Caroline's 2024 Reading (Part 2)

Avebury Stone Circle by Monica Sjoo
One of my all time favourite places.

I'm Caroline, I'm a bibloholic and I live in London. Still working, but due to retire in just over two years, counting the days.



I love reading (of course), art, movies, theatre, music and visiting gardens.



Paul Auster's typewriter (by Sam Messer) - one of a series of paintings.

Last years books read: https://www.librarything.com/topic/353378#8221464

Books Read in 2024

Fiction

House on Endless Waters (Emuna Elon (05/01/24) ****
Orbital (Samantha Harvey) (11/01/24) ****
City of Girls (Elizabeth Gilbert) (22/01/24) ****
I who have never known men (Jacqueline Harpman) (27/01/24) ****1/2
Day (Michael Cunningham) (31/01/24) ***1/2
Held (Anne Michaels) (02/02/24) *****
When the Dead Come Calling (Helen Sedgwick) (19/02/24) ***1/2
In a Summer Season (Elizabeth Taylor) (04/03/24) (*) ***
Searching for Van Gogh (Donald Lystra) (30/03/24) ****
Stone Yard Devotional (Charlotte Wood) (04/04/24) ****
Pet (Catherine Chidgey) (07/04/24) ****1/2
The Light Years: Cazalet Chronicles 1 (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (15/04/24) ****1/2
The Convenience Store Woman (Sakaya Murata) (23/04/24) ***1/2
Marking Time V2 The Cazalet Chronicles (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (21/04/24) ****1/2
Confusion Vol 3 of the Cazalet Chronicles (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (28/04/24) ****1/2
Casting Off - Cazalets 4 - (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (04/05/24) ****1/2
All Change Cazalet Chronicles 5 (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (11/05/24) ****
The Last Devil to Die (Richard Osman) (21/05/2024) ****
Table for Two (Amor Towles) (28/05/24) ****1/2
So Long, See You Tomorrow (William Maxwell) (01/06/24) ****
The Garden of Evening Mists (Tan Twan Eng) (15/06/24) (*) (reread) *****
Scaffolding (Lauren Elkin (19/06/24) ****1/2
The Boy With a Bird in His Chest (Emme Lund) (22/06/24) ****
Absolutely and Forever (Rose Tremain) (24/06/24) ***1/2
Baumgartner (Paul Auster) (06/07/24) ****1/2
The Sentence (Louise Erdrich) (11/07/24) *****
I, Julian (Claire Gilbert) (19/07/24) ****1/2

Non-Fiction

Enchantment: Reawakening Wonder in an Exhausted Age (Katherine May) (20/01/24) ****1/2
Lifescapes: A Biographer's Search for the Soul (Ann Wroe) (08/02/2024) ****1/2
Novelist as Vocation (Haruki Murakami) (11/02/24) ****
To Sir, With Love (E. R. Braithwaite) (14/02/24) (****)
Pure Wit (Francesca Peacock) (29/02/24 - leap year!) ****
Sara Shamma: Bold Spirits (Dulwich Picture Gallery) (02/03/24) *****
Prospect House (Gilbert McCarragher) (19/04/24) *****
What There Is To Say We Have Said: Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell ed Suzanne Marrs (18/05/24) *****
The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise (Olivia Laing (31/05/24) *****
The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism (George Monbiot/Peter Hutchison) (04/06/24) *****
Rural Hours: The Country Lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann (Harrier Baker) (30/06/24) ****1/2
38.An Uneasy Inheritance: My Family and Other Radicals (Polly Toynbee) (04/07/24) ****1/2

Poetry

Four Quartets (T S Eliot) (14/01/24) twice today *****
May Day (Jackie Kay) (07/07/24) ****

Rereads (already counted above (*))

Four Quartets (T S Eliot)
In the Summer Season (Elizabeth Taylor)
The Garden of Evening Mists (Tan Twan Eng)

TOTAL: 42

Fiction: 27
Non-Fiction: 12
Poetry: 03
Female: 25
Male: 12
Non-binary/trans:
Various:

UK: 20
US: 10
Canada: 01
UK/American: 03
Israel: 01
Belgium: 01
Japan: 02
Syria: 01
NZ: 01
Malaysia: 01

BOOKS ACQUIRED 2024

81

08/14/11/12/16/12/10

(Last year's numbers: (16/14/15/11/09/14/11/10/08/13/21(oops)/21)=142



BOOKS RELEASED
1 book out for everyone in plus:

10 (4 weren't in my catalogue)

Last year 520 books went out plus 1 out for everyone in (160 in, a third of previous years, but too many). I've been abysmal at updating my catalogue though. I'm going to aim at no more than 59 73 in this year.

WELCOME

And help yourself to a choccy....

>4 Caroline_McElwee: Oooo....thank you! I just don't know which one to choose...

I have managed to put 65 books into the donation boxes for library books sales, Little Free Libraries, or Goodwill so far in 2024. I probably won't continue at quite that rate, but I'd love to take out twice as many as come in, as a rule of thumb.

Happy new thread, Caroline!

Loved all the art in your previous thread.
>4 Caroline_McElwee: Like Linda^ I find it hard to choose, they all look delicious!

Happy new one!

I have a few free libraries on my route to work. I always put a few each week in them....sometimes I take one in return.

Happy new thread, dear Caroline.

Happy new thread, Caroline. I am a chocoholic but with the caveat that it really depends on what's inside....;-)

I can assure you all, those chocolates were delicious. The bonus here is they are calorie free, whichever you choose!

Happy New Thread, Caroline. I hope the week is off to a good start.

OOOHHH, don't mind if I do (help myself to a choccy).

Here are 6 good reasons to visit your thread!
"I love reading (of course), art, movies, theatre, music and visiting gardens."

>11 msf59: Well not working Monday's helps Mark!

>12 mdoris: Aww, thanks Mary.

16. In a Summer Season (Elizabeth Taylor) (04/03/24) ***



Rereading this for my RL book group. Probably read about 10 years ago, didn't remember it a bit.

For me one of her least engaging novels, over the years I have read all bar 1. I really didn't warm to any of the characters, except maybe Lou (Louise) the 19 year old daughter. I didn't feel I really knew the central character Kate, but maybe that was the point, and her annoying younger 2nd husband Dermot ... why, I kept asking myself.

The older characters: Edwina, Aunt Ethel (I hate when writers give characters names beginning with the same letter) and Charles were more fully drawn. Not the novel to start with I'd suggest.

My favourite of hers is A View of the Harbour which I have read several times (I love the tone), and started me reading her work.

I love the Monica Sjoo painting! Did you see the recent exhibition of her work in Oxford? I managed to catch it just before it closed.

>4 Caroline_McElwee: Not a chocolate lover myself, so I will give mine up to someone else :)

>14 Caroline_McElwee: I picked up A View of the Harbour not long ago. I will have to dig it out and give it a read. I read In a Summer Season several years ago but I liked it more than you did. I would definitely like to read more of Taylor's books. Do you have any other recommendations?

Happy new thread! Have a terrific Tuesday!

>16 alcottacre: My favorite Elizabeth Taylor is Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont (and there's a lovely film of it, too). Others I have enjoyed are A View of the Harbour, At Mrs Lippincote's and The Sleeping Beauty. A Wreath of Roses is good but very intense. I was less impressed by In a Summer Season, A Game of Hide and Seek and Palladian. I didn't get on at all with Angel which I just read last week, but lots of people think it's one of her best works. And last month I finished a collection of her short stories, The Blush, and I found almost all of them very good, if you like that genre.

I think I have 3 novels and 3 short story collections left to read of hers.

>15 Sakerfalcon: As a round trip to Oxford in a day is too much for me now Claire, I gave it a miss. I generally stay a night or two sometime during the year, as I can catch up with a friend as well as see an exhibition. I do love her work though.

>16 alcottacre: I pretty much agree with Kathy, below, in the Taylor books. The inly of her novels I haven't read is A Wreath of Roses which I will get to this year Stasia.

>17 kac522: I read a couple of her short story volumes Kathy, Dangerous Calm and The Devastating Boys the latter was the one I preferred.

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread, Caroline. I must admit , the chocolates are very tempting!

Happy new thread.
I'll have a chocolate, thanks. not supposed to be eating them in real life, so I'll stick to one virtually. >:-)

>14 Caroline_McElwee: I've not read anything by Elizabeth Taylor yet, Caroline, so noting A View of the Harbour.

Happy new thread, Caroline. I LOVe the art you have at the top. Love it. Good luck with your acquisition goals.

I still haven't read anything by Taylor, but I do have a couple of hers on my shelf, so my goal this year will be to give one a go.

>19 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

>20 vancouverdeb: >21 Helenliz: Mostly I have to resist them Deborah and Helen, but at Christmas I made an exception.

