What, a few moments earlier, had seemed such a persuasive notion - that ridiculousness might be the animating principle of life - seemed, in the face of this more pedestrian idea of progress, abruptly ... ridiculous. No sooner had I thought this, than I'd suddenly had enough of walking. ("Death in Varanasi") Hmm ... what … Continue reading Geoff Dyer, Jeff in Venice, death in Varanasi
21st century literature
David Foster Wallace, All that
I have not yet read anything by David Foster Wallace and so when I came across his short story*, "All that", in The New Yorker, I jumped at the chance of an introduction. It has a first person narrator, who is looking back on his childhood and recalling, in particular, his fascination with magic and … Continue reading David Foster Wallace, All that
Marie Munkara, Every secret thing
They all nodded, not knowing what the hell curry* was but getting gist of the story all the same. Marie Munkara leads us a merry dance with Every secret thing, her first book, which won the David Unaipon Award for an unpublished Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander writer. What exactly is this "thing" she presents … Continue reading Marie Munkara, Every secret thing
Abraham Verghese, Cutting for stone
I saw a man under the spell of his own tale, a snake charmer whose serpent has become his turban. I'm not sure how I want to use the above quote, which comes late in the book, but I just liked it and so decided to start this post with it. Bear with me! Discounting … Continue reading Abraham Verghese, Cutting for stone
Jonathan Franzen, Freedom
Hmm ... where to start? Half way through this book I was tiring. I wanted to say to Franzen "Enough already" (which, if you've read the book, has a certain appositeness). I also started to think of those song lines, so well-known to my generation: Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. In … Continue reading Jonathan Franzen, Freedom
Mario Vargas Llosa, The feast of the Goat
If Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa's The feast of the goat had been a traditional historical novel, chances are it would have started with the assassins concocting their plan and then worked chronologically to its logical conclusion. But, it is not a traditional historical novel, as is reflected in the structure Vargas Llosa has chosen to tell his … Continue reading Mario Vargas Llosa, The feast of the Goat
David Mitchell, Earth calling Taylor
And now for something a little different from novelist David Mitchell, a short story titled "Earth calling Taylor". You can read it online at FT.com. FT.com is the online version of the Financial Times, so it's not surprising that Ryan Taylor, the protagonist of the story, works in the finance industry. The story starts with Ryan … Continue reading David Mitchell, Earth calling Taylor
Kate Holden, The Romantic: Italian nights and days
Book cover (Courtesy: Text Publishing) The romantic, by Kate Holden, is hard to categorise. In an interview with Richard Aedy on ABC Radio's Life Matters she comments that, despite the success of her memoir In my skin, she was "a little bit uncomfortable with memoir" because it felt a bit "narcissistic". And so this, her second … Continue reading Kate Holden, The Romantic: Italian nights and days
Vale Ruth Park
"Harp in the South silenced: author Ruth Park dead at 93" confronted me this morning on page 3 of our daily newspaper. I guess it had to happen, but it is nonetheless sad to see such a grand dame of Australian literature leave us. I have referred to her several times on this blog, three … Continue reading Vale Ruth Park
Alan Bennett, The uncommon reader
Light with bite is how I would describe Alan Bennett's delightful novella The uncommon reader. But, before I explain that further, a quick plot summary for those few who haven't come across it. It explores what happens when Queen Elizabeth II stumbles across a mobile library on the palace grounds and becomes obsessed with books and … Continue reading Alan Bennett, The uncommon reader
