I am a lover of Japanese literature. I studied Japanese in primary school (but it sadly is not one of the languages that stuck in my head), and I have had an affinity for Japanese culture, art, and food. When I came across Sayaka Murata’s work, Convenience Store Woman, I knew I had to get … Continue reading
I’ve read some modern re-tellings of classics that have just fallen flat. Sometimes classics are named classics because they are indeed just that: stories that transcend time. They shape our culture and understanding of the past. They also help us shape our future and in particular the way authors and readers write and engage with … Continue reading
Frances Hardinge’s The Lie Tree was the perfect read for my summer holidays in Catania last week. The book is fast paced with some good suspense and plot development. At the core of the narrative is a scientific discovery: a tree that will give you truth and knowledge through its fruits if you feed it … Continue reading
“Who hasn’t—sometime—wanted to escape? But from what? To where? And once we have arrived at the good place, is this the end of the desire to move? Or does it stir again, tempted by another image […]” p xi. Tuan,Yi-Fu Escapism. Yi-Fu Tuan describes the universal nature of our desire to escape in his geographical … Continue reading
This review will contain spoilers. So many spoilers. Even though I love that you have come to my blog to see my review, don’t read this before you read Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker. Go, read it. I’ll wait. Continue reading
Mary Shelley wrote her novel Frankenstein in 1818, which tells of the young scientist Victor Frankenstein who experiments with nature and biology to reanimate a human. Frankenstein’s monster is a combination of body parts. He is hideous in form, yet cannot escape the universal human desire to love and to be loved. Frankenstein’s monster is … Continue reading
Han Kang is one of my new favourite authors. Her latest novel, “The Vegetarian”, is such an intriguing look into the human psyche. Her novel, “Human Acts” was translated into English and published in 2014. A basic summary of the novel would be it explores the complex nature of loss, violence, and death that accompanied … Continue reading
This book started off like a small rock slowing rolling down a snowy hill that eventually turns into an avalanche. What you are left with at the end of the novel is silence and white powder. John Lanchester’s novel borrows its title from the famous Karl Marx and his “Das Kapital”. Although, the book is … Continue reading
