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What Are We Reading? 17 May 2021
Although I prefer history when I read non-fiction, I also have a short attention span so
was right up my alley. It covers, in its just over 200 double spaced, the years from circa 800 through the Putin years. And for those who want to delve deeper, each chapter end provides a Further Reading List with several books to choose from.
So if you want a slim version of Russian history, this book is for you.
Georg wrote: "I share your love for Anne Tyler and have read most of her books.But I was really disappointed by A Spool of Blue Thread. Gave up on that after about 80%."
That's the one with quite a shock rather more than halfway through, I think? It did surprise me, but quite enjoyed the book nevertheless. The only one that didn't work for me was 'The Amateur Marriage' - somehow, the 1940s set episodes didn't feel authentic. A very rare mis-step by a wonderful author.
Andy wrote: "Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor 
The book is divided into three sections, each bearing a word from the book’s title. The sections ..."
Hmm .. I love Jon McGregor's books and have read everything of his that I can lay my hands on. I was saving Lean Fall Stand for my summer holiday but this is the latest in a series of middling reviews I've read. A bit disconcerting :(
The book is divided into three sections, each bearing a word from the book’s title. The sections ..."
Hmm .. I love Jon McGregor's books and have read everything of his that I can lay my hands on. I was saving Lean Fall Stand for my summer holiday but this is the latest in a series of middling reviews I've read. A bit disconcerting :(
Finished
Father and Son by Edmund Gosse (1907)One of the most well regarded Edwardian reminisces on Victorian childhood, Gosse writes of the first 17 years of his life, in a Brethren household. His mother dies when he was a child and while the early stages of the book are urban Brethren tinted, 3/4 of the book takes place in a small village near Torquay,where his father is a Brethren "elder"
Gosse's father, Phillip Gosse was a scientist who travelled the world a lot before his son was born. While not born into the puritan sect called "Plymouth Brethren", he became a devout advocate of its dry and severe approach to life, as did his wife, who again was not born into the sect.
Edmund Gosse narrates his life as he navigates a world of prayer, duty and rejection of wordly things. His father is a kindly figure, in my eyes, not a monster, but cannot seem to see how boring and confining his worldview was to a child. There are the endless Sundays of boredom, of chapel, of sunday school, chapel again at 6pm and the rejection of anything secular.
The Brethren "flock" in the Devon village are mostly farm labourers, spinsters, young mothers and a collection of eccentrics who have left Anglican or other nearby flocks to join the Brethren collective. Gosse is fair to these people, they are not ridiculed but again there is that suffocating layer of monomaniac devotion to "something", which envelopes their whole lives
I'm relaxed in my religious beliefs, having had a 100% secular education and liberal parents but i can clearly see where a hatred of the boring devotion of endless prayer and church as a child can come from.
Two things that jars in the book are quite important. The first is that Edmund Gosse is not a likeable figure, as a child or as the adult writing the book in 1907. I never really warmed to his argument or his final rejection of the Brethren (he includes his fathers shocked letter, sent a few days after the discussion).
The second is veracity, the notes in the OUP edition make it clear that Edmund Gosse was liberal with the truth in sections and when he dreads his fathers constant letters, as he starts a career at the British Museum, we learn that this section is total tosh, in fact it was Gosse Jnr who was needy and desired his fathers correspondence rather than feeling dread at his fathers constant letter writing about his faith and the Brethren
I did enjoy reading it as a 20% unreliable narration and as a study of the past and family life. In some ways the blurb and the reviews sell this as much more about the Brethren, when in many ways there is very little definition of what they stood for and why they thought as they do, which was dissapointing.
Interesting that his father banned reading Sir Walter Scott in the household but was fine with Charles Dickens. I guess romance in Scott's novels was a no-no...
This was part of my diary and auto-biog reading, next up is Henry Newman(Selected Writings) , so my religious thinking cap needs to be donned
AB76 wrote: " The Way to Santiago by Arthur Calder-Marshall (1940) 
has started perfectly,the prose creating a realistic atmosphere of late 1930s Mexico City and its smal..."Don't think I've ever heard of this book or its author before now, putting it on my list. Anything else of Calder-Marshall's recommended?
