When Gregory Hays' translation of Meditations came out in 2002, it was a bit of a landmark event in the classics world. There had not been a new translation of Meditations since 1969. When I started researching for this post, there was love and admiration for the translations by Richard Graves (1792), George Long (1862), … Continue reading Meditations | Marcus Aurelius
Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash Last week I read Sally Rooney's new novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You? (review to come). Her book title was inspired by the 2018 Liverpool Biennial statement, which came from a line in an 1819 composition by Franz Schubert (D677), which he based on stanza from the 1788 Friedrich Schiller poem, The Gods of Greece (Die … Continue reading The Gods of Greece | Friedrich von Schiller #poem
Portrait of a girl, previously thought to represent Sappho the ancient Greek poetess, with tablets and pen. She is also known as Meditation. Italy. Roman. c 75 AD. Pompeii. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images) I'm a book behind already in Nick's Master and Commander four year readalong of the series. I knew it … Continue reading Midnight Poem | Sappho #poem
My mother was blue, a pale blue mixed with the colour of ashes. I find myself drawn to memoirs that dive deep into difficult, complicated mother-daughter relationships. It's a dynamic fraught with push me/pull me tensions. Tensions that seem to only evolve with time. Is it possible to work them out? Come to terms with … Continue reading Nothing Holds Back the Night | Delphine de Vigan #FRAmemoir
There was a moment, between Quai des Orfevres and Pont Marie, when Maigret paused, so briefly that Lapointe, who was walking beside him, paid no attention. Happy Bastille Day! Joyeux Quatorze Juillet! Picking up a Maigret is like falling into a soft, cosy blanket with a tray of strong cheeses, biscuits and a robust red … Continue reading Maigret and the Tramp | Georges Simenon #FRAfiction
This week was the Winter Solstice in Australia. On the 21st June the Southern Hemisphere celebrated the shortest day of the year; whilst the Northern Hemisphere celebrated the longest (in terms of daylight hours). Scientists and astronomers consider the solstice to be the beginning of winter (or summer). Because they use the solstices to mark … Continue reading The Winter Solstice Book | Gao Pengcheng #poetry
In the mornings after breakfast I walk past a small marble plaque propped against the high wall flanking the road. The short stories in Jhumpa Lahiri's Whereabouts were originally written in Italian. Lahiri then translated them into English. Lahiri moved from the US to Italy in 2011 with her husband and two children. They live … Continue reading Whereabouts | Jhumpa Lahiri #ITAfiction
When I met M. Hartz, he was a naturalist and dealer who ran his business affairs in a quiet way, selling minerals, insects or plants to collectors. Thankfully I read and thoroughly enjoyed Mauprat a decade or so ago. If I had started my George Sand journey with Laura: A Journey into the Crystal, it … Continue reading Laura | George Sand #FRAfiction
Have you ever wondered how many times a day you say thank you? This week I have been determined to catch up on some of my outstanding book reviews. Don't judge me for focusing on the easier, slimmer ones! I promise I will one day soon, very soon, write up my thoughts on The Pea … Continue reading Gratitude | Delphine de Vigan #FRAfiction
First Person Singular has been my first foray into Murakami as a writer of short stories. I was somewhat wary. Having read and enjoyed his longer fiction (1q84, Kafka on the Shore, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage) and his non-fiction (What I Talk About When I Talk About Running) I wasn't sure … Continue reading First Person Singular | Haruki Murakami #ShortStories
La Teuse came in and popped her broom and her feather duster against the alter. Confession one: this story ended up being a chore to read. After six engaging, enthralling Zola's I have hit my first dud with the seventh. Confession two: for the past week I have been trying to read three books that … Continue reading The Sin of Abbé Mouret | Émile Zola #FRAclassic
April is Zoladdiction month with Fanda @ClassicLit! This year I am up to book five in the Rougon-Macquart series - La Faute de l’Abbé Mouret (1875) The Sin of Father Mouret. I will be reading the Oxford University Press edition translated by Valerie Minogue, the President of the Émile Zola Society in London. 'I really don't … Continue reading Zoladdiction 2021
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