In the dappled late May sunshine of South Lanarkshire, it may just be possible to detect the live murmur of a summer’s day. Your day will not be out of the ordinary. In the background the servants are busy with their morning tasks, and the clatter of pots and pans drifts over the policies to […]
The Penguin Book of the British Short Story, edited by Philip Hensher Read More »
Rebecca Mackenzie (http://www.rebeccamackenzie.com/about/) is the daughter of missionaries, growing up in 1980s Bangkok, the Malaysian jungle and the tea hills of southern India. Returning to Scotland she completed her education, and at seventeen moved to London to study Religion, History and Thai at the School of Oriental and African Studies. In a Land of Paper Gods is her debut novel. The summary
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Chris Wilson (http://christopher-wilson.net/9701.html) is the author of several novels, including – Gallimauf’s Gospel, Baa, Blueglass, Mischief, Fou, The Wurd, The Ballad of Lee Cotton, and Nookie. His work has been translated into several languages, adapted for the stage, and twice shortlisted for the Whitbread Fiction Prize. Wilson completed a published Ph.D. on the psychology of humour at The
Mischief by Chris Wilson Read More »
Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho (Paulo Coelho – Wikipedia) offered this tale about fear, temptation and responsibility in 2000. The fable is about a man who sets out on a journey to discover the true face of humankind. Viscos is a small village located in France. It has only 281 inhabitants. In the past, the place was crawling with thieves,
The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho Read More »
Edgar Lawrence “E. L.” Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015, http://www.eldoctorow.com/) was an American author, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction. Many regard him as one of the most important American novelists of the 20th century. His novels The Book of Daniel (1971) and Ragtime (1975) may be better known,
World’s Fair by E.L. Doctorow Read More »
The Accidental Tourist is a novel by Anne Tyler (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Tyler) that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 1985 and the Ambassador Book Award for Fiction in 1986. The novel was adapted into a 1988 award-winning film starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Geena Davis,
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Larry McMurtry (born June 3, 1936) is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas. His novels include Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966) and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films earning 26 Academy Award nominations. This
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty Read More »
There was a day and age when a nine year old girl was not permanently fixated upon her smartphone. This was a time when you could be separated from the gizmo for more than five minutes without plunging into the severe anxiety which is now being reported (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/14/nomophobia-smartphone-separation-anxiety_n_7282008.html). Such an age was the Second World
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Read More »
Nigella Lawson has embarked on another of her celebrity cook series on television this season at the end of 2015 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/b06nvzkg). Her opening remarks in the first episode of ‘Simply Nigella’ gushed to the effect that life is worth celebrating in every single meal that one prepares. It’s as easy as popping round to your local
The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester Read More »
