One of the online sites that came up when I duck, duck, go'd this title, suggested She and Her Cat was one of the five translated books this season that could soothe a battered soul. My soul was not feeling particularly battered (except for this seemingly endless La Niña rain!) but I definitely felt soothed … Continue reading She and Her Cat | Makoto Shinkai & Naruki Nagakawa #JPNshortstories
Alejandro Ferri is my name. I truly am being stalked by Jorge Luis Borges. Everywhere I turn, there he is! Again! The latest incident occured on the 1st August when I opened my copy of Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse to complete my Edith Trilogy Readalong. Frank ambitiously included six, yes SIX, epigraphs. The first … Continue reading The Congress | Jorge Luis Borges #ARGshortstory
I had planned on writing extended reviews for some of these books, but Covid. Assembly especially, which packed a punch much weightier than its mere 100 pages would suggest, deserves to be more widely considered and discussed. But for now, all I will say is READ IT. You have to stop this, she said. This … Continue reading June Mini Reviews [2]
Mary Gaunt's first short story collection The Moving Finger (1895) contains seven stories. I read the two Christmas themed ones back in December last year. These were read with a seasonal lens in mind. The following five stories have been read using my 'female experience' lens as they will be part of a post that will end up … Continue reading The Moving Finger | Mary Gaunt #AWWshortstories
Last year, for DDM reading week with Heavenali, I only had time for one short story. I chose The Birds, the first story in one of my beautiful Virago Designer Classic editions. This year I was more organised and finally finished the rest of the collection. The other stories include: Monte Verità (pp. 44-113) "They … Continue reading The Birds and Short Stories | Daphne Du Maurier #DDMreadingweek
The Minotaur by George Frederic Watts | 1885 | Tate Britain And the Queen gave birth to a child who was called Asterion. I wish I had known before my first read through of The House of Asterion (La casa de Asterion | 1947) that Borges was inspired to write a story from the perspective … Continue reading The House of Asterion | Jorge Luis Borges #ARGshortstory
"Ready ?""Ready.""Now ?""Soon.""Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it ?" First published on the 1st March 1954, Ray Bradbury's short story came to my attention today thanks to a chat on our local ABC radio morning show. One of the presenters remembered a story she read as a child about a … Continue reading All Summer in a Day | Ray Bradbury #USAshortstory
Laura Palmer-Archer c.1904 | John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland We were married at six in the morning, and now my brand-new husband and myself are starting to our station home, sixty-five miles from the little Queensland township. When the Classics Club announced their latest Dare - Love is in the Air, I went … Continue reading A Bush Honeymoon | Laura M. Palmer-Archer #AWWshortstory
Even with months of planning and anticipation, Bill @The Australian Legend's Gen 4 Reading Week has still caught me by surprise! Bill describes Gen 4 as Australian "women who began writing in the 1960s, 70s and 80s." Postmodernism and Magic Realism were some of their tools of trade, but for Bill, this generation is defined … Continue reading Collected Stories | Shirley Hazzard #AWWshortstories
I decided to tackle Jorge Luis Borges short story The Library of Babel after reading that it was one of the influences on Susanna Clarke when she wrote her recent award winning book, Piranesi. The influence is obvious. A labyrinthine library that contains every single book that could possibly be written (even the books that … Continue reading The Library of Babel | Jorge Luis Borges #ARGshortstory
I am a novelist, and I suppose I have made up this story. I write ‘suppose’, though I know for a fact that I have made it up. The Heavenly Christmas Tree was initially published as The Beggar Boy at Christ’s Christmas in 1876 in A Writer’s Diary. It's fair to say that it reflects the religious conversion … Continue reading The Heavenly Christmas Tree | Fyodor Dostoevsky #RUSshortstory
The other day I saw a wedding ... but no, I had better tell you about the Christmas tree. To continue my Literary Christmas reading challenge, I have left behind Mary Gaunt and Australian shores to head off to pre-revolutionary Russia. A Christmas Tree and a Wedding is a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It … Continue reading White Nights and other stories | Fyodor Dostoevsky #RUSshortstories
It was a comfortable place, the wide verandah at Warwingie, a place much used by the Warners on all occasions, save during the heat of the day - but the long hot day was drawing to a close now. For this year's A Literary Christmas, I decided to hunt down some seasonal short stories. Most … Continue reading The Moving Finger | Mary Gaunt #AWWshortstories
Two Stories was the first publication produced by the Hogarth Press (named after the Woolf's house in Richmond). One hundred and fifty copies were produced. They consisted of 32 pages, bound together using three different papers that the Woolf's had to hand - a plain yellow paper, a red and white geometric limp linen and a blue … Continue reading Two Stories | Leonard & Virginia Woolf #1917
It's not yet eight. Stefan Valeriu can tell by the sunlight, which has crept only as far as the edge of his chaise lounge. He can sense it climbing the wooden legs, feel it caressing his fingers, his hands, his naked arm, as warm as a shawl... Such a sensuous, delicious, lazy way to open … Continue reading Women | Mihail Sebastian #ROUfiction
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