Category Archives: Review

Scrooge the Affective Altruist: ‘A Christmas Carol’ reviewed

Posted on 10/12/2023 by alasdairflett

I have a complicated relationship with Charles Dickens. He is the epitome of the Author. He was hugely prolific, massively popular, and has had a profound cultural impact on how Britain sees itself. How is it possible, then, to dismiss … Continue reading →

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The Sack of Thames-on-Singapore

Posted on 21/10/2023 by alasdairflett

Last weekend I finished one of the best books I’ve read this year. This is The Singapore Grip by JG Farrell. It is an epic novel and also a family saga of sorts. It’s about a business dynasty and a … Continue reading →

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Imperial sunsets

Posted on 23/09/2023 by alasdairflett

I first read J G Ballard when I was getting into the idea of the postmodern. His novel Crash is seen as a seminal (pun intended) text. Crash is a difficult book, conceptually and also because it is rather disgusting. … Continue reading →

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The deserts of Scotland

Posted on 24/06/2023 by alasdairflett

I’d always wanted to read Walter Scott. In fact, I’d attempted to before – embarking on a free Kindle version of Waverley which was abandoned for whatever reason; probably the dense prose style that strains the attention of a restless … Continue reading →

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Well World

Posted on 04/06/2023 by alasdairflett

In three months I will start my legal traineeship which lasts two years and at the end of which I will become a qualified solicitor. Meanwhile, I will be known as a “trainee solicitor”. Before then, though, I’ve been asked … Continue reading →

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A bestiary of Buendias

Posted on 29/04/2023 by alasdairflett

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is unlike any other book I’ve read. It took me some time to get into though. I wasn’t hooked by the first page by any means. There was time to tune … Continue reading →

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Grey Granite: Grassic Gibbon revisited

Posted on 29/04/2023 by alasdairflett

I wrote this piece in early 2020 pre-lockdown and never published it at the time. Please enjoy this B-side from the Flett-cetera discography. Lewis Grassic Gibbon was the short-lived novelist most famous for his Scots Quair trilogy. Sunset Song, the … Continue reading →

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2022: My year in music

Posted on 12/12/2022 by alasdairflett

2022 has been much more of a positive year for me. The clouds finally lifted for good on Covid. It took me a full two years to get that dreaded double line on the lateral flow. When it hit it … Continue reading →

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Memento Mori

Posted on 04/05/2022 by alasdairflett

This past month my summer and winter existences have overlapped. April brings custodial duties. I called myself a custodian on the census, although apparently “monument steward” was available. I am a castellan, a Steward of Gondor awaiting the Return of … Continue reading →

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My top albums 2021

Posted on 19/12/2021 by alasdairflett

2021 got off to a terrible start with Tier 4 restrictions imposed in Glasgow for the best part of four months. Things began to revive in April and by May I had finally met the people on my course for … Continue reading →

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