April 2017 – Travel Readings

Java, Indonesia: “Beauty is a Wound” by Eka Kurniawan : Can a square become a circle? It’s the inverse of the classic geometric problem of squaring a circle. A visit to Borobudur on the Indonesian island of Java gave me Continue Reading →

Montevideo: “The Truce” by Mario Benedetti : One of the reasons I write this blog is that I like to read novels that describe the place I’m traveling to. For my recent stay in Montevideo, I chose Continue Reading →

Kanchanaburi, Thailand: « The Bridge over the River Kwai» by Pierre Boulle and « Kwaï » by Vincent Hein : Probably the most famous cadence whistles in cinema history. As I was spending a day exploring the Bangkok area, my Lonely Planet reminded me that the famous “Bridge over the Continue Reading →

Rwanda: “Jacaranda” by Gaël Faye : I just missed Gaël Faye’s visit to “La Page d’Après”, the bookshop my sister-in-law Floriane opened in Louvain-la-Neuve just over a year ago. Interest was so great that they had Continue Reading →

Books, Movies and Beyond: Cairo

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Damien

It has been a long time – too long – since I last went to Cairo. More than twenty years ago. I was there for a workshop which allowed us Continue Reading →

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and The Rope and The Denial of Saint Peter by Charles Baudelaire

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Damien

The plane had already started its descent towards Washington when the South African Airways pilot announced that because of the snow our flight would be diverted to JFK airport in Continue Reading →