“It is by reading novels, stories, and myths that we come to understand the world in which we live.” -Orhan Pamuk A writer and reader, I review books from around the world & post related ephemera and literary geekdom. Friend me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or visit my website for info about me and my writing & early access to new reviews.Tumblr (3.0; @islamcketta)http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/“I haven’t quite figured out just how it is that I might take a Never poo” - ...http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50953145564http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50953145564Mon, 20 May 2013 18:22:37 -0700jenny boullyNot Merely Because of the Unknown that was Stalking Toward ThemPeter PanneverlandComing Home with Truman Capote’s The Grass Harp: Maybe the reason you can’t go home again is that...http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50827302785http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50827302785Sun, 19 May 2013 09:06:00 -0700LitBooksUSA & Canadamaster miserythe grass harptruman capote“because when you love one thing you can love another and that is owning that is something...http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50666854272http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50666854272Fri, 17 May 2013 11:58:01 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/8fe1d6836ef43e66a15a3ece74b77e21/tumblr_mmgj5rMaP11qkuou9o1_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/dfd6540acb24f7bd638df9b077c6d7f1/tumblr_mmgj5rMaP11qkuou9o2_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/8fe1d6836ef43e66a15a3ece74b77e21/tumblr_mmgj5rMaP11qkuou9o3_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://cosmosonic.tumblr.com/post/50130519452/truman-capote" target="_blank">cosmosonic</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Truman Capote, </p> </blockquote>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50666790424http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50666790424Fri, 17 May 2013 11:56:54 -0700Bernard Malamud Sums Up a Life in The Assistant: Bernard Malamud recounts a few years in the life of...http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50257699342http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/50257699342Sun, 12 May 2013 07:07:00 -0700LitBooksUSA & CanadabeginningsThe Quiet Menace of Inner China by Eva Sjödin: Frequent readers of this blog will know how much I...http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/49686574951http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/49686574951Sun, 05 May 2013 07:21:00 -0700LitBooksWestern EuropeEva SjödinInner ChinaPoetrySwedish Literature<a href="http://mantlethought.org/content/pen-2013-susan-bernofsky-franz-kafka">Translating Kafka</a>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/49261394728http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/49261394728Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:17:46 -0700franz KafkaLiteraturetranslation<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/f1e07cb0bba2f7601db3cf04f0b1bdfb/tumblr_mlz38ekHMX1rtay1po1_250.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><big>Adapting Kafka’s The Trial for the Western Stage</big></p><blockquote><p>When I read that New Century Theatre Company was staging Kenneth Albers’ adaptation of Franz Kafka’s</p></blockquote><p><a href="http://islamcketta.com/adapting-kafkas-the-trial-for-the-western-stage/" target="_blank">View Post</a></p>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/49098227385http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/49098227385Sun, 28 Apr 2013 09:02:37 -0700Franz KafkaKenneth AlbersPlayThe TrialRobert Archambeau on what it means to be "contemporary": Could it mean being out of step?...http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48806688945http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48806688945Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:01:35 -0700poetryrole of an artistmeaning of life<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/3a0e06704b761c4d33f1aa45ea6c31df/tumblr_mjjuqj50QN1s553g4o1_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/951ba91197cd9365c66224095edea1ec/tumblr_mjjuqj50QN1s553g4o2_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://a-thousand-desires.tumblr.com/post/45187386930/i-live-under-your-sky-too-is-a-massive-32-feet" target="_blank">a-thousand-desires</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>I Live Under Your Sky Too</strong> is a massive (32-feet wide) installation by artist <em>Shilpa Gupta</em>, erected by the sea on Carter Road in Bandra, Mumbai.</p> <p><span>The installation features the text “I live under your sky too” written in three languages — English, Hindi and Urdu — using LED lights with the individual words intermixed. The lights go on and off, highlighting the sentence in each language alternately. Read between the lines and the message is one of religious, national, political, class, and gender harmony.