It’s not so easy writing about nothing.
So begins Patti Smith’s “M Train.”
These days I find it hardest to write about nothing, nothing with its absence of boundaries, direction, nothing that is everything that is the case.
Based on the 2006 novel by Elena Ferrante, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut is an eye-opening revelation that the hardest job on the planet does not come naturally, and neither it should.
Undoubtedly one of the best overlooked novels that should be read by everyone, ‘O Caledonia’ is republished today by W&N in their ESSENTIALS collection. It gave me such joy to read it, every page filled with emotion and colour, recognition and admiration, that I want to give a copy to every bookish person I know, and […]
Today the new novel ‘Whereabouts’ from the Pulitzer-winning and Booker-shortlisted Jhumpa Lahiri is out. Written in Italian, but translated into English by the author herself, it reads like a memoir. We follow a middle-aged, solemn woman through an unnamed, ‘run-down’ city. She takes us in short bursts of observative descriptions through the places that belong […]
Backlist publishing has grown more popular these days, and the trend is welcome – it helps to take a breather from constantly chasing new titles and rediscover what’s been good for a long time. Taeko Kono’s stories were first published in post-war Japan in the 1960s, translated into English in the 90s, and now W&N […]
Хорошо к любой книге подходить с чистой оперативной памятью и открытым сердцем. К сожалению, в случае с Рифом Алексея Поляринова у меня не было шансов на отстраненную объективность. Объясню. Хоть и узнала я о творчестве Алексея только прошлым летом (через Бесконечную Шутку), я глубоко прониклась тем, какой он клевый и продвинутый и эклектичный чувак. Мне […]
Story of a Zimbabwean woman looking for her place among the people who are better adapted and clear headed about what they want.
First translated work of Izumi Suzuki – her collection of stories ‘Terminal Boredom’ – review from Yelena (Foliovore.com).
A short review of the Signifying Rappers – a book David Foster Wallace co-wrote with his close friend, Mark Costello
In Public Enemies, his exchange of letters with philosopher Bernard Henri-Lévy, Houellebecq describes himself as “Nihilist, reactionary, cynic, racist, shameless misogynist… an unremarkable author with no style.” (Guardian) You have to admire his ability to see himself with such crystal clarity. Submission, Houellebecq’s novel published in 2015, in which he presents an alternative future in France, one […]