Writing Blog
A political writer by default
“If you live in a country where politics are oppressive and you write—or try to write—you can’t avoid being a political writer.” —Josef Škvorecký Insightful words from Czech author relocated to Canada, Josef Škvorecký. I read a lot of Škvorecký, in both English and Czech, when I was living and working in Prague after the…
Read MoreBook review: Park Avenue Summer
I enjoyed White Collar Girl, an earlier Renée Rosen novel I read, so I was interested when I saw Park Avenue Summer. This is the story of 1960s Manhattan, and a new generation of young women working to carve out lives and careers for themselves in the Big Apple. Alice Weiss is a young woman…
Read MoreMarguerite Yourcenar’s gender-balanced approach to evil
“Human wickedness is almost equally distributed between the two sexes.” —Marguerite Yourcenar Interesting words from Belgian-born, naturalized American author and essayist Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-1987). Yourcenar is the first woman to have been elected to Académie française, and is perhaps best known for her novel Memoirs of Hadrian. I’ve never been a fan of the “Believe…
Read MoreBook review: The Lost Family
I enjoyed this novel that spans three decades, told through the voices of three members of the same family. Peter Rashkin is the elegant, successful and enigmatic restauranteur of 1960s’ New York. The A-list crowd flocks to his Manhattan eatery, Masha’s, as much for his sophisticated European menu as for the tragic and mysterious aura…
Read MoreProud to be 8!
Wow – an exciting EIGHT candles on my cake. Beautiful, aren’t they? Enough candles to make the cake appear full and luminous, enough years to have reached a point of some reflections on growth and what has been learned along the way. In case you’re scratching your head in confusion, I am obviously not speaking…
Read MoreBook review: Io e te
I decided to read Io e te (You and Me) by Italian author Niccolo’ Ammaniti after both of my sons read it and urged me to do the same. Years ago, I loved reading Ammaniti’s novel Io non ho paura (I’m not afraid). Unfortunately, I read other Ammaniti novels and his short story collection and…
Read MoreI’m taking the 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge
It’s that time of year again – time to sign up for the 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge. I enjoy taking the challenge each year – and keeping track of the novels I read for the new year. Once again, I’ll be setting a goal of 45 books for the new year. Will you be signing…
Read MoreHappy 2020!
Wishing you all a very Happy 2020! I do not know how this entire year managed to slip by so quickly, but here we are already – on the very first day of 2020. Here’s to wishing you a wonderful start to the (new) Roaring Twenties… A very happy new year to all!
Read MoreI wrapped up my 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
Every year I sign up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge, and as the year comes to a close it’s always nice to feel I’ve “ticked the box”. It goes without saying that reaching the self-imposed goal of reading 45 novels in 2019 is far more enjoyable than, say, ticking off my dental cleaning or the…
Read MoreReaders rule the (literary) world
“The writer does not and should not have the last word. That belongs to the reader.” —Tobias Wolff Love this quote from author Tobias Wolff. Although I always enjoy reading about authors’ writing process, I do tend to be skeptical when they are too insistent on overall themes and interpretations. Although those may be the…
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