>22 AlisonY: I hope you will like it Alison.

>23 BLBera: Thanks Beth.

A few more in than planned, but fewer than the same time last year. I need to get back on track with exits though.

>14 Caroline_McElwee: I read this in 2009 and like you, rated it just 3 stars. I'd previously read and loved A View of the Harbour and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. I think I liked the characters in *Summer Season* more than you, but the plot just didn't measure up. Still, I went on to read the rest of her novels thanks to a year-long reading project in the Virago group during 2012 (the centenary of her birth). She's definitely a favorite author.

>25 lauralkeet: I guess you really can't expect every offering in a writer's oeuvre to be a hit Laura, and I noted very different responses in the reviews, we were slightly in the minority.

Happy new-ish thread, the Sjoo painting is fascinating.
I have enjoyed the Elizabeth Taylor conversation, I have a few copies of her books but haven't got very far with them.

Your book counts are very clear re in / out. I started listing them, but the list is already rather longer than I anticipated!

>27 charl08: Ha, always more difficult to keep 'in' numbers down Charlotte. I'm making inroads at least. Need to get back on track re releases though.

HI Caroline, Yippee, I figured out how to turn the photos around. It happened again so I tried plan D! Thanks for your help.

>29 mdoris: Yay indeed Mary.

Went to see:



I got a lump in my throat as Burton is seen about to start the 'Alas poor Yorik' soliloquy at the footlights, as the play closed. The Burton/Gielgud production was done as if a rehearsal, so this was a rehearsal of a rehearsal so to speak. With fine performances. There where moments when Jonny Flynn really had Burton's voice, but it was hard to sustain it for nearly 3 hours. Gatis was excellent as Gielgud, and another in the cast who impersonated Gielgud behind his back was spot on.

Flynn truly showed you how destructive Burton could be when in his cups. Heartbreaking to be reminded how young he died, 58.

***

My line manager asked me what I was doing at the weekend, so I explained about the play and he looked blank. Richard Burton... no, didn't know the name. Married to Elizabeth Taylor, no.. no recognition. 'Let me google'. Ha. A reminder that someone half ones age will not know your references! I think it is far less likely for younger people to know of creatives from earlier eras, than we did, but then we only had a very few channels to watch/listen on, so we were all watching the same things, and they showed movies from earlier eras. Now there are so many ways to imbibe culture that aside from the things that quickly become 'cult' viewing it is spread thinner, and earlier work less likely to be seen.

>31 Caroline_McElwee: This sounds amazing, Caroline.

I saw the Marley biopic last night (mentioned on your last thread) and was really impressed. Thanks for mentioning it - I'm not sure I'd have gone without knowing you rated it.

>32 charl08: Glad you enjoyed the Marley biopic Charlotte.

The play last night was really good. I heard someone in front of me saying it was his second time seeing it.

I went to see Andrew Scott's one man 'Vanya' (National Theatre Encore Showing) and glad I did. A bravura performance. You certainly needed to have seen the play done traditionally to get the best from it (I have seen it twice live and once filmed), and it demands concentration from the audience, but there was a voice and a way each character held their body.

I remember many years ago seeing what I called Robert Lepage's 'One man and a pair of legs Hamlet', he needed a man with a rapier on a ladder to dual with - you only saw his trousered legs; there was a camera in the tip of the rapier which looked back at Hamlet.

It rained heavily all day, but amazingly stopped when I was exposed, so the brolly never went up.

***

Was glad to see 'The Motive and the Cue' has an Encore showing at the end of the month. I was at the back of the royal circle (to avoid most of the steps) so it will be good to see it again up close. I've often seen the Encore showing of plays I've seen live, to get that different perspective.

New-thread orisons, Caro!

>31 Caroline_McElwee:, >34 Caroline_McElwee: They both sound wonderful, Caroline.

>31 Caroline_McElwee: I had this experience with my students. When I mentioned that Bob Dylan had won the Nobel Prize for literature, a student asked me, "Who is Bob Dylan?"

>35 richardderus: Thanks RD, have a good weekend.

>36 BLBera: It is strange that people who have been part of the cultural background of your life become so little known by younger generations Beth.

Lost my reading mojo a bit, and away at weekends this month, so less time.

Apologies for not getting around threads either. Hopefully will pick up when I have some time off at Easter.

Have a lurgy, so not about much for a few days. Will catch up when I can.

Happy Wednesday, Caroline. I hope you feel better. Rest up. "Vanya" sounds amazing. I just saw Andrew Scott in "All of Us Strangers". Very good film from last year and he was excellent. Have you seen "The Souvenir" with Tilda Swinton and her daughter? I just watched Part II and it was also quite good. Interesting stories.

>40 msf59: I saw 'Souvenir' Mark, and need to catch up with the second. Her 'Eternal Daughter' (same director I think) is on the list for this week.

Yes, Scott and Mescal were fine in 'All of Us Strangers'.

Feel better, Caroline.

>42 BLBera: Thanks Beth. Not there yet, but at least I have a week off now and can rest.

>17 kac522: >18 Caroline_McElwee: I have read Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont (although I have not seen the film version of it. Thank you for the recommendations!

>43 Caroline_McElwee: I hope you get all the rest you need to enjoy and recover!

Let me know how "Eternal Daughter" is. It is also on my list.

Oh yeah- Sweet Thursday!

Hope you feel better soon enough to be able to enjoy at least part of your week off, Caroline.

>44 alcottacre: I enjoyed the film version of Mrs Palfrey Stasia, though a while since I saw it.

>45 msf59: Will do Mark.

>46 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. I'm fluctuating at the moment, but a bit more comfortable mostly.

Hi Caroline. I love that painting of Paul Auster's typewriter.

Re: The National Theater. I have received some promotions about productions available for viewing/streaming. Have you watched any of those? I thought the filmed production of the stage production of "Hamilton" was so well done (what they can do with cameras these days!!) that I've been tempted to give it a try. If I do, I'll report back. :-)

>48 EBT1002: Yes Ellen. I have started going to see the recorded version after seeing a production live too. It gives such a different perspective with the close up shots.

I have also been on a night a recording was made. Lear. I think Laura (Lauralkeet) watched the live broadcast the night I was there in London, if I remember correctly.

Feel better soon. There's a lot of it about.

>50 Helenliz: Thanks Helen. Still not shaken it off, though have little oases of slightly betterness.

Can't believe I haven't finished a book since 5 March. Though have half a dozen non-fiction books I'm nibbling at.

17. Searching for Van Gogh (Donald Lystra) (30/03/24) ****



Nathan and Audrey are two young people who have already experienced hard knocks, and find each other as they are trying to redefine themselves. This is a story of a friendship. Nathan is seeking himself as a nascent artist in his spare time. Audrey is using the Hepburn character in Breakfast at Tiffany's, with her own tilt, to try and make a life for herself, but they are both pulled back to the past in striving to make a new future.

Thanks to RD for this recommendation.

>49 Caroline_McElwee: That's right, Caro! We saw an NTLive production of King Lear in a cinema several years ago, and a few other NT plays as well during that period. Most of the time they were not simulcast, but it felt like live theater. This prompted me to check out offerings in our area; looks like there's a small venue that occasionally shows NT productions. I'll have to keep that in mind!

>51 Caroline_McElwee: I hope you feel better by now, Caroline.

>53 Caroline_McElwee: And glad to see you finished a second book in March :-)

Sorry to read you've not been well, Caroline. I hope the time off helps.

I am enjoying (my) lack of activity this Easter Bank Holiday rather too much I think. It's making me want to book some time for a trip. I was thinking that I'd like to discover a new-to-me gallery. I am still hoping to get back to Dulwich, one visit was definitely not enough. I was thinking about the RA's Kauffman exhibition but not sure I'm going to fit a visit south in time to catch it.

>53 Caroline_McElwee: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Caroline.

I hope you get to feeling better soon!!

>54 lauralkeet: Thought I wasn't misremembering Laura.

>55 FAMeulstee: I have a few days in Stratford upon Avon in May, with my sibs Charlotte. Haven't been since I was a kid, so looking forward to exploring. Have tickets to Love's Labours Lost. I suspect there might be a gallery.

>55 FAMeulstee: >56 charl08: Thanks re lurgy. Heading into week 3. The pharmacist said this strain has commonly been lingering for 3-4 weeks. I guess as I haven't been ill for 4+ years I shouldn't grumble.

>58 Caroline_McElwee: You have my sympathy, I've finished week 4 of my cough and it's still there. Coughing harder with less crap being cleared. I'm really cheery about it, as you may have guessed!

>59 Helenliz: Sympathies returned Helen. Mine is a dry cough with very sore throat at night. I hope yours clears up soon.

