Magnificent Octopus

I received notification last week of the publication in English of Those Who Trespass Against Us: One Woman's War Against the Nazis , b...

Auster in winter Auster is interviewed regarding Brooklyn Follies on NPR . The chat doesn't provide any startling revelations but it ex...

I'm disappointed in a voting public who does not see fit to send an astronaut to Parliament, regardless of his party affiliation, but ...

I finished reading Arthur & George , by Julian Barnes, a couple weeks ago but haven't had sufficient time to write anything with pro...

Bilingualism in action Yesterday Helena was excited to be returning to daycare. She swipes her hand across her forehead and confirms, "...

World Literature Today presents for your consideration the 10 greatest crime novels of all time (only 3 of them written in English), of wh...

Last night, there was a dragon at her window. When she woke, fevered, at 3, she told me about the dinosaur. By morning, it'd morphed int...

Almost a month after it'd been delivered, we would finally assemble our bedroom suite. Yesterday morning, I open the first box. Helena i...

One of the books I'd wanted for Helena for a long time already, Charlie Parker Played BeBop , by Chris Raschka, she finally received for...

Overworked and sleep-deprived. Power surges, corrupt files, irretrievable hours of words. Consoled somewhat by puddle-jumping with the girl ...

About half a million fewer girls were born in India in 1997 than expected. Extrapolated over 20 years, the figure would be 10 million. ...

Helena, an hour after having been put to bed, singing. I strain to listen; I recognize a little tune by Mozart. The Alphabet Song! Complete ...

The Brooklyn Follies , by Paul Auster, reviewed in The Globe and Mail : The prose of The Brooklyn Follies, for long stretches, is exceedingl...

This exhibition celebrating 400 years of Don Quixote (401 years, now) ran at the Bibliotheque nationale du Québec from October 25 to Decemb...

On Being Bitten by a Dog A doctor for mere lucre performed an unnecessary operation making my nose nearly as crooked as himself Another for ...

The Edge Annual Question — 2006 was suggested by Steven Pinker (a very cool and brilliant guy): What is your dangerous idea? The history of ...

We have normality. Almost. Houseguests have left the house. Visitors have stopped visiting. J-F is back at work this morning, and Helena, wh...

Helena's been pushing bedtime this week like there's no tomorrow. Well after she's been put down, she calls from the bottom of t...

Really. So all was well with the world, my world, if a little chaotic. Mostly. The house was warm. My mother rested after travelling, my sis...