What are we reading? 3 April 2023

[AB76]

giveusaclue wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "I'm feeling like AB with 3 books on the go 😏.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.
Ll was disappointed by this one, but so far I'm enjoying it, even if I ..."

i havent ever used a laptop apart from work, where its been the case for years, much prefer a desktop/pc

[[deleted user]]

GP, Scarlet – Thank you for all of that. I think we’ll try the TV Love, Nina. Anything with Helena Bonham-Carter gets my vote.

[scarletnoir]

Russell wrote: "GP, Scarlet – Thank you for all of that. I think we’ll try the TV Love, Nina. Anything with Helena Bonham-Carter gets my vote."

It is an absolute hoot!

[MK]

The rabbit hole of the net has saved me from another rabbit hole. I had just gotten started on Post After Post-Mortem: An Oxfordshire Mystery when I was surprised to read one of the characters jest about 'taking a pub at Bletchley.' I knew that Bletchley was a rail hub at one point and have been told that rail lines to both Oxford and Cambridge were one of the reasons that Station X; i.e., Bletchley Park, was bought by the government. The net confirms that there once was a hub of sorts there, and even today, the Milton-Keynes (city founded 1967) station is just a stone's throw (and easily walkable) from Bletchley. I wouldn't be surprised if it's only a name change.

From Wikipedia - Originally a major intercity station, that role passed to Milton Keynes Central in 1982 when the latter was opened, long after the east–west route had been downgraded, taking Bletchley's importance as a junction with it.

As well as being on the national north–south West Coast Main Line, Bletchley is on the former Cambridge–Oxford Varsity line, which closed in 1967.

So even though the book was first published is 1936, Bletchley was a rail crossroads before the government bought it in 1938.

I know, I know some of you are rolling your eyes! But I went to Bletchley twice - the first time when it had just opened and was mostly run by volunteers. Some of the buildings were in poor repair. I was able to join a walk around led by a volunteer. It was quite good. After they hit the lottery jackpot, I returned to find it much more spiffy, run by a paid staff, and while, it was more accessible, it had lost something, too. A dash too theme-parkey for me.

[Robert]

In 1915, former US President Theodore Roosevelt found himself in a courtroom in Syracuse, New York, the defendant in a libel suit brought by William Barnes, leader of a conservative upstate faction of the New York Republican Party. Roosevelt had written an article charging that New York State had a system of "bipartisan boss rule." The party bosses, Barnes for the Republicans and Charlie Murphy for the Democrats, both raised money from big business and successfully joined forces to stifle reform legislation. Though neither man held elected office, they and their agents controlled those who were. "Mr. Murphy and Mr. Barnes are of exactly the same moral and political type. Not one shadow of good comes from the substituting of one for the other in control of our government."
Both sides in the trial had first-rate legal teams. The plaintiff's lead lawyer was William Ivins, a bulky fellow who, for some reason, always wore a skullcap in court.
I note the following: At one point in the trial, Ivins approached Roosevelt, who sat at the defendant's table. Ivins showed a book to TR. "Colonel, we're going to be making legal arguments for the rest of the day. I fear you will be bored. I have a translation of Aristophanes here. I can assure you that it's a first-rate translation, and I wondered if you wanted to look at it." Roosevelt, who had complained about the pedantic quality of such translations, said "Dee-lighted! Thank you, Mr. Ivins." So Teddy read a play by a Greek poet, while the attorneys argued about what evidence he could introduce in his defense.

Here, I try to imagine a similar exchange between Donald Trump and District Attorney Bragg. No, I can't quite manage it. I doubt that a civil exchange could take place between Trump and Bragg. I doubt that either reads centuries-old plays for pleasure. I doubt that either of them have ever heard of Aristophanes. I doubt-- no, it is too painful.