Georg wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "If I may return briefly to Anne Tyler - although I have often read about my favourite authors' back stories, somehow I seem to have neglected to do so with Tyler, despite having..."Which is the best Tyler to start with? Or which are her best, period?
Looking at my to-read file, I see I have Celestial Navigation (1974) and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1982) listed but can't recall now where I heard about them or why I picked those two titles.
Berkley wrote: "Which is the best Tyler to start with? Or which are her best, period?, ..."
I'm pretty much of the opinion that everyone, everywhere should read Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant . (Full disclosure: I haven't read Celestial Navigation .)
I'm pretty much of the opinion that everyone, everywhere should read Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant . (Full disclosure: I haven't read Celestial Navigation .)
Mod
I'm pretty much of the opinion that everyone, everywhere should read Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant ..."
I agree with Anne about Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and Berkley, of those two I would start with that one. But Anne, and any other Tyler fans who haven't read Celestial Navigation - you must read it. It's a marvellous book, although - no, I'll stop there.
Mod
Old Filth by Jane GardamWell, I've now read it and I loved it. Privileged people, yes, in terms of being born into money and a certain social class and having worldly success - but Edward Feathers had, for a start, a horribly traumatic early childhood. I liked the way the book moves back and forwards through time, fleshing out the picture of his life bit by bit. I'm looking forward to the second volume now and learning more about his wife Betty.
The only Gardam I'd read before was Crusoe's Daughter. It was years ago and other than that I liked it, I don't remember too much about it. I think I'll read it again.
Berkley wrote: "AB76 wrote: " The Way to Santiago by Arthur Calder-Marshall (1940) has started perfectly,the prose creating a realistic atmosphere of late 1930s Mexico City..."i think his 1930s fiction was well regarded but this is my first novel of his i have read ........the central plot is facinating and like all thrillers there is a tension in every chapter
Hello everyone When our friend Justine died in March it was a very sad time for us. Many wrote about their grief and my way was to write a short poem remembering which I posted on photos along with a picture of forget-me-nots. I called it Justine and signed it from Lola, Carmen and myself.
A few days later, on March 10th I posted another poem entitled Blackbird on Photos, which was about grief, too.
Every now and then I go back and look again and every time that I do the number of views has increased. Today they stand at 209 and 165 respectively.
I wondered if it was my checking putting up the views and so I checked with Goodreads Help. They tell me that only the first time that someone views the photo is the view recorded.
I do not know who is seeing them; I believe that they have spread beyond Ersatz because they are still increasing.
If my simple poems bring some comfort I am glad but mostly I feel it is a kind of legacy, a tribute to Justine, her fair spirit.
I wasn’t going to say anything but then thought you should feel this warmth too.
Ah, I've been bad again, I acquired more e-books ... The Chronicles of St Mary's, omnibus (the first three in a series) by Jody Taylor The Chronicles of St Mary’s Omnibus: Three Extraordinary AdventuresMeet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History.
Sounds like something the doctor might recommend - light hearted reading. This was not a prime reading book (so I paid for it a meagre sum - more like the price for one paperback book)
and
Die Stimmlosen
A story about post-war Germany, the struggles of the survivors, the problems with the system change - but not staff change, same jobs, same humans - "Just" another philosophy.
Sometimes I want to know about our (Germans) dark past. But not too close, hence fiction.
The price was less than a Euro - couldn't make such a big mistake there. And since the goodread-readers recommended to read the previous book "Im Lautlosen" - I added that
Im Lautlosen
That is "end of war"-time ..
CCCubbon wrote: "Hello everyone When our friend Justine died in March it was a very sad time for us. Many wrote about their grief and my way was to write a short poem remembering which I posted on photos along wit..."
Thanks CCC, thats a lovely reminder and i feel that warmth!
Did we get any more info from her family ?
Gpfr wrote: "Anne wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Which is the best Tyler to start with? Or which are her best, period?, ..."I'm pretty much of the opinion that everyone, everywhere should read Dinner at the Homesick..."
@Gpfr. So glad you enjoyed Old Filth. I think I mentioned previously that I had recently re-read the trilogy. Last Friends, in particular, was quite moving. I met Jane Gardam a few years ago, and she seemed delighted that I found it so. Yes, Crusoe’s Daughter is a lovely read too, as is The Queen of the Tambourine.
