Review: One suitcase, eight stories – each representing the bizarre events behind a certain item belonging to a Soviet émigré as well as depicting life in the USSR from the 1960s to 1980s.
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Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen: Rabbit Back Literature Society
I wasn’t sure what to expect of Rabbit Back Literature Society. The whimsical cover had comments such as “unnerving, enigmatic”, “unexpected, thrilling and absurd” and “a lobster pot of a book”. Rabbit Back Literature Society was written by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen and translated from Finnish by Lola Rogers. That it was published by one of my favourite publishers, Pushkin…
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Exploring London, one bookshop at a time
When I travel, I pick up unique postcards and local produce (and sometimes a bottle of alcohol or two). There’s also the occasional book, though I usually end up with more than one the moment I ‘lapse’ into my book-browsing mode. Put me in a bookshop and I’ll soon lose track of time. Hunger, fatigue and/or the need to go to…
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Marcel Aymé: Beautiful Image (La Belle Image)
Are we what we look like? This is the question put forth by Sophie Lewis in the translator’s afterword of Beautiful Image by Marcel Aymé. First published as La Belle Image in 1941, this novel was translated by Lewis into English and published by Pushkin Press in 2008. The story starts off in a French administrative office, where…
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Never judge a book by its cover
I recently finished reading a secondhand copy of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, a gripping re-construction of the senseless murder of the Clutter family in 1959 and an investigation into the minds of the the killers, combined with testimonies of those close to them and the deceased. I had picked up this copy of In Cold…
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John Steinbeck: The Winter of Our Discontent
Published in 1961, The Winter of Our Discontent was John Steinbeck‘s last novel. I came across this 1975 copy at Nijinski, my favourite secondhand bookstore in Brussels. I had not read Steinbeck previously but the title caught my eye. The cheesy book cover – of a man, standing in front of a dramatic painting of a…
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Mikhail Bulgakov: The Master and Margarita
Where does one start? The Master and Margarita – written by Russian novelist, playwright and doctor, Mikhail Bulgakov, is considered to be one of the literary masterpieces of the 20th century. Bulgakov worked on this novel from 1928 through to 1940, the year he passed away following an inherited kidney disorder. A satirical portrayal of Russia during the…
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Edith Pearlman: Binocular Vision
After too much champagne and white wine earlier this week, I decided to take it easy last night. I was in bed at 8pm, reading Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman (published by Pushkin Press). I had started on this excellent collection of short stories in July, going back to it on and off over the…
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Viennese Coffee House / Wiener Kaffeehaus
Up until last week, I didn’t think that I would like Vienna – I’m neither a fan of opera nor classical music; I don’t like overly decorative architecture that reminds me of wedding cakes or Disneyland; my attention span in museums can be rather short. After spending a few days in Vienna, I’ve changed my mind.…
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Angelina Hue 