Category Archives: Fiction

‘My favorite book’

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Patrick Lennon

‘V[ery] happy 40th / This is my favorite / book – so you / better enjoy!’ What was he thinking? Doesn’t he know that when giving someone a gift – a friend, a relative, a lover, whoever – the thing … Continue reading →

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Second sight: Ciaran Carson’s Shamrock Tea

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Patrick Lennon

Surprisinly enough (or perhaps not), relations between Belgium and Ireland go back a lot further than Ireland’s entry into the EEC in 1973 or than the founding of the Irish College in Leuven in 1607 when Leuven was part of … Continue reading →

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The Lady and the Unicorn

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Patrick Lennon

There must be a long tradition of literature inspired by (real) paintings or photographs or other artworks. Two examples from among many others, I guess: W.H. Auden’s poem ‘Musée des Beaux-Arts’ was inspired by Brueghel’s The Fall of Icarus, and … Continue reading →

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Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Patrick Lennon

Jonathan Coe’s Expo 58 tells the story of Thomas Foley, a rather bland British civil servant who works for the Central Office of Information, as he is dispatched to the first World’s Fair since WWII. His role? To keep an … Continue reading →

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FICTION FATIGUE

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Patrick Lennon
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Invisible pictures (1): Don DeLillo’s The Angel Esmeralda

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Patrick Lennon

There’s a review in the TLS this week of Don DeLillo’s 2011 collection of short stories The Angel Esmeralda (published in the UK by Picador). It’s surprising that the review should only be appearing now since the book was published … Continue reading →

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