This week I review “Dangerous Stories for Boys,” by Christopher Bernard, a fascinating, but ultimately disappointing collection of short stories. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Dangerous Stories for Boys, by Christopher Bernard
“Ezra Pound: Poet: Volume III: The Tragic Years 1939–1972,” by A. David Moody chronicles Pound’s life from his Italian residency prior to the outbreak of World War II to his death. Continue reading Ezra Pound: Poet: Volume III: The Tragic Years 1939–1972, by A. David Moody @ NYJB
This week I review the short stories of Orrin Grey, collected in “Painted Monsters and Other Beasts,” where he plumbs the depths of human experience similar to Clive Barker and Jim Thompson. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Painted Monsters and Other Beasts: Stories, by Orrin Grey
Reader Resources? The Driftless Area Review explains. Continue reading Reader Resources?
It’s just a collection of outdated Dad Jokes. Don’t bother. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: TRUMPED! Beyond Politically Correct, by Peter Davidson
Fouad Laroui casts his eye on Morocco’s dour political legacy with the scalpel-like precision of a social satirist. Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: The Curious Case of Dassoukine’s Trousers, by Fouad Laroui @ NYJB
Patrick Modiano goes beyond the checklist accuracies of historical fiction, fashioning a lush fever dream filled with glamor, mystery, and despair. Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: In the Cafe of Lost Youth, by Patrick Modiano @ NYJB
Compelling passages, notable quotables, bon mots, disjecta, ephemera, and miscellany. I admire those very broad people who through the decades become broader and broader yet do not give in. But the unyieldingly narrow are horrible. [1957 – 1959] A ceremonial beast, assembled from tiaras. [1960] That the behavior of dictators is perfidious is no longer surprising. But that mankind still craves authoritarianism, despite their appalling record of failure, is incomprehensible. With these monstrous examples right before our eyes, how are we so stupid, and how it is possible, faced with all that has happened, for us to lie to ourselves … Continue reading Commonplace Book/Translation Tuesdays: Elias Canetti on minds and monsters
English conservative Catholic writer GK Chesterton tells us what’s wrong with the world … especially politicians. Continue reading Commonplace Book: G.K. Chesterton on politicians
The saga of Xanther and her cat continue in “The Familiar, Volume 2: Into the Woods,” by Mark Z. Danielewski. But questions arise when her father Anwar takes them to the vet. The vet tells Xanther that her puff of white fur isn’t a cat at all, but a dog. It isn’t just born, but very old. It also belongs to someone else. Continue reading The Familiar, Volume 2: Into the Forest, by Mark Z. Danielewski @NYJB
The Driftless Area Review 