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Continue reading →: Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida
translated from the Japanese by Haydn Trowell In his Afterword Yoshida explains how he had plans and ideas for ten books, all set in Tokyo at night, and connected, or following from the previous. He decided to write them as linked short stories and the result is a very enjoyable…
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Continue reading →: The Northmost Point of the CourseSultry days at Seiland would not have been what I expected researching the course last winter, but sultry it was indeed, particularly Saturday, when there was barely a breeze and a range of temperature between 21 and 28 throughout the day and night. Roja and I ventured into the National…
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Continue reading →: Festival & Game of the Worlds by César Aira
translated from the Spanish (Argentina) by Katherine Silver – published César Aira I argued many times for publishing the novels of authors such as Aira in pairs, so was delighted to see New Directions had decided to do this. I am a big fan of Aira and will read everything…
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Continue reading →: Seiland National ParkThis record breaking Arctic summer continues as it has, hit and dry. In the far northwest of Norway they have had hardly any rain since the start of May. This spell was predicted to break a few days ago, but the high pressure resisted. Yesterday it reached 28C in the…
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Continue reading →: Looking out at AltafjordThe ferry returning from Hasvik on Sørøya to the mainland takes 90 minutes, and was running an hour late. It was the first ferry I’ve taken so far on this course that couldn’t accept all the waiting traffic, and some had to wait for the late afternoon crossing. There were…
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Continue reading →: Last Date in El Zapotal by Mateo García Elizondo
translated from the Spanish by Robin Myers A heroin addict seems to have run out of hope, and in accepting his circumstance journeys to an almost deserted Mexican village to die.He rents a room in this seedy backwater and prepares one last fix, but is haunted by memories of his…
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Continue reading →: The Across Sørøya Trail and some island historyIn the autumn of 1944, Hitler ordered the evacuation of northern Troms and Finnmark County, a mix of Germans and Norwegians, though some people defied the order. It was Soviet and Finnish troops who were then attacking Finnmark, from the north. At this time the island sheltered around 1000-1500 people.…
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Continue reading →: Ghost Mountain by Ronan Hession
Published 2024 Despite a cartoon like premise, Hession continues his trademark themes of intrigue and solace in his third novel. A mountain appears overnight, though not very high, though it must be 600 metres for the accepted definition. But that’s a triviality, and misses the point of the appearance of…
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Continue reading →: Christ on a Bike by Orla Owen
Published 2024 This is a fascinating book whose summary premise quoted for selling purposes could easily put potential readers off. Unexpected inheritances are nothing new in literature, and in this case the author doesn’t go into much detail to justify such an unlikely occurrence. Cerys Jones, a single middle-aged office…
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Continue reading →: Rocky DumplingsSea fog hugs the coast on still days this far north. That was the case last time the weather was in a settled spell, when I was on Senja a couple of weeks ago. The weather has entered another settled spell now, and the beach I was on attracted the…
To live more widely
supera superiora sequi
SafeReturnDoubtful is my alias. Rua is my fox red labrador pup, born 14 Feb 2026 and learning fast..
Where is Rua?
I was so much older then…
Quote of the Week
Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, ‘What road do I take?’ The cat asked, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it really doesn’t matter, does it?’
Lewis Carroll
Safe Return Doubtful 