I think it’s what you want it to be too. I re- read it recently and felt on one hand like it was a series of sermons where whaling constantly stands for some aspect of human behaviour. He sees parallels to whaling everywhere.
It’s a novel about obsession but just as much as it’s about Ahab’s...
I have just picked up a parallel text of Apollinaire and I’m having a go at a bit of translation of some of his easier ones. Just completed a version of Mirabeau Bridge. Not as seemingly easy as Verlaine but not as knotty as Rimbaud.
Home of the Green Chapel https://www.mythicalbritain.co.uk/post/nobut-an-old-cave-the-power-and-meaning-of-the-green-chapel-in-sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight
Sid Lowe on Spanish football is top tier stuff https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/mar/17/cruellest-week-ends-in-despair-for-simeone-after-barcas-late-flourish?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
She’d be delighted to see herself getting attention in the states. She is head of a school called Michaela - it has phenomenal results with kids who enter the school with low prior attainment but she is always banging on about how super strict the place is. There’s clearly some amazing teaching...
Started Dave Keenan's collection of music pieces - mainly culled from The Wire, I think. Volcanic Tongue - i like his slightly hopped up style but i know it's not for everyone. Also got my hands on a ARC of the new Penman on Satie - i know a number of you are deeply allergic to him but i like...
Very marginal offside and a lucky escape from a red card. VAR certainly helped Liverpool out. Keeper was on fire and deserved MotM. Liverpool took their one chance. If I were a PSG fan then I’d be fuming.
i've only read the Bellow but have Life and Fate on my TBR pile.
I have got the final volume of a fantasy trilogy to read - i read the first in the series because it was by a writer - Alex Pheby - who had written a book based on Lucia Joyce that i had enjoyed. So when the second came out i...
a few years ago i had a go at writing something about GE - i'll attach it here (there are plot spoilers) it's not my final word on it and i always meant to go back and redraft it but here it is, be kind.
It's hard to disagree when he's on form like he is in Great Expects - i recently taught a few passages from it to Y9s and i was once more in awe of teh way he works not just at a plot level but at a sentence and paragraph level.
This gives you a flavour of the issues of each individual translations. https://www.patrikbergman.com/2017/07/23/choosing-best-karamazov-translation/
I remember a really good article by Julian Barnes in the LRB on some of the problems of finding a decent translation of Flaubert' Madame Bovary -...
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.