Ersatz TLS discussion
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What Are We Reading? 8 March 2021
Tam wrote: "There are many kinds of violence, and some of them do not look like violence at all, and can actually be dressed up as the cure. I think that at least some of those who practised ECT did think it might help cure severe mental disorders, but also I think that it was driven by the idea of a 'quick fix', which is a sort of a 'holy grail' for 'doctorism'."I read Andrew Solomon’s The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (which is from 2001 so probably seriously outdated in many respects) where he claims ECT is a statistically more effective treatment of depression than talk or drug therapy. That surprised me, as I always associated it with the mental hospital as torture chamber, as depicted in The Bell Jar and Valley Of The Dolls, among others. I thought it significant, though, that ECT was the one form of treatment Solomon himself, who seemed open to all kinds of experiential and pharmaceutical experimentation, did not undergo personally.
The only new novel I've really been interested in, Mr Beethoven by Paul Griffiths is coming out in a US edition (well over a year after the UK edition) from NYRB (not their "Classics" line). But the cover? OK, early 19th Century, but it says neither "US" nor "Beethoven" / "music" to me (which at least the UK edition does). Am I missing something?
Larger view:
Not knowledgable in the slightest about ECT, and I only found out about this when I was much older as I was shielded from a lot of it as a child, but my granny fell into a clinical depression when she was dying from cancer (to the extent she wasn't functioning and me, my sister and my young cousins all couldn't see her after her diagnosis) and my dad has always said that ECT was beneficial to her then but that it was difficult to discuss because the image of ECT is very influenced by the (numerous) instances where it has been used in a cruel or ineffective way on often vulnerable people.
AB76 wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "Tam wrote: "I think that at least some of those who practised ECT did think it might help cure severe mental disorders, but also I think that it was driven by the idea of a 'quic..."I think she was given a partial lobotomy, where the connections between the two frontal lobes were severed. I remember reading that, as she had learning difficulties from birth, that she, as she was getting older, was becoming very sexually expressive and that the family found this difficult to deal with, so this was why it was done to her. It was not a success, but I think some of the early history of both lobotomies and ECT were something equivalent to 'the wild west' for practitioners....
Machenbach wrote: "I do like some photographic covers - those adorning Sebald's Austerlitz, Vertigo and On the Natural History of Destruction all work well for me. Indeed, I have an original image of the latter in my office."The cover of Vertigo reminds me way too much of the title sequence of the Hitchcock film with the same title.
Mod
I know this novel has its fans here, but I’m afraid I’ll be going against the grain to some extent.
For me, the back half of..."
I haven't read this but I was worried when I heard you chose this title as your first Vlautin. I suspect from your review I'd have similar reservations to it.
Don't give up on Vlautin, though, until you've tried either Lean On Pete or Don't Skip Out on Me.
Machenbach wrote: "Bill wrote: "Machenbach wrote: "I do like some photographic covers - those adorning Sebald's Austerlitz, Vertigo and On the Natural History of Destruction all work well for me. Indeed, I have an or..."Serious question: in what way is Vertigo a novel? I have read it as four interconnected stories.
No idea how to post book covers. But that is the cover of the German PB edition, quite different:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
FranHunny wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Georg wrote: "AB76 wrote: "I am confused with the Imperial German census for Schleswig(previously the Danish Duchy of Schleswig, the southern area was part of Germany from 1860s), in t..."In the Mamur Zapt mysteries by Michael Pearce (when the Brits were in charge in Egypt) the Mamur Zapt's secretary/office manager is a Copt. He is (as I recall) a very much 'by the book' person.
A nice, light, turned historical, series. It must be about time for a re-read.
Photographic covers, Southern Gothic division:Sometime in the early 1970s, US editions of Faulkner went from this:
To this:
I didn't have a problem with either one; Faulkner seems particularly hard to choose cover images for. Photographs suit better than any paintings I can think of, though typography-only is just as satisfactory.
In going from commercial to university press, Erskine Caldwell metamorphosed from this sort of approach:
To this:
(With lots of variations, but during the 1940s-50s, the covers of his books tended toward the pulpishly suggestive). In this case, I think both covers suggest some aspect of his work to the exclusion of others, like the blind men and the elephant.
Georg wrote: "No idea how to post book covers. But that is the cover of the German PB edition, quite different:"
On the CD "Berlin Cabaret Songs", Ute Lemperer sings a song titled "Alles Schwindel" (Schiffer-Spoliansky), translated as "It's all a swindle". Does the word in Sebald's title, Schwindel. Gefühle., carry any connotations of this meaning?
