Two weeks ago I popped into Waterstones on Oxford Street and saw a display of ‘Debut Novels’. The cover above caught my eye and I started reading the blurb — a dear friend of mine who was with me said it was a lovely read, so I bought it and thought nothing more of it … Continue reading »
Category Archives: Reviews
Trelawny of the Wells at the Donmar Warehouse
Running until 13th April 2013 Played in Donmar Warehouse, Trelawny of the Wells by Arthur Wing Pinero is a beautiful tribute to the theatrical medium itself and the heart of Covent Garden could not be a more appropriate place. The theatre is an intimate space, with nineteenth century lamps all along the edge of the stage and a … Continue reading »
Macbeth at Trafalgar Studios
Running until 27th April 2013 in Trafalgar Studios This show is *officially* sold out, and I’m afraid the only way you’re going to get in is if you brave the Baltic weather and queue for either day tickets or returns, which coincidentally is what led me to the beautiful steaming mug of Beechams Lemon I … Continue reading »
The Winslow Boy at the Old Vic Theatre
Running at the Old Vic Theatre until 25 May 2013 This is a play about right and wrong, but also about our petty judgements of others. The summary on the Old Vic’s website is as follows: Driven by a passionate belief in justice whatever the personal cost, Arthur Winslow sets out to prove his son’s … Continue reading »
The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
On March 5 1922, Louise Maunsell Field published her review of The Beautiful and the Damned in the New York Times. Her main point of contention with F. Scott is that he had saddled her with a “thoroughly depressing book,” the main character of which, “to the reader, … never seems one-third as intelligent as the author … Continue reading »
Reviewing The Rum Diary
Hunter S. Thompson was never a writer to whom I’d properly given my time. Having watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I presumed I’d gotten a well-rounded insight into his subject and style, but then I read The Rum Diary and soon began stomping around the house in fits of gusto and self-chastisement. The novel opens with … Continue reading »
Reviewing Mother America
On June 7th, Nuala Ní Chonchúir is launching her fourth short story collection, Mother America, in the Winding Stair Bookshop in Dublin. As I am lucky enough to be interning with Vanessa O’Loughlin of writing.ie, I got a copy of Mother America in the post last week. Since then, I’ve been avidly reading all 19 stories — … Continue reading »
Reviewing The Crying of Lot 49
Having never read Thomas Pynchon before, I was glad to finally get stuck into this, one of his most frequently referenced novels. First, a little background on Pynchon’s style and approach might be useful in penetrating the significance of The Crying of Lot 49. Published in 1966, this novel charts the story of Oedipa Maas, a … Continue reading »
Reviewing The Bell Jar
The first book on mine and Robert’s Golden List is Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar — seeing as I have two exams coming up, I thought the best way to avoid them was getting stuck into the subjectivity of a repressed, oppressed, depressed woman in the 1960s. The copy I got out from the college library did … Continue reading »
Reviewing Philip Larkin
“Larkin’s poetry usually involves a wry, sensible, self-mocking persona that serves as a barrier against an oceanic emotional current — reading his best work is like being served tea on the edge of a steadily eroding cliff.” –David Orr, “Grief in Greenness“ Writing a blog post about Philip Larkin feels quite invasive, considering his own … Continue reading »
