Some novels travel better through time than others, I feel; and maybe it's not surprising that Virginia Woolf's work can struggle a little. Between the Acts is, I think, one such novel. The technical artistry and innovation is clearly there to see, but the novel suffers in terms of distance because of the world it … Continue reading “Between the Acts”
Category: Reading
“prisoner’s dilemma”
Although prisoner's dilemma is an early Richard Powers novel (1988) it's right up there: splendidly written; intricately constructed narrative; just enough tension - those big unanswered questions - which keep you going right to the end. And the characters - Pop and his clan - do indeed 'pop' off the pages. There is a great … Continue reading “prisoner’s dilemma”
“Jealousy”
Weird. Alain Robbe-Grillet's Jealousy is seriously weird. Structurally so. It's as if he has taken a 3 or 4 page short story, photocopied it multiple times, then cut the pages up between paragraphs before throwing them up in the air and then entering them into the 'narrative' however they fell. Consequently there is a great … Continue reading “Jealousy”
“To the Lighthouse”
The first time I read Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse was around forty-six years ago. I have just re-read it. Not only that, but I was reading from the self same book I purchased in 1980! Boy, are the pages yellowed and dry! I had forgotten just how wonderful the novel was. It seemed to … Continue reading “To the Lighthouse”
“The Rest of Our Lives”
For me, Ben Markovits' The Rest of Our Lives really only got going once the protagonist was started on his road trip. Everything that came before seemed slightly confusing, as if I was being given too much information, too much back story. My conclusion was to wonder whether the book actually started in the wrong … Continue reading “The Rest of Our Lives”
“Sympathy Tower Tokyo”
Bizarre. And confusing. Sympathy Tower Tokyo reads like a treatise on language and a personal philosophy shoehorned into a piece of fiction; the only issue - from my perspective at least - is that the narrative / story isn't strong enough to do the heavy lifting. In that sense it failed to work as theory, … Continue reading “Sympathy Tower Tokyo”
“Her Body & Other Parties”
I rarely agree with blurb on the front cover of books - but in the case of Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body & Other Parties I can only concur: "brilliantly inventive". This is a raw roller-coaster of a read which takes no prisoners. It shies away from nothing; indeed, Machado deliberately goes deep into her … Continue reading “Her Body & Other Parties”
“Shakespeare”
Part biography, part critique, part chat - there's an awful lot to like about Judi Dench's depiction of her career in Shakespeare's plays. Laid out as conversations with her friend and fellow actor Brendan O'Hea, Dench takes us through all the Shakespearean roles she's tackled, play-by-play. And we are rewarded with so much: an actor's … Continue reading “Shakespeare”
“The Lantern of Lost Memories”
There are three stories in Sanaka Hiiragi's The Lantern of Lost Memories - and they are essentially the same. Yes, one of the protagonists changes in each story, but what happens to them (and thus the structure of the narrative) is pretty much identical. Once you've read the first story you find there is insufficient … Continue reading “The Lantern of Lost Memories”
“playground”
I got lost at the beginning of playground - so lost, in fact, that I nearly gave up on the book. It didn't matter that it was Richard Powers, I simply couldn't get into the chopping confusion of the first few dozen pages. But I persevered and eventually it all came together and was worth … Continue reading “playground”
Ian Gouge - Writer 