I have several books-in-progress. One is Democratic Justice by Brad Snyder, a biography of US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter. Judge Frankfurter, FDR advisor and confirmed bookworm, now in retirement, was described to Alexander Bickel, one of his former clerks who had written a book on the Supreme Court: "[His] chief occupation from now on is to amass the necessary strength to read your book and not merely savor it." I've been guilty of the same thing lately, with far less excuse. I'm fascinated by the political and legal personalities who pass through Snyder's narrative, and keep seeking out names in the index and skipping to the pages, rather than reading right through the book. Justice Robert Jackson, for example, chief US prosecutor at Nuremburg, and Frankfurter's closest friend and ally on the Supreme Court, was one of the first I looked for. And Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, by turns a successful New York special prosecutor, a two-term Governor of New York, and the only man to resign from the Supreme Court in order to run for President. After losing a close race in 1916, Hughes became US Secretary of State, then went back to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice. Frankfurter, very critical of Hughes for a decade, became a colleague, and took a much more favorable view of Hughes.

President Theodore Roosevelt pops up in Frankfurter's story. It was TR who drew successful Wall Street lawyer Henry Stimson into public service, making him New York City's US Attorney. Frankfurter became Stimson's assistant and came to hero-worship his boss, as they worked their way through a scheme to defraud the Treasury by underweighting imports. The key to the prosecution was the inspired but tedious move to compare the weight of imported goods, described in invoices, with the weight recorded on sabotaged scales at the port. The two became an effective team and proved millions in fraud. Teddy Roosevelt, in retirement, fought a hard battle with Barnes over the choice of a new candidate for governor of New York. TR's choice, Stimson, was endorsed by a majority at the party convention, but lost badly at the polls. Back to Wall Street.

Frankfurter, who supported Stimson's run for governor, became both a law professor and an advocate for controversial causes, like the attempt to save convicted anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti from execution for murder.

TR is the primary character in "Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense" by Dan Abrams and David Fisher, a book I picked up at the library today. which focuses on Barnes v. Roosevelt, along with Edmund Morris' "Colonel Roosevelt," the biography of TR in retirement, which has a chapter on the case.

There are other recent reads, and other books in my TBR stack, but more of those later.

[AB76]

Robert wrote: "In 1915, former US President Theodore Roosevelt found himself in a courtroom in Syracuse, New York, the defendant in a libel suit brought by William Barnes, leader of a conservative upstate faction..."

as i'm reading about trials in the Old Bailey on this side of the pond Robert, this was a very interesting read

i have to say i am favouring the inquisitorial law systems of France and much of Europe and the Spanish world over the common law that prevails in the anglo-saxon world. Intellectual enquiry over adversarial point scoring

[AB76]

Just finished Moses Ascending by Samuel Selvon.

Written in 1975, the novel is part of a series of books by Selvon concerning the character Moses and his life in London. whjich began in the 1950s with The Lonely Londoners

Full of wit and wheezes, there is also a slightly darker, cynical side to the novel, the introduction suggests that Selvon had become more cynical as he aged about the melting pot of multi-cultural London and the place in it for the West Indian diaspora.

Certainly among the clever styling and humour, the sexist language and crudity is of its time and spoils sections of the novel. Selvon seems to see women as there for one thing and one thing only, which was bad in his 1950s novel but little improved by 1975.

[Lljones]

Russell wrote: "I’d heard of Nina Stibbe but not read anything by her. I picked up Man at the Helm, and apart from some slower patches it was a stitch. Told from the p.o.v. of a girl aged 9, it’s the story of how ..."

I'm crazy about Nina Stibbe, and see she has a newish one (One Day I Shall Astonish the World) waiting for me to enjoy.

[CCCubbon]

Gpfr wrote: "AB76 wrote: "was wondering how many visit GR via smartphone, pc or either medium. I always visit via PC...i barely use my smartphone ..."

I nearly always use my laptop — occasionally phone or tablet."

Mostly tablet iPad - occasionally laptop - my desktop suffers from old age and takes forever to boot. Don’t have smartphone.

Will you let us know the statistical breakdown? Be interested

[AB76]

CCCubbon wrote: "Gpfr wrote: "AB76 wrote: "was wondering how many visit GR via smartphone, pc or either medium. I always visit via PC...i barely use my smartphone ..."

I nearly always use my laptop — occasionally ..."

yes, will make a note of the results, so far no overall winner

[AB76]

Next up, non-fiction is a Yale Uni Press study of the Communist involvement in the Spanish Civil War, a long time fascination of mine as they fatally undermined the Republic as it battled Franco's forces, with murderous infighting and purges.

