Paris | Raging Biblio-holism

The Last Days of New Paris

August 15, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: It’s 1950 and the war still rages in Paris – but it’s no longer just Nazis and Resistance fighters. A Surrealist bomb has remade Paris and peopled the streets with Surrealist art made manifest. In this impossible city, a young Surrealist fighter named Thibaut meets an American photographer named Sam who believes that these are the last days of New Paris – for something else stalks these streets as well… The Review: Anyone who has ever gazed upon […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Literature • Tags: Alternate History, Art, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, China Miéville, Culture, Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Paris, Reviews, Speculative Fiction, Surrealism, Surrealist Fiction, The Last Days of New Paris, Weird, Weird Fiction, World War II

The Queen of the Night

May 27, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: A young orphan from America makes her way to Paris and then to the world stage as an acclaimed soprano – passing through the roles of carny, maid, courtesan, spy, and more on her way. But when she reads a novel that seems to lay bare the secrets of her life, she wonders who from her past might be planning her downfall… The Review: Opera and literature aren’t too far apart, really. Both provide opportunities for life to […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Alexander Chee, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, France, Historical Fiction, History, Literature, Music, Opera, Paris, review, Reviews, Second Empire, The Queen of the Night, Third Republic

The Naked Eye

February 3, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: On a state-sponsored trip to East Germany, a young Vietnamese woman is kidnapped and taken to the other side of the Wall. So begins a strange journey that will take her to Paris and through various iterations of life, as well as see her develop an obsession with the films of Catherine Deneuve. But the films may have more of an impact on real life than first meets the eye… The Review: What is it about our favorite […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Catherine Deneuve, Fiction, Literature, New Directions, Paris, Reviews, The Naked Eye, TNBBC, Yoko Tawada

US(a.)

December 14, 2015 by Drew

The Short Version: A new collection of poetry, essays, and script excerpts from one of our most fiery and passionate artists on the general theme of America, both now and then. The Review: I discovered Saul Williams in 2007 when Trent Reznor helped produce his phenomenal The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust and they gave it away as a pay-what-you-can sort of deal – this was immediately post-In Rainbows – and I had my mind blown the first time the needle dropped. This is […]

Categories: Non-Fiction, Poetry • Tags: America, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Current Events, Essays, Fiction, France, Memoir, Miles Davis, Non-Fiction, Paris, Poetry, Politics, Racism, Reviews, Saul Williams, Scripts, US (a.), USA

Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Tag: Paris

The Last Days of New Paris

The Queen of the Night

The Naked Eye

US(a.)