Tag: UK fiction

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CCLaP Fridays: Being Human (BBC series)

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Being Human BBC Three First off, there’s the premise. A vampire and a werewolf share a flat together with the ghost of a dead woman. I admit to being skeptical when I heard about Being Human. While it sounds like a paranormal romance version of MTV’s The Real World, the BBC series Being Human presents a compelling drama about the desire to “be human.” Being Human is the brainchild of Toby Whithouse, a writer from the recently rebooted Doctor Who franchise. With this creative firepower, Being Human creates a show that possesses fantasy elements and a superior drama with complex … Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Being Human (BBC series)

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Dead Weight by John Francome @ Joe Bob Briggs

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Phil Nicholas is a National Hunt jockey psychologically shaken after a bad fall. The National Hunt is a popular series of races involving horses in steeplechase races. Phil’s horse didn’t make it over one of these barriers, making the fall particularly nasty. He has had symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and it is making him not race as well. Because of the fall, he seeks psychiatric help, but keeps it secret from his wife Julia, a horse trainer, and his fellow jockeys. Phil is afraid the therapy might make him appear weak. Keith works as a gamekeeper and has been … Continue reading Dead Weight by John Francome @ Joe Bob Briggs

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God by Alexander Waugh

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The premise of God is simple: write a book about the descriptions of God.  Alexander Waugh, son of columnist Auberon and grandson of satirist Evelyn, crafts a diminutive book exploring the attributes of God.  Mining a variety of sources, including different Bible translations, Gnostic, apocryphal, visionary, Jewish, Muslim and Mormon texts, Waugh offers the reader a multitude of perspectives on the topic.  The challenge comes from the traditionally held beliefs that God is invisible and immaterial.  Waugh leaps from one religious tradition to another, comparing and contrasting, occasionally dissecting a long-held truism with a satirist’s eye. The writing is crisp … Continue reading God by Alexander Waugh

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Tiny Book Reviews

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The Line of Beauty (2004), by Alan Hollinghurst Alan Hollinghurst reveals his mastery of English prose with The Line of Beauty, the 2004 Man Booker Prize-winning novel set in the decadent days of Thatcher’s Britain.  In the novel, Nick Guest, a Henry James scholar, spends time as a houseguest of the Feddens.  Gerald Fedden is the newly-elected Tory MP and lives with his wife and children in a glorious mansion in Notting Hill.  Nick’s long-burning infatuation for Gerald’s son Toby gets extinguished and then transfigured in the two loves he meets.  The first love is with Leo, a West Indian, … Continue reading Tiny Book Reviews

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books, books I'm reading, Critic's Notebook1 Comment

Critic’s Notebook: A Demanding Read, Part I (Fiction)

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Years of experience has brought with it a fondness for the demanding read.  My reading selections are promiscuous, omnivorous, and ecumenical.  I’m an enthusiast for the Modern, the Experimental, and the Unclassifiable.  I also enjoy reading space fantasy novels published by the Black Library.  As a critic, I enjoy plumbing the depths of pop culture, high culture, and places in between. One of the experiences I enjoy I will call the Demanding Read.  This essay, the first part of two, will explore the Demanding Read in terms of fiction.  The second essay will focus on non-fiction.  Given that each reader … Continue reading Critic’s Notebook: A Demanding Read, Part I (Fiction)

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Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self

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A Review with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes 1. A Culinary Introduction Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self explores and revels in decay and degeneration, gushing with bile and blood.  The quartet of interconnected short stories focus on the liver, a bodily organ with interconnected lobes. The liver functions by processing toxins and connects to the gall bladder.  People also consume liver as a delicacy.  The dish “liver and onions” is a classic in American cuisine.  I have eaten deer liver with onions and I enjoy the taste.  Prior to preparing … Continue reading Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self

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Hard Times by Charles Dickens

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Yuck! Soot, coal, suffering. Rinse, lather, repeat. Even by the standards of Dickens’ classic sentimentality for the underdog, this novel is a dud. Probably not the best introduction to Charles Dickens unless you want your child to enjoy the pleasures of never reading again. This novel makes Zola’s Germinal, also about downtrodden coal miners, seem like a work of candy-colored upbeat positivity. Dickens’s advice to coal miners getting steamrolled by the Man. Continue reading Hard Times by Charles Dickens

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Battle for the Abyss (The Horus Heresy, Book 8) by Ben Counter

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Battle for the Abyss by Ben Counter begins with the construction of the gigantic battleship, the Furious Abyss, within the hollow center of Thule, a moon of Saturn.  The Mechanicum construct the ship using the ancient technologies they preserve.  Unbeknownst to the Emperor, the Mechanicum build the massive warship for the Word Bearer Traitor Legion.  Those familiar with the Cylon basestars of Battlestar Galactica will recognize the Furious Abyss.  Heavily armed and holding a contingent of fighters, the Furious Abyss is an intimidating force.  Unlike the sleek basestars, the Furious Abyss resembles a giant battlestar with Chartres Cathedral sitting on … Continue reading Battle for the Abyss (The Horus Heresy, Book 8) by Ben Counter

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