Magnificent Octopus

"No one has any idea, do they, until they have children, what it means. It's all I can do just to keep up with the rush of things, ...

The path was clear. From the metro station exit, around the corner, down the street, across the parking lot, through the alley, and it's...

Today we went to the bookstore, me and the kid. Some ridiculous -20° outside, but we made this plan over a week ago, and and we've been ...

As much as I love my new job, there are days... There are days I'd rather stay in bed. When it's cold, when the world outside is bla...

"An attentive reader will always learn more, and more quickly, from good authors than from life. " I thought I should say a few ...

So here finally is a Simenon novel I found less than enthralling. Three Bedrooms in Manhattan doesn't have any criminal elements to spe...

Despite the mildness of the air, he felt cold inside, and he searched fruitlessly for his tweed jacket or his raincoat. He had another light...

"What is it?" "It's not something you can get across in words. The real response is something words can't express....

Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting, and modern. The country is gre...

Working my way through Simenon's romans durs , one by tragic one. Ordering them one by one, on an as-needed basis; otherwise, I fear I w...

My first Icelandic thriller turned out to be fairly thrilling. Tainted Blood , by Arnaldur Indriðason, was also published as Jar City . It...

Why didn't anybody tell me? Have you read Matilda ? Have you read Roald Dahl? Are his other books any good? The only other Dahl that I...

Has anyone ever seen a man smile at a woman as a woman smiles at the man she loves, fortuitously, at a bus-stop, in a railway carriage, at s...

I finished reading Dirty Snow this weekend, and for a couple hours I walked around in a daze, like I'd been punched in the gut. Can...

It was lucky he hadn't finished his sentence. He had to get out of the habit of speaking pointless words. He didn't know yet that ...

I give up. I haven't been able to connect with Vilnius Poker , by Ričardas Gavelis . Despite really wanting to. This failure, on the b...

and sweet and smart and funny and thoughtful and sensitive and daring and clever and kind. We had pizza and cake and fun and games and a r...

Arthur's cubicle used to be near the watercooler, but the bosses tired of having to chat with him each time they got thirsty. So the wat...

Henryk Górecki, 1933–2010 .

Rock Crystal , by Adalbert Stifter , reads like a fairy tale. Once upon a time, two children set out across the mountain to visit their gran...