Author Archives: John Sloan

O’Hagan, Andrew. Caledonian Road. McClelland & Stewart, Toronto. 2024. F;7/24. I chose this from Book Marks, Lithub’s weekly recommendations. I find them, similarly to prize juries’ selections, nearly exclusively progressive in content which even though I see the point doesn’t … Continue reading →

Doerr, Anthony. Cloud Cuckoo Land. Scribner, New York, 2021. F; 5/24. I’m afraid I’m slowing down a bit. It’s taken me a couple of months to write about this quite lovely book. Or are things around me speeding up? This … Continue reading →

May 2024. This is the only “Michelin-star” restaurant on this little Croatian island. I should say a bit about Michelinism to avoid being misunderstood as a gospel believer. It’s still consistent that the places they name in their guide nearly … Continue reading →

Enger, Leif. I Cheerfully Refuse. Grove Atlantic, New York, 2024. F; 5/24. This author started out as a journalist I believe and then wrote with a brother under a mutual pseudonym. Here he’s come up with a strongly affecting story … Continue reading →

May 2024 I think this place must be pretty close to unique. It’s in a small town (Pupnat) on the island of Korcula in Croatia where we were holidaying. Michelin mentions it and gives it their “green” icon plus the … Continue reading →

May 2024 This relaxed bistro is located on the only sandy beach on this Croatian island. Lumbarda is the main wine town in a region where some surprisingly good white is made. This restaurant was recommended by our AirBnB hosts … Continue reading →

Link, Kelly. The Book of Love. Random House New York, 2024. F; 5/24. I’ve put off writing about Kelly Link’s first novel because it’s big: long and packed with a lot of fascinating stuff, but it’s I guess you could … Continue reading →

Spufford, Francis. Cahokia Jazz. Simon and Schuster, New York, Simon and Schuster New York, 2023. F; 3/24. This long book grew on me steadily and I ended up pretty delighted. Mr. Spufford is 60 and a Cambridge English lit BA, … Continue reading →

February 2024 I was vaguely aware of this place that sits directly on a Georgia Strait walkway, below a couple of swish waterfront apartment buildings. I’m not sure why I had never walked along that waterfront but it’s the upmarket … Continue reading →

Batuman, Elif. The Possessed. Farrar Straus and Giroux, New York, 2010. Memoir, 1/24. I really like this author. She is a trueblue lit academic: Harvard undergrad before it “woke up” and then a Stanford comparative lit PhD, also New Yorker … Continue reading →