I have long been of the opinion that if one is to take a trip, one ought to choose the destination with care. A sojourn in Tuscany, perhaps; a jaunt through the Alps; or, at the very least, an unhurried ramble through the English countryside, where the only fiery pits one encounters are the embers … Continue reading Through Hell and High Water: A Wanderer’s Musings on Dante’s Inferno
Tag: existential
Mild Indifference and Arse-Breathing: A Reflection on Peter Høeg’s Observations
The following quote is from Peter Høeg’s short story Reflection of a Young Man in Balance, which is part of his collection, Tales of the Night (“Fortællinger om Natten” in Danish). The collection explores themes of love, identity, and existential reflection, often with a lyrical and philosophical style. However, as I’m using this quote in … Continue reading Mild Indifference and Arse-Breathing: A Reflection on Peter Høeg’s Observations
The Agonising Genius of Blaise Pascal: A Personal Ramble Through Pensées
Last year, I stumbled upon this little gem on Amazon, priced at the princely sum of 23p. Naturally, I couldn’t resist - who could, at such a bargain? It brought back a flood of memories from years ago when an English teacher handed me a tattered old copy, its pages barely holding together. Where that … Continue reading The Agonising Genius of Blaise Pascal: A Personal Ramble Through Pensées
Death by Drapery: Tolstoy’s Morbid Masterpiece and the Mediocrity of Ivan Ilyich
The Death of Ivan Ilyich, or as I like to call it, 'How to Have a Midlife Crisis While Actively Dying.' This novella by Tolstoy is less a story and more a literary post-mortem of a man who spends his life climbing the social ladder only to realise, with the grim clarity of impending death, … Continue reading Death by Drapery: Tolstoy’s Morbid Masterpiece and the Mediocrity of Ivan Ilyich
Pebbles, Prose, and Pointlessness: Beckett’s Molloy and the Art of Going Nowhere
Question: have you ever sucked a pebble? Samuel Beckett’s Molloy is often heralded as a towering monument of modernist literature, though whether it’s a lighthouse of enlightenment or an impassable granite slab is a matter of perspective. This novel, the first in Beckett’s famous trilogy, plunges us into a world where sucking stones takes on existential significance … Continue reading Pebbles, Prose, and Pointlessness: Beckett’s Molloy and the Art of Going Nowhere
Wording 