Most readers experience, I think, periods of reading synchronicity when we read books in close succession that are related in some way. I am experiencing such a period now as Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable creatures is the third book I've read recently to deal in some way with the first decades of the 19th century. The … Continue reading Tracy Chevalier, Remarkable creatures
21st century literature
Peter Carey, Parrot and Olivier in America
It's not surprising, really, that after living in America for two decades Peter Carey should turn his pen to it. Having lived in the US twice myself, I well understand the fascination of trying to understand that large and paradoxical country. In Parrot and Olivier in America, then, Carey sets out to explore America through … Continue reading Peter Carey, Parrot and Olivier in America
Joanna Biggar, That Paris year (Guest post)
When I received That Paris year via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program, I got the sudden attack of the guilts! How was I to review this book alongside all the other books I wanted to read? And then the thought struck me! My daughter, Hannah (aka Wayfaring Chocolate), is a reader, was an exchange student … Continue reading Joanna Biggar, That Paris year (Guest post)
Toni Jordan, Fall girl
It's just as well I'm not one of those readers who likes to draw conclusions about writers' lives from their writing, because if I were I'd be seriously concerned about Toni Jordan. You see, her latest novel, Fall girl, is about a con-artist, a very experienced one in fact. And Jordan writes so convincingly you'd … Continue reading Toni Jordan, Fall girl
Gretchen Shirm, Having cried wolf
I have come to the conclusion that short stories are the best holiday reading for me. After a day's sightseeing followed by reading up on sights for the next day, I usually find I have little time left for my reading. Novels are hard to read under such circumstances, but short stories? Well, they are … Continue reading Gretchen Shirm, Having cried wolf
David Mitchell, The thousand autumns of Jacob de Zoet
'Oh I found ways to live to tell the tale. It's my chief hobby-hawk is the noble art of survivin'.' 'Loyalty looks simple,' Grote tells him, 'but it isn't.' '...Expensive habit is honesty. Loyalty ain't a simple matter, Di'nt I warn yer...' It's interesting that some of the main themes of David Mitchell's The thousand … Continue reading David Mitchell, The thousand autumns of Jacob de Zoet
Nicole Krauss, The young painters
In her work, the writer is free of laws. But in her life, Your Honour, she is not free. Nicole Krauss's short story, "The young painters", is a sly, clever little piece. I have not read Krauss's novels so came to this short story with no preconceptions, other than that I'd heard of her. The story … Continue reading Nicole Krauss, The young painters
John Banville, The infinities
This is what Benny loves, what all the gods love, to eavesdrop on the secret lives of others. Hmm ... this is also, I think, what readers love! Readers after all are, surely, the ultimate voyeurs. And yet the god Hermes, who narrates John Banville's The infinities, also admits to the gods interfering in people's lives, which is, in … Continue reading John Banville, The infinities
Lionel Shriver, So much for that
Having had my own rather traumatic experience of the American healthcare system back in the 1980s I was rather keen to read Lionel Shriver's latest offering, So much for that. And, I wasn't disappointed - or, let me rephrase that, I found it an interesting and engaging page-turner though not a top-ten-of-the-year one. First a … Continue reading Lionel Shriver, So much for that
Jeremy Chambers, The vintage and the gleaning
There's something I haven't had an opportunity to share with you, until now that is - and that is that I love to visit wine regions. Not just because I like wine but also because I like the areas in which wine is made. The landscape is often beautiful, the wineries themselves vary so much … Continue reading Jeremy Chambers, The vintage and the gleaning
