Malla Duncan's Blog, page 5

The Italian Cat

Gioppi, a small, midnight black cat, came into my life because her Italian family emigrated to Ireland. Considered too old to travel (13) she was left with the vet in the hopes that some kind person would take her away from a bewildering situation to a new, loving home. The kind person (me) eventually came along and packed her up in a smart cat box and took her home.

From the start, Gioppi didn’t like me. She considered me irrelevant in an unsatisfactory situation. Food was scorned. Attempts a...

Review: ‘The Hare with Amber Eyes’

I’ve started my New Year’s resolution with fanfare, having read this extraordinary book, The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal, winner of the 2010 Costa Biography Award. It is one of those rare books that you can’t forget once you’ve finished – a poignant, gentle restructuring of lives gone by, of art and the joy of art, of the strange dichotomy of human nature: the love of beauty and ruthless pursuit of power.

We follow the journey of a collection of Japanese netsuke – small, meticulous...

Jobsharing: Why can’t we do this?

Sometimes I let my mind drift. Actually, it’s my chief talent. I’m a fiction writer so my mind drifts continually in scenarios that will only find existence on a printed page. I do believe writers who are able to write their fiction with verve and imagination while compiling the journalistic style of blogging with flair and professionalism, are the truly talented among us.

Sigh. Anyway, to get back to where I came in: Jobsharing.

I have never understood why some people are granted the opportuni...