From the beginning part 2 - Baswood

So far I have read 39 books and here are the 4 and 5 star reads

14th Century etc
The perfect king: the life of Edward III, Ian Mortimer
The Autumn of the middle ages, Johan Huizinga
Froissart's Chronicles, Jean Froissart
Bond Men Made Free, R H Hilton
The Riverside Chaucer
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Simon Armitage
Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine, Richard W Barber

Non Fiction
The poetry of Chaucer, John Gardner
The consolation of philosophy, Boethius
Secrets of the flesh: A life of Colette, Judith Thurman
The story of art, E H Gombrich
The Discovery of France, Graham Robb

Fiction
2001 A Space Odyssey, Arthur C Clarke
The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
Such a long Journey, Rohinton Mistry
Translations, Brian Friel
The Finkler Question, Howard Jacobson
Grendel, John Gardner
Strangers on a Train, Patricia Highsmith
The Vagabond, Colette
2666, Roberto Bolano
The Comedians, Graham Greene

I started at the beginning of the year intent on concentrating on medieval literature with a few modern novels thrown in the mix, however I did not count on all the reviews and suggestions on LT. It's good not to have a plan

Here is one of my favourite poems from the collection of John Clare's poems that I finished recently, review later.

The Flood


On Lolham Brigs in wild and lonely mood
I've seen the winter floods their gambols play
Through each old arch that trembled while I stood
Bent o'er its wall to watch the dashing spray
As their old stations would be washed away
Crash came the ice against the jambs and then
A shudder jarred the arches - yet once more
It breasted raving waves and stood agen
To wait the shock as stubborn as before
- White foam brown crested with the russet soil
As washed from new plough lands would dart beneath
Then round and round a thousand eddies boil
On tother side - then pause as if for breath
One minute - and engulphed - like life in death

Whose wrecky stains dart on the floods away
More swift than shadows in a stormy day
Straws trail and turn and steady - all in vain
The engulfing arches shoot them quickly through
The feather dances flutters and again
Darts through the deepest dangers still afloat
Seeming as faireys whisked it from the view
And danced it o'er the waves as pleasures boat
Light hearted as a thought in May -
Trays - uptorn bushes - fence demolished rails
Loaded with weeds in sluggish motions stray
Like water monsters lost each winds and trails
Till near the arches - then as in affright
It plunges - reels - and shudders out of sight

Waves trough - rebound - and fury boil again
Like plunging monsters rising underneath
Who at the top curl up a shaggy main
A moment catching at a surer breath
Then plunging headlong down and down - and on
Each following boil the shadow of the last
And other monsters rise when those are gone
Crest their fringed waves - plunge onward and are past
- The chill air comes around me ocean blea
From bank to bank the waterstrife is spread
Strange birds like snow spots o'er the huzzing sea
Hang where the wild duck hurried past and fled
On roars the flood - all restless to be free
Like trouble wandering to eternity

John Clare

Quite an evocative poem – bears rereading. It's the kind of poem I would love to hear out loud.

Congratulations on reaching the magical 250+. Your comment about how it's best not to have a plan rings true. I've been thoroughly sidetracked from mine, and it's causing some needless frustration. It's all about choices, isn't it? Nobody is forcing us to be enthralled by the reviews and recommendations of our fellow readers. It's almost like stealing cookies from the cookie jar – like a forbidden pleasure.

Not a bad start to the year now that I see the list of your books read so far: in fact, your reading is enviable.

And congrats on making the hot reviews, once again! Porius had something nice to say in the PIMP IT thread in Le Salon, in case you didn't see it.

BTW, when I first saw the stilt men in Discovery of France, I thought they were scarecrows. Not sure whether you have those in England, but they used to be a familiar sight in rural parts in the US for scaring away birds from the crops. What a surprise to learn that these folks could stride like a horse on their stilts. A fascinating bit of lore.

Loved your reivew of Discovery of France (and the stilt walkers), though I don't think I'm ready for it yet. I would like to learn more French geography and the cultures in different places. Currently the only places I could roughly stick on a map would be Paris, St. Etienne (where one of my good friends is from), Nestier (the only place we have traced my mom's family too), Marseille (because of Casablanca), and Lille (because my cousin was there for a year). Rather mixed bag there.

Hi Suzanne, First of all thanks for pimping my review.

As for my reading; I would like to get back to the 14th century stuff, but I keep getting distracted. I am learning to live with this and not worry about it. I have really enjoyed reading and talking about books on these posts over the first half of the year. It's all great fun and I feel I have made some really good cyber friends.

I have just started reading The Discarded Image, C S Lewis which might get me back on track with medieval literature. The Kindle however is a great distraction, I find myself scrolling down all the goodies available on the Gutenberg project. Ho-hum talk about forbidden pleasures.