>58 Caroline_McElwee: *gaaak* for being ill for most of a month! I am, of course, pleased that you enjoyed >53 Caroline_McElwee:, but would be happier if you'd enjoyed it in better health....

Stratford sounds like it will be fun, so I hope you're back to 100% before it occurs. *smooch*

>63 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks RD. I'm definitely pretty fed up with being under par, especially as I had to postpone a few things over the. easter break.

18. Stone Yard Devotional (Charlotte Wood) (04/04/24) ****



The narrator is an unnamed, middle aged woman, who after taking a short retreat at a run down convent in her home country of Australia, returns there and never goes home. Three 'visitations' that occur shape the story.

I expected this to be more about solitude than it was, which maybe lost it half a star (bit too much about the visitation of mice - relentless), but I still found moments of her self-exploration quietly deep.

Certainly a writer whose back catalogue I will visit.

Finally got to 'The Zone of Interest' based on a novel by Martin Amis.

Disturbing as expected. It explicitly tells the story if the commandant Hoss' family who live in a house abutting Auschwitz. You never see into the camp itself, but you hear some of what goes on over the wall. You witness the every day domesticity of this family and their utter self serving life. Clearly the adults at least know what is going on, but it impacts them only in some of the spoils that have been taken from the prisoners. The wife has finally been given the home of her dreams and refuses to move when the commandant is promoted. The only person who may be feeling the horror is the grandmother who briefly comes to stay, and leaves early.

I suspect I will think about this for some while. Born 15 years after the war's end it impacted on my generation because our parents and grandparents wanted to understand what happened, and how it happened and how so many turned their heads to enable it. At a young age I sat at my dad's side watching 'World at War', and I have read much of the holocaust literature as well. Currently rereading Etty Hillisum's diaries and letters.

Well deserving of its Oscar.

>63 Caroline_McElwee: I was about to add this one to my wish list, Caroline, but you lost me at the mention of mice....

>65 AlisonY: Yup, it needed fewer mice for sure Alison.

>64 Caroline_McElwee: I'm not a fan of Mr Amis, but that sounds like it would certainly be worth a look.

I'll post this on a couple of threads, I'm looking for ideas of poetry,readings etc that feature bells &/or bellringing.
Any ideas, throw them my way.
Thanks

>67 Helenliz: Probably giving you the obvious, but The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe, and No Man is an Island by John Donne are two good examples of poetry featuring bells.

>58 Caroline_McElwee: I feel you. Week four of sinus/ear infection and just finished round 3 of antibiotics. I am feeling better, but totally wiped. Oh well. Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm and I will slowly get better.

>64 Caroline_McElwee: Sounds painful but really good. Nice review!

>67 Helenliz:, >68 laytonwoman3rd: Another obvious one...the Christmas carol I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, poem by H W Longfellow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_the_Bells_on_Christmas_Day

One of my favorite carols.

And I think there are bell-ringers in Thomas Hardy's novel Under the Greenwood Tree, if I remember correctly.

Bells feature prominently in The Bell in the Lake a novel by Lars Mytting.

>71 mdoris: I liked that Mary, and have book 2 near the top of the pile.

Thanks all, any ideas welcomed.

>68 laytonwoman3rd: just because it's obvious doesn't mean I've thought of it... The Poe I had, I should have remembered the Donne, though.

>70 kac522: I must have purged the Hardy from memory, I hated Hardy at School! I think we did Under the Greenwood tree as well. I will gird my courage to the sticking place and find that out.

>71 mdoris: that's one I didn't know.

19. Pet (Catherine Chidgey) (07/04/24) ****1/2



The allure of the young teacher Mrs Price has her class and all her colleagues under her spell. The narrator, 12 year old Justine, whose mother has died and who lives with her father tells of how she and her school friends worship the ground Mrs Price walks on, vying to become her Pet, which entails doing the tasks of her bidding. A realistic look at the dynamic of children and the adults in their lives, and how intensely and quickly things can get out of hand. This is a psychological thriller that although quite early I had my suspicions kept me turning the pages. Considering I am not very much into ‘coming of age’ novels, I remained fully engaged with this book, and will certainly revisit this new to me NZ author. Thanks to PaulC for putting it on my radar.

I also loved The Zone of Interest, Caroline. Very unsettling and just as relevant now. I really liked his film Under the Skin too, although that was dark and creepy.

>73 Helenliz: Correction--Under the Greenwood Tree has a group of musicians, but they are not bell-ringers.

Apparently there is a scene of 6 bell-ringers in the last chapter of Hardy's Desperate Remedies. They are not handbell-ringers; they pull the ropes for the large bells in the belfry of the local church. I did read this book, but don't remember the ending scene at all.

Here is a link to the Project Gutenberg Desperate Remedies last chapter "Sequel", with the bell-ringing scene:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3044/3044-h/3044-h.htm#link2H_4_0023

>72 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caroline, Book #2 is very good too. Now I am waiting for #3 to be published.

Hi Caro! Hope you're well, and reading wonderful books.

>74 Caroline_McElwee: Really pleased that we were in sync with that one, Caroline. I loved it.

>74 Caroline_McElwee: You and Paul have zapped me with that one...onto the Wishlist it goes. (Except the touchstone goes to Stephen King's Pet Sematary.

>75 msf59: I agree Mark.

>77 mdoris: The third must be due soon Mary.

>78 richardderus: Pretty much recovered now RD. I hope all is well with you.

>79 PaulCranswick: Will definitely be looking for other work.

>80 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks re the touchstone Linda, sorted. I'm pretty sure you will become engrossed with this one.

Hi Caroline. I just did a little bit of research and the 3rd in the trilogy will be published Feb. 2025 and the title is....The Night of the Scourge. He has written quite a few books.

>82 mdoris: That will come around soon enough Mary. As it is I can't believe over a quarter of the year is behind us! I do have (as yet unread) one of his other novels.

Both Stone Yard Devotional and Pet go on my WL, Caroline. And "The Zone of Interest" sounds powerful. As usual, some great reading going on here.

20. The Light Years: Cazalet Chronicles 1 (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (15/04/24) ****1/2



I was gifted a bag of Cazalets some years ago, picking them up now after reading Laura's (Laurelkeet) enthusiasm for them.

A family saga with a bit of upstairs/downstairs to it in the early volumes at least. Kicking off in volume 1 in 1937 introducing all the family/personalities. Howard is wonderful at giving you a varied cast, and allowing you to like even the more difficult characters. And she gives a wonderful flavour of place.

Now I'm heading into WWII in Volume 2 Marking Time.

>81 Caroline_McElwee: I'm really glad you're better. I, OTOH, am reading a poetry book for my annual self-test of intolerance to the stuff. No Charity in the Wilderness: Poems from the University of Nevada Press...I'm sure as heck not gonna BUY one, and these good folk have auto approved me on Netgalley, so...they, in the long run, get the blame or the praise.

>85 Caroline_McElwee: I just picked up Marking Time at the library today, Caro. You inspired me to start it sooner than I'd originally planned! I have a bit left in my current read and then I'm going to dive right in. I'm so excited.

>86 richardderus: Haha RD. I shall check on your progress.

>87 lauralkeet: I took a biggish bite out of volume 2 this evening Laura.

>88 Caroline_McElwee: I took a probably smaller bite at bedtime, Caro. It feels like I never left.

I really enjoyed this documentary/interview with the quietly understated photographer Jane Bown, many of whose portraits are iconic of their subjects, although she often had no idea who those subjects were. She simply seemed to perceive herself as the newspaper The Observer's jobbing photographer.

21. Prospect House (Gilbert McCarragher) (19/04/24) *****



I loved photographer and writer Gilbert McCarragher's intimate record of the house of Derek Jarman and his close friend Keith Collins, who continued the care of this home for 24 years after Jarman's death, until his own death. I'm not sure that McCarragher knew Jarman, but he was a neighbour and friend of Collins, who agreed to this project.


Maggie Hambling's portrait of Jarman, painted from memory and hung in the house after his death. She went to art school with Jarman and remained a friend.






The little lead house on his desk that contained his chequebook.

Biography, memoir, witness, gift to all those interested in Jarman, and record of a deep friendship and legacy in the care Collins offered in the home's upkeep. It is now held in trust, and periodically used by artists and writers in residence. Prints of the portrait raise money for the HIV/AIDS charity The Terrance Higgins Trust.

22. Marking Time V2 The Cazalet Chronicles (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (21/04/24) ****1/2



1939-41 Home front for the Cazalets during WWII. Mostly through the eyes of the teenage and pre-teen girls Louise (budding actress), Polly (still deciding) and Clary (nascent writer). You also meet some of the family friends. Set mostly in the countryside, with visits to London, against the backdrop of war. Howard really catches the 'between places' that children of this age suffer, neither quite one thing or the other, child but almost not a child, of the varying ages. The girls very focused on their hierarchy, who should or shouldn't be able to do or know specific things. And what they think they do know and understand, and how muddy that is.