On a different note (so to speak) a musical one. If memory serves you are a fan if Norma Waterson? Apart from Bob D reaching his 80th, Norma’s husband and music collaborator, Martin Carthy celebrates that significant number too. Anyway, chucking it down here, sod the household stuff, I may continue with Lindsey Davis’s The Graveyard of the Hesperides. Bit of a departure for me.
Re Anne Tyler, plenty to choose from. The Accidental Tourist? Or Searching for Caleb, which the first that drew me into her world about thirty years ago.
Lass wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "Anne wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Which is the best Tyler to start with? Or which are her best, period?, ..."I'm pretty much of the opinion that everyone, everywhere should read Dinner at..."
The Accidental Tourist was my first. And I think it is still my favourite. With "Dinner..." a very close second.
But, with the exception mentioned above, I loved every Tyler book I read.
I'll raise my glass to Waterson/McCarthy tomorrow (who is Bob D ;-))
I found A Spool of Blue Thread rather dreary too.
CCCubbon wrote: "Hello everyone When our friend Justine died in March it was a very sad time for us. Many wrote about their grief and my way was to write a short poem remembering which I posted on photos along wit..."
i am about 100pp into Apeirogon, a book she loved. Wondering how she would feel about the current events.
Lass wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "Anne wrote: "Berkley wrote: "Which is the best Tyler to start with? Or which are her best, period?, ..."I'm pretty much of the opinion that everyone, everywhere should read Dinner at..."
😂
I have finished 'Knowledge of Angels', by Jill Paton Walsh, which is a medieval themed disquisition on the nature of belief in God. Its written as a fable about the nature of innocence. Its set on an island not unlike Majorca. Its partially 'Enigma of Kaspar Hauser' territory, in the form of a young girl who is found in the mountains having been raised by wolves, and a stranger who is washed on to the shore when he fell from a passing boat. It. helps if you have an interest in theological debates, as both 'cases' are taken up by the 'cardinal' ruler of the land and his friend the head abbot of the island. I would say that it is a tale of hubris disguised as moral turpitude by the church. It was a good read to me. Though it had a few unconvincing scenes. I'm not sure a girl even one raised by wolves would 'walk' on her full forearms as she is described as doing here. She is handed in to the care of a nunnery whilst the stranger is imprisoned, and grilled as to his 'atheist' views. And then the inquisition turns up!...
The story is about the overlapping fates of the two strangers in the midst of overbearing Christian culture, which seems anything but Christian in its practises. I was surprised to find that Jill Paton Walsh is known primarily as a children's author. I think a young child picking this book up might get a bit of a shock, and that Jill will have done with possible honey usages, the same as what Phillip Roth so notably did when putting to novel use, some liver left in the family fridge, in Portnoy's Complaint!..
Anyway the theosophical debates kept me entertained. I rather feel that I would have got on quite well with Jill, so she is going on my fantasy dinner table list as a possible invite.
I had set up with the sprog, a very exclusive book club, of just the two of us, and our first agreed book, well chapter really, is The King James Bible version of 'Revelations' Alas the sprog hasn't finished it yet, so I'm on my own so far but I just wanted to say that, compared to Ecclesiastes for instance, or Song of Soloman, its rather badly written. If I had written "and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps" in my English class at school I would have got a D minus, and probably a bit of chalk flicked at my ear lobe as well... still I will have to wait for the sprogs 'end-time' to begin to discuss it... still I liked this accumulation of 'angel' themed thinking... she said, as she trumpeted on!...
Georg wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Hello everyone When our friend Justine died in March it was a very sad time for us. Many wrote about their grief and my way was to write a short poem remembering which I posted on..."
Georg wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Hello everyone
When our friend Justine died in March it was a very sad time for us. Many wrote about their grief and my way was to write a short poem remembering which I posted on..."
Georg wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Hello everyone
When our friend Justine died in March it was a very sad time for us. Many wrote about their grief and my way was to write a short poem remembering which I posted on..."
Georg wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Hello everyone
When our friend Justine died in March it was a very sad time for us. Many wrote about their grief and my way was to write a short poem remembering which I posted on..."
Georg wrote: "CCCubbon wrote: "Hello everyone
When our friend Justine died in March it was a very sad time for us. Many wrote about their grief and my way was to write a short poem remembering which I posted on..."