Hi Jane,

Marseille and Lille - opposite ends of France. I have been to Lille; it was February and very cold, but there is a good jazz scene there. Drunk a lot of Calvados I seem to remember.

I'm fully with you, Barry, re the book discussions. It's all so energizing. And BTW, I think it is to you I owe all thanks for inspiring me to join Club Read. It's been great!

Delighted to hear you are getting into The Discarded Image. Looking forward to discussing it with you.

Poems chiefly from manuscript - John Clare
John Clare became known during his lifetime as the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet. He has been anthologized in many poetry collections - he has four in the The Golden Treasury and the reader will discover in his poems a delightful musical metre, some quaint rhymes and marvellous descriptions of the natural world. Poetry poured out of him; he wrote hundreds, maybe thousands of poems during a life of poverty and toil.

He was the son of a farm labourer and although he had some schooling; going on to night school he was too poor to consider higher education and the professional world was closed to him. At night school he befriended the son of an excise man and the two of them spent their days roaming the countryside, living like hermits fishing and reading. This is from an early autobiographical poem:

And talked about the few books we bought
Though low in price you know their value well
And I thought nothing could their worth excel
And then we talked of what we wished to buy
And knowledge always kept our pockets dry

Clare could not stand the bondage of an apprenticeship and so he became an itinerant farm labourer, reading and writing furiously in his spare time. He found a bookseller willing to publish a few poems by subscription and resulting from this he found a publisher willing to print his first volume of poetry. In 1820 his Poems descriptive of rural life and scenery was published. It got favourable reviews and went to four editions. An example of his early poems:

Song #2

One gloomy eve I roamed about
Neath Oxey's hazel bowers,
While timid hares were darting out,
To crop the dewy flowers;
And soothing was the scene to me,
Right pleased was my soul,
My breast was calm as summer's sea
When waves forget to roll.

But short was even's placid smile,
My startled soul to charm,
When Nelly lightly skipt the stile,
With milk-pail on her arm:
One careless look on me she flung,
As bright as parting day;
And like a hawk from covert sprung,
It pounced my peace away.

Clare saw no money from his book and relied on grants and stipends from patrons to survive. He became a local celebrity and spent time in London in literary circles. His The Village Minstrel was published the following year but only sold moderately well. He felt cheated by his publisher and when he asked for a loan of £200 to buy some property he was told "A man should be ambitious, but remain in the state in which God had placed him" He returned to farm work, became ill and took to drinking trading on his celebrity status when possible. He was forced to seek poor relief to feed his wife and six children. In 1827 The Shepherds Calender was published, but there were few reviews and Clare became the forgotten poet. His mental health deteriorated and he started having hallucinations. He spent some time in a hostel paid for by his patron but he discharged himself and walked over 100 miles to his home. His mental health deteriorated further and a local doctor declared him insane and he was forcibly removed to the Northamptonshire asylum. here he was treated kindly and allowed to go out and was able to continue writing. He wrote poetry until he was too ill to do so.

Poems chiefly from manuscript was published in 1920. It contains an excellent and charming biography. There are some early poems and juvenilia, but the bulk of the poems are from Clare's middle period 1824-36 and there are some excellent poems here:

Night Wind

Darkness like midnight from the sobbing woods
Clamours with dismal tidings of the rain
Roaring as rivers breaking loose in floods
To spread and foam and deluge all the plain
The cotter listens at his door again
Half doubting whether it be floods or wind
And through the thickening darkness looks afraid
Thinking of roads that travel has to find
Through night's black depths in danger's garb arrayed
And the loud glabber round the flaze soon stops
When hushed to silence by a lifted hand
Of fearing dame who hears the noise in dread
And thinks a deluge comes to drown the land
Nor dares she go to bed until the tempest drops

Clare made his rhymes phonetically and because of his broad Northants accent there are some surprises in his rhyming schemes. He also used some words from his local dialect and the line from Nightwind above: "And the loud glabber round the flaze soon stops" is an example. You will not find glabber or flaze in the dictionary, but this does not stop you from enjoying the line that fits the poem so well.

The final section of the book features poems written in Northamptonshire asylum and they are on the whole surprisingly cheerful and colourful. Nature, the countryside of East Anglia are still the main subjects and Clare has not lost his musical ear. Here is the first four lines from Little Trotty Wagtail:

Little trotty wagtail he went in the rain
And tittering tottering sideways he neer got straight again
He stooped to get a worm, and looked up to get a fly
And he flew away ere his feathers they were dry.....

