Monthly Archives: May 2017

Murakami, Haruki. Men Without Women. Bond Street (Penguin) Toronto. Original 2014, translation same year. F;5/17. This collection of independent stories features the dark side of romantic relationships, but in usual Murakami fashion the narrator is kind of casual, uninvolved. Male … Continue reading →

Whiteson D and Cham J. We Have No Idea. Riverhead, New York. 2017. NF;5/17. When I was a little boy and Disneyland came on in the evening I always hoped for something from “Tomorrowland”. Rockets, space, and stuff like that: … Continue reading →

Strout, Elizabeth. My Name is Lucy Barton. Random House, New York, 2016. F;5/17 Like Anything is Possible I have no notes and only a few highlights of this novel. But the highlights and my recollection convince me that this author … Continue reading →

May 2017. This little place was Michelin-named and about a block and a half from our villa in Otranto. So we had to give it a try and did so for lunch on a sunny Saturday in May. We were … Continue reading →

May 2017. What a lovely find! We suffered miserably from Michelin’s bum steers in Japan, but it seems the stodgy old French critics rarely make mistakes in their own backyard. A few years ago in Sicily, we drove for half … Continue reading →

Strout, Elizabeth. Anything is Possible. Random House, New York, 2017. F;5/17 Sometimes I get behind on my book reviews, and this one got away from me. There were written notes but I can’t find them, and I only highlighted one … Continue reading →

May 2017. For some reason we were the only clients for lunch on a sunny Thursday in this well-reviewed and apparently highly-regarded restaurant. The reviews are correct in our opinion: very good food, good service, nice atmosphere. Not sure why nobody … Continue reading →

Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why. Razorbill (Penguin), New York, 2007. F;5/17. I was (honest) about a third of the way into this, highly recommended on Kirkus, before I realized it is “young adult” (read teenage) fiction. So accessible! I kept … Continue reading →

May 2017. This appears from the street to be a more class-act-than-most little trattoria in the old town of this small Puglia city. It has glassed-in porch seating and sits on a narrow medieval cobblestone street adjacent to some sort of ecclesiastical building. The … Continue reading →

Gaitskill, Mary. Somebody With a Little Hammer. Pantheon, New York, 2017. F;5/17. I was disappointed by Gaitskill’s novel Veronica which opened with dazzling verbal coloratura but then lapsed into a sick, sad dirge. But now with a bit wider sample … Continue reading →