Andrei Vylinski > Recent Status Updates

it's only natural, if slightly too pointed, to place the question whom England actually needs more, Margarets or Mr Wilcoxes, precisely in the very centre of the novel.

don't really know what to think of it, mostly because I'm not exactly in my best shape now and have rather forgot how to think. then again, E.M. Forster thinks delightfully for us both here (and most of the characters), which is fun. and the book still feels just the sort of read I need.

Ok, now imagine a bunch of Vikings raiding their way well into Muslim Spain, then into the Mediterranean sea, which was way beyond any area they knew, then raiding and trading their way more or less to the shores of Levant and back to fight their way back to their French base through the straights of Gibraltar and the fleet of pissed-off Arabs. Who needs fantasy when you have history books, eh?

finding an valuable free book to listen to in the audible+ catalog is hard but not impossible.

almost a novel, and one by Bolaño at that. yet not quite one because it ultimately wants to tell facts from fiction, as a legal narrative should, not merge them. still, an impressively optimistic tale of almost total impunity. that word again: almost.

is Philippe Sands a superb narrator who can make courtroom minutiae gripping and tie them in with history, both personal and the big one? you bet.

The sheer joy of a damn good read — and, at the same time, of seeing the layers of subversion in it: you want heroes? here are your heroes, as middle-aged a woman as they come and a despairing, powerless guy, and you'll love them; you want magic? here's your tale of magic factored out ostensibly from the world, and it will be great; you want action? a pitchfork is all you'll get unless you notice fire, duality & Jung

I very much understand why you may wish to overlook this book. Too specialised in its theme. Too overwhelming both in its size and the way it portrays reality. But reading it now probably feels like reading Origins of Totalitarianism back in 1951. I.e. it is a gamechanger that makes you finally get what the hell has been going on. Don't miss the chance.

Rather beautiful, rather bland.

A novel of looking, so no action as such indeed (a cute little self-explanation through Las Meninas tho). Sadly, no thinking as well.