However one of the final poems in this collection hints at a quiet desperation:

I Am

I am: yet what I am none cares or knows,
My friends forsake me like a memory lost;
I am the self-consumer of my woes,
They rise and vanish in oblivious host,
Like shades in love and death's oblivion lost;
And yet I am! and live with shadows tost

Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,
Into the living sea of waking dreams,
Where there is neither sense of life nor joys,
But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems;
And e'en the dearest--that I loved the best--
Are strange--nay, rather stranger than the rest.

I long for scenes where man has never trod;
A place where woman never smil'd or wept;
There to abide with my creator, God,
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept:
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie;
The grass below--above the vaulted sky

Clare's supporters would say that he ranks alongside the great romantic poets of his age: Shelly, Byron, Keats and Wordsworth etc... I don't think he has the depth or the weight to be in the first echelon. He does however have his own voice and as a gifted poet of the English countryside he is well worth reading.

This book is free as part of the project Gutenberg and can be downloaded onto your Kindle's etc

Terrific review, Bas. I agree with your assessment of his poetry. I thought you might enjoy seeing this photo, taken when Clare was about 67 years old:

Barry – After listening to Ian McKellan read Wordsworth's "The Prelude" I can almost hear his voice and expressiveness in the lines of Clare's verse.

ETA - I was just browsing at the Gutenberg site and noticed that some of Clare's poems are available in audio. So I've just been listening. I do so love to hear poetry read well, and it has been a treat. I've never been to the Gutenberg site directly – always accessed it from the Online Books Page. Direct is obviously the way to go because the various formats are visible. Thanks for that clue.

When I first read The Discarded Image, it took me a while to grasp what he was talking about in terms of the "Medieval World View." You may find the link below helpful. Scroll down a couple of pages and there is a schematic of the "universe" that shows what Lewis is talking about. I admit that the second time through it made a lot more sense. There is so much packed into a small space that it's impossible to absorb it all. The book produced quite a few "aha" moments for me, and I'll be interested to see if it does for you as well. Since you are already more fully steeped in medieval literature than I was, I was actually afraid this would all be old hat for you.

Also, shortly after reading this book the first time, I heard for the first time about the so-called "great chain of being" which I have since seen referred to in a gazillion places, but I hadn't quite grasped the concept. But then I was able to put two and two together and realized that Lewis is laying out a map that underlies that great chain concept.

http://www.necessaryprose.com/cslewis.htm

Thank you Suzanne for that excellent link. I am reading the chapter on "The Heavens" at the moment and the link picks out the essentials clearly. It is this chapter that has truly piqued my interest and Lewis's description of the Medieval model being vertiginous is brilliant (page 98 in my edition). I struggled a little with the chapter on "The Classical period" my lack of knowledge hindered me a little here, however Lewis's frequent references to Chaucer were illuminating.

The "great chain of being" is an interesting concept and one I first came across in Chaucer's knights tale where Theseus (Chaucer) says:

The first Moevere of the cause above,
Whan he first made the faire cheyne of love,
Greet was th'effect, and heigh was his entente.

Chaucers faire cheyne of love is obviously the same thing and is the essence of the medieval mind set.

The book is certainly not "old hat" for me I am fascinated by it. It brings home the idea of the close links between paganism and Christianity even in the late middle ages. I would have struggled to engage with it if I had not done the reading I have done. I think I am reading it at just the right time.

Hi Teresa, Thanks for posting the photograph. If my arithmetic is correct (and it rarely is) then it would have been taken in 1860 just four years before his death. It is also very early in the history of photographic portraiture, which had only been around commercially for about ten years. I wonder why it was taken? perhaps he was still a celebrity in 1860.

Teresa, I have just noticed that you are reading A distant mirror I will be really interested to hear what you think of it. I have not read it.

Barry, we have the same edition. That whole discussion p. 98-100 is key to the difference between the medieval concept of the universe and the modern one. He says, p. 99:

This explains why all sense of the pathless, the baffling, and the utterly alien — all agoraphobia — is so markedly absent from medieval poetry when it leads us, as so often, into the sky. Dante, whose theme might have been expected to invite it, never strikes that note . . . etc.

With regard to "The Classical Period," the key there is that the works discussed are the seminal classical antecedents to the medieval works described in the following chapter. Of course, things make more sense if one can actually read them so as to have a context. The most accessible and shortest of these works is the Dream of Scipio (Somnium Scipionis) which is available to read on line in various places, but the link below has an introduction and useful notes. It's quite short, but I think you would really enjoy reading it. It fleshes out Lewis's otherwise rather abstract discussion.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_cic_scipiodream.htm

Barry, there's a new member in the Salon — dmsteyn — who is doing his dissertation on John Clare! Someone to compare notes with?

Hi Suzanne, I agree that pages 98-100 are an excellent description of the differences between the medieval concept and the modern one.

