb comprises the reminiscences of one George Plumb, covering the first half of the 20th century.  He starts out as a clergyman but his strict, even fanatical, adherence to his own idiosyncratic principles gets him into trouble with his church. … Continue reading

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BBQ Economics – Liam Dann

A pretty good explainer of economics, with a focus on how it affects you. Yes, you – the cost of living, savings, mortgages and the rest. The idea is that if you are at a barbecue and the discussion turns … Continue reading

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Notes of a Native Son — James Baldwin

A compilation of pieces written from 1948 to 1955, all concerning contemporary African-American life and culture. The first part consists of various reviews: Baldwin is quite dismissive of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which he says is not a novel so much … Continue reading

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The Way by Swann’s — Marcel Proust

This, volume 1 of a new(ish) edition of Proust’s magnum opus In Search of Lost Time, is slow-moving but totally immersive. So slow-moving that even the event that arguably kick-starts the whole extended novel, the famous episode where the narrator’s … Continue reading

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Freedom Regained – Julian Baggini

We do have free will, but it doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it means. Many conceptions of free will are just incoherent; if you think about it, free will can only mean that your decisions are consistent with your … Continue reading

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White Teeth – Zadie Smith

Archie and Samad fought together in World War II, and both ended up back home in England. This is their story, or really their kids’ story. Around them are family, friends, school, work and community, packed full of their own … Continue reading

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Blurb Your Enthusiasm – Louise Willder

Lots of short pieces relating to the art of the blurb. Initially the pieces seemed fairly light and amusing enough. But I thought the book got better towards the end, with a few pieces on related topics like publishing, cover … Continue reading

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This Little Art – Kate Briggs

I love this book. The more I read about translating, the more interesting it seems. It combines close reading with creative writing, psychology (what did the author mean by that phrase? What will the reader understand by this translation?) and … Continue reading

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