What a happy accident reading Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain as I read the final volume of In Search of Lost Time. What a remarkable book, and I absolutely loved John E. Woods’s translation.
“For a long time. . . ” And then suddenly I find myself having read the final pages of Time Regained. Here are some brief thoughts upon finishing Proust’s In Search of Lost Time.
I finally read Helene Hanff’s The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, and it’s a quiet delight. Hanff finally makes her long-dreamed-of journey to London, and records it with the same wit, warmth, and honesty that made 84, Charing Cross Road so beloved.
Powell and Pressburger’s I Know Where I’m Going! may begin as a charming romantic adventure, but beneath its light surface lies a gently profound story about fate, desire, and the seductive illusions of certainty. Criterion’s new 4K restoration brings fresh life to this wartime gem.
I’ve long admired James’s shorter works, but I finally took the plunge into one of his major novels—and it was revelatory. From the charming conversations on the Touchetts’ lawn to Isabel Archer’s fierce independence and the shadows that follow, every page felt alive. This isn’t just a novel to read once, but one to return to, full of psychology, beauty, and heartbreak.
Episodes of The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast: discussions of books and authors, shaped by curiosity, rereading, and the pleasures of talking things through.
The Mookse and the Gripes Instagram features a more immediate space with posts and videos about current reads, recent finds, including a steady dose of Criterion films.
