This is a wonderful semi-modern fable of the power of talismans over fate, luck, and confidence. The titular president is François Mitterand, President of France from 1981-1995, and he was well known for his sartorial elegance, especially his scarf and the also-titular hat. As the novel open, one Daniel Mercier is dining alone one evening... Continue Reading →
2022 Reading Challenge – summary
Wow – I did it! The goal was 37 books, and I did it and then some. As in the past, book selections later in the year had to be more strategic to get through all the categories, which led to some interesting choices. I’m looking forward to a fresh slate for 2023 and an... Continue Reading →
Broadsword Calling Danny Boy, by Geoff Dyer. Pub 2018
This book will only appeal to those who have a) seen and b) enjoyed (ideally several times) the 1968 movie Where Eagles Dare. For those who haven't, this book is meaningless. For those who have and like it, this book is a joyful and hilarious retelling of a classic overblown and strange action story filled with... Continue Reading →
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, by Elizabeth Smart. Pub 1945
I originally had somewhat positive hopes for this one, as I do usually enjoy a more lyrical/poetic narrative. This was not that. Lyrical and poetical yes, narrative not at all. There are only a few concrete incidents in the entire story (and I use the word “story” loosely). The rest reads like a lovesick teenager... Continue Reading →
The Children of Men, by PD James. Pub 1992
Sperm counts around the world declining "Suicide is generally available to people. (MAID helps people) who, for physical and possible mental reasons, can't make that choice themselves and do it themselves." David Lametti, Justice Minister and Attorney General for Canada. Canadian retailer's commercial celebrates the "hard beauty" of assisted suicide These bits in the recent... Continue Reading →
The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway. Pub 2008
I had read this only once before, not long after it first came out, but the story has stuck with me and it felt worthy of being read again (that, and "book with a place name in the title"). Using as inspiration the story of a cellist who played at various sites in 1992-3 during... Continue Reading →
The Plum Review. Book report #34 (2022)
The Plum Review, from Broken Sleep Books. Edited by Aaron Kent. Pub. 2022 A few years ago, I learned of this poem: This is Just to Say, by William Carlos Williams I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so... Continue Reading →
The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. Pub 2006. Translation by Alison Anderson, pub 2008
This was a gift from my fellow book-clubber, and while it took me awhile to get into it, it turned out to be a nice little story of surprising friendships. Reneé is a concierge at an elegant Parisian apartment building. She keeps mostly to herself and has content but solitary existence alongside the elite tenants... Continue Reading →
The Missing of the Somme, by Geoff Dyer. Book report #31 (2022)
The Missing of the Somme, by Geoff Dyer. Pub 1994, updated 2016 Last year, one of my favourite reads was But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer. At the time, I looked at his bibliography, but nothing leapt out at me. Then I heard him on a book-chat podcast a few months ago, and enjoyed his discussion, including a... Continue Reading →
Larry’s Party, by Carol Shields. Book report #30 (2022)
Larry’s Party, by Carol Shields. Pub 1997 I first read this book in 1997; I splurged on a hard-cover (first Canadian edition, even), and read and enjoyed it immediately. A few years later, I listened to an audiobook version (on cassette tape, of all things) which is no longer available anywhere. It's a book I... Continue Reading →
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