I read Kate Chopin's short story "Désireé's baby" (1893) back in March when Kirsty mentioned it in her comment on my last Chopin post, but I didn't blog it then. However, when it appeared a couple of weeks ago as a Library of America selection, I felt its time had come. But, what to say? … Continue reading Kate Chopin, Désireé’s baby
Literature by period
John Banville, The infinities
This is what Benny loves, what all the gods love, to eavesdrop on the secret lives of others. Hmm ... this is also, I think, what readers love! Readers after all are, surely, the ultimate voyeurs. And yet the god Hermes, who narrates John Banville's The infinities, also admits to the gods interfering in people's lives, which is, in … Continue reading John Banville, The infinities
Lionel Shriver, So much for that
Having had my own rather traumatic experience of the American healthcare system back in the 1980s I was rather keen to read Lionel Shriver's latest offering, So much for that. And, I wasn't disappointed - or, let me rephrase that, I found it an interesting and engaging page-turner though not a top-ten-of-the-year one. First a … Continue reading Lionel Shriver, So much for that
Kate Jennings, Snake
In her "fragmented autobiography", Trouble, Kate Jennings used excerpts from her first novel, Snake, to convey her childhood experience of growing up on a farm in the Riverina region of New South Wales. She had, she wrote, an "unhappy mother, diffident father". Snake is the story of such a mother and father. While the novel … Continue reading Kate Jennings, Snake
Jeremy Chambers, The vintage and the gleaning
There's something I haven't had an opportunity to share with you, until now that is - and that is that I love to visit wine regions. Not just because I like wine but also because I like the areas in which wine is made. The landscape is often beautiful, the wineries themselves vary so much … Continue reading Jeremy Chambers, The vintage and the gleaning
Monday musings on Australian literature: Charles Dickens and Australia
Here's something completely different for my Monday musings! Not an Australian author, not even a foreign born author who came to Australia (though, being the great traveller he was, he did consider a lecture tour), but Charles Dickens does have a couple of interesting "connections" with Australia. These connections are supported by the existence of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Charles Dickens and Australia
Arnold Jansen op de Haar, King of Tuzla
Translated works always represent a challenge. There is something slightly disconcerting about knowing that you are not reading the actual words of the author, but someone else's interpretation of them. There's been some discussion of this around the blogs and in the media this year, partly because of the publication of Why translation matters by award winning … Continue reading Arnold Jansen op de Haar, King of Tuzla
Dinaw Mengestu, An honest exit
There are, I suppose, two exits in Dinaw Mengestu's short story "An honest exit", which you can read at The New Yorker. One is the exit the father in the story made, when a young man, from his home in Ethiopia and the other is his final exit from life. (No spoiler here: we are … Continue reading Dinaw Mengestu, An honest exit
William James, On some mental effects of the earthquake
There are a couple of reasons why I was intrigued to read this week's Library of America offering. The most obvious is that it's by William James. Not only is he a recognised American philosopher and psychologist, but he is also the brother of Henry James, and I have come across him several times in … Continue reading William James, On some mental effects of the earthquake
Edgar Allan Poe, Hop-Frog
I am loving the way Library of America is encouraging me to finally read authors I've been meaning to read for a long time. Yes, they are short works, but at least I am getting a sense of these authors - and that's a start. This week's offering is Edgar Allan Poe's "Hop-Frog". Like the … Continue reading Edgar Allan Poe, Hop-Frog
Whispering Gums 