The Rasner Effect is a multifaceted psychological thriller peopled with convincing characters, packed with gritty, pithy discourse all set against a backdrop of trickery, maneuvering and danger.
Month: December 2008
A review of Magellenica by Justin Lowe
There’s a freshness to this form of novel, and Lowe handles it well, but I still feel like I’ve been left with a snapshot rather than a story. Nevertheless, as a portrait of both a post-WWI veteran, an image of cricket at its most exciting period in Australia, and a portrayal of Sydney in the 20s, this is a lovely, evocative book, full of rich imagery and sensual moments.
A review of One Pot French: More than 100 Easy, Authentic Recipes by By Jean-Pierre Challet
All in all, this is a nice offering for the beginning or intermediate cook looking to take on the world of French cuisine in a non-pretentious, easy to learn form. You might need more than one pot, but not many more, and the overall results will certainly be worth it.
A review of Wanting by Richard Flanagan
As with Gould’s Book of Fish, Wanting undermines history, recreating it in a magical realism form that tells a greater truth. Like Adrienne Eberhart’s Jane, Lady Franklin, what drives the story is not what happened but what was felt. Unlike Eberhart’s Lady Franklin, Flanagan’s heroine is as guilty as she is tragic. She destroys what she loves by denying herself.
A review of My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer
Of My 60 Memorable Games one can say that it will live and be read as long as chess is played. As a product of the human mind, it should be placed alongside Euclid’s Elements and the sonnets of Shakespeare. It is an engaging, analytical, above all veridical work of genius.