Sweetness and Apropos: A Peach of a Pair
The two novels are completely different. At the same time, they have enough similarities that it would be impossible not to take notice. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley is the story of a perky and prodigious 11-year old who, to save her father, insinuates herself into a murder investigation. [...]
The Blue Met: A Celebration of Reading
“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.” (Rainer Maria Rilke) It’s my favourite time of year. Skies are (generally) blue. The snow is a memory and our oversized magnolia tree is blossoming (admittedly early). The 12th iteration of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, which this year runs from April [...]
The Love Triangle Comes Full Circle
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a good story. It is not a beautifully-written book, but it is a wonderful story. And it is a story with everything. It is a story with a love triangle. Not just any ordinary love triangle, mind you, but one including a man, a woman and an elephant. [...]
G.K. Chesterton: Tremendous Trifles
I remember a former boss criticizing and ultimately crushing a colleague with this scathing and unforgettable description: “He has only one idea and it is wrong.” Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was a versatile and enormously gifted writer. He was also a prolific writer, having published some 80 books, a dozen posthumously. The fact that he [...]