For someone who generally doesn't enjoy coming of age novels, I am totally engaged with their story.

The country house and its satellites is crammed to the gills as they give wartime homes to other family members, friends and the girl's tutor Miss Milliment. As well as a kind of babies orphanage run by Rachel, and ultimately a respite home for wounded soldiers.

The stories wind in and out and deepen the picture of each character at this time. It feels very authentic.

It's interesting to discover that despite mostly being a wealthy family, some of them are already wearing dentures by their 40s, far less common now. My father was proud that he still had most of his own teeth at 90!

****

Pausing to read an RL book group read before going on to vol 3.

>92 Caroline_McElwee: Excellent review, Caro. I'm loving this book. I'm planning to put some space between each novel, reading one every other month, so I can savor them. But I'm also reading book 2 sooner than planned so who knows if I will stick to that strategy. Either way, you'll probably finish the series before I do.

>93 lauralkeet: Thanks Laura. I am generally reading a non-fiction book at the same time. I will probably pause again after volume 3 as I like to read it in big bites, but will be away with my sibs for a few days in early May with little reading time, so will take something short for bedtime reading.

The monthly visits to Chelsea Phys have begun. Gorgeous tulips:

Spectacular photos!

>95 Caroline_McElwee: Beautiful tulips.

Thank you for the images of Jarman's home. I want to visit, but suspect I might struggle with the public transport!

>96 mdoris: Thanks Mary.

>97 charl08: That's why I haven't attempted, that and due to a walking issue (pins and plates in right ankle and leg, old injury), the shingle would be a problem. I think staying at Rye and taking a taxi would work for you if you decided to try Charlotte.

23. The Convenience Store Woman (Sakaya Murata) (23/04/24) ***1/2



A quirky novel about a young Japanese woman who doesn't quite meet with anyone's expectations of the norm (we would probably describe her as 'on the spectrum') until she finds herself working in a local convenience store, where she does everything to the highest order. But 18 years on and still working there her family and friends still perceive her behaviours as strange, and in a bid to become more acceptable she gets caught up with an even stranger young man who wishes to manipulate her for his own, lazy, ends.

Read for my local RL book group. I've read a couple of other younger generation Japanese authors, but haven't found them especially engaging, but then I don't read many comedic books, which generally they are. This one worked a little better for me.

****

Back to the Cazalets vol 3.

Hi, Caroline. Prospect House sounds really interesting. I am not familiar with Derek Jarman.

>95 Caroline_McElwee: Thank for sharing, Caroline. I love how tulips make a colorful start of the garden season.

>99 Caroline_McElwee: Nice review.
I liked The Convenience Store Woman. Checking the book I did read it back in January 2020. Feels like it was way more recent.

>101 FAMeulstee: Tulips are some of my favourite flowers Anita.

My RL book group loved The Convenience Store Woman,it was a good discussion.

Thanks for the pictures from the Derek Jarman book. Looks great.

>85 Caroline_McElwee: >92 Caroline_McElwee: We really enjoyed The Light Years in our book club - I must get around to the next one soon. I was really struck by the teeth thing as well. I could understand it in this period for people who hadn't had sufficient nutrients as children, but that wouldn't apply here. What on earth were they doing to their teeth? My Dad (born 1920) was the same as yours, had pretty much all his own teeth when he died at 80.

>91 Caroline_McElwee: What a lovely project, and delightful memorial to Jarman and Collins.

>104 SandDune: I'm nearing the end of volume 3 Rhian, and continuing to enjoy them.

>105 richardderus: It is indeed RD. A fascinating man, I've enjoyed the breadth of his work since the '80s.

>95 Caroline_McElwee: Those tulips are gorgeous! It's tulip time here, too, and I just love them. I might need to try a little painting of some of them....

The Cazulet Chronicles have caught my eye with you, Rhian, and Laura really enjoying them. I have had the first one on my wish list for a while (no memory of what prompted me to put it there lo those many months ago). Time to see if I can find a copy.

>107 EBT1002: The Cazalets are very readable Ellen. I'm just about to start volume 4 (of 5).

I look forward to seeing your painting of tulips.

24. Confusion Vol 3 of the Cazalet Chronicles (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (28/04/24) ****1/2



The second half of WWII and the daughters are in or almost in their 20s, the family stories continue to be seen primarily through their eyes, as their experience and observation skills begin to expand, while still being hampered sometimes by what they don't know, but also by their own need sometimes to hold their own secrets.

>109 Caroline_McElwee: I'm glad to see another very positive review/rating, Caro. I'll read this one in June, if not sooner.

>110 lauralkeet: I'm well into volume 4 Laura, so may have read 5 by the time I go away, otherwise I will take it with me.

I keep forgetting to mention the tone, which is consistent across the volumes I've read. I wonder if she maintains that in v5 as I think there was a longer gap between v4/5.

I always smile when I pass this on the bus trip home:

LOL! Cute! I wonder if she knows about it.

>111 Caroline_McElwee: I have similar questions about vol 5 vs 4, Caro. We shall see!

>74 Caroline_McElwee: I can recommend Catherine Chidgey's Remote Sympathy if you have not yet read it, Caroline.

>85 Caroline_McElwee: I have really got to get that one read this month. I was supposed to read it in April.

>92 Caroline_McElwee: Some day. . .

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

>115 alcottacre: Thanks for the Chidgey recommendation Stasia.

Writers on Paul Auster:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/may/01/a-literary-voice-for-the-ages-paul...

>117 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for that link, Caroline. I've been reading the tributes to Auster, and regret that I didn't get to his work years ago when I might have been more receptive to it. I only read Timbuktu in 2010, and wasn't impressed. It felt like a pot-boiler to me. I'm sure it's quite unfair to judge the man by that one work, and maybe one day when I'm feeling particularly sharp-minded, I'll give The New York Trilogy a try.

>118 laytonwoman3rd: Timbuktu landed with me the same way Linda, and I let it go.

You might like Brooklyn Follies (novel), or some of the non-fiction: The Invention of Solitude and The Red Notebook. I bought his collected poetry last year which I will pick up soon.

Of course he also wrote the wonderful short story, turned into a movie 'Smoke' with Harvey Keitel in.

I have his mammoth biography of Stephen Crane Burning Boy.

The tulips are lovely, Caroline. You are zipping through the Cazalet chronicles! I read the first three years ago and for some reason paused after three. Maybe I wanted to save them? Anyway, I hope to pull them off the shelf sometime this year.

>116 Caroline_McElwee: No problem. I do hope that you can find a copy.

I finally started The Light Years yesterday. So far, so good.

>120 BLBera: Thanks re the tulips. They do cheer me up Beth.

I hope you enjoy your Cazalet revisit. I wasn't planning to whistle through them, but I think the final will be read on my few days away.

>121 alcottacre: Enjoy the ride Stasia.

>122 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. I hope I do - and that you continue to!

>123 alcottacre: Nearing the end of Vol 4, one more to go.

Annual leave, yay. A few days to loaf and tick a few jobs off the list, then 5 days with my siblings in Stratford upon Avon (haven't been since I was a kid). We have tickets to see a matinee of Love's Labour's Lost on Thurs (my birthday), and will find a nice Indian restaurant for dins in the evening. Then another week and a half just loafing and going with the flow - hopefully an exhibition or two.

Tomorrow brunch with a friend, and then to see 'Back to Black' the Amy Winehouse biopic.

Back to work 22 May, but two short weeks due to the second May bank holiday.

Have a fabulous time off.

Sounds like the perfect way to enjoy time off! With loved ones and doing things you enjoy! And doing nothing! And May is much nicer weather for a birthday than November (mine)! :-) Enjoy, Caroline.

>125 Caroline_McElwee: Happy vacay! And many happy returns of your personal new year, as well. *smooch*

>126 Helenliz: >127 jessibud2: >128 richardderus: Thank you Helen, Shelley and RD.

HI Caroline, your plans sound dreamy and wishing you a very Happy Birthday! 🎉🥳🎶🎂

Have a wonderful vacation, Caroline. Your plans sound great.

>130 mdoris: >131 BLBera: Thanks Mary and Beth.

Happy Birthday, Caroline. Have a wonderful holiday.

>133 msf59: Thanks Mark.

Another very fine music biopic. Heartbreaking, though there were joyous moments. Marisa Abela inhabited Winehouse's life seemingly with ease, the mark of a craftsperson, you don't see the working underneath.

Amy Winehouse had such an amazing voice, her work crossed the generations, even my dad when in his 80s loved her singing. That she died aged 27 is so sad, but she left such memorable songs behind.

The thing I hated were the grimy middle aged men who made up the wolfpack of paparazzi (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman in that role, there may be the odd one) who hounded her at her most vulnerable and made money off her back.

