The Wars
We’ve settled into late spring, early summer without any of the in-between gradual changes. This is the kind of year that I think of as distinctly Canadian. This a review of Timothy Findley’s The Wars.
S. Hargrave
S. Hargrave is a Canadian writer and the book reviewer at Old Paper & Cats. Hargrave has a love of rare, antiquarian, and classic literature, works in translation, and cats.
The Man of Feeling
As someone who reads classical literature — a lot of which was around before cameras were common or in some cases existent — instead of photographs, I see a lot of author portraits when I do research. This is a review of The Man of Feeling.
Doctor Faustus
I’m going to admit it right off the bat, Doctor Faustus is not an easy read. For the first three hundred pages it is a difficult slog up an impossible mountain that one cannot see the peak of. This a review of Thomas Mann’s magnum opus.
The Plays of Eugene O’Neill
We live in a small theatre town and we’ve learned a new way of looking at the calendar year. But in this changing, uncertain, and often frightening time, the theatre has shut down and the town is quieter than I’ve ever seen it. This is a review of The Plays of Eugene O’Neill.
The Beast Within
I spent a lot of time in front of the television as a child. It was part of my regular routine before going to school and after I got home. I used it to define days, hours, and seasons and to keep me company while I did homework or studied. My favourite programs (alongside Bugs Bunny, of course) were crime documentaries. This is a review of Emile Zola’s The Beast Within.
The Bluest Eye
There is no singular process that recommends a book to me or by which I choose what to read when. My reading tastes can change with a given day or even a given hour — which is why I tend to read about eight to ten books at once. This is a review of The Bluest Eye.
Star
I was in high school and The Ring was a horror movie like none that I had ever seen before. From that moment to this, I’ve actively studied literature and film from Japan – with a particular emphasis on horror or psychological thriller. This is a review of Yukio Mishima’s Star.
The Yellow Wall-Paper
We’ve all been there. We’ve all been at the big box bookstore and looked at the one table they usually bring out sometime around the beginning of the school year. You get three of them for ten bucks, sometimes even less. This is a review of The Yellow Wall-Paper.
The Awkward Age
Two years ago, myself and my spouse moved from an apartment in the city to a house in the middle of a rural community. To say it was an ‘adjustment’ would be putting it mildly. This is a review of The Awkward Age.
The Judge and His Hangman
I can go ahead and admit that I have a problem. I collect kitty-cat knickknacks. This is a review of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Judge and His Hangman.