The book isThe Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism

[Fuzzywuzz]

Gpfr wrote: "
Viveca Sten is the author of the Swedish Sandhamn Murders series and Hidden in Snow is the first in a new series set in a winter sports region. A..."

Thanks for those recommendations, they sound great :)

[Fuzzywuzz]

I decided the best way to wage the 'War on Weeds' is to do it little and often. I've managed to mow my back garden, but the front bit is a mixture of plants and weeds. I spent an hour this morning de-weeding and afterwards went straight for a hot bath. I hate leaving a job half done, but my joints are not so forgiving these days when it comes to a bit of hard work.

Reading wise, I've been mostly plodding along with Michael Connolly's Bosch series. The further on I go, the plots seem to become more daft. However, the books featuring Harry Bosch's half brother Mickey Haller (lawyer) seem to be better.

I usually access GR via my PC. Sometimes I'll use my mobile if I'm outside the house, but I'm a bit butter-fingered typing on my mobile, so I usually end up spending equal amounts of time correcting my typos. Reading the content is easier on a big screen, too.

I've also just started reading Emotional Ignornace by Dean Burnett.

[MK]

Fuzzywuzz wrote: "I decided the best way to wage the 'War on Weeds' is to do it little and often. I've managed to mow my back garden, but the front bit is a mixture of plants and weeds. I spent an hour this morning ..."

Any time you want to expand your war on weeds to the PNW, you are welcome to tackle mine.

I am weather obsessive - especially this time of year when I look for at least one day a week when I can do what I call 'yard cleanup'. My current target are innocent-looking little (up to 4" tall) plants which, if not caught early, toss their seeds when you try to pull them up. They are most annoying!

I've downloaded Jacqueline Winspear's but am having trouble enduring the flashbacks. It's the first time I've realized that audio may not be as easy as a book. If I had the book, I could easily skip the old stuff and get on with the plot. Darn. Both libraries I can access have longish hold lists for the book.

On my non-fiction front is Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester: The Shipwreck that Shocked Restoration Britain which has sailing trivia as the Gloucester is made ready to sail to Scotland - miles and miles of rope in different sizes and so many yards of sail. This stuff is right up my alley, and the author is just a dash cheeky - which is fine, too. A good read, so far.

For anyone doing a device count, my preference is my desk top. I only use a tablet for odd stuff - quick queries and such - as I also have fat fingers.

[Fuzzywuzz]

@MK, I too am quite obsessed with the weather and look to the forecast to try and plan my life. Silly, boring stuff like deciding if I need to walk or drive to work tomorrow (yes to the drive due to 40mph winds and heavy rains).

Although, you'd think after living in Northern Ireland for the last 10 years or so, it's probably best to assume it's raining, and be pleasantly surprised if it's anything but!

That being said, I was a bit grumpy this afternoon because I'd just got ready to go out for a walk and a monsoon fell. It's just as well Mr Fuzzywuzz needed to take a shower before we left, otherwise we would be drenched.

There's always a bit of a silver lining though, spent some time hallucinating with some tree slices!

[scarletnoir]

For your device count - I use a laptop. Haven't had a desktop at home in years - even before I retired. It's portable, so I can use it in the lounge or kitchen; the screen allows for multiple tabs, so I can multi-task and (on books, for example) easily research something on other sites - Wikipedia and IMDB being the most obvious, but there are many obscure gems out there.

I also rarely access GR via a mobile, but for reading only... fat fingers make typing on a mobile a real pain.

[giveusaclue]

Fuzzywuzz wrote: "@MK, I too am quite obsessed with the weather and look to the forecast to try and plan my life. Silly, boring stuff like deciding if I need to walk or drive to work tomorrow (yes to the drive due t..."

Tree slices?

[Tam]

I am in Wurzburg at the moment. I like it as a town. It was apparently 90% destroyed in 1945. Part of the demoralisation of the Germans I guess. There is nothing much around here that would have been classified as a military target. Still they have made a pretty good job of the rebuilding. I saw my ceiling paintings by Italian artist ‘Tiepolo’. The rich had a lot of fun with themselves back in the day. The Residence Palace is packed full of little in-jokes, many of which would not make it past the ‘politically correct’ brigade these days. It didn’t help to be told that they hardly ever used the palace as it was too cold in winter, and they had nicer summer palaces away from the pollution of mid eighteenth century standard German towns. Still I enjoyed the free guided tour, and loved the ceilings. I have one favourite room, a small dark green, square room, with four ancient mirrors all facing each other. I’m a sucker for infinity mirrors…

Peered in a couple of churches but they didn’t appeal that much. An art gallery called Museum am Dom which had a few interesting paintings, and an installation I liked, and another place which must have been one of the emptiest art galleries I have ever been in. The staff far outweighed the visitors in numbers. And it brought it home to me how much I dislike modern ‘abstraction’, on the whole, though there was one piece that would have made a quite interesting bookshelf with a little rearranging.

