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 →
From the Valsesia to the Valle d’Aosta in the Italian Alps: « The Eight Mountains » and « The Wild Boy » by Paolo Cognetti and « The Weight of the Butterfly » by Erri De Luca. : Four of us, dashing young fifty-somethings, set off with our backpacks up the Vogna river. Our wives accompanied us through the first part of the valley, walking from hamlet to Continue Reading →
Saudi Arabia: « Girls of Riyadh » by Rajaa Alsanea : Saudi Arabia remained an enigma for me, like a blank on the world map. In 1993, I made a long trip to Asia, from Yemen to Hong Kong, but being 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 →

Month: January 2020

Namibia: Between desert and history

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Former French President Sarkozy caused an uproar a little bit more than 10 years ago when he thought clever to say in a speech that « The tragedy of Africa is Continue Reading →