Bopping with Niall JP O'Leary

Niall O'Leary insists on sharing his hare-brained notions and hysterical emotions. Personal obsessions with cinema, literature, food and alcohol feature regularly.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Short Stuff

Lots of short stories being read, particularly yesterday. Some stories by Donald Barthelme (he reminds me of Steven Millhauser, but better); some Hemingway stories (two bullfighting ones, as it happens, 'The Undefeated' and 'The Capital of the World'); some stories by Conan creator, Robert E. Howard (some gothic stories set in Africa of all places; he really should have stayed away from Lovecraft, the racism is sickening); Katherine Mansfield ('Sun and Moon'; she's 'just the greatest'); Roald Dahl (more African tinged fiction; 'An African Tale'); and Paul Bowles. Although not one of his greatest, Hemingway's famous economy is much in evidence in "The Capital of the World", a pre-civil war microcosm of Spain. A little mechanical, but still nicely done. 'The Undefeated' got a mention in 'F for Fake', a late Orson Welles movie I watched on Saturday.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home