Meet a writer who "has an understanding of the power of words, their placing, their specific meaning" and "reflects the current malaise and modern preoccupations", "sends language out on a gleeful spree, exuberant, defiant", and who is "one of the finest storytellers out there, a lyrical master of the written word".
Killarney Blues – Colin O’Sullivan
A wonderful review of the French edition of Colin O’Sullivan’s KILLARNEY BLUES!
Traduit par Ludivine Bouton-Kelly
Bernard est jarvey dans la petite ville de Killarney, en Irlande, dans le comté du Kerry. Si vous connaissez Killarney, vous avez sûrement rencontré ces conducteurs de calèche qui promènent toute la journée les nombreux touristes. Pourtant Bernard est mis au ban de la bourgade : il est considéré un peu comme l’idiot du village. On découvre qu’il aurait peut-être une forme d’autisme Asperger (mais cela reste une supposition). Cet homme a une passion : le blues. Dès qu’il peut, il gratte sa guitare et chante (mais chez lui). Il est incollable sur tous les bluesmen américains. Une passion que lui a transmise son père, décédé. Bernard est amoureux depuis son adolescence de Marian, à qui il envoie régulièrement des cassettes de ses enregistrements.
Quand s’ouvre le récit, Bernard se fait rosser par des hommes, à la sortie d’un pub. On ne sait pas pourquoi. Des…
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Three Chords and the Truth – Review
Hector Lassiter is one of the most compelling literary creations of recent years– a crime novelist who ‘writes what he lives and lives what he writes’. Lassiter was born January 1, 1900, and he witnesses some of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. Whether he finds himself at the heart of a murder mystery with the Lost Generation in 1920s Paris, or dodging the bombs and bullets with Ernest Hemingway during the Spanish Civil War, Lassiter is never far away from violence and intrigue. Three Chords and the Truth is the ninth and final novel in the Lassiter series, and, needless to say, it was eagerly anticipated by the many fans of the series.
Craig McDonald is the author behind the author, the creator of Hector Lassiter and the writer of five more novels outside the Lassiter series. McDonald began his career as a journalist and still works in that…
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Video Extract of “The Painter’s Women” by Fionnuala Brennan
"To my mind, Goya is one of the most enigmatic and influential painters in the history of art. In the novel I wanted to explore behind the scenes, to discover something more of the man and of his work. What better perspective to obtain than that of the women who were closest to him in … Continue reading Video Extract of “The Painter’s Women” by Fionnuala Brennan
An Excerpt from The Nihilesthete, Book 1 in the Central Park West Trilogy by Richard Kalich
The Central Park West Trilogy is part of Amazon's August promotions and will be available on Amazon.co.uk for £0.99 until the end of the month. "My little shopping spree was not without difficulties. I couldn’t purchase my present ready-made at a store. I had to improvise. I had to purchase a costly art book first … Continue reading An Excerpt from The Nihilesthete, Book 1 in the Central Park West Trilogy by Richard Kalich
The cost of culture
"...In our fetishism of openness at all costs — that is, at no cost — we’ve forgotten the actual, physical, inescapably tangible costs of creating what we designate by the ethereal term 'culture'." A fascinating article from Maria Popova's blog http://www.brainpickings.org about Astra Taylor's important book The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the … Continue reading The cost of culture
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