Review: This trio of short stories packs a heady dose of surrealism and desire. Life and death is often contemplated alongside memories of women once loved or desired.
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Stammered Songbook: A Mother’s Book of Hours by Erwin Mortier
Review: Erwin Mortier remembers his Alzheimer-stricken mother with this heartbreakingly beautiful tribute. Don’t expect to breeze through Stammered Songbook for it is hard to not be touched by Mortier’s vivid and sensitive prose.
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Amara Lakhous: Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio
Review: Clash of Civilisations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio is a delightful mix of social commentary, mystery and satire.
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Deborah Levy: Black Vodka
Review of Black Vodka by Deborah Levy: An intoxicating collection of 10 intense short stories that left me wishing for more.
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Gaito Gazdanov: The Spectre of Alexander Wolf
Review of The Spectre of Alexander Wolf by Gaito Gazdanov: Suspenseful and thought-provoking, this short novel dwells on fate and mortality.
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Severin’s Journey into the Dark: A Prague Ghost Story by Paul Leppin
Review of Severin’s Journey into the Dark by Paul Leppin: This intense tale is set in a bygone era in Prague where the streets are gloomy and decadent gatherings unravel behind closed doors. Published by Twisted Spoon Press.
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Hans Fallada: Alone in Berlin
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada was first published as Jeder stirbt für sich allein (Every Man Dies Alone) in 1947. The novel has since been translated by Michael Hofmann from the German into English. The story revolves around Otto and Anna Quangel, who are introduced at the beginning as an ordinary couple in Berlin…
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Reading and watching Lolita
I read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov for the first time this summer. Shortly after, I watched the 1962 film adaptation directed by Stanley Kubrick with the screenplay written by Nabokov. Not surprisingly, reading Lolita and watching Stanley Kubrick’s take of the novel left me with different impressions of the convoluted tale. In both versions, the…
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Natsume Sōseki: Botchan
“I don’t care about my career. To do my duty by a friend is first and last.” ~ Botchan This statement exemplifies the righteousness and fierce loyalty of Botchan, the protagonist of the eponymous book by Natsume Sōseki. Botchan means “boy master”, an affectionate name given to him by his family’s elderly servant, Kiyo. He…
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