My previous comment was meant for @Georg, in relation to Mr Zimmerman.
Berkley wrote: "Georg wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: "If I may return briefly to Anne Tyler - although I have often read about my favourite authors' back stories, somehow I seem to have neglected to do so with Tyler, ..."You can't really go wrong with Tyler, so long as you like the 'voice' and the sense of humour - 'Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant' is excellent. I love almost all Tyler's books (I'm pretty sure that I have read every one)... so that includes 'Celestial Navigation', though I don't recall the plot of that one.
Other Tylers where I do remember in vague outline what the plot was about include 'The Accidental Tourist' and 'Digging to America'... but as Tyler herself has said:
"As far as I'm concerned, character is everything. I never did see why I have to throw in a plot, too."
If I have to choose between a novel which has believable characters, and one with wooden cut-outs who undergo a 'plot', then it's the character-driven story every time.
Lass wrote: My previous comment was meant for @Georg, in relation to Mr Zimmerman.No worries, lass, I knew it was meant for me :-). And I am always delighted when I see one of your posts.
I had completely forgotten Bob's given name.
scarletnoir wrote: " Perhaps we can have some sort of 'nay-sayers' thing going on, though - and criticise those well thought of by a majority!"
A coworker gave me her copy of The Accidental Tourist, which she read after seeing the film. She thought I might identify with the protagonist because I hate to travel, though as it turned out my travel distaste / phobia has little in common with that of Macon Leary - I'd have little use for real-life "Accidental Tourist" guidebooks if they existed.
It wasn’t until many, many years later that I got around to reading the novel, and, as I thought it pretty seriously flawed, I think I’m unlikely to read any more Tyler. I thought the basic story, which seemed to me essentially a tragedy, sat very uncomfortably with the light-hearted rom-com plot into which Tyler shoehorned it.
The novel seems to have maintained its popularity over the years, but for me the decision to describe a mass shooting in the opening chapter has not aged well. I thought the dog Edward was Tyler’s most complex character, but it’s not clear whether the author realized this, as Edward effectively disappears about halfway through the book. See my Goodreads review for more details, as well as a link to Larry McMurtry’s original NY Times review of the novel.
Bill wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: " Perhaps we can have some sort of 'nay-sayers' thing going on, though - and criticise those well thought of by a majority!"A coworker g..."
I feel I am on shaky ground here because I read the book almost 30 years ago.
I remember it as a book that had, at its heart, how a man, a father, dealt with his grieve after losing his son. Or rather how helpless he was in that respect. How the marriage broke down because two people who had been fairly happy suddenly found themselves on different planets.
Yes, Tyler could have made it less dramatic, their son could have died in a car accident.
But I do not see the "rom-com" you saw in your review.
Just something very slowly melting away, some space given to Macon to change.
Mod
Since I've been in Seattle, I've re-read two Tylers I found amongst my brother's books - Noah's Compass and Saint Maybe. The latter was the better of the two, but I was pleased that they both held up on re-read. I'll work my way re-reading the rest - I've read all except her latest,Redhead by the Side of the Road, which I'm a tad nervous about.
Bill wrote: "scarletnoir wrote: " Perhaps we can have some sort of 'nay-sayers' thing going on, though - and criticise those well thought of by a majority!"A coworker g..."
Although I disagree with you about Tyler, I am entirely in favour of the notion that we can hold opinions running contrary to the mainstream opinion.
As for Tyler - you may have seen the quotation I lifted from Wikipedia, regarding her focus on character rather than plot... but in fact, what makes her writing stand out for me is her ability to choose the exact right word. Oftentimes, I have laughed because of this skill, when other words she might have chosen (with the same meaning) simply would not have worked...
But we all have our own characters, and what tickles our fancy is bound to differ - and that's as it should be.
Lljones wrote: "I've read all except her latest,Redhead by the Side of the Road, which I'm a tad nervous about."No need to be nervous - it's good. Of course, it won't appeal to the miserabilists - as usual.
The Mahé Circle by Georges Simenon translated by Siân Reynolds.
Though this may not be one of Simenon’s best romans-durs it is certainly one of his darkest.
Dr. François Mahé finds himself in a state of deep unsatisfaction with his life, which comes to a head during a vacation on the island of Porquerolles.
