A reading of Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami This is Mr Murakami's latest work, published in Japan in 2017, and translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen (I guess: a tour de force). First of all, I must say that, in my view, this is Mr Murakami's most accomplished work thus far, a fascinating, … Continue reading Between absence and presence
Great Novels of the 21st Century
In the Land of Ago
A reading of 11.22.63 by Stephen King How often do we think: "If only I could change this", or, in whatever form, "if only I could have a second chance, go back, and do something different"? Going back, erasing, and changing the past is an old dream, the subject of countless tales and fiction … Continue reading In the Land of Ago
Swarm
The Prompt Communication with the Swarm was sporadic and tended to come in bursts, when the Swarm needed something. The groups had separated under conditions that would have been deemed a state war had the Break not happened in the midst of a catastrophe more deadly than anything that one side could have inflicted … Continue reading Swarm
Sound #DailyPrompt #WritersWednesday
The Prompt For some days I have been deep in Neal Stephenson's Seveneves, perhaps one of the most daunting reads of the past decade. I intend to review the novel on my Goodreads page, but for now, suffice to say that sounds have a role in that astounding saga of the end, and rebirth, of … Continue reading Sound #DailyPrompt #WritersWednesday
T-Rain, and a girl named Zula: a reading of Neal Stephenson’s Reamde #amreading
“Every other thing that he had done for the company - networking with money launderers, stringing Ethernet cable, recruiting fantasy authors, managing Pluto - could be done better and more cheaply by someone who could be recruited by a state-of-the-art head-hunting firm. His role, in the end, had been reduced to this one thing: sitting … Continue reading T-Rain, and a girl named Zula: a reading of Neal Stephenson’s Reamde #amreading
Of Thanatos, Ansky’s Notebook and a City in the Desert, a #reading of “2666” by Roberto Bolaño
"Jesus is the masterpiece. The thieves are minor works. Why are they there? Not to frame the crucifixion, as some innocent souls believe, but to hide it." 2066 "Now what sea is this you have crossed, exactly, and what sea is it you have plunged more than once to the bottom of, alerted, full of … Continue reading Of Thanatos, Ansky’s Notebook and a City in the Desert, a #reading of “2666” by Roberto Bolaño
Against Evil
"And the hard part is that she knows better, knows that beneath the high-cap scumscapes created by the corporate order and celebrated in the media, there are depths where petty fraud becomes grave and often deadly sin." ~ Thomas Pynchon, Bleeding Edge For the past twenty years, that’s the time we have been sheltering in … Continue reading Against Evil
Talking about Maxine
I haven’t finished reading Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge, and I will later adorn my Goodreads page with my conclusion. Suffice to say that Thomas Pynchon is, for this reader, one of the four vortices of the magic square, that which is at the heart of my love for contemporary American letters: Pynchon - Stephen King … Continue reading Talking about Maxine
#FiveSentenceFiction: Moon
Aomame lifted her sight to the skies above: the crescent Moon started appearing behind the clouds, a silver ghost emerging from another world. Tengo thought his lover had turned into a hopeless romantic, but he also felt the pull. Soon the second Moon would appear, to confirm they had crossed the frontier between reality and … Continue reading #FiveSentenceFiction: Moon
An Aut to Fraa Stephenson, author of Anathem
Anathem: (1) In Proto-Orth, a poetic or musical invocation of Our Mother Hylaea, which since the time of Adrakhones has been the climax of the daily liturgy (hence the Fluccish word Anthem meaning a song of great emotional resonance, esp. one that inspires listeners to sing along). Note: this sense is archaic, and used only in a … Continue reading An Aut to Fraa Stephenson, author of Anathem
Of Glass & Paper 