Simon Vincent's Blog, page 4

Justine and Balthazar

I must admit that in all my reading I had never heard of Durrell which of course makes me not so well read. He is a great writer.

About Justine. Wonderful writing if sometimes a bit verbose and his use of uncommon words for describing something simple, well lets just say his poetic license if much higher than mine and most of the reading public. He was a book club selection and I am glad for it.

Justine is a modern woman. She lives by a different set of rules than the women of her age, she is a...

No Country for Old Men

My son told me to read the book and think about reading McCarthy. I am totally hooked on this great writer. I will read his other books and see if they are as good as this one. There is magic in his prose. A magic that comes from living the life of the west, the down-to-earth, rooted characters. In McCarthy's words these characters are very real and you feel they could be your next door neighbor or family. Awesome dialogue. He tells a story with the least amount of words. Every word counts no...

Im a big fan of Arkady Renko, the most human of all detec...

Im a big fan of Arkady Renko, the most human of all detectives who always gets his man or woman. Martin gets a bit literary with this book, some new phrasing which left me guessing sometimes where I was in the story. However not distracting to the point of stopping as I have done with some books and coming back when I was ready to follow and not just following like some sheep. Some authors do this to me. Anyhow, loved the story and the new woman. The boy was not an...

Im a big fan of Arkady Renko, the...

Im a big fan of Arkady Renko, the most human of all detectives who always gets his man or woman. Martin gets a bit literary with this book, some new phrasing which left me guessing sometimes where I was in the story. However not distracting to the point of stopping as I have done with some books and coming back when I was ready to follow and not just following like some sheep. Some authors do this to me. Anyhow, loved the story and the new woman. The boy was not an endear

Wao did not Woo them!

Well, what can I say the Pulitzer does not make a book popular, it makes it famous. The Simon Vincent Book Club was almost unanimous in their dislike of Junot Diaz's masterpiece. It was my selection so I had to defend him. Imagine that, this lowly author/poet defending the professor and prizewinner. I did my best. In the end they did not buy my breakdown of his electric modern prose. I believe it was a great piece of writing by a good writer who loves to play with words and the reader. I finally

Win FREE books by Simon Vincent

Win FREE copies of Waypoint 90 and Sea Lust by going to these links on Goodreads.

Waypoint 90

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/663-waypoint-90-in-the-chambers-of-the-sea

Sea Lust-Poems from the heart

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/587-sea-lust[image error]

On Hearing Simon Vincent Read Aloud

I recently sent in some of my poems to WLRN writers under the sun program to see if I could read my poems on radio. Just today a nice lady, Alyssa, wrote me and maybe, just maybe I will read on radio. Talk about excited, I feel like a kid. I will read my poem On hearing Eliot Read Aloud. It moved me back then to write some lines.

ON HEARING ELIOT READ ALOUD

The ghost of a moment
When candlelight flickers,
The ghost of a chance
To gather more treasure,
To store away hours
Enveloped in shadows,
Wrapped

Poem from Sea Lust

THINKING OF YOU ONE NIGHT

Spiraling down to kiss the sea,
A falling star from heaven flees
And as I watch in lovesick awe,
The cool, black sea turns its foamy face-
So they touch and the star’s glow dies,
To live again within your eyes.

By Simon Vincent[image error]

Unaccustomed Earth

As a first time reader I had only one preconception, I had seen the movie version of "The Namesake". I really enjoyed the movie. I will read the book in reverse order, for I like to read the book and then see the movie. Anyhow back to the "Earth". I can see why she is a prize winning author. She has that gift, a unique prose, it is simple when compared to Garcia-Marquez lets say, no hidden metaphors, no slick word play. Elegant unassuming prose that moves the story with real characters. Yes she

Paris Holiday

Well what can I say about visiting Paris for the first time, nothing and everything! I am speechless when it comes to Art and History, everything has been said, a lot more eloquently than I could, but I can tell you that it is unforgettable and will remain with you forever. It is as they say, Paris--then you die! Or something like that. Monet's lilies were incredible. And seeing all the Modiglianis, and Picassos and Cezannes and Van Gohs and on and on...you get the picture.
I sipped my espresso