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“If not quite a platform, a play is certainly a plinth, a small eminence from which to address the world, hold forth about one’s concerns or the concerns of one’s characters. But not to preach. Writing a play I have never tried to hide the sound of my own voice. It hasn’t always been where an audience or a critic has thought to find it, and certainly not always in the mouth of the leading character. It’s often a divided voice or a dissenting one; two things (at lest) are being said and I am not always sure which one I agree with. But that is one reason I write plays: one can speak with a divided voice.” –Alan Bennett, excerpt from 2 October 2018 Diary entry, LRB 3 January 2019
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My last 5 posts
- In Welsh hills March 10, 2019
- Super-Tramp! March 7, 2019
- I want to go to there March 6, 2019
- Dewithon 2019 February 28, 2019
- Tolkienerdity* February 27, 2019
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Category Archives: Fiction
In Welsh hills
Another review to add to Paula Bardell-Hedley’s Wales Readathon. Chatwin’s novel of 20th century life in the Black Hills of Wales wasn’t in my TBR pile for this month, but it called to me from the pages of Anthony Bailey’s … Continue reading
Posted in Am reading, Dewithon, Fiction, Historical fiction, Wales, Wales Readathon
Tagged Bruce Chatwin
7 Comments
Backward Rambles
Little Follies: The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences and Observations of Peter Leroy (So Far) (1995), Eric Kraft What do you remember from your childhood? How far back do your memories go? More importantly, how much can you trust your memories? … Continue reading
Tidying the village
‘Miss Read’, 37 novels set in 3 fictional Cotswold villages (Fairacre, Thrush Green, and Caxley). Titles include Storm in the Village (1958), The Market Square (1966), and Return to Thrush Green (1978). Also Time Remembered (1986). One of my followers has recently suggested that … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Historical fiction
2 Comments
“The chosen of All-Muggleton”
Packing for a lengthy trip that includes a great deal of moving on and off trains, buses, boats and trams (not to mention walking) presents a particular challenge for a reader who hopes to travel light: How many books should … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Classic, Fiction, Humorous, Travel, Travel book
Tagged Charles Dickens
8 Comments
Bookshop for sale
The Bookshop (1978), Penelope Fitzgerald (156 pp.) Occasionally an ad appears in one of the papers I read about a bookstore for sale. The latest one is in the Scottish borders, and so enticing! The idea of living one’s life among books … Continue reading
Proust drops in at 44 Scotland Street
Alexander McCall Smith, 44 Scotland Street series (2005 – no end in sight) If you like your soap operas literate, breezy, quirky, and in book form, then the prolific Mr. Smith* has a few options for you. I settled into … Continue reading
Posted in 2016 Goals, Art, Fiction, Humorous, Roman fleuve, Series, Travel
Tagged Alexander McCall Smith, Marcel Proust
4 Comments
Proust, the perfect beach-read
Within a Budding Grove, pp. 534-714 Although I’m not a beach person, a 10-second video online sold me on this place in Mexico. Shade was the key. I can sit on a beach all day, if sun is not involved. … Continue reading