Thank you also for the link to Scipio's dream. I found this of huge interest because Chaucer paraphrases this in lines 36-84 of his Parliament of Fowls. It is then "Affrican" who appears in a subsequent dream vision and leads Chaucer to the Parliament. I also enjoyed reading about the palimpsest and the saving of part of Cicero's De republica. The De Republica is of course is available at Project Gutenberg, but I have told myself I must not go there - not yet anyway.

I have received a posting from dmsteyn, which I have of course replied to and also encouraged him to keep posting on the salon, I also told him that some of us have threads here on Club Read. I also got a posting from devenish about John Clare and found myself asking him to recommend a good biography of John Clare. Isn't LT wonderful.

Barry, I just knew you would enjoy reading the Somnium. Hints of it appear everywhere in medieval writing, and once one has the cosmic picture as summarized by Lewis, one sees it, directly or indirectly, everywhere in literature, even beyond the Middle Ages, into the Renaissance and the Romantic period. And of course, you feel it through the pages of Boethius' Consolation, but especially in Book 2, Chapter 7, "As you have learnt from the proofs of the astronomers, it is cetain that the entire circumference of the earth is a mere pinprick when measured against the dimension of the heavens . . . ," and so forth. Anyway, I hope this helps you as much as it did me to navigate through The Discarded Image. Lewis presents a broadly linear argument, but it is easy to get bogged down in the details and lose track of where he is going.

Re the Clare thing, that is truly amazing. Talk about synchronicity! Yes, LT is indeed wonderful.

Wynton Marsalis inaugural concert at La Strada, Marciac





Saturday 28th May was the date for the inaugural concert at Marciac's new 500 seater auditorium.
It was a first for me going to an inaugural concert and earlier it had not augured well as I got a phone call from the organisers saying they needed to change my tickets. We arrived half an hour early to find the mayor of Marciac posing outside the gleaming new theatre having his picture taken. There were a few people around milling about the entrance and I got inside and found an envelope waiting for me with new tickets. I had bought the originals way back last November before the theatre had been built and before they had decided where to put the mixing desks. The new seats were in a separate gallery above the main auditorium and nearly above the stage. It was like having our own private box.

It's France and although the concert was due to start at 9pm everybody knows that this is far too early as most people are still eating. It was 9.30 when Wynton led his group on stage with his guest Richard Galliano. They played a similar set to the one that had been so successful at the Summer jazz festival in 2008. "from Billy Holiday to Edith Piaf" is a programme of songs made famous by these iconic singers. The group sounded superb: Wynton is a consummate trumpet player and his beautiful toned playing sounded silky smooth in the new venue. Galliano's accordion produced sounds that I would associate more closely with an electric piano and he can certainly ramp up the excitement when he wants to. They played; La Foule, L'Homme a la moto, and Padaam from the Piaf songbook and Them there eyes, A sailboat in the moonlight and What a little moonlight can do amongst others from the Holiday songbook. The arrangements were imaginative with great attention payed to texture and timbre, there were solos of course but they were of moderate length and careful variations on these wonderful old tunes. It was an evening of gorgeous music and there were the usual encores. A lovely toned version of La vie en rose followed by Strange fruit where Wynton gave vent to some extraordinary sounds from his trumpet in his dramatic arrangement.

The concert was at an end but an announcement from the stage informed us that the mayor was inviting us all back to the Town Hall for a drink of friendship. Most of us took the short walk to the hall where we listened to a few short speeches before being served champagne, finger cakes and amusee bouche. The champagne flowed and the beautifully presented sweet food kept on coming. We have kind of got used to these midnight champagne and sugar rushes that you can get after a concert and so we tucked in.

Barry, that must have been a memorable evening. A 500-seat venue sounds very intimate, ideal for small ensemble concerts. No doubt, you are in for more in a similar vein.

The Discarded Image C S Lewis
C S Lewis invents the idea of a medieval model to explain the medieval world view; just as in past ages men of learning have used models to understand the universe which they inhabit. He may have used the title "The Discarded Image" because the medieval model has proved to be palpably not true. This however is not the point. Lewis contends that to understand medieval literature the modern reader must be familiar with their world view because it was the view that shaped their thoughts, lives and everything they wrote. The success of the book depends therefore on how well Lewis is able to explain and describe the essential elements of the medieval model.

