Category Archives: Culture

Reading Well: Oscar & Lucinda by Peter Carey

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Somehow, Oscar & Lucinda (1988) by Peter Carey got onto my radar via a fantasy-inspired recommendations. It doesn’t belong anywhere near that kind of categorization: instead, it’s a pretty straightforward historical romance, albeit one where little works out as expected for the characters … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Vorrh by Brian Catling

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The Vorrh (2007) by Brian Catling (credited as B. Catling) is a fantastically imaginative book, but also a troubling one. The language is bright and inventive, and the characters–an unstoppable hunter, a cyclops raised by wooden robots in search of wider … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Set in a magically-infused vision of 8th century China, Guy Gavriel Kay‘s Under Heaven (2010) straddles the line between historical fiction and fantasy. The fantastic elements are treated lightly, and the history is very compelling. The setting is the real hero of the … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Peripheral by William Gibson

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

With The Peripheral (2014), William Gibson has returned to his wheelhouse: an incisive and disturbing vision of the near-future with engaging protagonists and sharp, snappy writing. Whether it is the hero of the book, Flynne (reprising a steampunk role originated by Y.T. … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

You will know if you will enjoy A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014) by the end of the second chapter. The first is told by a ghost, observing those involved in his own demise; the second is in a deep … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Daughters of the North (2007, originally published as The Carhullan Army) by Sarah Hall sits in the very thin area of overlap between literary and post-apocalyptic fiction. As such, it is a significantly higher level of craft than most of the latter … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange & Ifa Bayeza

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Some Sing, Some Cry (2010) is a novel by Ntozake Shange and her sister (and playwright) Ifa Bayeza that belongs to a long tradition of explorations of the African-American experience through the eyes of a single family (in this case, the Mayfields). They are a … Continue reading →

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@The Movies with PopPop: Chi-Raq

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

We saw Chi-Raq, Spike Lee’s most recent “joint” a couple of weeks ago. I’ve delayed trying to write about it as I’m still not sure I can get it right! We’ll see… I think Chi-Raq is Spike’s strongest movie to … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Blackout and All Clear (both published in 2010) by Connie Willis are really one story, but each book is sizable (400 pages plus), so I can see how publishing them as a duology made sense. The core premise of the novel is a future … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

All Our Names (2014) by Dinaw Mengestu is a book about loneliness, isolation, and dislocation. It tries to be a love story, but the strength of the book lies in the other stuff. The novel unfolds in two parallel parts: one is set … Continue reading →

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