My Blog

This novel, written by James G. Ballard in 1984, is a re-imagining of his own experience as a young boy captured by the Japanese Army during the Second World War.

Recently, with a friend I went on a march protesting against far-right extremism. It was exhilarating and moving.

I am English, born in 1945 in the North Western London suburb of Greenford. I was a 'baby boomer' born in March of that year, as the defeat of Germany was becoming increasingly inevitable.

I have been reading Hisham Matar's excellent book, "My Friends."

The Bridge over the Drina covers over four centuries of Ottoman rule, culminating in a tragic climax in 1914, the first year of the First World War. For me, these works are sui generis, unique masterworks.

I remember being deeply impressed many years ago by reading Flaubert's Madame Bovary, published in 1856. I thought then, and still do today, that it is one of the finest novels I've ever read.

I've been reading John Buchan's 39 Steps again, which I've done numerous times since I first encountered it as a boy. It's an exciting adventure story.

We are all passing into the darkness, that twilight zone, where death is approaching.

The excellent historie of the Merchaunte of Venyse!

The Eroica was the first piece of music which really got through to my uncertain, adolescent self.