So books- I have recently finished Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson.
It is a really lovely and unexpected book. Major Ernest Pettigrew is content to lead a quiet life in the sleepy village of Edgecombe St Mary, away from the meddling of the locals and his overbearing son. But when his brother dies, he finds himself seeking companionship with the widowed village shopkeeper, Mrs Ali. (more…)
Right now I am reading:
The Weight of the World by Peter Handke
I am half way through this and it is brilliant and nauseating in equal measure. I love his writing and his ability to transform his sharp perceptions into words, but he is unbearably self-centred and neurotic and sexist, though maybe that it just part of his desire to live as a non conformist. This is a really honest desire and not a writer striking a pose. (more…)
The last book I read was Guy Gavriel Kay’s Ysabel. I LOVE the spelling! The cover is lovely and very sophisticated, which is always a pleasure in a genre plagued by horrible lurid covers. The blurb gave me no hint that two of the characters hail from another story which I loved. I have to say the book/s they appeared in originally have been among my all time favourites, and perhaps for this reason, despite pages of accolades, this new book does not quite measure up for me. It lacks the depth of the earlier book/s, although I have to say I did always wonder what happened to these two characters… (more…)