The age of reading When I was a child, children’s books and adult books were not as neatly segregated as they are now. Or maybe it’s children who were not so neatly segregated. Children’s books were the ones bought for us or the ones we … Continue readingA GREEN WITCH, A TOWER AND A THUNDERBOLT
The boy, the father, the lover and his sister A former crusader named Frederick arrives at the Abbey of the Treasure of the Gods, with Marin, his young son. The two are accepted into monkhood. It is very soon noticed that Marin leaps into his … Continue readingImpossible Saints, Isolated Rebellion and the Smell of Old Roses
Paris Hilton makes a cooking show I’ve never been able to watch cooking shows. I can just about tolerate tiny clips of Gordon Ramsey screaming at people. Since the lockdowns began, however, I have found cooking shows strangely enraging. This two-minute trailer of Paris Hilton’s … Continue readingEdible Glitter, Revolutionary Planets and the Summoning of Dragons
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a memorably ugly book. You can remember it a few days or a few months or a few years down the line, and it does not, from any angle, become a more beautiful book. There are ugly books that … Continue readingThe Handmaid’s Tale and the Chicken that Escaped Its Coop
When someone walks out of Bluebeard’s closet There is a scene in Pulp Fiction which rises out of the darkest chamber in most women’s nightmares. The owner of an unassuming pawn shop, a seemingly innocuous and forgettable human being, runs a basement of horrors. Unwittingly, … Continue readingStories Retold: Red Shoes, a Phoenix and The Company of Wolves
Worlds, words, here and there “When I smashed my knee, and had to lie around,” he said, “I decided there was no use living without delight.” After a silence she said, in a dry tone, “Bliss?” “No. Bliss is a form of VU. No, I … Continue readingSpaceships, Sperm Whales and Explorations of the Dark
Small stories and their irrelevant goals Most fairy tales/folk tales are little stories. They usually deal in singles. One girl, one prince, one horse, one moon. Love, suffering, growth, separation, togetherness. When they deal in threes, you know that two will fail, be killed, or … Continue readingTo Sacrifice or Not To Sacrifice? Cinderellas, Bluebeards and Survivors
A voluntary captivity, for an unknown purpose I don’t know if you’ve ever been captive – it’s not the same as being imprisoned. It’s not the clarity of a locked door. You can be held captive by invisible things – a custom, a habit, an … Continue readingThe Killer Whale’s Guide to Captivity
A killer whale holds her trainer’s foot and refuses to let go There are many videos out there of Kasatka, a female killer whale owned by Sea World, doing a surprise attack on trainer Ken Peters. You can watch the long version, the short version, … Continue readingThe Killer Whale’s Guide to Going on Strike