“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for?” Franz Kafka In an alternative translation of the above Kafka quote, “wound” and “stab” are written as “bite” and … Continue reading Today: Colin O’Sullivan’s choice
Today: David Hogan’s choice
Not one of my three sisters is a loud, dirty, boozy girl. That’s probably a good thing for them -- as well as me. But if one or two or all of them were, I would give them this book if only because Dylan Thomas, that loud, dirty, boozy poet, said I should. Even without … Continue reading Today: David Hogan’s choice
Today: Richard Kalich’s choice
Reading The Fall was a life-changing experience. But let the novel speak for itself: “Don't lies eventually lead to the truth? And don't all my stories, true or false, tend toward the same conclusion? Don't they all have the same meaning? So what does it matter whether they are true or false if, in both … Continue reading Today: Richard Kalich’s choice
Richard Kalich: “I see the world metaphorically.”
Richard Kalich in conversation with Lucy Sweeney Byrne It is clear, when talking to Richard Kalich today, that he is a novelist whom, once you hear of him, you wonder to yourself how you haven’t heard his name before. He is not a writer one would describe as prolific. He has endured writer’s block and the terror … Continue reading Richard Kalich: “I see the world metaphorically.”
Excerpt: Central Park West Trilogy
From The Nihilesthete 1. Something interesting happened to me today. As I was walking home from the subway after work, I stopped to watch an artist draw a picture of Christ on the sidewalk in front of the Maine Monument. There was a crowd surrounding the artist, but one area was left open purposefully. This … Continue reading Excerpt: Central Park West Trilogy
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