I read Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico by Javier Marías and translated by Esther Allen, as part of Novellas in November, but am only getting around to reviewing this little gem now. Coming in at a mere 56 pages, Bad Nature is one of those books that is perfectly formed but you wish…
Read more No 450 Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico by Javier Marías
I sometimes marvel that I have got to the age I have without reading any Arthur Conan Doyle. Sometimes I think, a character becomes so ingrained into the public consciousness (Holmes or Poirot say) that it’s easy to forget the need to actually read the stories they appear in! So, I decided to start with…
Read more No 454 The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle #NovNov
I’m continuing Literature in Translation Week for Novellas in November with Sweet Days of Discipline by Swiss writer Fleur Jaeggy. Fleur Jaeggy’s short novel, beautifully translated from Italian (the language Jaeggy writes in) by Tim Parks is an atmospheric evocation of the cruelties and emotions rife in a boarding school in postwar Switzerland. The narrator,…
Read more No 455 Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy, translated by Tim Parks
It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything by Patrick Süskind. I’ve long been a fan of Perfume and I enjoyed his one man play The Double Bass, so I was keen to try more of his work. The Pigeon also covers two categories for my November reading – Novellas in November and German…
Read more No 456 The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind, translated by John E Woods
The Taiga Syndrome is a beguiling and dream-like novella exploring lost love and the wish to disappear. It is impossible to characterise but is part fairytale and part noir fiction, blending in magical elements to create a shimmering, slippery story. The Taiga Syndrome follows an unnamed ex-detective, tempted by one last job searching for a…
It’s Literature in Translation Week for Novellas in November and I’m kicking off with a fantastic short work by Stefan Zweig, which will also count towards German Literature Month! Chess (or Chess Story) is a masterpiece of short fiction, packing more into its slim pages than many novels. The story is narrated by an Austrian…
Read more No 458 Chess by Stefan Zweig, translated by Anthea Bell
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say. – Italo Calvino
Moonshine & Metaphysics
Book reviews, author interviews, music reviews. A revue of reviews!
What I've been reading
“If you don't know ... when the lights will go out ... you might as well read." --- Clive James
Postgraduate-led research group sharing research and bringing together academics and practitioners to explore contemporary Irish literature.
Writing, concerts, theatre and a little bit of travel
