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On the Casting Couch

Oh, whoa whoa whoa!
The ho ho ho,
Of last Xmas

The bitter snow,
The frost,
All that money lost
In market compost!
I dream of a farm,
Somewhere warm,
With olive groves,
And tomato bread
with garlic cloves.

A hacienda tickled in sea breeze,
The afternoon under shaded trees.

I walk through terraces of vines,
Ancient earth tilled
under clear blue skies
By the fingers of sleeping Gods,
And dancing Señoritas.

Instead.
Back in the real world to dread…
Fickle politicians
And plebs.

Imperfections.
And infections.
A cough like an ape,
and work too late.

Gentlemen!
Fight back
Against the inevitable heart attack!
Less port and oyster,
Slow gin and bitter.

Shoot and fish,
Climb the Hindu Kish
And ride across Spain;
Ignore the rain.

Pass me my pick, George.
There are mountains to climb –
Not for us to whine.

They smile and walk on
towards the mist.

– Unknown Sherpa




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All is Calm…

by John Malkovich
4 March 2010 - this article originally appeared in Finch’s Quarterly Review Issue 6

John-MalkovichJohn Malkovich settles down with an unsettling selection of Christmas reads

Roberto Saviano’s Gomorrah is a fantastic read. It’s a gruelling account of the dire situation in Naples and all along the Neapolitan coast, thanks to the Mafia’s large international reach and stake in construction, high fashion, illicit drugs, and toxic-waste disposal. I think the author will be in hiding for quite a while to come.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Elective Affinities is a book you should read if you will be spending the next six months in hospital… Just kidding; I haven’t actually started it yet but, knowing Goethe, it will be quite a heavy read. I’m looking forward to reading it during my Christmas break, nevertheless. It’s about a young aristocratic couple’s disturbance when their peaceful and conventional life is challenged by the introduction of two fresh new faces. Really, it’s quite autobiographical: Goethe lived with Christiane Vulpius for 18 years before finally marrying her. Then, less than two years into the marriage, he fell in love with a much younger woman.

Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 is probably one of his best works. It’s set on the US-Mexican border and follows the lives of an array of fictional characters and how many of their lives strangely merge with each other. Another one of his books that I highly recommend is The Savage Detectives.

- John Malkovich is FQR’s literary editor



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