Browne, a talented writer of fiction, developed his main characters in considerable depth. Parts of his book read like a detective mystery with many twists and turns as his main characters try to unravel some inexplicable events in their lives. The plot starts with one of the sixty-year-old clones seeing a young man that looked exactly like the sixty-year-old when he was that age, and the plot really gets interesting when the main characters discover that the government is behind this mystery in their lives.
A review of How Music Works by David Byrne
How Music Works is a little bit of a sprawling mishmash. The title is open enough, and Byrne takes advantage of that to meander along whatever paths take his fancy, from generalised notion of artistry to physics and the music of the cosmos, to his own personal experiences as a performer, songwriter and musician. Though the book is all over the place, it’s always erudite and enjoyable, and always pivoting on the notion of creative expression, whether it’s Byrne’s particular brand of expression or whether it’s more philosophical reflections about the universe, other artists, and music in its many forms.
A review of I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira
The forty year relationship between Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) and Edgar Degas, (1834-1917) is the subject of Robin Oliveira’s latest novel. Both artists were associated with the Impressionist group, which went outside the Paris art establishment, L’Ecole des Beaux Arts, with its annual juried “Salon” show, to win acceptance for their non-traditional paintings.
A review of Fritz Kahn by Uta and Thilo von Debschitz
Fritz Kahn was a popular science writer who was most prolific in the ‘20s and ‘30s. His masterwork was Das Leben des Menschen, a five volume study of human biology which appeared between 1922 and 1931. As with all his works – and Kahn continued to write about many different fields of science right up until the early 1960s – these volumes were heavily illustrated.
A review of Joyland by Stephen King
It is clear right from the get-go that you’re in the hands of a master storyteller.Stephen King’s latest novel blends crime and supernatural elements – there is a killer to catch and a boy with second sight, not to dwell on the ghost that also makes an apparition – but it’s mainly a coming-of-age story along the lines of the classic Stand by Me.
A review of Four Parts of the Universe by Darren H. Pryce
The author’s touch is very unique in this book: as it was already said, every chapter is written from one or the other character’s point. Four Parts of the Universe have a lot in common with classic “stream of consciousness” books. You can actually judge the character by his thoughts, the way he sees the world and, as well, by his actions. The rest of this fictional world is described through four pairs of eyes.
A review of Third Wednesday Poets by L.E Berry, Linda Ruth Brooks, Gail Hennessy, Rina Robinson, Jo Tregellis
Working together each week the women built up their repertoire and began to hone their skills. The result is this anthology, which takes the best of their work, and presents, not only poetry, but a story about the writing process, a record of development, and a rather instructive and illustrative catalogue of poetic styles from Abecedarian to Cento, riddle poems to Tanka to Ekphrastic pieces.
A review of Dying by Arthur Schnitzler
Schnitzler’s prose in Anthea Bell’s luminous translation can best be described as spare and poetic. Every detail seems not only important but necessary. There is a precision of scene and expression. Not a single word is wasted.
A review of Ninety 9 by Vanessa Berry
There’s a real beauty to this little book, from the attractive matt finish, small, square format that characterises all of the Giramondo shorts, to the Berry’s own hand-drawn illustrations, which give the book a slightly rogue, zine feel. The book is written in light, clear prose, using a confessional first person form, which begins with Berry at the age of eleven. This style invites the reader in immediately, inviting us to share both her family life – including her gifted sister’s music lessons and the tension between Berry and her mother, as well as her secret and later, not so secret yearnings.
A review of Rupetta by Nike Sulway
Steampunk and fantastical elements are in evidence (chronometers, automata, dirigibles, et al.) but don’t intrude unduly. And there are wondrous, moving passages full of lyricism, elegy, wonder and suggestive speculation. Cherish them as you puzzle out Rupetta’s world and its underlying culture and history. This is a strangely enchanting, wholly convincing novel.