Alan Conrad Book Reviews, literature, Rescuing Fiction, Rescuing the Future, Uncategorized

Misreading Fiction | The Society for the Prevention of Fictional Characters | Herman Hesse vs the Steppenwolf revisited

Some years ago, a visitor to this site , who had just read my essay, "Herman Hesse vs the Steppenwolf", told me that I had completely misread Hesse's novel Steppenwolf, from start to finish. That made me smile, for it showed me that he had read the essay from start to finish, and understood, at … Continue reading Misreading Fiction | The Society for the Prevention of Fictional Characters | Herman Hesse vs the Steppenwolf revisited

Alan Conrad Book Reviews, history, Rescuing History, Rescuing Reality, Rescuing the Future

Rescuing Reality | Afghanistan | Taliban vs ISIS | Rosa Brooks and her book, How Everything became War and the Military Became Everything

This morning I read a BBC World News account of the suicide bombing of a bank this week in Khandahar, Afghanistan (in the province defended by Canadian forces for some years), where 21 people were killed and many injured.What drew my attention especially was this comment by the author: .......the overall security situation in Afghanistan … Continue reading Rescuing Reality | Afghanistan | Taliban vs ISIS | Rosa Brooks and her book, How Everything became War and the Military Became Everything

Alan Conrad Book Reviews, I wish I had a dollar, loners, Rescuing Fiction

Rescuing Fiction | Gabriel García Márquez – deceased in 2014 and now a new novel?

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard, or read, someone say something like what the author of the March 6/2024 BBC article says of García Márquez, that he was "was best known for pioneering the magical realist style of writing." That all started with his first and, in the English-speaking world, … Continue reading Rescuing Fiction | Gabriel García Márquez – deceased in 2014 and now a new novel?