Category Archives: Literature

Book Review: Dov Alfon ~ A long night in Paris (translated Daniella Zamir)

Posted on February 18, 2019 by

Dov Alfon is an Israeli who’s novel is autobiographical. He was an intelligence officer in an elite unit- 8200. A lot of the action is centred on this unit. The majority of the action is based in Paris. Away from … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Isaac Babel ~ Odessa Stories (Translator Boris Dratyuk) (1910s and 20s)

Posted on February 4, 2019 by

Babel writes about Jewish life in Odessa at the beginning of the 20th century. Odessa’s a vibrant multi-cultural seaport with a very large Jewish population. Gangsters fascinate Babel and he creates wonderful pen portraits. He also writes about being an … Continue reading →

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Oscar Wilde on journalism

Posted on January 17, 2019 by

‘The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands.’ https://www.lrb.co.uk/v34/n14/john-pemble/the-only-true-throne Chris

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Sub-editor needed urgently

Posted on January 10, 2019 by

Richard M Naomi

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Book Review: Douglas Sutherland ~ The English Gentleman (1978)

Posted on December 31, 2018 by

This is a wonderful quirky book. I read it in about two hours and every moment was a pleasure. This is absolutely not a ‘how-to-be’ a gentleman; indeed it’s the opposite. Gentlemen are gentlemen to the core of their being. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Sven Hassel ~ The Commissar (Translator Tim Bowie)

Posted on December 10, 2018 by

Sven Hassell is very controversial in Denmark where his ‘fact based semi-autobiographical’ novels have been scrutinised and found to be (astonishingly!) fiction. The style Hassel writes in does lead the reader to believe that there is an underlying truth hard … Continue reading →

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Retirement

Posted on December 3, 2018 by

Barbara (anxious colleague): Do you think that you’ll by OK when you retire? Joan: Oh yes. I’ve been reading about life without work and it’s lovely. Barbara: What have you been reading? Joan: Jane Austen Chris

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