</span></p> <p><a href="http://www.vogue.in/content/last-3-days-shilpa-guptas-art-installation" target="_blank"><span>(Source)</span></a></p> </blockquote>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48777860491http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48777860491Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:33:33 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/df635a0072208881fba63c2d2cfbb965/tumblr_mlb19kN2ZS1qav9ywo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://wordpainting.tumblr.com/post/48774344625/cinderellainrubbershoes-reading-the-right-one" target="_blank">wordpainting</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://cinderellainrubbershoes.tumblr.com/post/48406551010/reading-the-right-one-at-the-right-time-can-make" target="_blank">cinderellainrubbershoes</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>“…Reading the right one at the right time can make all the difference.”</p> <blockquote> <p>-Brandon Sanderson, <em>Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians series </em></p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p>Indeed.</p> </blockquote>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48777684115http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48777684115Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:30:08 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/a046ab286c2b384c6aa6afd08249599e/tumblr_mh75slOJN71rtpzfpo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48777663962http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48777663962Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:29:44 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/41f1a6a30bbbbebf29117e5e0e23429d/tumblr_mlm1odM2Tz1rtay1po1_250.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><big>Heidi Julavits Rounds Out Peripheral Characters in The Vanishers</big></p><blockquote><p>Round, well-described characters are more interesting to readers. Knowing a character’s motivations…</p></blockquote><p><a href="http://islamcketta.com/heidi-julavits-rounds-out-peripheral-characters-in-the-vanishers/" target="_blank">View Post</a></p>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48527274859http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/48527274859Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:00:12 -0700<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/a94878f312b88e8bc3c611cd7f5ce37a/tumblr_mkc9k73IF81rs1231o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47957316849http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47957316849Sun, 14 Apr 2013 08:24:51 -0700““In struggling against anguish one never produces serenity; the struggle against anguish only...http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47957295571http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47957295571Sun, 14 Apr 2013 08:24:33 -0700<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/9e84157776d71da150786a7337ad67a2/tumblr_ml92fz49Bb1rtay1po1_250.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><big>Waiting for God with Simone Weil</big></p><blockquote><p>There is something enticing about the idea of a young girl who sees through religion and philosophy…</p></blockquote><p><a href="http://islamcketta.com/waiting-for-god-with-simone-weil/" target="_blank">View Post</a></p>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47954799556http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47954799556Sun, 14 Apr 2013 07:47:59 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/f1e07cb0bba2f7601db3cf04f0b1bdfb/tumblr_mkw1luSHvb1rtay1po1_250.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><big>Re-encountering Foreign Tongues with Ryszard Krynicki</big></p><blockquote><p>Although it’s been over a decade since I held a coherent conversation in Polish, I am still drawn…</p></blockquote><p><a href="http://islamcketta.com/re-encountering-foreign-tongues-with-ryszard-krynicki/" target="_blank">View Post</a></p>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47364438028http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47364438028Sun, 07 Apr 2013 07:01:06 -0700pshares: The Heart, Ryszard Krynicki Where are you tearing to, my poor heart, as if you were...http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47332337862http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/47332337862Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:06:34 -0700<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/ca6701c2bddc4dd8d78a1da1875332b9/tumblr_mkj2wzoZbQ1rtay1po1_250.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Facing the Gulf Wars with Dunya Mikhail’s Diary of a Wave Outside the Sea</p><p><a href="http://islamcketta.com/dunya-mikhail-diary-of-a-wave-outside-the-sea/" target="_blank">View Post</a></p>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/46757206698http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/46757206698Sun, 31 Mar 2013 07:00:34 -0700<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/a59eaa0d3cbc8af5c9003a9b21eb73d9/tumblr_mk67xzfc721rtay1po1_250.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><big>Chinua Achebe and Why I Don’t Read Enough About Africa</big></p><blockquote><p>When novelist Chinua Achebe died late last week, I remembered that I had several of his books…</p></blockquote><p><a href="http://islamcketta.com/chinua-achebe-and-why-i-dont-read-enough-about-africa/" target="_blank">View Post</a></p>http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/46163771304http://islamcketta.tumblr.com/post/46163771304Sun, 24 Mar 2013 08:20:23 -0700