>135 Caroline_McElwee: I thought it interesting that Mark Ronson's bits were cut out of the movie given he was a key player in her music and life. I wonder did he not approve of the film being made.

>136 AlisonY: I'm not sure, will have to see if he was interviewed about it Alison. He was certainly mentioned a few times.

25. Casting Off - Cazalets 4 - (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (04/05/24) ****1/2



So this volume we have 'the brothers' ie the fathers of the girls, and the outsiders: the in-laws and friends. The Cazalets are generally good at friendship, are welcoming and inclusive, but ultimately probably couldn't function completely without their support. And a few sections on 'the wives'. I'm deliberately not saying much about individuals as I don't want to spoil anyone's first reading.

I'm still loving the tone.

A thing that sticks out is the smoking of pipes. That has totally fallen by the wayside here, that and cigars. I haven't smelt pipe or cigar smoke since my 20s. Smoking generally here has dropped to 15%, although there are a lot of vaper's, which isn't as healthier an alternative as promoted!

Hope you have a wonderful time in Stratford, Caroline!

>139 Sakerfalcon: Thanks Claire. Had a lovely first day. Photos on my return as it takes longer on my phone and I need Zzzzs now.

Back from four days in Stratford-upon-Avon. A couple of photo collages.

Next to his family, and the theatre, the church of Holy Trinity had been in Shakespeare's life throughout. He was christened there, as were his children, he was a lay reverend there in later life (he was the second wealthiest person in Stratford by then). And he is buried there.



Ten years ago a scan was done of the family graves and it confirmed that Shakespeare's skeleton is in tact, no missing scull. He was about 5ft 3ins (people were shorter then) - an inch shorter than me. He is buried three feet beneath his grave stone rather than the mythologised 17ft. Anne who died 6 years later is buried at his side. The half statue is the only representation created in his lifetime. Anne testified to its likeness, and his parishioners would not have accepted an image that didn't look like him I suspect.

The font is the one all the Shakespeare's were christened in. It went missing for a while and turned up in a farmer's field being used for a trough for his cows.



Top left birthplace/top right RSC theatre, and below audience gathering/centre Anne Hathaway's Cottage (known as such as they resided there together before she became Mrs Shakespeare, she was older than he). Bottom: A tree WS may have stood beneath/statue in birthplace garden/statue of Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote about WS/The Actor's bar in The Dirty Duck public house (the only pub in the UK to trade under two names, it is called the Black Swan as well. It has been a pub since 1738 - 122 years after WS's death). The thesps retire here at performances end.

26. All Change Cazalet Chronicles 5 (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (11/05/24) ****



This final volume of the Cazalets was written 18 years after the preceding volume, nearing the end of EJH's life. It is a what happened later rather than a summing up I would say. Written generally in smaller bites, a little repetitive in places. She sustains the tone, but although big things happen, I'm not 100% sure the volume was necessary.

Overall the series has been very satisfying. The breadth of perspectives (the initial outline coming from the the teenage girls looking up and down, and how they mature across the series), the social/domestic history, the things that were still in my memory from childhood (be it from the working class) that no longer exist now all interesting.

These were an upper middle-class/lower upper-class family heading towards a time when the expectations of their lives were heading towards dramatic change. Howard shows this progression while maintaining sympathy for her characters.

I have a biography of Elizabeth Jane Howard which I will probably read next month.

Interesting review, Caro. I will definitely read this volume, even if it has some shortcomings. Just the other day I read EJH's Wikipedia entry and it was fascinating. I can imagine a biography would be even more so.

>143 lauralkeet: It's still a pretty good read Laura, and fleshes out a bit more of the youngest children who were born later in the series, and ties up a few ends.

Hi Caro...cool collage from Stratford! How odd it would be to learn that one's hometown had been reorganized around one's own life and legend...though I suspect that Willie Shakes would like it a lot.

>145 richardderus: Actually I suspect he might be a bit embarrassed to learn it RD. I think in later life he was quite community oriented. We tend to perceive him as being a bit Jack-the-laddish in his youth which he may have been - though as a focused writer, I suspect he was more serious than we imagine.

What lovely pictures, I hope you had an equally lovely time.

>146 Caroline_McElwee: hmm

I'm of the "once a hambone, always a hambone" theory of human development.

>141 Caroline_McElwee: As always, your photos are stunning, Caroline. It looks like you had a good time.

Great comments on the Howard books. I look forward to them later this year.

>141 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for sharing the photos, Caroline. I can visit vicariously.

Not sure when I will get to Marking Time, but I think I am going to try and read it next month. And then maybe one a month thereafter. . .

Sweet Thursday, Caroline. Glad to hear you liked the Amy Winehouse biopic. I really liked the documentary from a few years back. I think it was called "Amy".

>149 BLBera: I’m not especially either a series or saga person Beth, but I did enjoy these. Hope you will too.

>150 alcottacre: Glad you enjoyed travelling on my shoulder Stasia. I went too quickly really.

>151 msf59: She was so talented Mark. The film is worth a viewing.

Have a wonderful weekend, Caroline! I sure hope you enjoy Table for Two: Fictions when you get to it!

>154 alcottacre: I'm sure I will Stasia.

27. What There Is To Say We Have Said: Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell ed Suzanne Marrs (18/05/24) *****



An extraordinary record of a deep and long friendship between two of America's finest writers. They had known and supported each other for over fifty years. They were family. And for a lot of the time Maxwell was Welty's editor, and the workings of their working relationship are sometimes found between these pages.

Alike in much of their early experience, always recommending and gifting new books or other cultural finds. Supportive of other creativity. Reporting on meetings with other writers, as in this report by Maxwell of meeting Isak Dinesen:

She herself at times looked like a falcon. Though we talked all through dinner, she didn't do more than consider and reply to my remarks, until the dessert, and then something, I forget what, the fact that I had just finished making a doll house, perhaps, for my daughter, made her melt, and she talked to me-but still not personally, not as if she liked me or ever wanted to see me again. But in such a way as to make me love her forever. Her voice is so beautiful, the accent isn't either British or American. It has notes that are like cello music. It's like listening to Hayden (Haydn). And those burning black eyes. It is several years too late to be her friend, but it is not too late to remember what she is like, as long as I live. p133.

Isn't Dinesen now vividly in your imagination?

It is also amazing to think that they each carried out multiple correspondences, although this was the closest to them both I think. How lucky we are to have it.

Of course I now want to read more of both of their stories, I just ordered Maxwell's complete stories, and am trying to put my hands on my volume of Welty's.

Suzanne Marrs was a friend of Maxwell, and wrote a biography of Welty, to whom she may have also been a friend.

The hare sculptures were by South African artist Guy du Toit.

Beautiful weather at Chelsea Phys today. It really is a balm to the soul. I go with a friend and we just sit for hours on our favourite bench by the pond and chat, listen to and watch the birds - a couple of blue tits today. The robins were in hiding.

Look away RD.



Not the best photo, but it is the second time in two weeks I have seen a kitty in a kitty backpack. This is Ollie who was at the bus stop with his young owner and mum. He stuck his head out of a side window to have a sniff at me and get an ear skritch. Seemed totally content as did the white persian I saw on the tube on my way home from Stratford-upon-Avon.

Although only a couple of chapters into Artemis Cooper’s biog of Elizabeth Jane Howard (known as Jane) it is very clear, as expected, that the Cazalets are her family.

>158 Caroline_McElwee: I read EJH's Wikipedia page recently which mentioned several bits from her life that show up in the novels, so I wondered how much the Cazalets were modeled on her own family.

>156 Caroline_McElwee: A book I really loved as well, Caro. I'm glad it hit with you.

>159 lauralkeet: It will be interesting to see how biographical it is Laura.

>160 richardderus: I do love correspondences and diaries RD. One of my favourites is the 5 volumes of Virginia Woolf's diaries (due a reread), although Maxwell and Welty both loved her, the diaries were one thing they had some disagreements about.

>156 Caroline_McElwee:.Sounds like a fascinating collection of lettere, Caroline. That whole era of longtime correspondence seems to be fading into the distance. I can't imagine anyone reading a WhatsApp thread in the same way!

>162 charl08: Absolutely not Charlotte. I suspect some writers will keep copies of literary emails and have diaries, but I'm not sure that biographers going forward will have the wealth of material available from this generation of creatives at all.

>156 Caroline_McElwee: I wish my local library had that one. It does have Marrs' biography of Eudora Welty as well as a book of her correspondence with Ross MacDonald, but not that one.

>157 Caroline_McElwee: I love the pictures, Caroline! Thank you for sharing them. I have never heard of a kitty backpack before. I must investigate. . .

Have a terrific Tuesday!

