Apocalypse redux! 8.5/10 Following on from my post about John Updike’s seminal ‘Rabbit, Run‘, ‘Rabbit Redux‘ is the second in Updike’s quartet of novels chronicling the life and times of America as seen through the eyes of everyman Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom. Written – as with the other three – at the tale end of one [...]
Book Review: John Updike – Rabbit Redux
September 2nd, 2008 · No Comments · Fiction
Tags:1960s·America·Black Power·civil rights·free love·freedom·Harry Angstrom·John Updike·Rabbit·suburbia·USA·Vietnam
Paul Theroux – The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia
August 14th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Non-fiction
Journey to the ends of the Earth (and back) 9/10 The fifth Paul Theroux travel book I have read (i’ve posted reviews of ‘The Kingdom by the Sea’ and ‘The Old Patagonian Express’ here and here), ‘The Great Railway Bazaar‘ is in fact his first and arguably most rewarding. If you are familiar with Theroux’s [...]
Tags:Afghanistan·Burma·India·Iran·Japan·locomotive·Malaysia·Paul Theroux·Russia·Sibeia·Thailand·train·travel writing·Turkey·Vietnam·William Golding
Apocalypse Now Redux – Francis Ford Coppola
September 17th, 2007 · No Comments · Film
If it ain’t broke… 6/10 The trend of the director’s cut has long become a dubious exercise in profit-making. Hilariously, a quick Amazon search of ‘director’s cut’ reveals extended edits of such dizzying filmmaking classics as Troy, The Chronicles of Riddick, Daredevil and Welcome to the Jungle! And for the few good examples that I [...]
Tags:Asia·colonialism·Conflict·Director's Cut·Francis Ford Coppola·Frederic Forrest·Hearts of Darkness·Joseph Conrad·jungle·Laurence Fishburn·Marlon Brando·Martin Sheen·Robert Duvall·Vietnam·Vittorio Storaro·War