Category Archives: Literature

Writing for no good reason

Cormac McCarthy, 1933-2023

Posted on June 17, 2023 by Robert

Cormac McCarthy was one of the best American novelists of the last 50 years. Despite his sometimes difficult style, I’ve taught him in writing, literature, and translation classes. There are, however, suprisingly few Chinese translations of his works. The Road … Continue reading →

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Original German text of Darkness at Noon found

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Robert

Arthur Koestler’s novel Darkness at Noon, inspired by the Moscow show-trials of 1936-38, is one of the most important novels of the twentieth-century. Koestler originally wrote Darkness in German while he was living in Paris, supposedly between 1938 and 1939. … Continue reading →

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Alice Munro wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Robert

Here is the story on BBC. This was a surprising award; with the possible exception of Isaac Bashevis Singer, this is the first time someone who writes primarily short stories has won the Nobel Prize for literature. Even Singer is … Continue reading →

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Ironic twist

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Robert

Literary irony in a Chinese context Continue reading →

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Han Suyin (1916?-2012)

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Robert

One notice that I missed earlier this year was the death of Han Suyin (Han Suyin Dies; Wrote Sweeping Fiction. The New York Times 5 Nov. 2012). The Times writer notes some of the criticism directed at Han, but closes … Continue reading →

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