>164 alcottacre: It was like this one Stasia:

https://nidfashions.com/product/expandable-breathable-cat-backpack/?gad_source=1...

28. The Last Devil to Die (Richard Osman) (21/05/2024) ****



Another romp with Elizabeth, Ron, Bogdan, Joyce and Ibrahim. As with volumes 2&3 I found it enjoyable but just too blatantly formulaic, hence being tight with my * rating.

That said, each novel has offered something thought provoking and authentic beyond its murder plot. In this volume it was the Elizabeth/Stephen thread about his dementia. I've rarely come across such a touching presentation of a difficult subject.

***
The casting of the Spielberg film is slowly being announced. So far:

Elizabeth = Helen Mirren/Ron = Pierce Brosnan/Ibrahim = Sir Ben Kingsley (he insists on the ‘Sir’)/Joyce = Celia Imrie (who I saw at the bus stop in Victoria recently).

>157 Caroline_McElwee: What great photos, Caroline.

>166 Caroline_McElwee: I've heard so many good things about this series, but so far I have resisted starting another one. Maybe I'll just watch the film.

>166 Caroline_McElwee: Your spoilery comment and bits like that in the other books are, for me, what elevated this series beyond the formula. Although the formula made for a lot of fun; "romp" is a good word to describe it.

On my way home from Chelsea Phys on Monday I passed Sadler’s Wells Theatre and noticed a poster advertising a production called ‘May B’ by a French company, a dance inspired by the work of Samuel Beckett. Online as soon as I got home and got myself one of the last tickets for yesterday (it was only playing 2 days), the last day of my A/L.



What an extraordinary production. Totally riveting. Dance to near silence except their footsteps and occasional oral sounds, dance to music (Schubert and Gavin Bryars). For 2/3rds of the evening the dance/movement/mime gave a sense of the work it was inspired by. Not until nearing the end did Beckett’s masterful characters make an appearance, Lucky and Pozzo, Clov and Hamm, and Beckett himself.

It wasn’t until I got home and found a review of an earlier production that I learned that Beckett had green-lighted the dance. The choreographer had written to him, not expecting a reply, but had received one inviting her to meet with him to discuss it. Must have been amazing for the then very young artiste. Without knowing this, while watching the performance I was thinking ‘Sam would approve’.

All that said it should have finished at 75 minutes. The audience thought it had and applauded, but it continued for 15 minutes more which was mostly performers exiting and entering the stage in various ways. That 15 minutes felt like 40, and an add-on, which it may have been if the venue wanted a neater 90 minute programme.

While I was on the website I booked 3 other productions across the rest of the year.

>168 lauralkeet: I agree Laura, it is the thing that kept me reading.

>157 Caroline_McElwee: Lovely pictures, Caroline. I have never seen a kitty backpack, nice way to travel with cat.

>166 Caroline_McElwee: I finished The Last Devil to Die today.
Rated it 3½* like the others, although I liked it slightly better because of what is behind the spoiler.

I just don't resonate with the old-people-sleuths trend that much. Not sure why, goodness knows I have every reason to identify with the protagonists. Enjoy your weekend-ahead's reads.

>172 richardderus: Thanks RD, it's a long weekend here, yay. Have a good one yourself.

>166 Caroline_McElwee: I was browsing in the library yesterday, a bit early for my Board meeting, and picked up a book called The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder, which is blurbed as a conflation of Agatha Christie and Richard Osman. I hope it's good, while I wait impatiently for Osman to get back to the Club.

>173 Caroline_McElwee: We're doing a three-day weekend here, too, apparently. I'm not affected by it but realized suddenly why my cataract appointment got moved.

>174 laytonwoman3rd: Osman is pausing the Murder Club for now, and a new murder duo will begin in September Linda.

>175 richardderus: Annoying to have your procedure delayed RD. You will notice the difference when it is, according to friends who have had it done recently, especially in the improvement of colour, as well as distance.

>176 Caroline_McElwee: I knew he was taking a break with those characters for a while, but he did sort of promise he wasn't going to leave them forever....I will try anything he writes at this point.

>177 laytonwoman3rd: I too am interested in his new series Linda.

Last night streamed 'Ryuchi Sakamoto: Opus', what was his final (studio) performance filmed by his son over 8 days. A collage of his music. Meditative and melancholy. Just beautiful. He died aged 71 last year. This, along with the documentary 'Coda' are real treasures.

29. Table for Two (Amor Towles) (28/05/24) ****1/2



I really enjoyed Amor Towels' Table For Two, 6 short stories and a novella. As you would expect from Towles he sets his stories in the past. If there is an overarching theme in this collection it is probably unexpected consequences of someone's action/s, especially in the short stories. Rounded interesting characters.

I still have The Lincoln Highway to read, and I want to reread The Rules of Civility

30. The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise (Olivia Laing (31/05/24) *****



Another wonderful book by Olivia Laing. Moving into a new home with extensive garden just as the pandemic begins. Full of digressions about other gardeners and seekers of Edens and Paradises.

31. So Long, See You Tomorrow (William Maxwell) (01/06/24) ****



A reread for this year's American Author Challenge (AAC). It gained a star. It is a later novel in Maxwell's cannon. Maybe I needed to acquire 18 more years in which to appreciate this quiet but powerful novella. It is one of those books which is more than the sum of its pages. If not epic, somehow rich in it's ordinary extraordinariness. It is about memory and it's unreliability, and it's about carrying a burden, that may not have been yours to carry, but that even in older age you cannot bring yourself to understand or set down.

>182 Caroline_McElwee: I loved that book, Caro.

>184 Caroline_McElwee: I think you would enjoy >181 Caroline_McElwee: too Laura.

>182 Caroline_McElwee: A very beautiful read indeed. I'm glad that you're one of us at last.

Great weekend-ahead's reads, Caro!

32. The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism (George Monbiot/Peter Hutchison) (04/06/24) *****



Accessible, clear and a bit mind-blowing this record of how we got into the mess we have achieved politically in the last 30-40 years in the UK/US and some other countries. A look at Neoliberalism, a term that even its followers are choosing to avoid using. How not only the Tories/Republicans have grasped this nettle, but the Labour party and the US Dems have utilised rather than overhauled many of the methods in their practices, rather than strip them down. Moving from a more equitable society, into an extremely unbalanced ‘rich get richer/poor get poorer’ place, where the political leaders/banks/media and all the other institutions have persuaded us that there is no way out of the current system, and that we can only continue with it.

Near the end of the volume, an exploration of what might help us change this un-relenting continuation and abuse of power.

Highly recommended for those interested in politics.

I haven’t watched this yet, but don’t doubt it will be interesting (46 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-cP1prsBIo

>185 richardderus: Thanks RD, I hope you had a good one too.

I am waiting for Maxwell's collected stories to land mid-month.

>186 Caroline_McElwee: Hello Caroline, This book sounds excellent. I hope to be able to find it!

>186 Caroline_McElwee: I'm not far into it, but it's so far very interesting.

>166 Caroline_McElwee: I had no idea that a movie was being made! Thanks for the update on that. I will have to check it out when it is released as I have enjoyed the books so much.

>180 Caroline_McElwee: I loved that one too!

>182 Caroline_McElwee: I wish my local library had any of Maxwell's books! The one I read for the challenge came through Hoopla and it did not have any of his adult books at all.

I started Elizabeth Jane Howard's Marking Time yesterday. I am hoping that I enjoy the series as much as you and Laura have done.

>188 mdoris: Fingers crossed you find it Mary.

>189 richardderus: Glad it is hitting the spot for you too RD.

>190 alcottacre: I'm surprised such a known and respected US writer isn't available Stasia. Frustrating.

I suspect you will continue to enjoy the EJH books.

>191 Caroline_McElwee: The Mobiot video was exceedingly successful at causing me to froth at the mouth much to my outrage. It's really crystal clear when it happened and why. YUCK

Oops, absent without leave. Nothing much to report unfortunately, beyond my cough finally making an exit.

I'm trying not to waste much time listening to the blah blah about the election. I live in a labour stronghold so there won't be any change there (ideally I would vote Liberal Democrat, but have voted Labour in the last couple of elections). Unfortunately I really don't see any strong leadership in the current opposition parties. Even Labour are more right of centre, trying in some instances to suggest they are the perfect home for centre Tories bah. I do hope the current oiks in power are evicted, and that the current opposition have a better moral compass as a party, and as individuals, than the one I hope will exit stage right (excuse the pun).

>31 Caroline_McElwee: We saw "The Motive and the Cue" courtesy of NTLive just a little while ago. Wonderful. I had the pleasure early in my life of seeing that exact production when it came to Broadway, and it's still in my head. Years later, hearing a random few words on the radio as I was spinning the dial, I recognized Hume Cronyn as Polonius and it all flooded back to me. I agree that Gatis was eerily good as Gielgud.

