But that was the only copy of “Cloud Atlas” to be had at the Munich airport. So I bought that embarrassing-looking book, and I read it on the plane to Dubai, the plane from Dubai, the plane to Turin, and the plane from Turin. And finished it on the plane back to Moscow. I doContinue reading “I hate these stupid paperbacks that utilize movie poster designs on the cover”
Category Archives: Writers
Francisco Goldman’s “Say Her Name”
I want to praise this book and I don’t know how to go about it. All of the Real, Professional Reviews™ and such have been written. What can I say? “I’m sorry that your lost your young, beautiful, talented wife. But hey – you got a great memoir out of it!” Some people have arguedContinue reading “Francisco Goldman’s “Say Her Name””
Notes to the wannabe Carrie Bradshaws – from the raggedy edge
Taylor Cotter, the author of this gem, is hurt and surprised by the amount of vitriol the Internet has now dumped on her. I’ve got no desire to join in a public pile-on at a time when someone is already upset by the negative attention, but I did feel serious secondhand embarrassment upon reading herContinue reading “Notes to the wannabe Carrie Bradshaws – from the raggedy edge”
Orhan Pamuk got even better
After he won that Nobel Prize. Which is sort of encouraging, isn’t it? I mean, if I were him, I would make a nest of my laurels and not so much rest upon them as grow completely catatonic for the next decade or so. I guess it’s a good thing that the most famous livingContinue reading “Orhan Pamuk got even better”
Moscow. Jean-Jacques on Nikitsky
Snails. Gossip. Playwrights. Annoying actor types. The greatness and terriblness of power. Class anxiety and cheap wine. Or, in other words, a personal take on the famous (and, some would say, famously obnoxious) cafe that became the site of a police crackdown during Vladimir Putin’s inauguration on May 7 of this year. Remember that oldContinue reading “Moscow. Jean-Jacques on Nikitsky”