Bill wrote: "Photographic covers, Southern Gothic division:Sometime in the early 1970s, US editions of Faulkner went from this:
To this:
i loved Light in August about 15 years ago, didnt like pylon, these covers are nice though for the two books
Machenbach wrote(239): " It's generally described and sold as a novelMaybe in the UK, but not in Germany. The only novel Sebald wrote is Austerlitz. And if UK reviewers call it a novel I would like to know how they define 'novel'. Is that a term you can use for whatever-defies-categorisation?
Agree with the 'tourist guide' sentiment. Hardly anybody will notice that the photo is slightly askew, but those who designed it will probably feel very smug.
Next up and long awaited is some EM Forster, i'm almost moving backwards through his ouevre from A Passage To India to the one i will read now The Longest Journey(1907). I picked it up from my parents bookshelf one hot summers day (pre-covid) and it interestingly has a slightly mysterious William Strang painting on the cover, the copy i once had but lost, was a gloomy, black and white photo of a Cambridge college.
i'm very much looking fowards to dipping back into Edwardia, an era that fascinates and hope not be to be too dissapointed by what some call his most "difficult" novel
"The Flaubert Bestiary'I attract mad people and animals.'
Letter [by Gustave Flaubert] to Alfred Le Poittevin, 26 May 1845
The Bear
Gustave was the Bear. His sister Caroline was the Rat—'your dear rat', 'your faithful rat' she signs herself, 'little rat', 'Ah, rat, good rat, old rat', 'old rat, naughty old rat, good rat, poor old rat' he addresses her—but Gustave was the Bear. When he was only twenty, people found him 'an odd fellow, a bear, a young man out of the ordinary'; and even before his epileptic seizure and confinement at Croisset, the image had established itself:
'I am a bear and I want to stay a bear in my den, in my lair, in my skin, in my old bear's skin; I want to live quietly, far away from the bourgeois and the bourgeoises.'After his attack, the beast confirmed itself: 'I live alone, like a bear.' (The word 'alone' in this sentence is best glossed as: 'alone except for my parents, my sister, the servants, our dog, Caroline's goat, and my regular visits from Alfred Le Poittevin'.)
He recovered, he was allowed to travel; in December 1850 he wrote to his mother from Constantinople, expanding the image of the Bear. It now explained not just his character, but also his literary strategy:
If you participate in life, you don't see it clearly: you suffer from it too much or enjoy it too much. The artist, to my way of thinking, is a monstrosity, something outside nature.
All the misfortunes Providence inflicts on him come from his stubbornness in denying that maxim…So (and this is my conclusion) I am resigned to living as I have lived: alone, with my throng of great men as my only cronies—a bear, with my bear-rug for company.
The 'throng of cronies', needless to say, aren't house-guests but companions picked from his library shelves. As for the bear-rug, he was always concerned about it: he wrote twice from the East (Constantinople, April 1850; Benisouef, June 1850) asking his mother to take care of it."
From Julian Barnes, Flaubert's Parrot.
I was reminded of this passage by Tam's Bestiary gift, looked it up, and found it apposite, for these times, and also, maybe, for this place?
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: ""Gustave was the Bear."I believe Flaubert was about 6 foot 2, which was enormous in the nineteenth century.
scarletnoir wrote #215:
"Ah, apologies! I hadn't understood that The Gambler was your own choice - I assumed it was someone else's... no intention to diss you... and as I say, anything by Dostoyevsky has areas of interest..."No need to apologize, scarlet. It's an honest opinion, and on books, so even better. You obviously know your Dostoevsky, much better than I do. I will see how it goes.
All of the group members throw in the odd suggestion, and while it is brilliant if everyone liked the book a lot, I also like the sessions when we have controversial discussions. As a rule, I am not terribly protective of my suggestions and happy to accept other views, while explaining, of course, what made it a worthy choice for me in the first place. It's also a lot to do with readers' approaches, many in my group want characters to identify with, others don't mind diving into alien, even chilling worlds and minds, still others, if fewer, are swayed by beautiful language. Not mutually exclusive, of course, and it is still fascinating to me who will like what and why.
In the case of The Gambler, I am sure the obsessive passages about the lady will not find a lot of friends (nor am I a friend of them, but I find them interesting).