Your line manager is an ignoramus.

>34 Caroline_McElwee: And we saw "Vanya" as well! Also NTLive, of course. I actually thought it was much better than the current full stage play at Lincoln Center.

>194 ffortsa: >195 ffortsa: Glad you enjoyed those productions too Judy. I had wanted to see the NTLive of 'The Motive and the Cue', I try to see them after I see the production in the theatre, as the close-ups give you another perspective.

Caroline, I have no idea why I haven't been reading your thread. It's always so interesting. I've really missed it.

The Invisible Doctrine sounds - um - a bit necessary. I usually steer clear, and leave the history and politics books to Jim, but I've been thinking a lot lately about the inequality that has infected our societies, and how we need to get back to a more even, more community-conscious way of life. Capitalism without that is just a jungle.

eta: Your photos are wonderful. Did you use a 'stand-alone' camera or a phone?

>197 ffortsa: Thanks Judy.

These days I just use my phone. I came across some previous cameras in a box a while ago. Of course our phones are always with us now.

Happy Saturday, Caroline. I have been having tech issues here on LT, so I haven't been able to visit certain threads. I hope I finally found a solution.

I hope all is well on your end and hooray for Table for Two. I loved it too.

Exiting cough is a good thing, so glad to read of its departure. I hope the entire weekend has more fun things than tedious ones in it.

33. The Garden of Evening Mists (Tan Twan Eng) (15/06/24) (reread) *****



Reread for this month's RL book group.

My comments from reading it last year:

Set in the garden of Yugiri in Malaya (as it was then) and the tea estate next door, Majuba, the story shifts too and frow across time as the narrator, Teoh Yun Ling, a straits Chinese woman tells her story and that of the once Gardener of the Emperor Hirohito, Nakamura Aritomo (Malay surnames are always first, so the novelist’s surname is Tan). Yun Ling returns to the garden of Yugiri – Evening Mists - 40 years after her previous visit, the garden was left to her by its owner Aritomo who disappeared 40 years earlier. Yun Ling and her sister were once prisoners of the Japanese in Malaya, during the course of the novel she reflects on her life, the relationships she has with friends on the estate next door, and her apprenticeship to the Japanese gardener.

Layer upon layer. The breadth and depth of this novel and the tales it tells are rich. The characters deeply drawn, the twists and turns subtle and fascinating.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

>200 richardderus: Definitely a better weekend RD. More on that tomorrow.

This afternoon I went to see the Yamato Japanese Drummers who were just outstanding.



The show was powerful, emotional at one point, the biggest deepest drum always gets me. In the second act some comedy, with audience participation. And for the first time 3 young women on the smaller drums.

I saw a troop about 10 years ago, not these as they were too young, maybe their predecessors. I love good drumming. For a couple of years I went to a shamanic drum group each month.

Short taster:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqRvwrXwrCw

****

Tomorrow meeting friends for lunch, and in the evening meeting with my cousin to hear International journalist Jeremy Bowen in conversation. He specialises in the Middle East and is recently back from Israel and Gaza.

>201 Caroline_McElwee: Oh, I haven't read this one yet. It should rise in my tbr list.

>191 Caroline_McElwee: It is frustrating, but not unexpected. My local library caters pretty much to the 'hot new and bestseller' books. I am continuing to enjoy Marking Time!

>201 Caroline_McElwee: Tan Twan Eng is now one of those authors that, as soon as he releases a book, I will automatically buy. He has not written one yet that I have not enjoyed.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

>205 alcottacre: I agree re Tan Twan Eng Stasia. It will be a bit of a wait until the next :-(

34. Scaffolding (Lauren Elkin) (19/06/24) ****1/2



A novel of layers and layers. Three couples across two eras whose lives have wittingly and unwittingly crossed, connected, changed, charged and loved. Psychoanalysis is at the core of the novel, as the women especially (Anna, Clementine and Florence) seek to understand themselves, their relationships, feminism, history, conflicts and contradictions. There are a lot of C's in this paragraph. There are coincidences, but few conditions. They are connected to each other, and their men (Jonathan, Henry and David).

The scaffolding is both literal and metaphorical. Something erected and dismantled, something that supports and holds things in place, but is never permanent.

Written in short bites, shifting from one to the other.

Elkin is an American who has lived in Paris for 20 years, now living in London. She has written a debut novel that owes something to all those places.

I loved her non-fiction book: No. 91/92: notes on a Parisian commute.

35. The Boy With a Bird in His Chest (Emme Lund) (22/06/24) ****



A beautifully imaginative debut novel from Emme Lund.

Owen Tanner is the boy of the title, a boy living with a slightly crazy single mother who is trying to protect him from a world who would use him to their own ends (reminds me of the film 'The Man Who Fell to Earth'). After years of suffocation housebound with no other company but his little bird for most of the time, inevitably Owen wants to experience the outside world. There is wonder and danger, complexity, and ultimately friendship and love.

A story of being othered, disappeared in order to remain safe, and finding the strength to be one's self.

I'll definitely be looking for Lund's next book.

Read for The American Author Challenge LGBTQ+ month.

>207 Caroline_McElwee: I'll add this to the list. I loved her earlier NF book about women walking in the city (Flaneuse). Although it did make me want to hand in my notice and just go somewhere more exciting.

36. Absolutely and Forever (Rose Tremain) (24/06/24) ***1/2



Not your typical Rose Tremain I would say. Semi-autobiographical I understand. A coming-of-age novel (which is not normally my bag). Marianne is not the brightest bunny in the box, the daughter of a domineering army colonel and his wife. Parents she never has the capacity to please. After a tryst with a young man in the back of a car after a party, Marianne is smitten, but things don't go according to her fantasies. Undermined by secrets and stubbornness. Tremain catches the tightrope of 1950s/60s 'You-Kay' of the lower middle classes.

37. Rural Hours: The Country Lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann (Harrier Baker) (30/06/24) ****1/2



It does what it says on the tin. Explores the impact of once town dwelling women writers on their work and lives having moved to the country. Well written, you feel rural life through their experience and observation of those who have only lived rurally. It is also very much about these women's need for solitude. They had all at sometime met each other and admired each other's work, be it that Woolf was slightly older.

It is also about life in the country during and between two wars.

>210 Caroline_McElwee: Interesting that it's really atypical AND autoreferential. So often those two are directly correlated not inversely.

>211 Caroline_McElwee: I ;\like all three of those authors but feel oddly reluctant to take that one on.

Happy week-ahead's reads, Caro.

>212 richardderus: Good to see you peak around the door RD. The first three week's in July are short working weeks, with long weekends. Bliss.

>211 Caroline_McElwee: I am tempted by this one!

Enjoy your long weekends. That sounds like a lovely way to have a more relaxed month.

I went to a work 'Away Day' today, the venue may be of interest to sports fans, it was held at The Oval, a game in progress during the break (Surry were playing, not sure who against):





The only thing I know about cricket is 'the whites', and the 'pock' sound of ball hitting bat (or the other way around!).

I think last time I was there for an event no game on.

>214 charl08: Yes, as I do a 30 hour week, not working Mondays, every week feels short, but when some annual leave is added Charlotte, bliss.

>215 Caroline_McElwee: I was about to say that I had been to a course at The Oval, but then I thought about it and I think it was at Lords. (The Oval is south of the river isn't it?). I know absolutely nothing about cricket either.

>217 SandDune: Yes South of the river Rhian. I mis-spoke The Oval and Lords as one venue to a cricket fan friend, just to prove my sporting prowess!

>215 Caroline_McElwee: I quibble with your characterization of cricket as a sport instead of a sleep aid.
Still, a day out is a day out and not to be sneezed at.

>219 richardderus: aha-choo. That might help with my broken nights RD.

Phew.

Now the two most important things Labour need to do are manage expectations and build trust.

It's piddling with rain today!

>206 Caroline_McElwee: Yeah, I wonder how we could get him to write faster, lol.

>207 Caroline_McElwee: I keep debating with myself back-and-forth as to whether that sounds like a book for me. . .

>208 Caroline_McElwee: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Caroline!

>211 Caroline_McElwee: That one too.

Have a fantastic Friday in spite of the piddling rain!

>221 Caroline_McElwee: In a chat this morning, someone even more cynical than I am wondered how many people woke up expecting all sorts of things to have changed overnight. It will take time and cost money.

I think you have it right. I'm afraid my belief in any politicians is at rock bottom.

>222 alcottacre: Hmmm, I'm not sure if >207 Caroline_McElwee: would work for you, I don't think it would be everyone's cuppa Stasia.

