Moby Dick

Classics 101: a complete novice reviews Kafka, Orwell, Homer et al

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At 16, apropos of nothing, Elizabeth Engledow set herself a Herculean task: read all the classics. Six years in she wondered, would we like to publish a few reviews?    The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, 1915 It’s a novella, yes, but don’t underestimate the little guys.  Gregor Samsa is a door-to-door salesman with a dick … Read more

Ambergris, the whale poo worth more than your car

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Dragon tears, meteorites, or just plain shit – ambergris is an olfactory miracle of the deep. Sought after for thousands of years, and worth upwards of $10,000/kg today, ambergris washes up on beaches across New Zealand all year long. Don Rowe goes looking for it. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine under the title … Read more