I must admit that it would embarrass me, though, if my suggestion had fallen through with just about everyone, something which has not happened so far. I would be mortified if people spent time and often money on a book and then hated it all... all of them. :cringe:
Machenbach wrote #219: "One of my close friends has had [ECTS] a few times and says that it has worked for him each time, albeit as a fairly short-term solution to a serious, suicidal situation. "
I am very glad for your friend and for those he is important to that it has been working.
My very best wishes to him. I hope he will be well.
reen wrote #206: "The very one, BL. He will be Dublin based in the short term, but then "out foreign" as the saying goes in some quarters. He gave his notice today in his current job so we broke open a bottle. Any excuse not to wait until Friday. My husband made a very formal speech, which was very touching but I had to suppress an overwhelming urge not to laugh. That Thursday "nearly there" feeling. My son knows Megan Nolan and is reading her book Acts of Desperation. He has just finished Naoise Dolan's Exciting Times; he'll be hard pressed to find another rhyming writer. Thumbs up to both the aforementioned. Not for the first time, it strikes me they are a mutually supportive generation."
Well done! And this is the guy who had cocktails and pizza from his workplace at some point, if I recall correctly. So he must have found something even better! 'Out foreign' is a new phrase to me. Like its trajectory.
I get what you mean by the Friday feeling and the almost-there Thursday evening. Hope it may change for the both of us! May I whinge a bit? I found this week harrowing. Henry VIII 'is getting mad againe', and though it's not a Spanish Tragedy, I have to strain pretty hard to find it funny at the mo. Looked in the mirror today and felt (I looked) about 15 years older than during my holiday.
Anyway, there are chances for improvement. Don't want to jinx it. We will see.
I like the Dolan/ Nolan story! I read Nolan's piece on sobering up in the Guardian a while ago and thought it impressive and kept my fingers crossed for her.
Rhyming writers is a good one! The only ones coming to mind immediately are Jonathan Coe and Edgar Allan Poe. I am sure there will be more refined (more-syllable) pairings!
This reminds me that we still haven't opened the secco. A dry Pfalz Riesling (which I am partial to) is languishing in the fridge, too. Useless non-drunks, eh? We will get to it at some point.
Sláinte! Which I very much mis-spelt yesterday, somehow mixing it up with santé. À la tienne.
SydneyH wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: ""Gustave was the Bear."I believe Flaubert was about 6 foot 2, which was enormous in the nineteenth century."
and he was quite obese too, so a very big man
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "scarletnoir wrote #215:
"Ah, apologies! I hadn't understood that The Gambler was your own choice - I assumed it was someone else's... no intention to diss you... and as I say, anything by Dosto..."
Pfalz Reisling...mighty Rhineland wines.....!
SydneyH wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: ""Gustave was the Bear."I believe Flaubert was about 6 foot 2, which was enormous in the nineteenth century."
Ah, you know your Flaubert! Good to know. I (think I) remember you giving us some juicy Mme Bovary details on TL&S. My kanban list still features Flaubert's Sálammbo, The Three Tales and Bouvard and Pecuchet, all three on your recommendation, by the way.
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: ""The Flaubert Bestiary'I attract mad people and animals.'
Letter [by Gustave Flaubert] to Alfred Le Poittevin, 26 May 1845
The Bear
Gustave was the Bear. His sister Caroline was the Rat—'your ..."
i loathed that novel when it was part of the contemporary week when i was doing a level english lit. i dont like any fiction Barnes has written but love his non-fiction, especially his art essays in the LRB
i should maybe try and re-read Flauberts Parrot...maybe
AB76 wrote: "SydneyH wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: ""Gustave was the Bear."I believe Flaubert was about 6 foot 2, which was enormous in the nineteenth century."
and he was quite obese too, so a very..."
Sounds like Henry VIII or Edward IV
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "I (think I) remember you giving us some juicy Mme Bovary details on TL&S. My kanban list still features Flaubert's Sálammbo, The Three Tales and Bouvard and Pecuchet, all three on your recommendation"That's very possible. Everything I've read about Flaubert has been fascinating, and I particularly liked Salammbo and the Three Tales, especially the first two (Machenbach and ToomanyWilsons both favoured Bouvard and Pecuchet). The one I've never gotten around to is The Temptations of St Anthony.
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: ""The Flaubert Bestiary'I attract mad people and animals.'
Letter [by Gustave Flaubert] to Alfred Le Poittevin, 26 May 1845
The Bear
Gustave was the Bear. His sister Caroline was the Rat—'your ..."
