Among crime writers – among writers in general, come to that – Bill James is something pretty special. Out of a novel about a grass (or, in American parlance, a stool pigeon) trying to resettle into a new life, he…
Month: April 2006
A review of Ludmila’s Broken English by DBC Pierre
The extraordinary way in which the brothers find their way to Ludmila and the convoluted machinations which everyone takes to get from the beginning to the end of this novel is enough to keep the reader reading, as is the…
A review of Gladiss and The Alien by Warren Thurston
Suspense is built slowly and effectively, as the reader is caught up in Sally’s desperate search for her horse, and the complications of storm and the bad guys. The question of how Gladiss became a mooer instead of a neigher…
A review of Schizophrenia Poetry by M. Stefan Strozier
Some of the poetry is subtly humorous, such as the cleverly written “The Graveyard,” a poem written in 69 rhyming, heroic couplets. At first glance this looks like an anachronistic, and chaotic wandering in the clichéd landscape of Ancient Greek…
A review of King Street Blues by Denis Fitzpatrick
The story is rooted in both the Melbourne and Sydney street life, and rich with the detail of finding food, places to sleep, and coping with law and ignorance while trying to remain artistically productive. It is an honest, and…
A review of The Tent by Margaret Atwood
This is an interesting collection, as much for the quality of Atwood’s writing, which, in itself, never falters, as for what she tries to say. But it never reaches full fruition. It needs more synthesis, more culling, and more development…