A very likeable book by a likeable writer. Unsurprisingly, I like it! It tells of Stephen and Jean, a couple that Julian Barnes introduced as a student. They eventually broke up, but decades later he met them both independently again, and introduced them again, and they became a couple again. This is their story. But the main character is Barnes himself.
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A few years ago in Australia, a woman called Erin Patterson killed three of her in-laws by inviting them to lunch and serving them beef Wellington containing death cap mushrooms. Her murder trial was held last year in country Victoria … Continue reading
This is Orwell’s account of his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War. It’s mostly fun to read – I got a good sense of the life of a (motley) soldier. As they say, it’s long stretches of uncomfortable boredom … Continue reading
I like this! I’m a sucker for anything related to Alice in Wonderland. This is a sequel of sorts – the protagonist Alyce is the granddaughter of the original Alice, who she thinks of as a peculiar old lady who … Continue reading
If you liked Mrs Dalloway — and of course you did! — then you should also read this collection of further episodes from the famous party. Continue reading
In 1959 the Clutter family, of Holcomb, Kansas, USA, were all murdered by a couple of home invaders. Truman Capote decided to go to Kansas to research and write this book about the crime and the investigation. Fortunately, he stayed … Continue reading
This murder mystery starts with an account written by an acquaintance of the victim. It sets the scene nicely. The next chapter was written from a different point of view, just to mix things up. I was pleased as well … Continue reading
This book is about the life and (mostly failed) loves of three women: Chia, her friend Zikora and her cousin Omelogor. They are all Nigerian, living variously in the USA and Nigeria, quite well-off, and each with their own interesting … Continue reading
Two contrasting stream-of-consciousness narratives in this novel, set 100 years ago. Mrs Dalloway is preparing to host a party – we go inside her thoughts and also those of various friends and associates, so we get a full picture of … Continue reading
This is not the story of the feijoa. It is the story of Kate Evans’s journey investigating the story of the feijoa. Along the way we do learn a lot of interesting stuff about feijoas, but we also learn a … Continue reading