reptile news

karen connelly has a new novel described by critics as beautifully cinematic.

" Inside his solitary confinement cell, Teza, who once electrified the people of Burma with his protest songs against the dictatorship, now applies his acute intelligence and Buddhist patience to finding meaning in the interminable days...But even in isolation, he has a profound influence on the people around him. His integrity and humour inspire the conscience-ridden senior jailer to radical change. His very existence challenges the brutal authority of the junior jailer, perversely nicknamed Handsome. Overturning our expectations, Karen Connelly presents us with a world that celebrates human spirit, and spirit itself, in the midst of injustice and trauma."

i can't wait to read it. i have admired kc since one morning in the mid-nineties when she came into the old cafe du monde on queen st in fredericton. she was wearing an overgrown whole wheat sweater and lopsided earrings. back then she was a writer in residence at unb. she told me not to ever go to college...it was venomous to creativity. boa constrictor-ish, maybe...

in other lizard news today researchers have discredited the idea that our present-day birds are the residue of dinosaur life...i am relieved, pigeons being frightening enough already...