Slightness is not an attribute of short books nor profundity a necessary quality of length. Banana Yoshimoto’s Moshi Moshi is a short, beautiful coming of age tale.
Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto
Devils in Daylight by Junichiro Tanizaki
This short work is a sonata of classic literary noir, with haunted, nocturnal city streets and a fatal "dark lady".
Reading the Russian Revolution: China Miéville’s October and other works
I wouldn’t say that we get the charming, fun loving Lenin from Mieville but he’s not holding his nose when presenting the great revolutionary as Pipes seems to be doing.
A Short Essay on “An Anonymous Story”
I got a free app to keep track of my reading. I don’t know, but I thought it might be helpful. It has a star rating system which I find absurd. Trying to co-operate, not my best thing, I decided the Bible and Shakespeare rated a 5 and anything else had to be no more than a 4.
Nocturnal Animals with Direction and Screenplay by Tom Ford
If I were to describe my visceral reaction to Nocturnal Animals, the new Tom Ford, I’d say it was a series of peaking electric shocks followed by cardiac arrest, or as a looming tide of fear and dread which waxes until I’m forced to swallow it. Two or three times I considered leaving the theater, which in my case means I’m probably watching an exceptional film.
Elle directed by Paul Verhoeven
For those that find cliché an imposition on their patience, Elle directed by Paul Verhoeven is two-edged. Yes, the film seems to find some conventions of the thriller indispensable, like the loud, sudden noise that turns out to mean nothing. And is it a spoiler to say that a character shouldn’t go down into the basement? But the film is so ingenious otherwise, so original in its plot contortions and so fuck you I’ll show you anything I want in its bravery, that ‘must see’ rings out at you from the screen.