Giovanni pernice

The narrator of Anna Burns’s Booker prize-winning novel, Milkman, likes to read on her way to work, even as she walks. Her preference is 19th-century novels. She likes to retreat to “the safety of the scroll and papyrus of earlier centuries”. But in her claustrophobic community during Northern Ireland’s Troubles, it marks her out as a threat. Even her best friend sees her habit as “disturbing”, “deviant” and “not public-spirited”. The narrator is confused. “Are you saying it’s okay for him to go around with Semtex but not okay for me to read Jane Eyre in public?” A woman doesn’t need to have grown up amid sectarian violence to relate to the narrator’s difficulties. Even in peacetime Bristol, where I occasionally flaunt my literacy in public – usually while stationary, but not always – I often run into difficulty. A woman reading a novel in a coffee shop, or on a park bench, or on … [Read more...] about Without women the novel would die: discuss

Claudio Ranieri has paid the price for Greece’s embarrassing home defeat by the Faroe Islands, according to reports. The veteran Italian coach is believed to have lost his job the day after a 1-0 European Championship qualifying loss to the minnows in Athens. The writing appeared to be on the wall immediately for the 63-year-old, who took the job only in the summer and has been in charge for four games. In a statement on the Hellenic Football Federation’s website, the HFF president, Giorgos Sarris, admitted he was sorry for ever hiring Ranieri. “Following today’s devastating result for the national team, I take full responsibility for the most unfortunate choice of coach, which has resulted in such a poor image of the national team being put before the fans,” Sarris said. “The governing board will convene and take responsibility among all the members to make the necessary changes needed to avoid a repeat of such an embarrassing night.” And a … [Read more...] about Greece sack Claudio Ranieri after Faroe Islands humiliation, say reports

The Football Association of Ireland would be happy to let Martin O’Neill depart amid interest from Leicester City. A bookmaker has suspended betting on the 63-year-old replacing Nigel Pearson, who was sacked by the Premier League club last month. Although the FAI is officially denying that was the case, a source told the Guardian that they would not stand in O’Neill’s way if he wants to vacate his contract early and return to club management. There has not yet been a formal approach from Leicester but O’Neill is understood to be top of the club’s list of replacements and an offer could be made as soon as the weekend. O’Neill had been priced at 10-1 to move back to Leicester, where he enjoyed a successful spell between 1995 and 2000, winning two League Cups, but a succession of four-figure bets early on Friday led to his odds being reduced to 1-4 with some bookmakers. William Hill suspended its market. If O’Neill were to rejoin Leicester, the … [Read more...] about Republic of Ireland ready to allow Martin O’Neill to return to Leicester City