Charles Foran
Canadian Charles Foran is the author of three novels and three non-fiction works. His most recent work is House on Fire.
The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000 by Diarmaid Ferriter
CHARLES FORAN | 06 June 2005When Roddy Doyle first packaged his early novels into a single volume called the Barrytown Trilogy, critics lauded the collective work for both its comedic brilliance and its window onto urban Ireland in the 1980s. Read together, The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van offered proof that, as one academic put it, third world conditions could exist in a first world country. That was in 1992, and the... [ more ]
The Gate by Francois Bizot
CHARLES FORAN | 16 April 2003On October 10, 1971, FRANCOIS BIZOT, a young ethnologist "drawn to the mysteries of the Far East," was conducting research at a monastery north the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. His small travelling party was detained by the guerillas dubbed the 'Khmer Rouge,' or Red -- i.e. Communist -- Khmers. The group already had a reputation in the countryside for extreme discipline, and extreme cruelty.
CHARLES FORAN | 16 December 2002How does a Communist cop catch bad guys? It's an interesting question, one that A LOYAL CHARACTER DANCER takes seriously. This smart second thriller by QIU XIAOLONG, who must be the only Shanghai crime author writing in English and living in St. Louis, Missouri, is more than a cultural curiosity. Qiu knows his hometown well. He also knows his... [ more ]
Modern Indian Literature by Amit Chaudhuri
CHARLES FORAN | 27 June 2002AMIT CHAUDHURI understands the problem with contemporary Indian Literature. He should, for people like him are at the heart of it. The novelist and critic, born into the linguistic cacophony of Calcutta but educated at Oxford and most comfortable writing in English, publishes his work to international acclaim. His fiction may be set in India, may be Indian in its themes and even in the linguistic thrust of its prose, but it is aimed... [ more ]
Laundry Man by Jake Needham
CHARLES FORAN | 19 April 2002JAKE NEEDHAM is definitely hard-boiled. The Bangkok-based American's new novel, LAUNDRY MAN is in the tough-talking tradition of Elmore Leonard and Ed McBain. Those writers stake out a clump of American turf where they can spin their tales of shady deals and nefarious sorts. Needham's territory, in contrast, is closer to John Le Carre or Graham Greene in his scope. He takes on southeast Asia, with the focus on the discreet charms of... [ more ]
Hunted by N.M. Browne
CHARLES FORAN | 11 March 2002HUNTED is an ambitious novel for young adults. It tells the story of a girl named Karen who lies in coma in a hospital, the victim of an assault. While floating in that suspended state, she is transformed into a fox and cast into the wilds of an alternative universe. The fox befriends a human called Mowl, and together they struggle to save a monarchy, and resolve a feud. Meanwhile, Karen must fight to stave off the gathering... [ more ]
Dogs by Bill Condon
CHARLES FORAN | 19 January 2002Stephen is a teenager living with his father on the wrong side of an Australian town. Father and son skirmish frequently, typical of the way men and boys interact, especially when there is no mother around to moderate. It takes a friendship with Hangan, a kid from an even rougher part of town, with a genuinely miserable father, for Stephen to realize how good he has it.
CHARLES FORAN | 02 November 2001The greatest disservice a reviewer could do to RIVER TOWN would be to simply summarize the story. Imagine it: a young American Peace Corps volunteer is assigned to teach at a college in an obscure Chinese city. He has no background in China studies. He speaks no Mandarin. His stay in the city lasts two years, and in the... [ more ]
