Recently Read

1. John Iriving: The 158-Pound Marriage. This story of two married couples swapping partners, which starts out merrily, clearly sees Irving before the peak of his powers. Which is not to say it is a bad book at all.

2. Max Frisch: Montauk. If you're looking for something exciting, this novella, which might alternatively be called Rememberance of Things Past Which Have Absolutely Nothing to Do with Each Other, is not the way to go. I, however, quite enjoyed Frisch's calm tone.

3. Ernest Hemingway: Men Without Women. Hemingway is an author I both like and think is somewhat overrated. Anyhow, this collection of short stories, including the rightfully famous "Hills Like White Elephants" and the not-so-rightfully famous "The Killers", is well worth its salt.

4. Franz Kafka: Der Prozeß (The Trial). Jolly good. If the greatest German stylist before Max Goldt could have come up with a somewhat more interesting plot, this could have been a true masterpiece. I am envisioning a brain merger with Tom Wolfe here... naaw, probably wouldn't work.