Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone – Benjamin Stevenson
This great whodunnit subverts every expectation. Normally in this genre, subtle clues are scattered throughout the narrative, but in this book the narrator continually breaks the fourth wall to pull the rug out from under me. He lets slip a … Continue reading
Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
This novel begins as the diary of a gentleman’s adventure on a 19th-century pacific island. It’s all quite eventful until it stops, right in the middle of Continue reading
Losing Ourselves – Jay Garfield
This is an exploration of the Buddhist concept of no-self: we don’t exist as a distinct self with an unchanging identity. Instead, we are just the sum of the various thoughts, feelings, emotions and so on that are associated with … Continue reading
This review is about books, buddhism, Jay Garfield, life, philosophy. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment
The Summer Book – Tove Jansson
This wise and wistful book narrates many episodes in the life of an old woman living with her young granddaughter Sophia on a remote Finnish island. The relationship between the two is sweet, yet unsentimental. Sophia’s father lives with them … Continue reading
Blood on My Hands — Keren Ann
How To Live. What To Do. — Josh Cohen
A diverting combination of self-help book, literary discussion and psychoanalysis primer. The premise is a bit twee: throughout the books are case notes of famous fictional characters, as if they had gone in for psychoanalysis. These case notes cover a … Continue reading
Tweetomatic
I will have to update my Tweet Copier plugin to work with X. Watch this space.
Definitely Maybe – Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
Malianov, an astrophysicist, keeps getting distracted as he is working towards a breakthrough in his current project. He receives mysterious visitors, and his scientist friends are behaving very strangely. Slowly, disturbing signs emerge that there is some sort of conspiracy … Continue reading
How To Make Mistakes On Purpose – Laurie Rosenwald
This title pretty much says it all: sometimes making mistakes can be just what you need. This book is fun to read, with a somewhat chaotic layout and style. The overall message is of course that you shouldn’t just always … Continue reading
This review is about art, books, Laurie Rosenwald, mistakes. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment