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Alan Bray
- Jul 23, 2020
- 4 min
A Manifesto, then Casey
All right, sit down everybody. I’m going to continue talking about “Starting Out in the Evening,” but first I have a few (other) thoughts...
Alan Bray
- Jul 16, 2020
- 4 min
Like a Letter from a Friend
One of the joys of “Starting Out in the Evening” is the lovely interconnectedness of it—the integrity, if you will, of a story that...
Alan Bray
- Jul 9, 2020
- 3 min
Starting Out in the Evening
This week, a new book—Brian Morrison’s 1998 novel “Starting Out in the Evening.” I saw the film version of this novel first, in...
Alan Bray
- Jul 2, 2020
- 4 min
Text/Film
As I mentioned several posts back, I saw the film version of “The English Patient” before reading the book, an interesting phenomenon. It...
Alan Bray
- Jun 4, 2020
- 3 min
Tense Mood
Today, I want to write about how verb tenses are used in “The English Patient” to—(WTF? Sounds like a snooze-fest, pal. Maybe catch you...
Alan Bray
- May 28, 2020
- 3 min
Tell Me A Story
Last week, I identified two modes of narration in “The English Patient,” the (nearly) invisible narrator who tells the story of the four...
Alan Bray
- May 21, 2020
- 4 min
The English Patient
This week, a new novel, Michael Ondaatje’s “The English Patient.” In 1995 I was browsing in a bookstore in downtown Chicago and saw “The...
Alan Bray
- May 14, 2020
- 3 min
The Chastened Narrator
I have spoken at tedious length about the narrator’s voice in “Love in the Time of Cholera,” best beloved. (I’ve been wanting to write...
Alan Bray
- May 7, 2020
- 3 min
The Disappearance of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour
Before setting out once again on my discussion of “Love in the Time of Cholera,” I should probably issue, belatedly, a spoiler alert....
Alan Bray
- Apr 30, 2020
- 4 min
Holograms
Here’s that first line again—"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” The...
Alan Bray
- Apr 23, 2020
- 4 min
Who Is Speaking?
Here’s that first line again—"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” The...
Alan Bray
- Apr 16, 2020
- 4 min
Where and When
Here’s that first line again—"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” The...