26 Feb 2010
By frangliz
In Art, Creative, Essays
Having read and been so impressed by several of Margaret Atwoods works of fiction, I imagined that a book written by her about the art or activity of writing would prove to be an interesting read. As explained in the introduction and prologue to the book, the chapters here are based on the Empson Lectures given by the writer at the University of Cambridge in the year 2000.
Chapter 1, entitled Who do you think you are? is mainly autobiographical, tracing Atwood’s early years from her birth in Ottawa in 1939 up until her undergraduate student days at Victoria College, the University of Toronto.
Margaret Atwood
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19 Jan 2010
By koshkha
In Essays
Tama Janowitz is a favourite of mine and I love her fiction, the titles in particular – “The Male Cross-dresser Support Group” and “A Cannibal in Manhattan” are just two of her greats. So even though I don’t really like books of essays, the strength of the Janowitz ‘brand’ was enough to draw me to this book. It was an opportunity to get to know a bit more about the woman behind the name.
‘Area Code 212?’ I hear you ask ‘what’s that about?’ I really couldn’t tell you how I know that, I just do, that 212 is the New York telephone area code and appropriately enough, this book is both a collection of essays on living in New York. It’s a bizarre and sometimes irreverent homage to one of the world’s most famous cities.
212, New York, Tama Janowitz
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1 Dec 2009
By James
In Comic fiction, Essays
The Complete Prose of Woody Allen is a bumper collection of comic fiction and essays and consists of the three Woody Allen books of humorous prose – Getting Even (1971), Without Feathers (1975), and Side Effects (1980). There are over fifty pieces of comic writing here which makes the book both great value for money (my paperback copy is 473 pages long) and a handy companion to dip into on a train or when you are stuck for something to read. The book is a good example of Allen’s versatility and comic flair and the pieces, mostly written for The New Yorker originally, are very much in the spirit of SJ Perelman and Groucho Marx, absurdist but with a cerebral comic twist courtesy of Allen and plenty of references to history and classic literature.
comic, Essays, Woody Allen
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