Blood, sex and (a little) politics: the Paris Commune
Now that my novel about the Paris Commune is scheduled for publication (August 2021), I’m republishing some of my notes of other works about the Commune. This one is from October 2013. Le Cri du peuple by Jean Vautrin My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is an immensely agitated, minutely detailed, ridiculously plotted police … read more »
Go tell it in Harlem
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin My rating: 5 of 5 stars John Grimes’ 14th birthday starts out with a disappointment — it seems the family has forgotten it — but ends ecstatically, when all the tensions in his and his family’s lives explode in his possession by the Spirit, in the … read more »
Desperate refugees
Transit by Anna Seghers My rating: 4 of 5 stars “But now, in the midst of this earthquake, the yowling of the air-raid sirens, amidst the wailing of the fleeing hordes, I longed for an ordinary like like a hungry man does for bread and water. In any case, Marie would find peace with me. … read more »
Which way is Left? – Thinking otherwise
Penser autrement by Alain Touraine My rating: 5 of 5 stars [This older review, first posted on my blog “Literature and Society” on 2007/11/27, still seems relevant for understanding our world today.] In previous notes, I’ve discussed the ideas of Ulrich Beck (Power in the Global Age, 9/30) and, last Friday, Vidal-Beneyto (“The Spanish Exception“). … read more »
Eventful life, in brilliant snapshots
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin My rating: 4 of 5 stars 43 stories, most very short, almost all from the narrative p.o.v. of someone very much like Lucia Berlin, whose varied life in many different service occupations gave her abundant material. All these stories are beautifully crafted, the characters closely and sensitively … read more »