Since the question has been raised with respect to Sebald, are Barnes's Flaubert's Parrot and History of the World, etc, novels, really? I like them both but they seem to me more like collections of connected essays.
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: ""The Flaubert Bestiary'I attract mad people and animals.'
Letter [by Gustave Flaubert] to Alfred Le Poittevin, 26 May 1845
The Bear
Gustave was the Bear. His sister Caroline was the Rat—'your ..."
Interesting - "un ours", when used nowadays in France to describe a person, implies someone solitary, rather unfriendly or curmudgeonly - at least, that's how I 'feel' the word - native speakers please correct if that's wrong!
It makes me wonder whether that contemporary usage existed prior to Flaubert's musings on 'being a bear', or whether it derives from it.
As for Flaubert's Parrot - I read it many years ago, enjoyed it, and still find in Barnes one of the few current English writers I can tolerate (usually). Shamefully, I have yet to read anything by Flaubert!
Berkley wrote: "are Barnes's Flaubert's Parrot and History of the World, etc, novels, really?"Nope, not really - in the case of Flaubert's Parrot at least, I haven't read the History of the World.
Mod
Nope, not really - in the case of Flaubert's Parrot at least, I haven't read the History of the World."
My copy of
A History of the World ...
dates from 1990 and I haven't re-read it - I do remember the chapters as having quite separate stories. However, in the quotes on the back cover:Salman Rushdie, 'what he offers us is the novel as footnote in history'
Nadine Gordimer, 'My novel of the year'
Anne Smith, Literary Review, 'At last the English novel seems to have got its balls back'
Personally, I agree with Machenbach, defining what exactly is a novel is 'rather like herding cats and not worth wasting much time over.'
giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "SydneyH wrote: "Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: ""Gustave was the Bear."I believe Flaubert was about 6 foot 2, which was enormous in the nineteenth century."
and he was quite obese t..."
Charles 2nd was also 6'2 but not fat.
Gpfr wrote: "SydneyH wrote: "Berkley wrote: "are Barnes's Flaubert's Parrot and History of the World, etc, novels, really?"Nope, not really - in the case of Flaubert's Parrot at least, I haven't read the Hist..."
for sure, the whole idea of art is to elude definition or pigeon holing....
Hello there, woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m. (wtf?) and am obviously not up to things yet: I just managed to click on the "back" button, thus losing a long post (on Barnes, novels or not - agree with cat herding, Mach and Gpfr -, notes in pencil as trouvailles on rereading, Helmut Kohl (6 feet 4), Hannelore Kohl, Palatinate, a caramel blancmange recipe with 17 (!) eggs,...) I was ready to send off.Aaaargh.
But here is a quiz link on literary classics (multiple choice, no freetext, with a timer) which I enjoyed. https://www.britannica.com/quiz/liter...
I thought many of the questions quite easy, some not (12 out of 15). Hope some here may enjoy it!
And @ Sydney, I just checked the shelf for Flaubert, we do have Salammbô at least.
@Bill, here is the cover image: https://www.globalgallery.com/detail/...
(Manet). It is cut off above the naked breasts, though.
Goodreads, in fact, shows a very interesting variety of covers regarding this novel! But I can't really comment, not having read it yet.
Edit: 6 feet 4, not 9 feet 4 - anyway, 1,93 m.
Machenbach wrote(253): "Georg wrote: "The only novel Sebald wrote is Austerlitz. And if UK reviewers call it a novel I would like to know how they define 'novel'. Is that a term you can use for whatever-defies-categorisat..."I take your point. David Mitchell's The Cloud Atlas is sold as a novel. I would call it a collection of short stories. Alas, I have no academic background in literature, so might be wrong/out of date.
In my book the conditio sine qua non for a novel is a protagonist.
I still disagree when it comes to Vertigo.
You said: "It's generally described and sold as a novel, so I stuck with that."
I am not sure what the sources for your claim are.
In a round-up of critics only one used the term 'novel' ("cerebral novel"; not sure what that is when it is at home...)
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
And I found no Guardian review where the lazy cop-out (sorry) 'novel' was used.
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "Hello there, woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m. (wtf?) and am obviously not up to things yet: I just managed to click on the "back" button, thus losing a long post (on Barnes, novels or not - agree ..."i've had a few 5am wake-ups in last 10 days too....