I will post a few piccies up when I get home as I find that sort of stuff a trial on an IPad. I’m sure it is my idleness rather than the tech that is the weak link though. Thanks MK for pointing me in the direction of the Tiepolo’s. I doubt I would have come otherwise so it’s been a very pleasant digression. Off to Heidelberg tomorrow, another unknown quantity.I have nearly finished Rilke’s ‘Letters to a Young Poet’ and alas the one quote I loved, about dragons, and knew about already, appears to have been the best quote in it.

I have made a surprising discovery, and that is that I think that it is time for me to read the original ‘Faust’. I have encountered it in various formats, and thought that was enough, but it has become clear, talking to friends, that I hardly know it at all. So there is me much taken aback… not to mention deluded… and so it goes…

[AB76]

Pigeons on the Grass by Wolfgang Koeppen(1951)

55 pages in and i'm loving this post-WW2 German classic, translated by the great Michael Hofmann. Koeppen for me, is now my favourite chronicler of the 1945-55 decade, as West Germany rose from the ashes of defeat and became a modern, dynamic state and pillar of the new European values.

Munich,late 1940s is the setting as various characters lives develop over 24 hrs, during a chilly, wet early spring day. Munich was significantly de-populated in 1946 and then swollen by numerous refugees from East and North East Germany, changing the religious make up of the city for the next decade(Protestants were more numerous than they ever had been in Munich). The style is "Stream of consciousness" but it is focused and well written to put me off, i generally dislike novels in this manner.

Of the other great post-WW2 writers, Heinrich Boll's tales of the Rhineland are worth visiting, Koeppens novel of Bonn The Hothouse too. Siegried Lenz has written a number of good short volumes about this era, Alfred Andersch too. Gunter Grass, if you can stomach the wierdness, is worth trying too but is very much an acquired taste.

Boll and Koeppen concentrate on the smaller cities and places in the emerging West Germany,(it wascertainly is dire time for a country with a devastated urban environment, a huge manpower shortage and millions of displaced persons). Let alone the several million displaced Germans from Silesia, East Prussia and other places

[AB76]

Tam wrote: "I am in Wurzburg at the moment. I like it as a town. It was apparently 90% destroyed in 1945. Part of the demoralisation of the Germans I guess. There is nothing much around here that would have be..."

how topical, spent a few hours today digging round in the Munich city records online for stats and data regarding the city between 1945 and 1950, some excellent stuff, free as usual(try finding anything like this for London and you go via the ONS and a one line excel sheet with no value at all)

Wurzburg was a heavily Catholic town in 1939 and 1950 but lost 23,000 people between those dates and apparently 70% of the city civil servants were culled in the de-nazification inquests. So between 1939 and 1950 it slipped from 4th biggest to 6th biggest city in Bavaria.

It took Munich until 1951 to recover its 1939 population,. In 1945 it only had 550,000 residents, it was 840,000 in 1939.

[Robert]

AB76 wrote: "Next up, non-fiction is a Yale Uni Press study of the Communist involvement in the Spanish Civil War, a long time fascination of mine as they fatally undermined the Republic as it battled Franco's ..."

Looks interesting.

[Robert]

AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "In 1915, former US President Theodore Roosevelt found himself in a courtroom in Syracuse, New York, the defendant in a libel suit brought by William Barnes, leader of a conservative ..."

I've read only a couple of books about Western European trials-- Alice Kaplan's The Collaborator, about the trial of Robert Brasillach shortly after the Liberation, and a book about the Gucci trial. The wartime proceeding was unusual-- a trial for a capital crime that was completed in a single day, with no witness other than the defendant, in an ice-cold Paris. It was ritualistic-- the investigating judge reading to the defendant from a case file, a theatrical performance by the defense attorney, a stern rebuttal from the prosecutor, with the defendant's writings as evidence.
The Gucci trial was different. While the court rituals were different, the questioning of witnesses was familar. Cross-examination is cross-examination.