>223 Helenliz: I am bemused that some very bright people don't realise things don't happen overnight Helen, and I guess that is because they don't know the mechanics of the system. The reality is any government has about 18 months to 2 years at the start of their term to do things of import, after that time the things that get focused on generally have to be chosen with the question 'will this lose us another term?' in mind. A new party in government spend their first term picking up the threads, deciding what most represents the values they stated in their manifesto, and what might get them the biggest bang for their buck. So after getting those first two things mentioned in >211 Caroline_McElwee: started, they have that short window to contend with.

38.An Uneasy Inheritance: My Family and Other Radicals (Polly Toynbee) (04/07/24) ****1/2



Polly Toynbee is one of our finest journalists and political writers. Here she explores life and her roots as an upper middle class left winger, descended from a host of equally left wing and often very flawed and guilt-ridden family members. The final fifth of the book offers us her social conscientious explorations of class and a summary of the research she has spent her life doing. An open and honest look at a life with social and political complications. You know you would enjoy her company.

Hi Caroline- What a lot of great reading you have done lately. I've added several to my WL.

>210 Caroline_McElwee: I loved House of Doors, so I look forward to his other books.

Rural Hours and the Elkin book are others that look great.

>221 Caroline_McElwee: Very best of luck to all y'all!

>226 BLBera: I don't think you will be disappointed by Tan's other work Beth.

>227 richardderus: Thanks RD. I have been impressed so far, if they continue as they have started I think in time we will see some serious improvement.

39. Baumgartner (Paul Auster) (06/07/24) ****1/2



Paul Auster's final novel, which has more than just whispers of all his usual flights of fancy, of course there is a telephone call, some chaos, some possible autobiography, some history and seriousness. It is a while since I last read him, but I have several of his novels yet to read and will certainly be picking another up later this year.

I heard Auster speak and read from his work many years ago at the Festival Hall. I remember describing his physicality as contorting his body like a pipe-cleaner in his seat. He was long and wirey.

>224 Caroline_McElwee: Good to know. Thanks for the input, Caroline.

40. May Day (Jackie Kay) (07/07/24) ****



Some really good poems from Scots writer/poet Jackie Kay. Much about those who have inspired her life, protest poems, her family (bi-racial/lesbian/adopted). I could hear her voice as I read.





https://artuk.org/discover/stories/from-south-africa-to-the-slade-repositioning-...



*****

Hmmm, I have read very little poetry in the first half of this year, I need to remedy that.

I'm about to start Louise Erdrich's The Sentence, and I note she was born this date in 1954 - I do enjoy synchronicity.

>231 Caroline_McElwee: - I just finished a book by Jackie Kay, Caroline. I'd not heard of her before so a bit of serendipity here. The book I read was Bessie Smith, a bio of the famous American blues singer. It was unusual in that it was almost a partial bio of Jackie Kay, as well. I will try to get my review up on my thread later today.

>233 jessibud2: Yes Serendipity indeed Shelley. That is on the list to get to sometime.

Enjoy The Sentence, Caroline.

I am always looking for a good poet. I will add Kay to my list.

I hope to read some Auster this year as well.

>231 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for the page shots. Very clear sense of loss.

>232 Caroline_McElwee: That is a cool bit of synchronicity, Caroline. I love that kind of stuff too. I hope you enjoy The Sentence. I thought it was terrific.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

41. The Sentence (Louise Erdrich) (11/07/24) ****



A quirky, enjoyable journey with haunted bookseller Tookie and her colleagues and family. The last third set against the backdrop of the pandemic. The impact on ordinary lives by an extraordinary event. But then several extraordinary events happen to these characters.

Visiting my sister in Shropshire. Today a visit to the Dingle in Shrewsbury:







Beautiful, but our tranquil breakfast was hijacked by a concert in the park outside, mostly music from the 70s/80s.



Oh, and my sisters homemade eccles cake.

Beautiful park (and Eccles cake!)

Today we crossed the border into wales, and could look back into Shropshire. We visited Powys Castle, mostly to see the gardens and view. Some photos:








The Yew planted in 1680.




Sisters.... (me, my sister Em, 7 years younger)


The peacocks especially are very tame, and the peahens not easily scared despite having young. I realised I'd never seen the back of a peacock that was displaying which was fascinating, if not as colourful, and the sound of the feathers when displaying a little like rain as they are shimmered when he turns around.

>241 Caroline_McElwee: You both look so happy! A great photo, Caro.

Pretty peafowl, too.

>242 richardderus:…I am lucky in my siblings (a brother in the middle) RD. We would be friends were we not friends/siblings.

Wonderful pics of the garden and especially wonderful one of the sisters! Thanks for posting.

Lovely pictures, I hope you had a good time - certainly looks like it!

Hi, Caroline. Love the Shropshire pics, along with the one of you and your sister. I think I might like The Boy With a Bird in His Chest. I finally tried Auster, with The New York Trilogy and it didn't quite work for me. Glad to see you enjoyed The Sentence. I hope to get to that one in the coming months.

>242 richardderus: Lovely photos. I have not been a fan of peacocks since going to a school where they had them in the central quad (a hangover of an attempt at a mini-farm, I think). They were so noisy! But your photos have all the benefits without the downsides :-)

Wonderful pics, Caroline!

Wonderful pics, wonderful gardens, wonderful sister.

eta: That yew tree is extraordinary!

>244 mdoris: >245 Helenliz: >246 msf59: >247 charl08: >248 jessibud2: >249 ffortsa: glad you all enjoyed the photos. Yes, my sister is a diamond. Wouldn't change her for anything.

>246 msf59: I think Auster is one of those marmite writers Mark. Maybe you would enjoy his non-fiction more. Or his poetry, which I have only just started dipping into.

>247 charl08: Many years ago I volunteered in a Monkey Sanctuary in Cornwall, and there were also a few peacocks. Our jobs on a rota included shovelling peacock s**t. My least favourite. And yes Charlotte, that loud call. Somehow though I have never lost my love for their beauty. And this one was very friendly.

DNF Forbidden Notebook (Alba De Céspedes) - after 52 pages I really didn't care about the characters, but my bigger issue was it didn't feel like a diary, and I've read a few. It was really just a straight narrative with dates.

>250 Caroline_McElwee: That sounds like a miserable job but I agree, there is something especially beautiful about peacock showing off its full plumage.

I love the photo of you and your sister, Caroline! It looks like you had a lovely time together. It's a blessing to have siblings who are real friends. My sister and I are like that too.
That Eccles cake looks delicious ...

>251 Caroline_McElwee: I liked Forbidden notebook but I agree that it didn't feel much like a diary, especially one written in the snatches of time available to Valeria. But I enjoyed the focus on her inner life and how she came to question the conventions she'd always taken for granted.

>252 Oberon: They are so luminous Erik.

>253 Sakerfalcon: We are so lucky Claire.

It's funny how differently things can hit us.

I really enjoyed this dramatisation of Amor Towles' novel, but the book was a little more enchanting. Probably because the collaboration is with the reader, which means each one of us sees something meaningful to ourselves.

>255 Caroline_McElwee: I really enjoyed the “Gentleman in Moscow” series (I love the book, and have read it twice to date). The show came as close as it could to the book, but you’re right—“reading” is so different from “watching.”

Karen O

>256 klobrien2: I must reread the book Karen, it's been a while.

42. I, Julian (Claire Gilbert) (19/07/24) ****1/2



Although not religious I have long been interested in the solitary, the hermit, nun or monk. Gilbert's fictional autobiography of Julian of Norwich gives a powerful sense of the life of an anchoress, walled up in a cell attached to a church. It is not a life anyone would take on lightly, but after a series of visions Julian decides she should seek out this solitary life as she seeks to understand and attempt to interpret the gift she has been given. Historically, this is not a time in which to do this without concern, where anyone different can be perceived a heretic, and any (quietly) powerful woman a threat to the religious patriarchy. However this novel is primarily an inner search, and acknowledgement of the deep friendships and support she was given.

I love the cover of this edition too.

>255 Caroline_McElwee: Glad you liked the series Caroline. I agree that the book was better but the visual translation was a lot of fun.

>258 Caroline_McElwee: I read the book The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader some years back and was equally fascinated. It's so hard to imagine what it must have been like for the women who decided to become an anchoress, living in these tiny cells in almost total solitary confinement.

>260 AlisonY: I Suspect few of us would last more than a few days Alison. I did once do a retreat where you had limited contact with others, but as I have chosen to live alone most of my adult life it was probably easier for me, but still a very different experience, as I can just open the door and be among people.

>258 Caroline_McElwee: Have you read For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain? It's a novel that considers Julian of Norwich alongside Margery Kempe, and imagines the meeting between them (which may really have taken place). I really liked the contrasts between their different religious experiences and spirituality. I will have to look out for I Julian as it sounds as though I'd enjoy it.

>262 Sakerfalcon: ooo, that one goes in my shopping cart Claire. Thanks for the recommendation.