Another from the Man Booker shortlist 2016. Each of the nine chapters in this book, which is essentially a collection of short stories, deals with a man at a different stage in his life. It begins with a 17 year student and ends with a 73 year old retired civil servant. The men are are … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – All That Man Is by David Szalay
One Minute Book Review – The Visitors by Rebecca Mascull
Set initially on a hop farm in Kent at the end of the 19th century, The Visitors is the story of Adeliza Golding, a girl born with limited sight who in early childhood contracts an illness which renders her both deaf and completely blind. Her only communication is with the Visitors, ghosts she speaks to … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Visitors by Rebecca Mascull
A Favourite Quote – Mark Twain
'When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.' The image comes from the twentytwowords site where you can find more delightful photographs of Mark Twain and his cats.
My Reading – November 2016
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh All that man is by David Szalay Do not say we have nothing : a novel by Madeleine Thien
One Minute Book Review – El Dorado by Dorothy Porter
This is a crime thriller told in verse by notable Australian poet Dorothy Porter (1954-2008). El Dorado is a child killer, marking the foreheads of his victims with a gold thumbprint. The spare compelling verse, not a word out of place, follows both the professional and personal struggles of Melbourne detective Bill Buchanan and his … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – El Dorado by Dorothy Porter
A Favourite Quote – Samuel Pepys
Sunday 18 August 1667 ‘...turned into St. Dunstan’s Church, where I heard an able sermon of the minister of the place; and stood by a pretty, modest maid, whom I did labour to take by the hand and the body; but she would not, but got further and further from me; and, at last, I … Continue reading A Favourite Quote – Samuel Pepys
One Minute Book Review – Umbrella by Will Self
I picked this book up after hearing that it dealt, in fictional form, with similar experiences to Oliver Sach's Awakenings. I put it down after a single page as I had no desire to force myself through 400 pages of unpunctuated stream of consciousness. Months later I came across the audiobook (someone else had done … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Umbrella by Will Self
A Favourite Quote – G. B. Shaw (or someone)
'I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.' As well as George Bernard Shaw, this delightful quotation has variously been attributed to Oscar Wilde, Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain to name a few but not to Martin Luther, John Milton or (Heaven forfend) William … Continue reading A Favourite Quote – G. B. Shaw (or someone)
We Will Remember Them
We are now over two years into our commemoration of the centenary of the Great War. Overwhelmingly people have approached these commemorations with an attitude of solemnity. Whether for wreath laying ceremonies or visits to war memorials or to museums, thoughts are primarily on those who were lost. Going through newspapers over the 50 years … Continue reading We Will Remember Them
One Minute Book Review – A Woman So Bold by L. S. Young
This is an engaging first novel, categorized as historical romance, better described as historical fiction with a strong romance element. It is the story of Landra Andrews’ growth from childhood to womanhood and her struggle against both family and a narrow society to live and love on her own terms. Set in north Florida in … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – A Woman So Bold by L. S. Young
Catherine Meyrick 