[scarletnoir]

Yesterday, I came across an interesting piece on 'favourite first lines' which appeared in the Guardian last week - here's the link for anyone else who may fancy a look, and who missed it:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

I'm familiar with many of the entries, and if you read the BTL comments after a while there is quite a lot of repetition. Of books I've read, the openings I like best come from:

The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
L'Étranger - Albert Camus
La Promesse de l'aube - Romain Gary (this one proposed by Glad.)
Brighton Rock - Graham Greene
Under Milk Wood - Dylan Thomas

Of books I've not read, the openings of these books have always struck me as being memorable and impressive:

The Go-Between - LP Hartley
A tale of two cities - Charles Dickens
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier

[Fuzzywuzz]

@giveusaclue. My poor attempt at humour: tree slices aka pages of a book :)

[scarletnoir]

Naturally, reading that article led me down another rabbit hole - in this case, to follow up (remind myself/learn a bit more about) the opening to 'Catcher', and JD Salinger. It's an interesting book because it's still divisive - I love it, but many don't. This information made me laugh:

the novel was banned in several countries—as well as some U.S. schools—because of its subject matter and what Catholic World reviewer Riley Hughes called an "excessive use of amateur swearing and coarse language".[64] According to one angry parent's tabulation, 237 instances of "goddamn," 58 uses of "bastard," 31 "Chrissakes," and one incident of flatulence constituted what was wrong with Salinger's book.[64] (Wikipedia)

I'd be quite interested to know what 'professional swearing' looks like!

[Paul]

Tam wrote: "Off to Heidelberg tomorrow, another unknown quantity.."


Heidelberg is fantastic. I've been there quite a few times for the scientific meetings at the EMBO campus up in the hills.

There is plenty to see and it is completely unscathed from the wartime bombings. I don't know what kind of weather you're going to find, but the Philosophenweg is a really beautiful walk through a forest. I miss forests desperately on this @#$#$ continent, so that's the one thing I always make sure to do whenever I visit.

[AB76]

Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "In 1915, former US President Theodore Roosevelt found himself in a courtroom in Syracuse, New York, the defendant in a libel suit brought by William Barnes, leader of a ..."

The Investigating Judge( juge d'instruction)in the french inquisitorial system is a fascinating position. The French crime drama Spiral was brilliant at exploring this role and the relationship with the court police in Paris

The French system can confuse though as in serious offences, they do use a jury but not in all other trials. The jury is usually 9 jurists and 3 judges

One modern trial where the inquisitorial system remains in a semi-colonial throwback is South Africa. Oscar Pistorious, the runner, was tried in Pretoria under the inquisitorial system retained over history by the Afrikaaners. It was quite novel for me to see a Judge with such powers, participating in every turn of the trial, not sitting and occasionally interjecting until deliovery of verdict.(ofc this has another afrikaaner link as the jury system was abolished under apartheid)

[giveusaclue]

Fuzzywuzz wrote: "@giveusaclue. My poor attempt at humour: tree slices aka pages of a book :)"

Haha, I thought it was a sort of Northern Ireland cake!

[Gpfr]

AB76 wrote: "The Investigating Judge( juge d'instruction)in the french inquisitorial system is a fascinating position. The French crime drama Spiral was brilliant at exploring this role and the relationship with the court police in Paris ..."

If anyone is interested, this is a document in English about the French legal System from the Ministry of Justice. It's quite long, so unless really interested, people might want to pick out specific bits, eg on the juge d'instruction, rather than reading the whole thing. Clicking on the link will give you a pdf.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&r...

[scarletnoir]

AB76 wrote: "The French crime drama Spiral was brilliant at exploring this role and the relationship with the court police in Paris
..."

Indeed... the magistrate Roban was brilliantly interpreted by Philippe Duclos in that series - probably my favourite character.

