The Looking Glass War, by John le Carre

The Looking Glass War , the second le Carre novel I've read, was much different from  The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It was about a completely other department, in fact, called 'the department.' The department doesn't usually send spies out into action, but they think, hey, why shouldn't we do that too? …

Peace on Earth, by Stanislaw Lem

I finished Peace on Earth and I think it's possible that I didn't 'get' this book. I have found afterward that it was meant to be a satire, and though some of it was funny, I took it more of a straight up sci fi adventure/thought piece. Maybe that is why I was a bit …

1Q84: Long, rambling, long, repetitive, too long, doesn’t make sense in the end

I finally finished the 1300 page monster 1Q84 and am glad its over. This is a markedly different experience from a different very long book I read this year that left me physically aching for more at the end of it. IQ84 is interesting, weird, creepy at times, creative and has some nice imagery, but …

Your darkest secret

I've been listening to Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem, and it is so far amazing. Imagine your darkest, most embarrassing, strangest thought. The thing you are most ashamed or guilty for thinking--maybe it just popped into your head, unplanned, as thoughts often do. Now imagine that thought made flesh, and following you around for all to …

Trial and error?

I'm still listening to The Trial, and it has less of an effect on my nerves now, and is more just absurd and confusing. The law system the story is describing, is bizarre, and seems completely removed from reality, though it is a dark mirror of bureaucracies in general, I suppose. The character has no …