Do you really know what it’s about?: “Poor Things” and the quirky genius of Alasdair Gray
“Poor Things” is an incredible conception, a glimpse into the creative and playful genius of Alasdair Gray. The novel, published in 1992, got the world’s attention when Yorgos Lanthimos’ 2023 film adaptation was nominated for Best Film at the 2024 Oscars and Emma Stone won Best Actress starring as Bella Baxter that year. I’m not…
The importance of stories: brief reflections on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Two nights ago, amid the heavy wind and rain, I arrived at Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre to attend the Orwell Memorial Lecture 2024, given by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Each year, the speaker chosen is allowed total freedom to choose his or her lecture topic, the only requirement being that it should be a topic…
David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas: visionary masterpiece or experimental flop?
I recently finished British novelist David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, the novel that brought him to the world’s attention probably because of the rather controversial 2012 film adaptation starring the likes of Hallé Berry, Tom Hanks and Hugh Grant (which I have yet to see!) I started reading the book intending to go to an event…
The World of Tessa Hadley’s Short Stories
I’ve been reading a few contemporary British authors recently. Zadie Smith’s White Teeth had been sitting on my shelf snowed under by a sleeve of dust waiting its turn as I turned from Goethe to Tolstoy to Dickens, my pretentious self refusing to read anything produced in the last 50 years. Finally, deciding that I…
Coding and translations of Tolstoy
The other day I was having a drink with some friends and one of them happened to be someone I haven’t seen since my undergraduate days. I was happy to find out that he is now studying Digital Humanities at UCL. After explaining (vaguely) what his degree means, he told me he has just completed…
A Musician’s Search for Meaning
Without that anchor, I would be lost in sea, unsure of what all that practice had led up to, all that time spent trying to read dots on a page and then reproduce them on ivory keys. And then I would probably drown in a sea of self-doubt. I may sound dramatic but when anxiety…
Ralph Fiennes’ performance of T. S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets”
Ralph Fiennes is most known for his performance of Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, so watching him perform the dark and existential Four Quartets was quite a jarring experience…or perhaps it was fitting…
Unprocessed thoughts: Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”
Unprocessed thoughts on Jane Austen’s classic novel “Pride and Prejudice”
Why Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” Matters
Greta Gerwig reaches her arm into history and puts “Little Women” back on the table again, but this time telling us that it is not merely a girl’s fantasy nor yet another novel which shows that love and marriage is all that matters. She reads between the lines and shows what unnecessary pain and sacrifice…
The Creatures
Hong Kong is home to an abundance of species, but this species is perhaps the most fascinating. Join Professor Grady, renowned cultural biologist, as he reveals to his disciple Henry the wonders of these mysterious creatures…
Everyman: for God or for himself
To be honest with you, I’ve almost forgotten about this blog. Since the start of uni, I’ve just been running around doing everything possible. Thing is, for me, if I ever give myself time to stop and think while I’m in a new environment, destruction of the mind follows. I tend to overthink and overanalyze…
Poor Moll
So the other day I was reading “Moll Flanders” by Daniel Defoe. I still am because it’s a hard read for me. In the story the start of Moll’s Ruin (old English writers tend to capitalize everything) begins with a secret affair with the elder brother of the reputable household she is working in. Now…
“Cat’s Eye” and truth
I recently finished reading Margaret Atwood’s novel “Cat’s Eye”, published in 1988. Honestly, this novel is one of the most profound and inspiring book I’ve read. Written as a sort of autobiography of the main character, which in a lot of aspects reflect Margaret Atwood herself, the novel follows the life of Elaine Risley from…
Shakespeare’s “The Hobbit”
Just before I begin: SPOILERS ALERT Recently I finished reading Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” (I know it’s a bit late, but took me quite a while to get back to the world of fantasy after studying lots of “literal” works) and I couldn’t help notice a certain similarity it bears with Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure”. Just…
Literally Left-handed 