Books for November

“O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being. Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing.” –  Percy Bysshe Shelley It’s time for NaNoWriMo, so my book reviews are likely to be a bit sparse during November. But I send you into the darkening, chill days with…

ACCENT: THE TIME REGULATION INSTITUTE by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar

Those of us who are only fluent in English are so fortunate to have had this book translated from the original Turkish. The book incisively mocks bureaucracy from the point of view of clocks.  The main hero is Hayri Irdal, who guides us through the strange world of the Time Regulation Institute.  In this Turkey,…