Apr 18, 2018 | Latest
This Penguin Modern Classic could have been made more accessible in a larger font. I struggled through it because I love Hrabal – and, of course, I was eventually rewarded. Not as funny as Closely Observed Trains, or, Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age, but...
Apr 14, 2018 | Latest
At least thirty four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since they began holding Land Day protests on March 30th. This afternoon, at the gates of Belfast City Hall, members of a number of organisations held a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian...
Apr 14, 2018 | Features
I wrote this feature in May 2005: some thoughts about perennial war and how people rationalise their justifications for their actions. I was reminded of it when I saw on Twitter today a reference to Robert Oppenheimer (the American theoretical physicist in the...
Apr 10, 2018 | Features
Really enjoyed this novel, a crime/political thriller set in Cuba and written by former Uruguayan Tuparmaro guerrilla Daniel ChavarrÃa. It is stylish, intelligent, dark, amusing and a bit raunchy. Aldo Bianchi and his girlfriend Teresita were once arrested by Alberto...
Apr 6, 2018 | Features
I see that Ed Moloney, one of the godfathers behind the disastrous Boston College Oral History Archive – the project that launched a thousand subpoenas – is up for an Oscar. Only joking. But I see that a film co-produced by Ed Moloney and written by...
