In Diego Marani's The last of the Vostyachs, which I have just reviewed, the two linguists argue about language. The Russian, Olga, sees language as key to communication across cultures and to conveying plural meanings. She says to the Finnish Jarmo: Your language has never known the dizzying heights of universality. No one studies it … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Diego Marani on translation
Delicious descriptions
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Lebkowicz and Moorhouse on 1950s Canberra
At the beginning of this year I reviewed Frank Moorhouse's Cold light (my review) which commences with the arrival of his protagonist, Edith Campbell Berry, in Canberra in 1950. The Petrovs, the subject of Lesley Lebkowicz's The Petrov poems (my review), arrived in Canberra in 1951. Lebkowicz's description of Canberra accords very much with Moorhouse's. The … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Lebkowicz and Moorhouse on 1950s Canberra
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Jane Austen on politics
I was going to label this post "Jane Austen and plus ça change" but then decided to be provocative, because Austen is regularly criticised for not discussing politics, what was happening in her time, in her novels. Of course, I disagree that novelists have to specifically write about the political background to their stories. Those … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Jane Austen on politics
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Murray Bail on composers’ houses
During our recent trip to Europe we managed to follow the trails of a few composers*. We saw statues of JS Bach, CPE Bach, Felix Mendelssohn and Ludwig van Beethoven. We visited Eisenach, where Bach was born and saw the church where he was baptised. We visited Leipzig, where he worked for 27 years and … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Murray Bail on composers’ houses
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell on books
There are many delicious descriptions to choose from Hilary Mantel's Bring up the bodies, which I reviewed earlier this week, and some have already been posted by bloggers in other posts (such as John at Musings of a Literary Dilettante, Lisa at ANZ LitLovers, and Alex in Leeds). Their excerpts relate more to thematic issues, … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell on books
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Carrie Tiffany on smacking
Actually, this Delicious Descriptions is not a commentary on smacking as the post title might suggest, but it is about a smacking situation - in Carrie Tiffany's Mateship with birds. It occurs when five-year-old Michael has stolen a penny from his mother and so she smacks him: Betty doesn't have the heart to pull his … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Carrie Tiffany on smacking
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Andrew Croome on Nevada
I recently reviewed Andrew Croome's Midnight empire which is mostly set in and around Las Vegas, an area I have travelled through several times. Here is Croome's description of his protagonist Daniel being introduced to the region: Mythic horizons. They drove into the liquid road-shimmer of the desert, past the Joshua trees and the creosote bushes that bordered the I95. … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Andrew Croome on Nevada
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Courtney Collins and landscape
There was so much to write about Courtney Collins' novel The burial in my review this week that I couldn't share one of my favourite aspects - her gorgeous descriptions of the landscape. When I say gorgeous, I should clarify that the landscape itself isn't always gorgeous, but her descriptions, her ability to evoke the … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Courtney Collins and landscape
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Patrick White on men and sheep
A few months ago I wrote a Monday Musings on the representation of sheep - well, people who work with sheep anyhow - in Australian literature. I was therefore tickled when early in Patrick White's Happy Valley, which I reviewed last week, he talks of men who work with sheep, as follows: Men who work … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Patrick White on men and sheep
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Mary Durack on Patrick White
I am slowly - very slowly - reading True North, Brenda Niall's biography of Mary and Elizabeth Durack. Life is rather getting in the way of reading at present so, contrary to my normal practice, I am going to post a Delicious Description from it before, rather than after, my review. For those of you … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Mary Durack on Patrick White
Whispering Gums 