[AB76]

Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Next up, non-fiction is a Yale Uni Press study of the Communist involvement in the Spanish Civil War, a long time fascination of mine as they fatally undermined the Republic as it batt..."

i really value the american university presses, so much good work done and the canadian uni presses too

as i get older i enjoy a specialist and sometimes less jazzy study of periods i am interested in, rather than a Beevor-Hastings or other popular history that fills those shelves in bookstores. This book has no photos, just 315 pages of text, a serious volume

[AB76]

scarletnoir wrote: "AB76 wrote: "The French crime drama Spiral was brilliant at exploring this role and the relationship with the court police in Paris
..."

Indeed... the magistrate Roban was brilliantly interpreted ..."

thanks GP for the link and yes Roban was awesome in Spiral

[Lass]

Spiral! Watched the series at least twice. Surely time to view again?

[MK]

Fuzzywuzz wrote: "@giveusaclue. My poor attempt at humour: tree slices aka pages of a book :)"

Well - Fuzzy - I say thanks for the chuckle!

[MK]

AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Next up, non-fiction is a Yale Uni Press study of the Communist involvement in the Spanish Civil War, a long time fascination of mine as they fatally undermined the Repu..."

Perhaps you have signed up for some of their newsletters as they sometimes have sales worth scrolling through. Of course that is assuming that you have infinite shelf space.

[AB76]

MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Next up, non-fiction is a Yale Uni Press study of the Communist involvement in the Spanish Civil War, a long time fascination of mine as they fatally underm..."

shelf space is becoming an issue ...lol!

[MK]

Paul wrote: "Tam wrote: "Off to Heidelberg tomorrow, another unknown quantity.."


Heidelberg is fantastic. I've been there quite a few times for the scientific meetings at the EMBO campus up in the hills.

T..."

Ahh - memories. On a visit to friends then stationed (US Army) in Heidleberg, we went to a boot sale on a Sunday. This was back when there were 4 DM to the dollar. I bought a so-so picture of some of the devastation during one part of the Thirty Years War. Along the edges of the picture are various named small towns, some with flames around them. It looks like the Catholic League and its leader, the Count of Tilly, burned recalitrant villages, on their march through Bavaria. I've just gotten out The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy which was bought with good intentions but has been on the shelf forever. I also see that Peter H. Wilson has written Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire which I hope to pick up the next time I am at the library.

Where I wiil fit all this reading in, I have no idea - but getting off the net more often might be in order.

PS - I had the picture framed, and it sits above a bookcase!

[Andy]

As I write my Boyd review from 1300 metres up in the Somiedo National Park in Asturias, a few centimetres of snow has fallen in the last hour. Following temperatures in the mid-twenties earlier this week, we have a few cooler days. Selfishly, it keeps visitors away, and I like the place quiet..

Two from me..
Definitely Maybe by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky and translated from the Russian by Antonia Bouis .

Dmitri Alekseevich Malianov is a scientist left to his own devices in his Leningrad apartment, with his wife and child away for the summer. Its just him and the cat.
With so much time to work he is convinced he has made a major breakthrough, despite the various distractions around him, his wife’s attractive friend who comes to stay, fine food and vodka being delivered without request or payment, and his neighbour’s suicide. With all this going on he is unable to conclude his work.

He discovers that there are other scientists, similarly on the verge of discoveries, and similarly thwarted. It seems that there is some sort of greater power that is preventing technological advance, perhaps because of their destructive potential.

It’s a bold piece of speculative fiction that survives the test of time without a problem. Though not my favourite from the brothers, (The Dead Mountaineer's Inn) it carries there trademarks of being in turn dryly humorous and eerily unsettling.

[Andy]

and, The Romantic by William Boyd.

I’ve read everything Boyd has written, so was looking forward to this, especially when I realised it was a ‘whole life’ novel, following his protagonist from cradle to grave.Any Human Heart, Sweet Caress and The New Confessions do something similar, with Logan Mountstuart, Amory Clay and John James Todd respectively.

There are more similarities between those three books and this also, as their lives, as with Cashel Greville Ross here, span the century, albeit the 20th century, as opposed to the 19th.

That’s not the only difference, those other three are purely fictional, whereas this, is based on the beginnings of an autobiography that Ross left, a hundred pages that constituted a start, and notes, letters, bills and receipts.

