I have read The Odyssey before (not sure when), from another translator. A few years ago, listened to the audiobook version of Wilson's translation. Then I heard that Christopher Nolan's movie version was in part based on and inspired by this translation, so I wanted to read it again before seeing the movie. Very briefly, The Odyssey tells... Continue Reading →
Death’s End, by Cixin Liu. Pub 2010. Translation by Ken Liu, pub 2016.
This is the third and final book of the Remembrance of Earth Past series that began with The Three-Body Problem. Book 2, The Dark Forest, could easily have been the conclusion to the story, so I was curious to see if and how Liu could expand on the story. The novel begins several years back from the previous... Continue Reading →
The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene. Pub 1951
This book was part of my September binge of favourite bookstores in Victoria (specifically, Russell Books and their terrific selection of used and remaindered). I’ve enjoyed my previous Greene novels, and since this one is well known for its film versions (neither of which I’ve seen) and for being Greene's best (indeed one of the... Continue Reading →
The World According to Garp, by John Irving. Pub 1976
It was the summer of 1982. I was 15ish and, while waiting for the bus at the corner of Portage Avenue and Vaughan Street in Winnipeg, I saw the marquee of the theatre across the street advertising the film The World According to Garp. I think I had seen a trailer for the film earlier... Continue Reading →
The Tenth Man, by Graham Greene. Pub 1985
After thoroughly enjoying The Quiet American last year, I found this slim book in the bargain bin during my post-Christmas binge. I knew nothing about it, so the story and the novel’s history were both a delightful surprise. Greene was both novelist and screenwriter, and in that latter mode he wrote this short novel in... Continue Reading →
The Suite Life, by Christopher Heard. Pub 2011
I bought this book in ~2015, from the bargain bin at my favourite local bookshop. After starting it, I was distracted by something else, and the book moved to the dusty bottom of my shelves for several years. In my reorganization of books earlier this year, I found it again, and chose it as my... Continue Reading →
Trio, by William Boyd. Pub 2021
There was much praise and hype about this book in the past few years, and after my enjoyment of Any Human Heart, and a few of Boyd's other novels read as audiobooks (Solo, Love is Blind, Sweet Caress, Restless), I bought this one last year and got around to it now. Briefly, the story follows a... Continue Reading →
Women Talking, by Miriam Toews. Book report #4 (2024)
Women Talking, by Miriam Toews. Pub 2018 I was interested in this book after learning about the movie version from 2022 that won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay. The premise I’d heard was that a group of women in a Mennonite community who are usually mostly silent have some special circumstance to gather and... Continue Reading →
Broadsword Calling Danny Boy, by Geoff Dyer. Pub 2018
This book will only appeal to those who have a) seen and b) enjoyed (ideally several times) the 1968 movie Where Eagles Dare. For those who haven't, this book is meaningless. For those who have and like it, this book is a joyful and hilarious retelling of a classic overblown and strange action story filled with... Continue Reading →
The Missing of the Somme, by Geoff Dyer. Book report #31 (2022)
The Missing of the Somme, by Geoff Dyer. Pub 1994, updated 2016 Last year, one of my favourite reads was But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer. At the time, I looked at his bibliography, but nothing leapt out at me. Then I heard him on a book-chat podcast a few months ago, and enjoyed his discussion, including a... Continue Reading →