This surprising gem of a book, which happens to have been the very first “Book of the Month Club” selection (1926), came to my attention through the delightful New York Times “By the Book” series. Every week, an author or other famous person is interviewed about their favorite books and authors, their least favorite, etc. About a month ago, Helen Macdonald (author of H is for Hawk) was the subject and she mentioned Lolly Willowes as a favorite book. Having never heard of it, I […]
A Fearsome Kind of Love
The Door (1987), by Hungarian novelist Magda Szabo (1917-2007), is the story of a writer’s relationship with her older cleaning woman. The two women, a generation apart, develop an antagonistic or love/hate kind of friendship. Emerence, the cleaning woman, is a force to be reckoned with; she has strong views on politics and religion, and she is unafraid of authority. While she is known in the neighborhood for her hard work and generosity, she shows her employer, never named but referred to by neighbors as […]
Science vs. Magic: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
Charlie Jane Anders’ new novel is about science, magic, and the need to work together for the sake of the world. Our two main characters are the embodiment of science and magic. Laurence is a gifted geek who, in 8th grade, figured out how to make a wristwatch time machine. It could only take you 2 seconds into the future, but still…. Patricia is a magic and nature geek who occasionally can talk to animals and once spoke with a tree. In adulthood, Laurence and […]
Holiday Book Exchange! Thanks Badkittyuno!
First, I’d like to thank fellow Cannonballer Badkittyuno for sending this novel to me as part of the holiday exchange. I had mentioned that, to my shame, I had not read any of Isabel Allende’s novels and Badkittyuno sent one of her personal favorites, Island Beneath the Sea. And now it’s one of mine. This is a work of historical fiction set in late 18th century Haiti and Louisiana. The novel shows the effect of slavery and revolution on a group of people, slave and […]
My Dinner With Ennui
Outline is a novel about writing and writers that seems rather thin on plot and strong on philosophical reflection. It reads more like an extended metaphor than a novel. The main character, Faye, is a writer who has flown from London to Athens to spend a week teaching a writing course. Starting before she even boards the plane and continuing through her last day in Athens, Faye encounters individuals who tell their stories without much provocation. This gives Faye and author Cusk an opportunity to […]
It’s Not How You Start, It’s How You Finish
This final book in the Old Filth Trilogy gives us the story of Terry Veneering, lover of Betty Feathers, romantic and professional rival of Eddie/Filth. It also fleshes out a few of the secondary characters from the previous two novels, notably Dulcie Willy and Fred Fiscal-Smith. Gardam continues the recurring themes of being orphaned, alienated and lacking love within the context of pre- and post-war England (1930s into the 1950s). Each novel is told from the perspective of old age and end of life, which […]
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