We are all everyone and everyone is us. (Fiona Shaw, talking about The waste land) Last weekend I finished the Perspectives section of The waste land app, by listening to Fiona Shaw, Frank Turner and Jeanette Winterson. The fascinating thing is that they all say the same things, albeit in slightly different ways. Timeless, universal, undated Shaw … Continue reading Weekends with T.S. Eliot (2)
20th century literature
Willa Cather, A Wagner matinée
Willa Cather's short story, "A Wagner matinée", was Library of America's "Story of the Week" back in May. However, I was busy then, but I like Cather, so I put it aside to read later. And later has finally come! I've reviewed another Cather short story here, "The sentimentality of William Tavener", which was published in … Continue reading Willa Cather, A Wagner matinée
Weekends with TS Eliot
In which I further exploring the iPad app for TS Eliot's The waste land, particularly in terms of the poem's sound/musicality.
Nine, just 9, books by female authors at the top of a 20th century list?
The Reading Ape, in his February Literary Fact of the Day compilation, included the following tidbit: There are only 6 female authors on The Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th Century. In fact, in the Modern Library's Board's list (over 10 years old now), a woman doesn't appear until slot 15, … Continue reading Nine, just 9, books by female authors at the top of a 20th century list?
André Gide, The immoralist (or, L’immoraliste)
Reading synchronicities strike again - though on the surface it wouldn't seem to be so. That is, could there really be synchronicities between Geoff Dyer's Jeff in Venice, death in Varanasi and Andre Gide's The immoralist? I think there are. Besides some comments on art - its value and meaning - in The immoralist, there is … Continue reading André Gide, The immoralist (or, L’immoraliste)
Albert Camus, The plague (orig. La peste)
All I maintain is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it's up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences. (Tarrou) and ... to state quite simply what we learn in a time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men … Continue reading Albert Camus, The plague (orig. La peste)
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Albert Camus on the sun
As I'm an Australian litblogger, I intend my Delicious Descriptions from Down Under to be primarily of Down Under. However, as we in the southern hemisphere come to the end of summer, as my first two Delicious Descriptions were on the sun and, as I am re-reading Albert Camus' The plague, I can't resist sharing a … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Albert Camus on the sun
Monday musings on Australian literature: The triumvirate
I've mentioned Marjorie Barnard in a couple of posts recently, but I suspect few Australians and even fewer readers from overseas (except of course Tony of Tony's Bookworld) have ever heard of her. Rather than write specifically about her, though, I thought I'd talk a little about the Australian literary scene of the 1920s to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The triumvirate
Helene Hanff, 84 Charing Cross Road
Before you all (well, those of you of a certain age at least) gasp and wonder how it could be that I haven't read this delightful little tome before, I assure you that I have. However, on our drive home today from our week at the coast, we listened to an unabridged audiobook version, and … Continue reading Helene Hanff, 84 Charing Cross Road
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Marjorie Barnard on the sun and heat
My first Delicious descriptions post was from Barbara Hanrahan on the sun in Adelaide, so I thought we might travel to Sydney for this one. As it's still in summer in our neck of the woods, here is Marjorie Barnard in The persimmon tree and other stories (1943), also on the sun - and its enervating effect: In … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Marjorie Barnard on the sun and heat