His mood deteriorates steadily throughout the novel, beginning with the simple frustration of not being able to catch any fish, to being unable to save the poverty stricken local mother of a family of three young children. These incidents make him examine his life, his domineering mother, his passionless marriage, the regular vacations in Porquerolles which he hates.
This is Simenon at his darkest, full of wretchedness and misery; such fine writing.
It is a sad portrait of an average man who glimpses what life could be, but also realises he has no way of reaching it.
Pomfretian wrote: "Andy wrote: "Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor The book is divided into three sections, each bearing a word from the book’s title. ..."
I definitely would read the first half.. it is really good.
The first part in the Antarctic storm is gripping.
Maybe also you’ll not mind the direction McGregor takes it in after that..
scarletnoir wrote: "Lljones wrote: "I've read all except her latest,Redhead by the Side of the Road, which I'm a tad nervous about."No need to be nervous - it's good."
I think Mach had a slightly less positive opinion than yours ("painted by number"; here was his review last year)...
Georg wrote: "Lass wrote: My previous comment was meant for @Georg, in relation to Mr Zimmerman.No worries, lass, I knew it was meant for me :-). And I am always delighted when I see one of your posts.
I had ..."
Oh, thank you@ Greenfairy…….with Swarb, too!
Georg wrote: "Lass wrote: My previous comment was meant for @Georg, in relation to Mr Zimmerman.
No worries, lass, I knew it was meant for me :-). And I am always delighted when I see one of your posts.
I had ..."
Mod
..."
Should have news for you all very soon.
Georg wrote: "I remember it as a book that had, at its heart, how a man, a father, dealt with his grieve after losing his son. Or rather how helpless he was in that respect. How the marriage broke down because two people who had been fairly happy suddenly found themselves on different planets."In your description of the novel, and perhaps your memory of it, you don't include Muriel, the dog trainer, who provides the rom-com elements and is a kind of adumbration of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" trope. She seemed to me the foremost of the secondary characters surrounding Macon - other than him, I'm pretty sure she got the most pages. (Shared billing with Macon and wife Sarah in the movie (which I've never seen), if that means anything.)
AB76 wrote: "Finished Father and Son by Edmund Gosse (1907)One of the most well regarded Edwardian reminisces on Victorian childhood, Gosse writes of the first 17 years of ..."
Ah I read this at University. The Plymouth Brethren were all crackpots. Edmund Gosse had a lucky escape. His Dad claimed fossils were put into rocks by God to fool humans into a belief in evolution. He was unable to reconcile his vocation as a scientist to the fundamentalist Xtian idiocy he espoused and adopted this intellectually dishonest viewpoint. Not sure even God has that much time on Her hands......
Gpfr wrote: " Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Well, I've now read it and I loved it. ..."
The two sequels are just as splendid. I've put Celestial Navigation on the crashing-under-its-own-weight tbr list.
Old Filth by Jane GardamWell, I've now read it and I loved it. ..."
The two sequels are just as splendid. I've put Celestial Navigation on the crashing-under-its-own-weight tbr list.
Hushpuppy wrote: "I think Mach had a slightly less positive opinion than yours ("painted by number"; here was his review last year)..."For my money, Mach's review contains far too many spoilers... and he seems to think that Micah has more control over his actions than he actually does (my opinion being that he is borderline autistic, very slightly).
But each to his own... I see that Mach prefers Alice Munro. Well, this is another writer whose stories leave me unmoved... I read one short story collection, noted that she had been awarded the Nobel as well as the Booker, and thought: "Really???" Of course, the stories were miserable, so they had that going for them...
Anne wrote: "Gpfr wrote: " Old Filth by Jane GardamWell, I've now read it and I loved it. ..."
The two sequels are just as splendid. I've put Celestial Navigation on the crashing-..."
@Scarlet….Whaaaat? You‘ve just dissed the goddess that is Alice Munro. I’m off for a lie down!
Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Finished Father and Son by Edmund Gosse (1907)One of the most well regarded Edwardian reminisces on Victorian childhood, Gosse writes of the first ..."
wasnt aware of that theory of his dads...geez...thats batshit crazy!
Mod
My reaction too 😲
And I wouldn't make parallels with Anne Tyler - other than they're both wonderful writers and both women.
