http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog reviews of new fiction and features about reading Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:27:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/any-human-face-by-charles-lambert/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/any-human-face-by-charles-lambert/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:56:36 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/?p=643 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/any-human-face-by-charles-lambert/feed/ 3 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/sabra-zoo-by-mischa-hiller/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/sabra-zoo-by-mischa-hiller/#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 22:01:25 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=407 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/sabra-zoo-by-mischa-hiller/feed/ 2 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/involuntary-witness-by-gianrico-carofiglio/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/involuntary-witness-by-gianrico-carofiglio/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:09:57 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/?p=636 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/involuntary-witness-by-gianrico-carofiglio/feed/ 3 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/nazi-literature-in-the-americas-by-roberto-bolano/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/nazi-literature-in-the-americas-by-roberto-bolano/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:47:11 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/?p=633 Nazi Literature in the Americas, now published for the first time in the UK, is a collection of fictional portraits of strange right-wing writers from the 20th century and beyond.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/nazi-literature-in-the-americas-by-roberto-bolano/feed/ 7 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/an-a-z-of-possible-worlds-a-c-tillyer/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/an-a-z-of-possible-worlds-a-c-tillyer/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:18:47 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/?p=626 An A-Z of Possible Worlds is a collection of twenty-six short stories, each one printed as a separate booklet and collected in a red box. The stories explore aspects of imaginary places, some being direct sociological histories, while others show off their environments through an individual's crisis or a specific event.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/an-a-z-of-possible-worlds-a-c-tillyer/feed/ 3 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-original-of-laura-by-vladimir-nabokov/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-original-of-laura-by-vladimir-nabokov/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:13:26 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/?p=616 The Original of Laura. But what are we supposed to do with it?]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-original-of-laura-by-vladimir-nabokov/feed/ 2 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-last-englishman-the-double-life-of-arthur-ransome/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-last-englishman-the-double-life-of-arthur-ransome/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:38:48 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=472 The Last Englishman: the double life of Arthur Ransome is a new biography of the Swallows and Amazons author, focussing on the years he spent in Russia during the Soviet revolution.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-last-englishman-the-double-life-of-arthur-ransome/feed/ 0 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/legend-of-a-suicide-by-david-vann/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/legend-of-a-suicide-by-david-vann/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:52:44 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/?p=603 Legend of a Suicide is an interesting example: in the US, it's a collection of short stories built around a central novella; in its UK edition, published by Penguin, it's a novel. Neither description is inaccurate.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/legend-of-a-suicide-by-david-vann/feed/ 17 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/war-on-the-margins-by-libby-cone/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/war-on-the-margins-by-libby-cone/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:25:20 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/?p=596 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/war-on-the-margins-by-libby-cone/feed/ 0 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-impossible-stories-of-zoran-zivkovic/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-impossible-stories-of-zoran-zivkovic/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:08:04 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=581 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-impossible-stories-of-zoran-zivkovic/feed/ 1 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/ramsey-campbell-probably/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/ramsey-campbell-probably/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:17:38 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=579 Ramsey Campbell, Probably, is a 2002 collection of the author's essays, reviews, and various other bits of non-fiction. It's the kind of writing I'd push into the hands of anybody who professes an interest in writers, writing, or reading.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/ramsey-campbell-probably/feed/ 4 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/city-of-strangers-by-ian-mackenzie/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/city-of-strangers-by-ian-mackenzie/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:43:45 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=569 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/city-of-strangers-by-ian-mackenzie/feed/ 6 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/sum-forty-tales-from-the-afterlives-by-david-eagleman/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/sum-forty-tales-from-the-afterlives-by-david-eagleman/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:16:19 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=563 Sum, a compact and attractive new book from Canongate, neuroscientist David Eagleman presents us with forty vignettes that imagine variations on the afterlife.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/sum-forty-tales-from-the-afterlives-by-david-eagleman/feed/ 3 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/talk-of-the-town-by-jacob-polley/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/talk-of-the-town-by-jacob-polley/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:53:57 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=561 Talk of the Town is the first novel from poet Jacob Polley, a coming-of-age tale set in Carlisle during the summer of 1986, and narrated in vernacular by schoolboy Chris Hearsey. His friend Arthur—never the most stable of kids—has gone missing, and Chris sets out to try and find him.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/talk-of-the-town-by-jacob-polley/feed/ 7 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/back-to-the-coast-by-saskia-noort/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/back-to-the-coast-by-saskia-noort/#comments Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:44:16 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=558 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/back-to-the-coast-by-saskia-noort/feed/ 4 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/postscripts-18-from-ps-publishing/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/postscripts-18-from-ps-publishing/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:25:04 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=554 Postscripts is the flagship speculative fiction quarterly from PS Publishing. Issue #18 marks its transition from a magazine to a full-fledged anthology, and is dedicated to new writers. So what does it have to offer?]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/postscripts-18-from-ps-publishing/feed/ 0 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/far-north-by-marcel-theroux/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/far-north-by-marcel-theroux/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 14:33:19 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=519 Far North, Marcel Theroux's fourth novel, treads well-worn paths of post-apocalyptic wastelands and the ease with which morality breaks down... but does it add anything new to the mix?]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/far-north-by-marcel-theroux/feed/ 5 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/rhyming-life-and-death-by-amos-oz/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/rhyming-life-and-death-by-amos-oz/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 10:55:32 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=542 Rhyming Life and Death, the latest book from Israeli author Amos Oz, is that gem of the literary world: a novella that takes an idea, explores it with conciseness and wit, and then wraps up before it's outstayed its welcome. ]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/rhyming-life-and-death-by-amos-oz/feed/ 12 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-last-dickens-by-matthew-pearl/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-last-dickens-by-matthew-pearl/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:58:55 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=380 The Last Dickens, Matthew Pearl's thriller about a hunt for the missing installments of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, suffers from similar problems to his previous Poe Shadow: an overabundance of background trivia in place of story.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/the-last-dickens-by-matthew-pearl/feed/ 8 http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/rimbaud-by-edmund-white/ http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/rimbaud-by-edmund-white/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:05:35 +0000 Rob http://www.thefictiondesk.com/?p=363 Rimbaud: The Double Life of a Rebel, author Edmund White examines the relationship between the legendary hell-raiser's life and his work, with asides on the impact of Rimbaud's story on White's own life.]]> http://www.thefictiondesk.com/blog/rimbaud-by-edmund-white/feed/ 13