Oceania – 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 →

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 →

Victoria, Australia: « True History of the Kelly Gang » by Peter Carey

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Damien

So far, I have only made three trips, fairly short, to Australia, once in Sydney and twice in Melbourne. Each visit gives me the urge to learn more about the Continue Reading →

Melbourne: The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Damien

“We could try an Italian. That would be exotic!” My Monash University colleagues’ suggestion for dinner reminded me that everything was upside down in « Down Under ». I had left Europe Continue Reading →