Category Archives: Literature

Book Review: Geoff Dyer ~ Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi

Posted on August 28, 2018 by odeboyz

This book is actually two books linked by the narrator, Jeff. The first half is of Jeff as a degenerate freelance journalist who hates both his job ‘writing shit articles’ and himself. He reflects on lost talent and an inability … Continue reading →

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Make Russia great again

Posted on August 24, 2018 by odeboyz

“It is discovered that Stalin is alive and living in a cabin in Siberia. A delegation is sent to convince him to return to Moscow, assume power, and restore Russia to greatness. After some reluctance, Stalin agrees to come back. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Mick Herron- Slow Horses

Posted on August 21, 2018 by odeboyz

Every organisation has people who don’t fit in. Slough House is full of MI5 rejects, underachievers and the really talented who don’t fit in: they don’t have any career prospects. Jackson Lamb is significantly superior to everyone else with a … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Omar El Akkad ~ American War

Posted on August 14, 2018 by odeboyz

Omar was born in Egypt, lived in Qatar and is now a Canadian. This matters, American War is a dystopian novel set in the late 21st century. America is engaged in a vicious civil war. Climate change has caused havoc … Continue reading →

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Book review: Anonymous ~ The Secret Barrister: stories of the Law and How It’s Broken

Posted on August 7, 2018 by odeboyz

The Secret Barrister quickly establishes his non-traditional background. He was educated at a comprehensive school and isn’t a high-flyer. His post-2000 career has been blighted by reductions in legal aid payments. He offers many examples of stellar legal work but … Continue reading →

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Book Review: A A Dhand ~ Girl Zero

Posted on July 31, 2018 by odeboyz

The hackneyed British thriller genre featuring maverick Detective Inspectors is moved on by Dhand. Detective Inspector Harry Virdee is British-Asian brought up in Bradford where his father owned a corner shop. As a teenager Harry murdered a thief who was … Continue reading →

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Chris Grayling: A Tory extremist

Posted on July 27, 2018 by odeboyz

…. Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Justice between 2012 and 2015, announced his populist plans to make prisons, already hideous tombs of violence, death and terror, ‘less lax’ and more ‘spartan’, introducing severe restrictions on prisoners’ ‘privileges’ – … Continue reading →

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Book Review: John Burdett – Bangkok Eight

Posted on June 5, 2018 by odeboyz

John Burdett’s book is a very exotic thriller. Burdett begins Bangkok Eight with a murder. Unlike routine thrillers this murder isn’t crude and obvious. This murder is exquisite in its sophistication. Bangkok Eight hasn’t anything like the Anglo-Saxon thriller genre. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Keigo Higashino – The Devotion of Suspect X (translated by Alexander O Smith)

Posted on May 8, 2018 by odeboyz

Those of us who read a lot of Anglo-American thrillers are used to a particular narrative arc. There’s usually a sadistic murder say of a woman/women, a maverick Detective Inspector accompanied by a hero-worshipping sergeant, who solve the crime. Often … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Andre Aciman – Call me by your name

Posted on May 1, 2018 by odeboyz

Aciman’s wonderfully sensitive book about a teenager’s rite-of-passage proved eminently translatable to the big screen. It was a wonderful film but the book is possibly(?) better. Aciman sets his novel in an erudite hot-house intellectual atmosphere. Elio, the son of … Continue reading →

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