Category Archives: Culture

Reading Well: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The Eye of the World (1990) is the first in a 16 (!) book series by Robert Jordan. He said he envisioned it a sextology, but things clearly got a little out of hand. It’s easy to see why: not only … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Dirty Dust by Máirtín Ó Cadhain

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The Dirty Dust, published in Máirtín Ó Cadhain‘s original Irish as Cré na Cille in 1949 and translated into English by Alan Titley in 2015, rests on a fantastic premise: after the residents of a small Irish town die, they remain as … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Published in 2013, and winner of the 2014 Man Booker Prize, Richard Flanagan‘s The Narrow Road to the Deep North is really two stories woven together. The first recounts the harrowing experience of Australian soldiers in Japanese PoW camps; the second, the life of … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010) by Jennifer Egan purports to tell the story of two people, however the cast of characters is much larger. Each chapter is written from a different perspective, and while Bennie (a musician and record producer) and … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Yevgeny Zamyatin‘s We has a bit of a tortured publishing history: written in 1921, it was first published–in English–in 1924. Further translations followed (Czech in 1927, French in 1929) but, due to the nature of its political critique, it was not … Continue reading →

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@TheMovies with PopPop: Tangerines

Posted on June 18, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Tangerines is a 2013 Georgian-Estonian film, directed by Zaza Urushadze, and nominated for a 2014 Oscar (not to be confused with 2015’s Tangerine about a transgender sex worker). The film is set in Abkhazia, a region of Georgia that fought … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri Tepper

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Sheri Tepper‘s story is personally encouraging: since her first novel was published in 1983, when she was 54, she has released over 30 more and has received a World Fantasy Award for “Life Achievement.” So, note to self, late-starting and … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Mary Doria Russell‘s The Sparrow (1996) is one of the most satisfying reads I’ve had in a while. The core idea is fantastic: contact is made with an alien species, so the Jesuits decide to send a mission to make contact … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Cixin Liu (刘慈欣) is probably the best-regarded contemporary Chinese science fiction author, and The Three-Body Problem (2007, 2014 in English) his best known novel (certainly, at least, in the English reading world). It is what is sometimes referred to as hard science fiction, … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Sarah Hall is the first author to appear twice in Reading Well: check out my thoughts on her Daughters of the North if you’re interested. The Electric Michelangelo (2004) belongs simultaneously to two genres: first, it documents the life of Cy Parks, tracing his … Continue reading →

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