Monthly Archives: April 2011
He was more a man of preferences than assumptions.
Bartleby the Scrivener, by Herman Melville It’s a daunting sort of name Herman Melville. Not intrinsically, but because of Moby Dick of course. Like the names of a fair few great authors Melville’s comes with a slight expectation that reading … Continue reading
Filed under 19th Century Literature, Melville, Herman, Novellas, US Literature
Most of the subjects which I find important are not spoken of
Corker’s Freedom, by John Berger A man (and it’s usually a man) lives a life of quiet desperation among the English lower-middle classes. He dreams of something better, but when he tries to realise his dreams he finds the stultifying … Continue reading
Filed under Berger, John, English Literature, Verso Books
… the Japanese toilet truly is a place of spiritual repose.
In Praise of Shadows, by Junichirō Tanizaki Nobody has given as much thought to the lavatory as the Japanese. Not even NASA. A few years ago my wife and I went on holiday to Japan. We wanted to spend at … Continue reading
Filed under Japanese Literature, Non-Fiction, Tanizaki, Junichirō
Personal canons (2)
This wasn’t an easy post to write. When the idea of a personal canon was first suggested to me I thought it would be straightforward to work out what mine was. I was wrong. More than that though the task … Continue reading
Filed under Personal canon, Personal posts
V, by this time was a remarkably scattered concept.
V, by Thomas Pynchon V is a confusing novel. It’s a dense near-500 pager which ranges across continents, decades and an awful lot of characters. It has at least two main plot strands, but plot here is a generous term. … Continue reading
Filed under Personal canon, Pynchon, Thomas, US Literature
