Nolan Can Read

1980s

December 13, 2023

Red Sorgum

By Mo Yan

There is I think probably a thread of brilliance that winds its way though this novel - but I was rarely quite able to grasp it. I am a bit suspicious of the translation; the writing has a kind of...

November 02, 2023

The Name Of The Rose

By Umberto Eco

I’ve been keeping a little inventory of books that misuse and abuse the word palimpsest. It is, in my opinion, a bit of a trap of a word - arcane yet evocative, strange sounding with a compelling meaning that is...

October 22, 2023

The Drawing Of The Three

By Stephen King

The second book in The Gunslinger series is less engaging. It is more ambitious than the previous, with King filling out his patchwork universe with connections to times, places and trends from Our World, that are ultimately not particularly poorly...

October 20, 2023

The Gunslinger

By Stephen King

Stephen King’s voice is smooth, straightforward, easily digested. Technically, aesthetically, he is quite good at that voice - but I don’t think when it comes down to it, that I care very much for it. It is maybe without flaws,...