Ross was born and spent his early childhood in County Cork, seemingly cared for by an aunt who was employed as a Governess for the daughters of the local landowner. He soon moved to school in England, the first of many transitions in an extremely adventurous life.

This is the sort of book that doesn’t need a summary of the plot as a review. Suffice to say that Ross’s life is lavishly varied, crammed with incident, and his life is remarkable, though genuine, and, in some respects at least, typically Victorian. The 1800s were a great time for exploration, and Ross certainly plays his part, even if not on as grand a scale as those celebrated.

It does however, have a stuttering and somewhat clumsy start. I don’t think Boyd does childhood very well, or to qualify that, not as well as he does the rest of the lives of those whose memoirs he fictionalises. But to counter that, I know of no other writer who writes so well about the last days of that person’s life. And this is no exception.

This stands well with those two of his best, New Confessions and Any Human Heart. Both were captivating and perceptive - they tell a first-rate story. The Romantic does this as well. It’s not trendy and certainly not fashionable, but that isn’t Boyd. His writing stays with you, though I read New Confessions 17 years ago, and Any Human Heart 19 years ago, I remember them clearly, which is extremely rare for me. And I am sure this will.

[[deleted user]]

Lljones wrote: "Russell wrote: "I’d heard of Nina Stibbe but not read anything by her. I picked up Man at the Helm..."...she has a newish one (One Day I Shall Astonish the World) waiting for me to enjoy."

Thanks. Another one to look out for. We haven't yet found a channel that runs Love, Nina, so I may be reading that too.

[scarletnoir]

The Unseen: A Detective Novel by Valerio Varesi

This story is one of a series set in and around Parma in northern Italy, and featuring Commissario Soneri. In this instance, much of the story takes place in the Po valley after Soneri is tasked with identifying a three-year-old body fished out of the river. Soneri becomes fascinated by the case, and is determined to give the dead man a name - as well as trying to clarify the cause of death (suicide or murder?).

This felt like a long drawn out Italian version of a Maigret story - the detective's personal commitment to the case, and the way in which he uses up a week's holiday to pursue his enquiries unofficially, even staying on a houseboat to get the feel of things near the presumed crime scene. (I'm sure no real-life cop would give up his holidays!) Soneri - like Maigret - likes to indulge in the local foodstuffs and wine.

I liked it up to a point, but it meanders like the Po on a slow day - there are too many characters and plot threads to make it as relaxing and enjoyable a read as it could have been. Simplify the plot, reduce the number of characters, and it would have worked better. Not bad, but not great.

[Robert]

AB76 wrote: "MK wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Robert wrote: "AB76 wrote: "Next up, non-fiction is a Yale Uni Press study of the Communist involvement in the Spanish Civil War, a long time fascination of mine as they fat..."

Shelf space? What shelf space?

[giveusaclue]

scarletnoir wrote: "The Unseen: A Detective Novel by Valerio Varesi

This story is one of a series set in and around Parma in northern Italy, and featuring Commissario Soneri. In this instance, much of..."

All his books tend to ramble a bit

[Gpfr]

I've just posted about this under this week's Top Ten in The G, and thought I'd put it here as well.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

A book I've just started — La Carte postale by Anne Berest, in English The Postcard, translated by Tina Kover.

In 2003, a mysterious postcard arrives, unsigned, it bears four first names: the maternal grandparents, aunt and uncle of the writer's mother, all killed in Auschwitz in 1942. The card was put away for years, until the writer, pregnant and having to rest, goes to stay with her parents and, starting to think of her mother, her grandmother, la lignée des femmes qui avaient accouché avant moi (the line of women who had given birth before me), wanted to know more about her ancestors.

The story starts with a Jewish family in Russia in 1919, celebrating Passover. The father of the family announces that he and his wife are leaving for Palestine and asks all the family to pick a destination, saying that they need to leave the country as soon as possible. He advises them to go to Palestine or America, but his children prefer Europe.

I'm eager to keep reading!

[CCCubbon]

Andy

Just caught up with the blog. Like the smooth snake . Silly me thought a crack in the dry earth until I looked more closely. Reminded me of the many slow worms whichvare similar though shorter that used to live in my Somerset garden. I used to keep quiet about them because so many people were afraid but I liked them.
You mention a bike several times. Do you carry one on the van? Thinking maybe cycling would help when rheumatics bite. That say you never forget how to ride a bike but I have. Last time I tried I fell off into a bramble patch and decided enough.

