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Published as part of the slew of post 2005 Ashes cash-in literature, Crossing the Boundary is a curious mixture: part ghosted autobiography, part exercise in brand building, part self-justification, and part chance to settle old scores. Clearly the Kevin Pietersen of 2006 - when this book...

How to understand the man behind the public image? If you take your cue from a modern-day sports publishing house, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a forensic approach to your subject’s private life was the most revealing route. Tip over his bins to find the man within, if you like. A...

Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz (translated by Kenneth R. Mackenzie) So begins ‘Pan Tadeusz’, Poland’s most celebrated literary work and a story taught to all Polish school children. That Poland’s literary masterpiece begins with a eulogy to Lithuania, both enlightens and confuses, in equal...

Stanislaw Lem – The Futurological Congress Synopsis: “Bringing his twin gifts of scientific speculation and scathing satire to bear on that hapless planet, Earth, Lem sends his unlucky cosmonaut, Ijon Tichy, to the Eighth Futurological Congress. Caught up in local revolution, Tichy is shot...

Do you need to empathise with a books central character to fully enjoy the story? An eternal question, and one with a personal, highly subjective response. For me the answer is no - something confirmed by reading ‘Bleak House’ a few weeks ago. ‘Bleak House’ is an incredible book - a complex...

Some novels announce their genius from the opening page – ‘Bleak House’ and ‘First Circle’ being good examples. Some take longer to build momentum and grab your attention. Others, like ‘The Assault’ by Harry Mulisch, provide an enjoyable read throughout, but it’s only when a highly satisfying...

I love Czech literature. Writers from that region have a wonderful ability to talk about nothing and everything at the same time, all wrapped up in a warm dark humour that reveals a great love of life. Perhaps it’s a twentieth century tradition that stems from the writing of the humorist...

Of all literary techniques, stream of consciousness is the one I have the most problem with. Unless the subject matter and author combine and try damn hard to catch my imagination, it’s all just going to wash over me, however critically acclaimed the work may be. Leaving writers like Joyce...

I don't have time to write a long review, so I'll just throw down a few quick thoughts for those thinking of going to see the new bond film 'Casino Royale'. Firstly, this is the best action film I’ve seen for a long time, probably the best bond film by some way, and Daniel Craig may end up...

There are any number of writers whose entire cannon is overlooked save for a single ‘classic’ work. Burgess with ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and Heller with “Catch-22” being notable examples. Even more unfortunate, are those writers whose most famous novel eclipses their other output, yet fails to...

‘The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat’ is the Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski’s account of the last days of the court of Haile Selassie, told through the eyes of the courtiers who survived his reign. Whilst I’m sure Kapuscinski would have preferred to have had direct access to Selassie...

It could be argued that good fiction contains an element of emotional tourism; an opportunity to empathise with the feelings and experiences of others, without having to actually spend your life living through their consequences. If so, the setting of Dan Fante’s collection of short stories...

Many people’s view of Soviet dissident fiction might be that it makes for an earnest but perhaps, rather depressing read. For them, the books of Vladimir Voinovich would come as a pleasant surprise, as he has always chosen to tackle Russia’s troubled journey through the twentieth century with...

One of the joys of translated literature is its ability to give you insight into other cultures and, on occasion, to approach well known events from another viewpoint. To observe from the other side of the fence through the eyes of someone who truly understands and experienced the events, rather...

Since the publication of the majority of Andrei Platonov’s work following the Khrushchev Thaw, it having been previously suppressed due to its ‘subversive nature’, Platonov has enjoyed an every increasing reputation within his homeland, where he is regarded as arguably the greatest Soviet writer...

Since his emergence in the early 1990’s, Victor Pelevin has remained a controversial and contradictorily presence on the modern Russian literary scene. As a powerful, profound and immensely popular writer, Pelevin was hailed by many as the voice of Russia’s generation X and the new wunderkind of...

Knut Hamsun is one of the hidden gems of world literature, and an author whose writing changed in style and outlook gradually over time. For those familiar with his work, Dreamers is closer to his later, more light-hearted stories like ‘The Women at the pump,’ than to his earlier, darker and...

It's always sad when you hear of a good 'un going early. RIP Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens.

A wonderful and important book, but not perhaps the best place to start with Hamsun. There are certainly one or two short stories in the 'Tales of Love And Loss' collection that prepare you for the intensity of Hunger. A-F#~king-proved!

As the tile says, what is your favourite TBF thread? I'm going to go for "Lenny's Smutty Paperback Reviews". Adds character to the site, as well as smut.