Lewis introduces his subject by stating that medieval man built himself a model which explained the universe in which he lived and into which all his knowledge and learning could be included. Everything had to be fitted in. The middle ages are described as an age of acteurs(authority); all writers whenever they could based their knowledge on what had come down to them from past ages. It was an age of books and manuscripts which were pored over in order to find the necessary authority to shape their thoughts. This leads nicely into the next few chapters that identify and describe the sources that were used. Lewis starts with the classical aucteurs pointing out that the middle ages had less access to works from antiquity than we enjoy today. He then moves on to the seminal period: the period from the 3rd century AD to the 7th century AD where a pagan society became dominated by a western Christian society. He guides us through Plotinus; father of the neo-platonists to Calcidus, Macrobius, Dionysius and finally Boethius. Time is spent explaining their contribution to the medieval model and some important ideas emerge. The Christian society of the middle ages was based on a pagan view of the universe. It was Justin Martyr who had said earlier that: "Whatever things have been well said by all men belong to the Christians" Lewis also point s out that much of the writing was philosophical in nature it was not Christian doctrine. Lewis reminds us that Boethius was a Christian but it was a philosophy he was writing and so he had no hesitation in including pagan elements.

Having dealt with the sources for the model Lewis then sets out to to describe how it explains the workings of the cosmos. The earth is set at the centre with concentric circles radiating outwards from it. The circles immediately surrounding the earth are made up of the four elements; earth, air, fire and water. Then comes the great divide of the moon where air gives way to the ether. Lewis stresses it is important to understand that the circles above the moon containing the sun and the planets are translunary. These are the heavens; the realms of the angels and the gods and are incorruptible. The area below the moon is the sublunary where nature rules, there are deamons and the world is corruptible. Here Lewis could really use a diagram as it is difficult to understand the concepts from the text alone. Lewis emphasises that the heavens (translunary) were not conceived as the dark abyss of space, indeed they were full of light and the harmony of the spheres.

Lewis calls his next chapter "The Longaevi" these are the fairies that play significant parts in many medieval texts. Fairies consist of fauns, pans, satyrs silvans and nymphs and Lewis admits that they remain elusive, but need some interpretation for the modern reader. The following longer chapter "Earth and its Inhabitants" covers most other fields of knowledge. There is; the human rational soul, the human body and its humours, the human past and the teaching of the liberal arts. Finally we come to "The Influence of the Model" where Lewis explains how the model he has described effected the literature produced in the middle ages and beyond. Interesting points arise here especially for those readers who have issues with some aspects of medieval literature. For example why does it contain so many lists and catalogues, which merely serve to make a dull read and why do writers continually use source material rather than inventing their own stories. Lewis is able to answer these questions by referring to the evidence that he has provided in his explanation of the medieval model.

The books undertitle: "an introduction to Medieval and Renaissance literature is misleading on two counts. Firstly it is so much more than an introduction; it is a text that does no less than tease out the key points to enable the modern reader to understand medieval literature from the perspective of those who wrote it. Lewis's use of the model brilliantly captures the world view of the middle ages and his comparisons with the modern age are enlightening. Secondly I think more would be gained from reading this book after some familiarisation with medieval texts. Coming to the book with no such experience would make in my view some of the more abstract arguments difficult to follow.

There are a couple of criticisms. There is no list of reference material at the back of the book. Medieval literature is referenced within the text itself with perhaps an over reliance on Chaucer, but it would have been useful to have these collected somewhere. There are no diagrams and some of Lewis's explanation cry out for them. These can be forgiven because for me the book produced some light bulb moments. It is an essential read for anybody with more than a passing interest in medieval literature.

Outstanding review, Barry! You captured more than the essence, which is saying something. I agree completely with your criticisms. The book indeed would be vastly more comprehensible on first reading if there were a few well-placed illustrations, and more than once, I've thought of compiling the bibliography myself! Good job!

The Ancient and Medieval Cosmos as depicted in Peter Apian's Cosmographic (Antwerp 1539)
The sort of image that would have greatly enhanced a reading of The Discarded Image

Nothing interesting to say, just posting to say I'm catching up... every one of your reviews is a lesson for me.

Great review, Barry, as usual.

Dan you are far too kind and thank you Teresa. I have to say I had some help with my thoughts on this book as Suzanne was reading along with me.

England Made Me by Graham Greene
England Made Me published in 1935 was hugely disappointing after reading Stamboul Train published some three years earlier. Once again we are plunged into a world of unsavoury characters, but whereas Stamboul Train was a tightly written thriller oozing atmosphere and suspense; England Made Me is poorly written, unevenly paced and lacks any impetus.

The problem with England Made Me is that Greene seems to spend the first half of the novel thrashing around seeking a style of writing that will tell his story to greater effect. He uses stream of conscious techniques, he changes viewpoints from 3rd person to 1st person and back again and he writes obliquely in an attempt to surround his characters in a world of mystery and uncertainty. Unfortunately for the most part he does not pull it off and we are left with a disjointed novel that only really finds it's feet halfway through and then staggers on to a less than satisfactory conclusion. Some of the writing is just poor. First of all I thought it was the yellowing pages and the small print of my 1974 paperback edition that was causing the difficulty, but when I slowed down I found that I still could not grasp the meaning or reason in some of the poorly constructed sentences.

