When a novelist wins a prestigious literary prize like the Pulitzer, the National Book Award, the Pen/Faulkner, it is interesting to glance back at his first novel–first novels, even those praised, so regularly ignored by the public at large–to discover…
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Interview with Michael Chabon
The author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay talks about the making of his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, writing for Hollywood, the upcoming film version of his book, and gives us a tiny hint on what his next project will…
A review of Siren Singing by Suzanne Nixon
Suzanne Nixon’s poems are written in free verse, a description often indicating no more than extreme laxity. But she is scrupulous and has a tense, almost quivering, regard for felicities of sounds. The result is exquisitely crafted work that rides…
A Review of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
If you are interested in the ‘golden age’ of comic books, are of Jewish, Eastern European origin, have some interest in WWII, or are a New Yorker, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay will have a particular resonance for you. Even…
A Review of Alice Munro’s Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
And there is much in Munro about temporary victories, a sensitive adjustment to the fact that facts, although facts, are not necessarily the last answer. Munro uses her own experiences as child and young woman. In this world her mother…
A review of A Word in Your Ear: How & Why to Read James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake by Eric Rosenbloom
This is a stunning performance and of exemplary clarity contrasted to the many books on the Wake that are almost as difficult to read as the Wake itself and much less fun. The generosity of the author in making this…
An Interview with Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Interview with Carolyn Howard-Johnson The author of This is the Place talks about the inspiration for her book, her characters, the difficulties involved in getting a first book published, her free e-book Cooking by the Book, and her upcoming projects. Interview by Magdalena…
A Review of Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being
In The Unbearable Lightness of Being, a book of moderate length, Kundera provides a richness of content out of all proportion to its length. He achieves this by a use of narrative loops. These loops cover areas that are approximately the same…
An Interview with Philomena Van Rijswijk
Interview with Philomena Van Rijswijk Philomena Van Rijswijk talks about living in Tasmania, the importance of Antarctica, the research involved in writing The World as a Clockface, major themes, her writer’s retreat at Varuna, and lots more. (photography credit: Ray…
Philomena Van Rijswijk’s The World as a Clockface
Following in the footsteps of the early Carey, Borges, Marquez, de Bernieres, and Fowles, Van Rijswijk uses her knowledge of the sea, and her antipodean base of Tasmania, to create a unique voice, taking the reader on a descriptive journey from the mythical antipodean island state of Esmania, past a small island to the east called Aotearoa, Antartica, Tierra del Feugo, Paraguay, the Cape of Africa, and back to the Antipodean mainland Incognita.