Tag: Non-fiction
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“Everywhere an Oink Oink” by David Mamet
Someone once said that an experience we take from watching a stage play is always more profound than watching a movie. Many years ago, I watched a performance of David Mamet’s play “Glengarry Glen Ross,” which made an impression more potent than any of David Mamet’s movies. To this day, I consider his command of…
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“The Wonderful World of James Herriot” by James Herriot
I’m a big fan of two British series, “All Creatures Great and Small,” the older one from 1978 and the new, beautiful 2020 remake (with the fourth season coming in January 2024.) Of course, when I saw an audiobook, “The Wonderful World of James Herriot,” a collection of original stories, I immediately wanted to listen…
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“Wandering through Life” by Donna Leon
Comissario Brunetti is one of my favorite mystery characters, and for years I enthusiastically followed him on the streets of Venice. So when I learned that Donna Leon wrote a memoir, I got excited to learn more about the woman who created not only Brunetti but also Paula, Signorina Elettra, Vianello, and Patta. I knew…
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“How to Be” by Adam Nicolson
The question “how to be” is perhaps the most essential question humans have been trying to answer since our conscious existence on Earth began. Adam Nicolson’s book with the same title takes us into the world of ancient Greeks and shines a new light on the famous philosophers, thinkers, and ordinary citizens of those distant…
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“Such Good Friends” by Stephen Greco
In one of his interviews, Truman Capote said, “I like cities, and New York is the only real city-city.” Fittingly, the setting of “Such Good Friends,” the story of friendship between him and Lee Radziwill, a wealthy socialite and Jackie Kennedy’s sister, is mostly New York. Lee and Truman traveled to Europe and even…
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“Tabula Rasa” by John McPhee
At the beginning of his “Tabula Rasa,” John McPhee recalls when he was invited to lunch with the famous playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder. Asked what he was working on, Wilder replied that he was cataloging plays of Lope de Vega. About four hundred and thirty-one plays by Lope de Vega survived, and Thornton Wilder…
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“Empty Theatre” by Jac Jemc
King Ludwig II of Bavaria and his cousin, Empress Sisi of Austria, were the rock stars of the nineteenth century. If they lived today, we’d undoubtedly follow their everyday life watching reality TV. Unable to do it, I’m thrilled that Jac Jemc took on an ambitious project bringing those two to life in a fictionalized…
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“Elizabeth Finch” by Julian Barnes
“She stood before us, without notes, books, or nerves.” This is the first sentence of Julian Barnes’s new novel and the introduction of Elizabeth Finch, a writer and an adult education teacher. Her favorite student, the novel’s narrator Neal, tells us: “She was, quite simply, the most grown-up person I have met in my life.…
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“Why Read” by Will Self
Why read? Reading is such a personal, unique experience for humans. And we vary significantly in what we decide to read. The new collection of essays by Will Self will undoubtedly make a reader reflect on the reading process – that is, on absorbing the text created by another human being, based on that person’s…
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Yoga, by Emmanuel Carrère
Writers mainly write about themselves, even if their subconscious exhibitionism hides under the cover of fictional characters. Nowadays, candidly describing one’s personal experiences is seen more and more often in literature. Emmanuel Carrere is a writer who writes about himself. As he says, he never lies in his books, writing openly about his searches, fascinations,…
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