[Paul]

Gpfr wrote: "

I've just posted about this under this week's Top Ten in The G, and thought I'd put it here as well.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202......"


Oh, that sounds interesting. Onto the list it goes!

[Tam]

I am pottering around Heidelberg. It has rained a bit. I wish I hadn’t read about Heidelbergs micro climate. It has deserted me. So much wealth, ‘gang aft a gley’… in the castle and all round I guess. Warring families et al. The castle was such a grand project… till the 30’s year war… Kurpfalz museum was quite interesting. Going to do a bit of the philosophers walk this afternoon. I had a terrible time establishing to my phone that I was in Germany. It didn’t want to know. I joked that I was going to travel Germany like it was 1979. I ‘lost’ the phone a couple of times. But kind German chaps kept returning it to me!…

Anyway to my surprise I found a bar last night which advertised ‘Woodstock night’ this evening (in the university quarter) so I might actually get to spend an evening in 1979 tonight. They were playing 70’s Californian rock last night, it was like being back in my early 20’s. Though I was more of a Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen sort of girl. Still it was nostalgic. Heine is coming on a pace. I can’t help but wonder about Heine meeting up with Jerome K Jerome and having a whale of a time in the Harz. Though not sure if they are really the same era, and I’ve no idea where the Bummel is. In my mind’s eye, everyone is on the grand European tour… The difference these days is that you don’t have to be that rich, to do it…

Off to Kassel tomorrow, via Marburg, and one of my ‘doors of the day’ hopefully. I am just about reaching the point where I’d like an interesting conversation with a stranger. It has been quite tiring, the train journeys, and I feel the lack of understanding of much German, still a surprising amount feels quite familiar from my childhood days spent in Germany, especially the love of ‘kitsch’ toys and Christmas decorations…. Still…

I have failed to find the museum of Heidelberg history. It appears to be a bit of the university swathed in scaffolding. As a single traveller you always seem to get allocated the room in the attic it seems, so I am feeling some affinity with ‘the mad women in the attic’ from the ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’. Still I am looking forward to the Grimm’s brothers museum, and am making a stop off to see Koln cathedral on the way back to Brussels. Just need to work out how to spend a couple of days in Frankfurt on the way….

[Fuzzywuzz]

giveusaclue wrote: "Fuzzywuzz wrote: "@giveusaclue. My poor attempt at humour: tree slices aka pages of a book :)"

Haha, I thought it was a sort of Northern Ireland cake!"

:)

It would have had to have been a very special cake to induce hallucinogenic effects!

[Georg]

Tam wrote: "I am pottering around Heidelberg. It has rained a bit. I wish I hadn’t read about Heidelbergs micro climate. It has deserted me. So much wealth, ‘gang aft a gley’… in the castle and all round I gue..."

Tam, I don't understand why it is so difficult to get into conversations with strangers. Most Germans speak English, and those who do are usually quite keen to get a bit of practice. And I always found people travelling by train are quite happy to have a chat. Go for it. If it doesn't work you haven't lost anything and can try again at the next opportunity.
My loveliest experience was on public transport in Hamburg. The "Hanseaten" are reputedly reserved and and taciturn. I found them to be decidedly not so.. When I was in the US it was quite common for people asking whether they could help when I was lost and fiddled with a map.. That has never happened to me in Germany, save for Hamburg.

When you are in Cologne maybe you'd like to look at the Kolumba Museum. It has been designed by the most wonderful architect Peter Zumthor.

I'm sure you'll keep your eyes out to spot Beuys's oaks (or not-oaks) in Kassel.

Ah, I'm sure you'd love Frankfurt and its museums. Then again: I would say so because I cannot conceive of somebody who wouldn't. I've lived there for over 6 years and "weder Geld noch gute Worte" (neither money nor good words") would have tempted me to go back to Munich.

JKJ was born 3 years after Heine died ;-)

[MK]

Anyone here to patronize a new bookstore in Derby?

Eagle Books Derby

New and second-hand books (with part exchange available), puzzle magazines and jigsaws!

19 East Street, Derby, United Kingdom

eaglebooksderby@outlook.com