The plot is built around Kate's love for her ne'er do well brother Anthony. She is secretary and mistress to Krogh a captain of industry based in Copenhagen. When Anthony turns up penniless after various failed employments around the world Kate gets him a job with Krogh. Anthony becomes Krogh's bodyguard and immediately schemes to find a way of making some quick money. Krogh is in the middle of re-financing a new venture in America and is using illegal methods to do so. Anthony has no difficulty in finding out about these schemes and uses some contacts with desperate press reporters to make his money, not caring about the consequences for his sister or her lover. The overriding feel to this novel is the characters uncaring attitudes to people around them. They are all looking out for the main chance with a complete disregard for anybody else. It is difficult to feel any empathy for any of them.

Perhaps some of the problems stem from the relationship between Kate and Anthony. Greene hints time and again that it is incestuous, but because it is shrouded in vagaries he can never explore this in any depth. Therefore the brother and sisters relationship with Krogh is never pinned down in a satisfactory way leaving the novel tottering on an insecure base.

It is Graham Greene and so there are some good passages of prose. The minor characters are well portrayed and individual scenes do resonate. The desperate atmosphere of the inter-war years in the shadow of a rampant Germany is well caught as is the city of Copenhagen, but this does not save the novel from being largely unsatisfactory.

If you are new to Graham Greene my advice would be not to start with this novel. It feels like a writer in transition, who may be enjoyed here by those readers who are more familiar with his oeuvre. I would rate this as 2.5 stars.

Nice review of England Made Me, Barry; I'm on the lookout for several of Greene's books, but I'll take a pass on this one.

Barry – I have read a couple of Graham Greene's books way back when but England Made Me is a totally unknown quantity. But I appreciate your review about the stylistic anomalies. Sometimes that can be very offputting. Looks like the story was good enough that it was made into a film of some sort, so maybe I'll read it eventually. There are some other Greene novels that are higher on the list. Thanks for letting us know that this isn't one of his best.

Interesting comments on England Made Me. I bought a copy recently simply because it was on the "1001 Books" list. From your review it would seem to be sort of an awkward midpoint between Greene's novels of suspense such as Stamboul Train and his moral studies such as Brighton Rock. Would you agree?

Where does the title "England Made Me" come from? Did England "make" Anthony?

Just been dipping my toe into The Faerie Queene and thought of you. This writing doesn't seem to be quite Middle English but it's not Shakespearean either, is it? Or am I just used to the cleaned up versions of the Bard?

The group read seems to have stumbled. No leader?

Hi Steven,
I agree it is an awkward midpoint but not only that - the writing is so clunky in places. The title is interesting. The novel was retitled in 1953 as "The Shipwrecked" and so it would seem that the publishers at least had a problem with it. It probably reverted to its original title after the film of the book was made in 1973. This might be one of the rare instances where the film is better than the book.

I will be interested to hear what you think of it when you get to it. The next Graham Greene on my TBR pile is The power and the Glory

Hi Suzanne,
I am going to start on the Faerie Queen tomorrow. I have previously read some of Spenser's sonnets and so I think I know what I am in for, however I have no idea what my reading speed will be until I get to it. My penguin version has no introduction so it is a question of launching straight in. It is a shame that Urania has not posted as yet.

I will let you know tomorrow how I get on and then will make a decision as to any reading around I might need to do.

I am thoroughly enjoying the Porius and it's great to be led on that one by someone who knows the book so well and is so enthusiastic about it.

Barry, I'm just realizing I have read the first book of The Faerie Queen, all about the red knight. Can't think now in what connection. I must have the same edition as you – no intro – but the notes are copious, which is helpful.

There are several chapters about Spenser and The Faerie Queen in Lewis's Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature. I haven't read them yet, but really want to before we get too far into it.

Ditto re the Porius read. I'm dying to start over and read it again already. Powys creates an amazing atmosphere, slow-motion or not.

Hi Barry, I can't believe it took a hot review before I finally found your thread. Interesting points about Greene, whom I have not read.

Nice to see you here Lisa

43) One hundred best books, John Cowper Powys
Nothing much to add to the excellent review by poquette. Its worth reading this (free - on line) just for his essay: Books and Reading which you get to first. He says:

The thing is passion; a sort of delicate madness and like other passions, quite unintelligible to those who are outside.

Barry – it is just now registering that this is your 43rd book. I'm in awe, being only up to 26. But I plan to make a real dent this month as I'm declaring myself unavailable for work.

Powys's essay in his One hundred best books is a veritable jewel. Practically the whole thing is quotable – well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it is indeed worth the price of admission. I've been reading A Night in the Luxembourg and all I can say at this point is it's fascinating. More on that later.

