Category Archives: Review

2021 in lists: concerts & shows, theatre, books, movies, TV

Posted on 31 December 2021 by andyq

Movies (seen in the cinema) Bonjour Tristesse. Read some grumpy words about this here.  La Dolce Vita. Read some grumpy words about this here.  Possessor. A movie from David Cronenberg’s son, Brandon, I brought husband because it was described as … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Christos Tsiolkas’s Dead Europe

Posted on 1 December 2021 by andyq

Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas My rating: 2 of 5 stars I remember that I could barely read The Jesus Man, finding it pointlessly grungy and shocking. But I loved The Slap: the premise was clever, it was a page-turner, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas

Posted on 27 November 2021 by andyq

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell My rating: 2 of 5 stars I’d heard buzz about Cloud Atlas, both the book and the movie, and I can see that some of my (goodreads) friends loved it, but I found it a … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Committed

Posted on 29 August 2021 by andyq

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved The Sympathizer. I found the story of the duality and duplicity of the half-French, half-Vietnamese counterspy original and irresistible, and it was one of my favourite … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Rowena Lennox’s Dingo Bold – The life and death of K’gari dingoes

Posted on 23 July 2021 by andyq

Dingo Bold by Rowena Lennox My rating: 4 of 5 stars It is a tragic circumstance, I think, the dingoes of K’gari (formerly named Fraser Island). Dingoes are wild animals, in a country that is no longer wild. How do … Continue reading →

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Old movies: Bonjour Tristesse and La Dolce Vita

Posted on 24 January 2021 by andyq

So, overseas travel was cancelled for 2020 and it seems unlikely for 2021. So, we thought we’d catch some European films at the local arthouse cinema. It seemed like an interesting, well-adjudicated list so we thought, why not? Bonjour Tristesse … Continue reading →

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2020 in lists: concerts & shows, theatre, books, movies, TV

Posted on 31 December 2020 by andyq

Movies (seen in the cinema) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Enjoyable enough and hit the mark, I thought. I would have liked to see Rose get more screentime. I enjoyed seeing Carrie Fisher. I got mixed up and expected … Continue reading →

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Book Review: George Ilsley’s The Home Stretch: A Father, A Son, and All the Things They Never Talk About

Posted on 5 November 2020 by andyq

The Home Stretch: A Father, a Son, and All the Things They Never Talk About by George K. Ilsley My rating: 5 of 5 stars You wouldn’t think, necessarily, that a book about a son, visiting his father in his … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Milan Kundera’s The Festival of Insignificance

Posted on 5 October 2020 by andyq

The Festival of Insignificance by Milan Kundera My rating: 2 of 5 stars As a young man, I discovered Kundera’s novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and since, have read a number of his books. At the time, his writing … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Kawai Strong Washburn’s Sharks in the Time of Saviors

Posted on 23 August 2020 by andyq

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn My rating: 3 of 5 stars I spent summers in Hawaii as a child, while we were visiting my grandmother. It took me many years to realise that the Hawaiian … Continue reading →

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