Of limited tolerance
Oeuvres Complètes de Voltaire, Vol. 2: Romans by Voltaire My rating: 1 of 5 stars I’ve been reading Romans de Voltaire – présenté par Roger Peyrefitte (Gallimard, 1961 — Zadig, Le Monde, comme il va, Micromégas, Le Blanc et le Noir, Candide, L’Ingénu, L’homme aux quarante écus, La Princesse de Babylone, Le Taureau blanc) because … read more »
Impermanence, solutions and ephemeral cities
I wrote these notes four years ago, but — for some reason I don’t remember — never published them. Still relevant, I think. This year’s Biennale di Architettura, Venice [2016], invited architects from all parts of the world to confront the great social tensions of our day — leaving it to the invitees to define … read more »
Currents of events
The news in images and words and sound strikes us with such urgency from so many sources with so many biases that the flurry of events has become a blizzard blinding us to the currents. How are the wars, the civil and uncivil protests, mass shootings, new parties and old phobias, the new refugee crisis, … read more »
La Commune de Paris par une qui l’a vécu
C’est la nuit surtout que le combat devient furieux by Alix Payen My rating: 5 of 5 stars [I intended to post this review on the French book site Babelio, but haven’t yet managed their tricky requirements. Meanwhile, I’m placing it here. In brief, this little book is a collection of letters written to her … read more »
Blood, sex and (a little) politics in the Paris Commune
Le Cri du peuple by Jean Vautrin My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is an immensely agitated, minutely detailed, ridiculously plotted police thriller, full of exaggerated characters, improbable coincidence and lots and lots of blood and sex, set in Paris during the 1871 Commune. An emotionally disturbed cop and ex chain-gang convict (Charles Bassoucissé, … read more »