I have not posted on here this week and that's probably because I have not finished any books. It's not that I am not reading it's more like I'm reading too much at once: This is a list of the books on my table/computer/kindle that all have markers in them:

Porius - John Cowper Powys
The Faerie Queene - Edmund Spenser

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

Medieval Philosophy - Anthony Kenny
Spenser - Literature in Perspective, Elizabeth A. F. Watson
Spenser's world of Glass - Kathleen Williams
Confessio Amantis - John Gower

Songs from vagabondia - Bliss Carman
Collected Poems - Ted Hughes
Collected poems 1931-74 - Lawrence Durrell

I have managed to get to the cinema a couple of times this week and I have seen two brilliant films:

Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
I will watch any film directed by Woody Allen but when his subject is my favourite city in the world then it is an absolute must. In addition it is a quaint time slip story where our hero (Owen Wilson not Woody Allen) meets the writers and critics who hang out in Paris in the inter war years: Ernest Hemmingway, F Scott Fitzgerald and Gertude Stein, chuck in a few artists as well Picasso and Dali all saying Woody Allenish things and you can't go wrong. Charming, witty and delightful and Paris has never looked better.

The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick
A brave film to have made. 2 and a half hours long, slow slow pace with a barely perceptible story line. The imagery and the photography are ravishing as Malick attempts the impossible - to explain the meaning of life. I have never felt so calm after coming out of the cinema. A wonderful experience.

oh Barry, those are the 2 films I'm itchin' to see--lucky you!

Bas - I gave up on Woody Allen quite a while back, but maybe this one is worth a visit.

Anything by Terence Malick is worth making an effort to see - not least because his films are so few and far between.

Your reading list looks impressive, even if you erased everything under the first two!

Nice to hear from you Jenny and zeno.

I just love all Woody Allen films and so my views on his new movie needs to take that into account.

zeno I hear you met tomcatmurr at Hay - What happens when two legends in their own lunchtime meet? Did you reveal your true identities? - only joshing. It must have been fascinating to meet someone whom you have only previously known in cyberspace.

The Lacks family 2009

44) The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
This is a very popular book. 177 reviews and an average rating of 4.25, with 299 readers giving it 5 stars, but I will not be the 300th. .

Rebecca Skloot is a journalist and her pitch for this story is "whose side are you on". Is it the side of the downtrodden black American family kept in ignorance of their ancestors contribution to medical science and whose subsequent notoriety has served to damage them even further. Or is it the side of the medical profession who ride roughshod over peoples feelings in the interests of medical science. Behind these two positions the spectre of the filthy lucre looms ominously large. If you think that this is over the top then you have not read Skloots non fiction work that so skillfully plays with the emotions.

Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who had an aggressive cancer of the cervix. She was treated unsuccessfully at the renowned John Hopkins hospitals and during her treatment some body tissue were removed. After her death an autopsy was performed with the consent of her husband. George Gey head of tissue culture at the hospital became very excited when he was able to keep cells belonging to Henrietta alive and was amazed to see how easily they multiplied. He labelled the cells HeLa and gave them away to other scientists to assist in medical research. They were used successfully to test the first vaccine for polio a disease that was at the time to reaching epidemic proportions. HeLa cells have been at the forefront of medical research ever since; by 2009 over 60,000 scientific articles using them have been published.

Henrietta Lacks died in 1951, but it was only in 1973 that the Lacks family heard that their mothers cells were still alive and had played a crucial role in the advancement of medical science. They were angry and outraged that they had not been told and when they tried to find out more information they found this impossible to obtain. Medical professionals could not understand why they needed to know and any answers that were given to them were not understood because of the families lack of medical knowledge. later in 1973 the family were asked to donate blood after it was suspected that HeLa cells were responsible for a contamination problem. They complied but were still none the wiser as to why the samples were needed. They thought they were being tested for cancer. The family became angry and resentful.

Skloot masterfully tells her story jumping within a time line that runs from the 1920's to 1999. In this way she expertly weaves the following threads:

1) Henrietta's background 1920-42
2) Henrietta's diagnoses and treatment in 1951
3) The story of the HeLa cells 1951-1974
4) Skloots investigation starting in 1999

At the start of each chapter the date from the time line is shown and so there is no danger of the reader getting lost or confused. Skloots narrative skills are superb, the reader is effortlessly informed of the medical and ethical issues. The rural background and then the booming urban background of Turner's Station are vividly portrayed. The deprivation and tensions within the Lack's family are laid before us with no punches being pulled and the scientific and medical staff at the hospital are shown to not only have been working well within the laws of the time but also to have been genuinely motivated by altruism in getting the cells distributed for the benefit of mankind.

