Annie Kapur
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I am:
ππ½ββοΈ Annie
π Avid Reader
π Reviewer and Commentator
π Post-Grad Millennial (M.A)
***
I have:
π 300K+ reads on Vocal
π«ΆπΌ Love for reading & research
π¦/X @AnnieWithBooks
***
π‘ UK
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The Face of Another by KΕbΕ Abe
The Face of Another was first published in 1964 and hearkens back to the themes and ideas once presented by Franz Kafka, especially when it comes to the book's theories of identity and the self. Samuel Beckett is another writer the author is often compared to since the novel blends absurdity and existentialism with these strange and sideways explorations of human nature and how we become slowly alienated from our true purpose.
By Annie Kapur19 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Parade's End" by Ford Madox Ford (Pt. 4)
Rating: 5/5 - what a fitting end to such a heartfelt novel of war! *** This volume is set on a single June day in the years after the First World War. While the earlier volumes charted the approach to and experience of war, this instalment turns to its aftermath. Here is Ford commenting on a society stripped of its old certainties and confronting the psychological and moral wreckage left behind. It feels more like the ideas presented by an Evelyn Waugh novel. Is it really time to let go of the past? Yes, yes it is.
By Annie Kapur19 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Parade's End" by Ford Madox Ford (Pt. 2)
Rating: 4/5 - Not as great as the opening volume, but definitely not worth less than a 4 overall... *** Volume 2, No More Parades goes deeper into the psychological state that war inflicts upon the characters, especially our main character. Tietjens struggles to move nearly 3,000 troops from Rouen to the front, obstructed by strange orders, corrupt supply officers, a French railway strike, and harassment from British Garrison Police targeting Canadian volunteers. Of course, Ford's presentation of war here is that difficulty will always be horrific when people's lives are on the line and yes, people's lives are definitely on the line. As amid administrative chaos and German shelling, a Welsh soldier bleeds to death in Tietjensβ arms. Tietjens has tons of guilt over previously denying him leave to confront his wifeβs infidelity. This is reflective of his own position - he too has a wife who has been unfaithful but he cannot confront her because he too has been unfaithful. He didn't know this man's position and he was needlessly harsh to him, denying him one last possibility to make amends or break it off with her. He broods the anger towards his own marriage.
By Annie Kapur21 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Parade's End" by Ford Madox Ford (Pt. 1)
Rating: 5/5 - A depressed masterpiece of love, loss and wartime terror... *** This is how it happened: Tweet by Me This was exactly how it happened. For my Why It's a Masterpiece series I took a quick reread of my copy of The Good Soldier, which is great because it's short and easy to read. (It's also incredibly depressing but you've read the article on it, you should know). I then thought to myself 'this can't be right...I never got around to reading Parade's End which is considered to be Ford's best work...' and quickly ordered it (it was only a couple of Β£ and so, nice and cheap). I didn't bother to look it up in any way, shape or form but seemed to assume it would be of similar length to The Good Soldier which can't be more than 150 pages.
By Annie Kapur22 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "American Poetry: A Very Short Introduction" by David Caplan . Top Story - March 2026.
Help me, I'm stuck in the Very Short Introduction series and I can't get out! No really, this is becoming the same problem I had a few years ago when I got my limbs caught in the British Library Crime Classics series and ended up reading almost 100 of those books in perhaps a few months. Now, I've managed to find one on American Poetry, I have to say it is probably one of my favourites so far. I mean The Beats is good, but American Poetry has Phillis Wheatley and Emily Dickinson so it is, by default, better. The writer doesn't only display his knowledge of American Poetic History, he also provides some historical accounts of the people who wrote them, commenting on where they fit into the greater American landscape.
By Annie Kapur23 days ago in Geeks
Rereading Review: "Martin Chuzzlewit" by Charles Dickens
Martin Chuzzlewit is one of Dickens' lesser known novels and I'm not going to lie to you but I originally wrote thousands of words for this review before cutting it down. I first read this book (and disliked it) when I was about 20 years' old and I thought that perhaps coming back to it older would make me appreciate the humour more. Spoiler alert: it didn't. I don't like the snide humour of this book, or the attempts at slapstick comedy in atmospheric writing. But I will say that it is satirical and fun and has some of the best examples of writing that the young Dickens had to offer at the time. It may not be in my top five Dickens novels but that's besides the point. Let's take a look at some of my favourite scenes and characters...
By Annie Kapur24 days ago in Geeks
Apple and Almond Tart
So I spent the first half of Sunday making pancakes (of course, for my mother) and then I baked an apple and almond tart. Did I have to use a recipe from someone else? Nope. This is something quick and simple that you can do with a little bit of patience and a lot of ease. If you're looking for a quick dessert that's filling and tasty then I'd go with this, serving suggestions include:
By Annie Kapur25 days ago in Feast
Book Review: "Consuming Passions" by Philippa Pullar
I don't know why I picked this book up, perhaps because it was cheap. But I can honestly say that between this and the book The Feast in which there are multiple poems and writings on food, I have learnt more about food culture from two books than I have learnt at any other time in my life. I was first thinking about splitting this review into 'parts' because the book itself has a lot of information in it. But I don't want to spoil it for you and I think you're all sick of me doing that for now. Fun fact: I'm not going to stop. Consuming Passions starts with the Roman appetite and has some of the best writing about food and eating I have ever read. Some of it is rather beautiful.
By Annie Kapur25 days ago in Geeks
Surprise! "Filled Up" Lemon Cupcakes
There are a few parts to this recipe so make sure you give yourself a bit of time and, make sure you have some baking beads available - they're usually used to blind bake a pie crust but you're going to need them for the cake here. You're also going to need some mini cupcake cases or extra greaseproof paper - this is about to get weird.
By Annie Kapur26 days ago in Feast
The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells
Background and Context: You guys probably already know that 'The Island of Dr Moreau' is my favourite HG Wells novel and it has one of the most twisted storylines in Victorian Fiction. It takes the 'mad scientist' trope and turns it into something that blends it with a classic villain from the movies with a cult leader, drunk off his own sense of power. It's a really short book and really easy to read so please, if you haven't read it yet I would recommend getting stuck into it when you have some time. You definitely will not regret it. I've written multiple things about this book in my previous articles, praising it for its incredible themes and its fantastic blend of Sci-Fi and horror. Something that really characterises the era it was written in.
By Annie Kapur26 days ago in Geeks