Mod
You said: "It's generally described and sold as a novel, so I stuck with that." I am not sure what the sources for your claim are...."
Not having read it, I wouldn't have an opinion, but out of curiosity I looked it up and found it frequently described as a novel including by its American publishers, New Directions Publishing: Vertigo —W.G. Sebald’s marvelous first novel
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "scarletnoir wrote #215:
"Ah, apologies! I hadn't understood that The Gambler was your own choice - I assumed it was someone else's... no intention to diss you... and as I say, anything by Dosto..."
"out foreign" is a bit of a throwback idiom to when people didn't travel much and if they did, the specifics weren't really important. The new job will involve postings abroad so he's taking the chance while he has no ties. He's lived abroad before so he'll be happy to go again, especially after his incarceration with us this year. It's a while away yet so I can work up to that tearful farewell. ha.
You are commendably abstemious. We have drinks and a "nice dinner" on Friday evenings to mark the end of the working week and just demarcate the days; it's also DJ night - my husband spins the discs and I recline on an inherited chaise longue (which he wants to burn) in advanced stages of merriment ... last night came to a close with Jools Holland. I slept through Grace Jones (allegedly) but came around for a brilliant performance by Kanye of Blood on the Leaves (sampling Holiday's Strange Fruit). Mesmerising.
On the rhyming authors front, from a brief glance at the books in front of me, I can offer McEwan, McEwen and McLuhan...
I only got 10 in the quiz.
I really like that Manet painting; I whatsapped a photo of it to someone only last week. As my father might have remarked drily "she mustn't feel the cold".
Shelflife_wasBooklooker wrote: "And @ Sydney, I just checked the shelf for Flaubert, we do have Salammbô at least.@Bill, here is the cover image:"
The edition of Salammbô you link to uses Franz von Stuck’s Salome as a cover image – a painting I included in my rambling review of the Cambridge Opera Guide to the Strauss opera. In a further musical connection, I’ll note that, in Citizen Kane, Salammbô was the work in which Susan Kane made her disastrous operatic debut, for which Bernard Hermann composed the featured excerpts (sung by Kiri Te Kanawa on the Charles Gerhardt recording of selections from the score).
AB76 wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "SydneyH wrote: "Berkley wrote: "are Barnes's Flaubert's Parrot and History of the World, etc, novels, really?"Nope, not really - in the case of Flaubert's Parrot at least, I haven't ..."
Mr Fuzzywuzz and I just took the quiz. We scored a dismal 7/15. But it was fun. Classic literature is not our forte :)
I score 11/15 in the quiz, lucky because there was a lot of guessing.
I have just finished reading Slough House, Mick Herron's latest in the series. Thoroughly enjoyed it, in fact I think it is the best yet. I may get round to posting a review in due course.
Mod
Thanks, Shelflife
Am about half way through a sedate, un-hurried read of North Korean late 1980s classic Friend
Its a truly curious read, in some ways its a deep exploration of the sanctity of marriage in a conformist society, balancing the male and female roles and what is expected of them to achieve a "good marriage"
The author weaves in a multi-perspective story about a divorce case, via the interpretations of the presiding Judge in the case. he talks with the couple and explores their situation, while musing on his own marriage and opining about the state of korean law and law in general. He does not look kindly on corruption andpatronage . It is almost as if a private life was being discussed as an issue of a state in crisis.
The hallowed ground of the first 130 pages is not the home, or the courts, or a public space but the factory. Here are the workers, the living glory of North Korea, the judge is deferential to a factory division boss he questions about the husband in the divorce case. This university educated lawyer, feels inferior in the presence of an aged, gnarled veteran of factory labour
I wouldnt position this, from my reading so far, as a typically asian or korean novel but in its sedate pace and deliberate tone, there is an element of Soseki or Tanizaki but with a strong social realist focus
I was amazed to find such a novel translated by an american university press and it truly must be one of a miniscule amount of literary works from the "Hermit Kingdom", that has seen the light of day.
NB. Its not made clear if the judge is similar to the french" juge d'instruction" in the inquisitoral system or not, nothing has been clarified about it but his role would match that of a civil law version of a juge d'instruction
Mod
..."
Snap! I scored the same, missed the same.
