Mostly when we travel we listen to the radio or music, but on our recent trip we listened to a 3-CD dramatisation of Homer's The odyssey. The set was lent to us; the dramatisation was done by poet Simon Armitage for BBC-4. As my friend who lent it to us said, you need to get … Continue reading Simon Armitage’s The odyssey
Review
Top non-fiction of 2009
Is it cheating to do separate lists for fiction and non-fiction? Some people list their top books regardless of form or genre, while others created separate lists. I'm going to do the latter because - well, because I get to choose more books for a start. Actually, I didn't read a lot of non-fiction this … Continue reading Top non-fiction of 2009
C.J. Dennis, The moods of Ginger Mick
Sometimes a bloke gits glimpses uv the truth("In Spadger's Lane") I wasn't sure, really, that I wanted to read CJ Dennis' verse novel, The moods of Ginger Mick, which I received as a review copy from the Sydney University Press as part of their Australian Classics Library - but have surprised myself. I rather enjoyed … Continue reading C.J. Dennis, The moods of Ginger Mick
Sherlock Holmes (the movie)
This will neither a book nor a film review be - since I've never read a Sherlock Holmes book, and I don't really feel inspired to review Guy Ritchie's new film, Sherlock Holmes. That's not to say I (in fact we) didn't enjoy the film, we did well enough. It's just that it didn't fully … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes (the movie)
Andrew Croome, Document Z
Truth, according to the dictionary, can mean several things including: the state of being the case, fact or actuality; and a transcendent or spiritual reality. Truth in all its variety and slipperiness is, I think, the fundamental theme of Andrew Croome's Document Z which won the 2008 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award. This book, which chronicles the … Continue reading Andrew Croome, Document Z
A free range Christmas
Can you think of anything more free-ranging than a concert which includes the Inch Worm song and Blake's Tyger, Rudolph the Red-nose reindeer and a 13th century Benedictine Nun's lullaby, and much more besides? I certainly wouldn't have before we attended a concert on Friday titled A Free Range Christmas by the wonderful Song Company. The … Continue reading A free range Christmas
Bright star, or a thing of beauty?
What can ail thee knight at arms, Alone and palely loitering? The sedge has wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing. I have always loved these opening lines of John Keats' "La Belle Dame Sans Merci". The first two lines with their mystical, but also traditionally Romantic, melancholy, just roll off the tongue. You … Continue reading Bright star, or a thing of beauty?
Kazuo Ishiguro, Nocturnes: Five stories of music and nightfall
I like Kazuo Ishiguro - and have read 5 of his 6 novels - so I was looking forward to reading Nocturnes, his first published collection of short stories. Nocturnes, as the subtitle describes, comprises five short stories, each focussing in some way on music, and on a day's end. The five stories - a … Continue reading Kazuo Ishiguro, Nocturnes: Five stories of music and nightfall
Can the Coens be serious?
Of course they can! In fact many of their films are comic with a dark side. This is particularly so of the first film of theirs that I saw, Fargo. It is one of those films you don't forget. I don't blog about all the films I see, and when I do blog about them, … Continue reading Can the Coens be serious?
William Trevor, The woman of the house
[WARNING: SPOILERS, if you think it matters] According to Wikipedia,William Trevor's characters "are usually marginalised members of society: children, old people, single middle-aged men and women, or the unhappily married." This is certainly the case with Trevor's short story, The woman of the house, which was published last year in The New Yorker. All four … Continue reading William Trevor, The woman of the house