Not sure if anyone reads the Booklaunch newspaper that comes with my NS and LRB issues every quarterIt features extracts from new and forthcoming books and i have just ordered via Blackwells (the booklaunch website uses blackwells to sell its books), Who Speaks for Wales by Raymond Williams
I take it those fans of Alice Munro have read Carol Shields too?
Mod
yes, indeed!
Am to suprised to find that Charles Booths huge study of London is only available in those dreadful POD editions that are the size of a 1880s bible and awfully put togetherHow the UK can neglect some of its most in-depth sociological studies is incredible to me, how did all his work go out of general circulation so fast? I have a brief collection of his work in penguin(second hand and rare) but thats hardly the same as even one volume of his great studies
I have his maps thankfully
Bill wrote(85): "Georg wrote: "I remember it as a book that had, at its heart, how a man, a father, dealt with his grieve after losing his son. Or rather how helpless he was in that respect. How the marriage broke ..."You're probably right about my holey memory. I do remember Muriel, but not the romantic part; rather as some sort of accidental therapist.
Gpfr wrote: "Lass wrote: "@Scarlet….Whaaaat? You‘ve just dissed the goddess that is Alice Munro. I’m off for a lie down!..."My reaction too 😲
And I wouldn't make parallels with Anne Tyler - other than they're..."
It was Mach who compared Tyler with Munro, unfavourably - I merely responded to that.
Of course, I am not surprised to have poked a stick into a hornet's nest wrt Munro - she must have her admirers, otherwise how would she have won those prizes? But for me, the significant lack of humour made her stories unappetising...
More than that - I like (in my ancient, old-fashioned way) stories to have a beginning, a middle and an end - though not necessarily in that order. It seemed to me that Munro's stories all too often started, meandered about, then stopped abruptly with no 'ending' whatsoever. So you are left asking - what was that about? Was there any point?
You may say: that's what life is like. We are born, we live, we die... with not much rhyme or reason. For me, though, the whole point of art (or human thought) is to give some structure to this admittedly meaningless existence - preferably with a few laughs along the way. If an artist can't do that - why bother?
Lass wrote: "I take it those fans of Alice Munro have read Carol Shields too?"The converse is also true! ;-)
scarletnoir wrote: "Lass wrote: "I take it those fans of Alice Munro have read Carol Shields too?"The converse is also true! ;-)"
Well, scarletnoir, here’s someone who hasn’t read any Anne Tyler, Alice Munro nor that other Olive something author
who everyone raves about.
I did read one Elizabeth Taylor. Picked up an Anne Tyler book in a bookshop once, read a bit, put it down, knew it would bore me.
Maybe I will be tempted one day but my TBR pile is overflowing.
AB76 wrote: "Sandya wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Finished Father and Son by Edmund Gosse (1907)One of the most well regarded Edwardian reminisces on Victorian childhood, Gosse write..."
Batshit crazy are the words. Since I trained as a biologist, we learned the history of Darwin's theory and this book was part of my reading as a Biology major in England. Gosse's father was a good naturalist, but completely in thrall to his cult. Hence his viewpoint, which has tarnished his reputation permanently.
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Ersatz TLS
Books mentioned in this topic
The Professor of Desire (other topics)Portnoy's Complaint (other topics)
Myra Breckinridge (other topics)
My Life as a Man (other topics)
Goodbye, Columbus (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Rose Macaulay (other topics)Jon McGregor (other topics)
Georges Simenon (other topics)
Larry McMurtry (other topics)
Jon McGregor (other topics)
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Darf Publishers (worth checking out) have translated almost half of these novels already(in two volumes), which cover the history of the Libyan city of Benghazi from 1911 to the 1970s
The first novel of the volume i am reading is entitled "The Young Maronite" and set in Benghazi, during 1912 and the Italian invasion of Libya. The Italian fleet sits outside the port and the local dignatories are considering their course of action, the Ottoman troops are reluctant to fight but the Sanussi Libyans are ready to resist.
Most of the first 50 pages revolves more around tradition and honour in the arab community and the chattering classes of the tiny Italian community.
Spina writes in a very clear, lucid prose, re-inforcing elements of his commentary with repetition. (He was actually a Libyan Christian of Syrian descent called Basil Shafik Khouzam)