Do Every Thing Wrong!: XXXTentacion Against The World by 😇 Jarett Kobek 😇
an extensive discussion re the weighty themes raised by this book
Tag: violence
the disappearance of Joseph Mengele by Olivier Guez
reading another novel about nazis, but this is not a romp
The Evidence of Things Not Seen by James Baldwin
it’s not Baldwin’s best, but it’s better than most books by everyone else!
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
a literary zombie novel. does it work? oh yes it works!
Guyana by Élise Turcotte
a powerful quebecois novel about grief
How to Blow Up A Pipeline by Andreas Malm
it’s self-evidently time for eco-terrorism. This book asks, “is it time for eco-terrorism?”
All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
war, hmmm, what *is* it good for?
As We Have Always Done by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
powerful academic text on the impossibility of decolonisation within capitalistic structures
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas
very early protest against colonialism
New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Boxset (SITA), ed. Kwame Dawes & Chris Abani
a boxset of ten powerful chapbooks
Preacher: Book Six by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
underwhelming end to an overlong series
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
great playful (tho violent!) contemporary Nigerian novel
Sabrina by Nick Drnaso
some thoughts on toronto trams
Normal People by Sally Rooney
rooney rooney
The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt
dated dutch children’s fiction
The First Day by Phil Harrison
mainstream literary fiction that I very nearly love
My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
a dark, engaging, affecting read
Jackdaws by Neil Campbell
a return to prose and a whine about violence
Through your blood by Toby Campion
i went to a poetry open mic night
SCUM Manifesto by Valerie Solanas
tell me again how bad i am
Popular Hits of the Showa Era by Ryu Murakami
not a great book, not a great blog post
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
some contemporary literary fiction about scotland
Preacher: Book Four by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
Preacher is fine, but it’s irrelevant to real life. I should adopt a Syrian child refugee.
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante
When I read the first volume of Elena Ferrante’s lauded Neapolitan Novels series, many of the conversations being had about itContinue Reading
Lost Dogs by Jeff Lemire
Jeff Lemire’s Lost Dogs is a graphic novel first published in 2006. It is a dark, terrifying and immersive pieceContinue Reading
The Diamond Smugglers by Ian Fleming
I’m writing this on an aeroplane to Istanbul, off for a “mimibreak”*. Treating myself to a trip, all on myContinue Reading
Audition by Ryu Murakami
I haven’t read a novel by the “other” Murakami for years. In my long and distant and pre-blogging past, IContinue Reading
The Tongues of Men or Angels by Jonathan Trigell
I like Biblical novels. So much so that I wrote one*, and so much so that after reading about ten/twenty,Continue Reading
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Sticking with middle-brow Scottish literature, I followed Irvine Welsh’s Filth with another dark, scary, psychological story about a disturbed ScottishContinue Reading
Filth by Irvine Welsh
Recently I’ve been very much enjoying Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong*’s Channel 4 police drama, Babylon. This under-watched TV showContinue Reading
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
Child of God was Cormac McCarthy’s third novel, and is the first book of his I’ve read for a while.Continue Reading
Cycle of Violence by Grayson Perry
PHWOAR! Grayson Perry’s highly sexualised, highly violent, highly fucking weird graphic novella from 1992 was my breakfast read this morning.Continue Reading
On Dark Thoughts and Distracting Oneself From Them By Thoughts Of Adorable Animals
“Dark thoughts”. Everyone gets them. Some more than others. Some much more than others. I am plagued by – notContinue Reading
Triumph Of The Now 