I'm not going to beat about the bush but tell it like it is: I absolutely gobbled up Kate Jennings' Trouble: Evolution of a radical: Selected writings 1970-2010. It took me a fortnight to read it, partly because I've been pretty busy but also because there was so much to savour and take in that … Continue reading Kate Jennings, Trouble: Evolution of a radical
Review
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
Helen Garner, Cosmo cosmolino
When I returned to seriously reading Australian writers back in the 1980s, there were four women writers who caught my attention, and I have loved them ever since. They were Elizabeth Jolley (1923-2007), Thea Astley (1925-2004), Olga Masters (1919-1986) and Helen Garner (b. 1942). Garner, the youngest by a couple of decades, is the only … Continue reading Helen Garner, Cosmo cosmolino
Howard Zinn, Finishing school for pickets
I have been remiss lately with my Library of America reading. Busy-ness has taken its toll, but it just so happened that this week I was (briefly) between books and the LOA offering looked right up my alley, so I decided to read it over breakfast. "Finishing school for pickets" was published in 1960, making … Continue reading Howard Zinn, Finishing school for pickets
South Solitary (Movie)
What is it about lighthouses? They conjure up such a romantic notion of life in the wild, of communing with and/or battling the elements. They excite us with their extremes of remoteness and loneliness which can push people to their limits. And they paradoxically symbolise both life (light) and danger (warning). All of these are … Continue reading South Solitary (Movie)
Ian McEwan, Solar
I don't know whether I believe your story, but I've enjoyed it. So says McEwan's latest creation, Michael Beard, to a character he has "done wrong". This more or less sums up my feelings about Solar, the novel in which this statement appears. I am a McEwan fan and have greatly liked most of the … Continue reading Ian McEwan, Solar
Introducing the Griffyn Ensemble
A painted Griffin, Knossos (Courtesy: Paginazero, via Wikipedia, using CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported) The Griffyn Ensemble is an exciting chamber music ensemble based right here in our (that is downunder's) national capital. The ensemble is named, in a fun wordplay, after Walter Burley Griffin, Canberra's designer, and the mythical beast (the griffin, gryffin, or gryphon). The … Continue reading Introducing the Griffyn Ensemble
M.J. Hyland, This is how
If you want to read a book that is quick (and seemingly simple) to read and yet satisfyingly complex, then MJ Hyland's This is how is for you. I've been wanting to read Hyland for a while and, having now done so, this won't be the last. So where to start? The novel is a … Continue reading M.J. Hyland, This is how
Inception (the movie): Great expectations or?
Last night we saw Inception. Readers of this blog will know that I occasionally review movies but that when I do it's usually an Australian one. After all, this blog's prime focus is Australian (particularly Australian literature). However, my fingers regularly tap their way onto other turf, and on this occasion I've decided to write … Continue reading Inception (the movie): Great expectations or?