Just finished Freeman by Leonard Pitts Jr and I cannot recommend this powerful, magnificent novel highly enough. I am still processing its effect on me so am not too coherent. I am emotionally wrecked, enlightened and moved. Set in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War, all the turmoil, the variety of mind sets and attitudes, prejudices and beliefs of the time are delineated through three characters, so brilliantly drawn, in such depth, that I feel I know them personally. Sam, the free man of the title, walks all the way from Philadelphia to find his wife Tilda, from whom he was separated, and on the way suffers indignities, cruelties and kindnesses. Tilda’s life of slavery is one of pain and misery. Prudence, à rich, headstrong woman from Boston decides to start a school for black children in the Deep South, accompanied by her black foster sister Bonnie. This book could replace a shelf of textbooks to explain the roots of racism in America. What makes the book stand out from other novels written on the same theme is the outstanding quality of the writing, along with the deep humanity permeating every sentence. Despite the atrocious circumstances described, the novel manages to be ultimately uplifting because of the message of love, humanity and hope.
One of the best novels I have ever read.
Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn
This is a very informative piece of writing. The places Flyn visits, while possessed of an eerie attractiveness, are hardly beauty spots, in her series of visits she investigates the ecological impact of human activity on each location and to what extent nature can bounce back in a truly engaging manner.
There is exceptional research also, and a wealth of knowledge on our planet from a 28 year old journalist from the Highlands.
Inevitably, some of the places are of more interest to some people than others.
My personal highlights were Swona island (near Orkney) and its cattle, Plymouth in Montserrat follwing the volcano, Zone Rouge in Verdun (the only place I have visited) and Detroit.
I was far less enthusiastic about the Five Sisters in Lothian, and indeed the whole of the first part of the book. It actually gave me the wrong impression from the outset, but having completed the book, I can see the reason they were included, and can now appreciate them.
If I am allowed one criticism, it is not that these places were included, its just about the order they are in.
My second Colum McCann book 'Let the Great World Spin'.I loved 'Aperigon' so had to read this one.
A fascinating book asking it's reader to listen and try to understand the differences that make us all unique and human.
Set in New York 'Let the Great World Spin' takes a look into, and weaves a connecting thread through the lives of those fortunate and less fortunate who live in this restless city.
The story centres around the real life event in 1974 when Phillippe Petit laid a tightrope between the Twin Towers spending 45 minutes performing and crossing between the two buildings - a story in itself.
Colum McCann has such a light, gentle touch and is respectful to all his characters, whether they live in a penthouse on Park Lane or in the projects on the Bronx.
The story starts with the gifted but troubled Irish missionary, Corrigan -
'He was at the origin of things and now I had a meaning for my brother - he was a crack of light under the door, and yet the door was shut to him.'
He was always trying to make the hooker's lives easier whilst endangering his own life and pushing for proof of the existence of his God whilst testing his own faith to the absolute boundaries. He loves these people but is his God there to help them? For him it is a journey towards self destruction.
Other stories fill the chapters; judges, hookers, artists, a girl from Missouri trying to keep moving forward, a wealthy outsider in a group of women grieving over their son's lost in the name of war.
As the story progresses the little connections appear and start to weave each chapter together in a beautiful and effortless way.
This great book asks the reader to appreciate what makes us all different and so we can all 'Let the Great World Spin'.
Mod
I loved 'Aperigon' so had to read this one.
A fascinating book asking it's reader to listen and try to understand the differences that make ..."
Very nice, Clare. When you're ready for another McCann, I can recommend This Side of Brightness
Mod
lljones -thank you and 'YAY' to your vaccine!
Lljones wrote: "Ok, that's done and dusted. (Still need a haircut...)"
great news LL...and keep up the good work with your moderations!!
11/15 on the quiz - not too bad, genuinely didn't know the ones I missed, couple of lucky guesses too...Perhaps I should get a bonus for a 3:30am start this morning, with no naps... what's with you 5am sleepyheads? (Only joking - it wasn't from choice!)
Spiral Series 4 is like one blunder after another, its the only series i havent watched but i do know the ending, having watched series 5So basically its a slow march to disaster and Karlsson is doing some incredibly stupid things.....anyone else have a comment on series 4?
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I find it interesting how Ishiguro seems to go from strength to strength exploring genre fiction with his last few books while I found "The Testaments" by Atwood very disappointing compared to her earlier sci-fi or dystopian novels. Ishiguro combines sci-fi or fantastical concepts with really delicate and exquisite character work. It's a cliche to say, but his style is so deceptively simple you almost reflexively think "psht I could do that" but then you realise if it was so easy, why are the shelves not full of books of Ishiguro's contemporaries writing at his level?