Cooking for Cupid: A Review of Venus in the Kitchen by Pilaff Bey The recipes in Venus in the Kitchen were apparently collected with the aim of assisting various friends of the author revive their “declining vigour”. According to Bey’s introduction, they…
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
There are some wonderful classic novels which are well worth reading and re-reading. Vladimir Nabokov’s Pnin is one of those, and guest reviewer Tom Frenkel, turns his analytical eye on Pnin. Nabokov is most famous for his novel Lolita, but…
The Already Falling-Away Moment: Sarah Stonich’s These Granite Islands
The book reads easily and quickly, but the slow action and gentle nature of Stonich’s prose conceals a powerful message of life, love, and the human condition: how we make meaning from our short lives. Reviewed by Magdalena Ball THESE…
A Review of The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook
The Mother of All Cookbooks: A Review of The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook There are few recipes you can conceive of which aren’t in this book, especially if you are interested in classic American cookery. From the perfect chicken pot…
Journey to Self-Realisation: A Review of Women Navigating Midlife by Robyn Vickers-Willis
Journey to Self-Realisation: A Review of Women Navigating Midlife by Robyn Vickers-Willis Feeling depressed, angry, bewildered, or just flat? Are you a woman aged between 35 and 50? You could be entering your midlife transition. This is not necessarily a…
A review of Salman Rushdie’s The Ground Beneath Her Feet
Love is the main hero of this novel which is about, among other things, love, loss, life, death, the lines between truth and fiction, beauty, and art. Reviewed by Magdalena Ball “In the front lobby, carved into a stone wall,…
Learning in the Kitchen: A Review of Cooking Around The Calendar with Kids by Amy Houts
Learning in the Kitchen: A Review of Cooking Around The Calendar with Kids by Amy Houts If you are homeschooling, this book is a fantastic resource which will provide a wealth of learning ideas. Even if you aren’t homeschooling, cooking…
Slow, Spare and Painful: Don DeLillo’s The Body Artist
Beyond the simple tale of Lauren Hartke and her grief, DeLillo’s short novel provides the reader with a mirror, showing us how flimsy our self-assurances of solidity, how delicate our mind and bodies, how easily undone and yet how beautiful…
A review of Lily Brett’s New York
Lily Brett’s New York is a lighthearted, easy to read book which looks at life in New York from the perspective of an Australian who has been living in Manhatten for over ten years.
A review of Julian Barnes’ Love, Etc
The book is an easy read, and appears to be a simple, light story of love and betrayal, but on closer reading and reflection, it is much more sinister, where the truth shifts, meaning distorts and ultimately the reader’s own sense of meaning is challenged in a very Pinteresque, post-modern way. The main characters are unreliable, with Stuart and Oliver showing their insecurities and failings and Gillian changing her story quite dramatically at times. Are the characters grappling with love, or is it hatred; desire for closeness, warmth and meaning, or just power?