29 December 2007

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

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"Literature since it ate all these dinners must be growing really corpulent."

Once upon a time I borrowed this book from a certain English teacher of mine. I remember it being sort of a grand thing to be let into her little library to take one or two books to read over summer, and English being my only strong subject at the time, I was a tad proud. I did begin reading it, but couldn't for some reason get through the first page. I suppose I suffered from the same illness then as I do now, usually taking for ever just to choose which book/s to read, going through a tedious amount of little actions every time and always ending up reading three or four at a time anyway.

"Haunted! ever since I was a child."

When I was a kid I sometimes dreamed I was let into a supermarket and that I could take all the candy I wanted, but only for sixty seconds or so. I always woke up totally stressed, before that minute had passed. My stepfather said the interpretation would be that I was a greedy person, which made my old therapist really mad some twenty years later. I do have similar dreams these days, but then they're usually about books. Of course.

"We can, if we have the resolution, turn the hussy, Memory, and all her ragtag and bobtail out of the house."

I love Orlando.

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The whole book can be found online here.

Inkstuds Podcast

Inkstuds is a radio show about 'underground' comics I was amazed to find recently - almost one hour long interviews with favourites like Adrian Tomine, Brian Ralph and Anders Nilsen! Here is the complete list of interviewees.

21 December 2007

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson

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"Parents want to see themselves passed on in their children. It comforts them to recognize a twitch of the head or a way of talking. If there are no points of recognition, if the child is genuinely alien, they do their best to feed and clothe, but they don't love. Not in the transforming way of love."

The Dog-Woman, this enormous lady who keeps dogs for racing and fighting in 17th century London, finds the baby boy Jordan in the Thames and takes care of him as if he was her own. Not knowing love herself, she worries about not being able to teach him about it; worries he'll keep following his dreams, sailing away for ever.

My literary theme for our trip to India happened to become European novels in historical settings, from Blanche and Marie, to this, to Orlando, and they do have a lot in common, all touching the subjects of time, love and gender. I'm sure loving it in a way I never thoght I would.

Take a good look at Jeanette Winterson's website.

The Book about Blanche and Marie by Per Olov Enquist

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P.O. Enquist was the first writer to give me faith in Swedish literature. For real. It may sound really strange, I'm very aware of that, but until I read Downfall - a Love Story (Swe: Nedstörtad ängel) I was only interested in ntozake shange and Nuyorican poetry. Downfall is still one of the most perfect novels I know, the length, style, love, love... The Book about Blanche and Marie is not as perfect, but still really really beautiful. Enquist writes so stylishly, has a true interest in the subject of love; weaves in other stories he's written about, meditates over everything. The love stories of Blanche Wittman and Marie Curie are, the way he's interpreted them, fantastic and magical. Go read it.

09 December 2007

Big Questions 10: The Hand that Feeds by Anders Nilsen

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Once again: the finches, the crows, the Idiot, the wild dogs. Anders Nilsen is my hero and probably my favourite comic book artist ever.

More here.
And here.

05 December 2007

Hennes vård by Mara Lee

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I had to read it.

I have to love it.