The central concern of the book however is Skloots investigation and intervention in the affairs of the family and this takes up the whole of the third section. This is a dysfunctional family where rape, murder, incest, drugs and violence feature in their recent history. When they discover that Henrietta's cells are alive and being used in research they believe that they should benefit, they believe they have been wronged. They enjoy their 15 minuted of fame when a documentary is made featuring Henrietta, but they want more, they see the cells as their meal ticket. Skloot bravely faces down the families hostilities, she wins the confidence of Deborah: Henrietta's daughter and together they undertake a search for more information on the life and death of Henrietta. Skloot of course is collecting information for her book and her intrepid story is told with all the bravura of a woman fighting the powers that be to get at the truth. She plays the human interest card relentlessly in this section with all the families woes seeming to be the result of their search for some kind of redemption, that will be resolved when they find the answers to Henrietta's death and a supposed cover up of the financial gain that is being made by the scientists and drug firms. The family are portrayed as victims.

Rebecca Skloot knows the ingredients for selling books. She finds a good story invests it with a mass of human interest adds a hint of conspiracy theory and make herself out as the knight in shinning armour. She is extremely subtle because you barely realise what is happening as you are carried along with some fine writing, meticulously researched, and early on some even handed treatment of the material. She has made an issue of peoples rights to their cells/tissues (once they are separated from the body) that to my mind can only complicate what is already a difficult question and for this reader of no importance at all.

Either Rebecca Skloot has done an outstanding job in producing a book of non-fiction that is an expose of important medical and social issues that are relevant to everybody alive today or she has manipulated and distorted her story in order to shift a boat-load of books. As usual the answer probably lies somewhere in between. Such a well written book, but I objected to the subtle manipulation and so 3.5 stars.

43 - Bas it was nice to meet a fellow LT member - especially one of such high standing.

A little weird too because there I was with a total stranger who I felt I knew quite well.

TCM is very good company though - as you may very well imagine.

Barry, congratulations on another fascinating review. It is an interesting bit of social/medical history but one wonders whether it is much ado about nothing. At the very least, the medical establishment can be accused of insensitivity and the sore lack of a PR agent. And the "whose side are you on" question remains. Guess Skloot did a pretty good job if you are still undecided – or perhaps she shot herself in the foot by being so manipulative.

You might have liked the Henrietta Lacks even more than I did. I thought the family's story was too personal and the author seemed to be exploiting them. I did enjoy the science and thought maybe Skloot could have told more stories of the people saved by the early HeLa research.-- excellent review

Jenny, Interesting that you suggest that Skloot was exploiting the Lacks family. I wondered about that, especially given their sympathetic treatment in the last section of the book. I think she did exploit them to some extent to enable her to write a best selling book.

I read this for my bookclub meeting which is tomorrow.I am bracing myself to be the only dissenting voice as so many people seem to be carried away with this book. It is manipulative.

And then there were two.

Only two of us turned up for the scheduled meeting of the book group today. I didn't think the book was that bad; in fact the immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot was the best book that I had read with this group so far.

The group started out as an all female group but now it appears it is an all male group, perhaps the girls met somewhere else and didn't tell us. We had been informed by e mail that the next book to be read was Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna. Humph we said; we are not having that; it's a girly book and so me and Shelly have launched a full scale revolution.

Shelly suggested that our next book should be The second sex by Simone de Beavoir. Hmmm.... I said if we had not already frightened everybody else away, then we would certainly do so by selecting the Simone de Beauvoir. After a few more outrageous suggestions we eventually decided on Salmon fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday. Not only did we boldly select the next book, we also decided on the time and place for the next meeting. My house on July 19th.

I shall be e mailing the organiser tonight to tell her of the change of plans. I wonder if me and Shelly will be looking for some new members soon.

That is extremely funny, Barry! Do let us know how many show up next time.

Meanwhile, I am very intrigued by Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. One reviewer said it reminded them of Scoop by Evelyn Waugh. That really got my attention. I absolutely loved Scoop. May have to add that to the list.

Suzanne,
It is probably a bit too far for you to come for the next meeting of the book club.

Have you read Translations over at the Salon - hilarious

True, but I could phone it in.

Yes, Translations, wacky.

Edmund Spenser reading The Faerie Queene to Sir Walter Raleigh in Ireland

45) Spenser: Literature in Perspective, Elizabeth A. F. Watson
Published in 1967 as part of the Literature in Perspective series. As Elizabeth Watson says "Spenser is not an easy poet nor did he ever claim to be one". Yet Watson provides an excellent introduction that will allow the reader to get to grips with Spenser's work.

Spenser was a poet of the Elizabethan age; his epic poem The Faerie Queene was published between 1591-96. The modern reader picking up Spenser for the first time will need to have some Knowledge of his life and times to gain more than just a superficial understanding of the words on the page. Elizabeth Watson claims that when she was eleven and recovering from an illness and bored, she picked up a copy of The Faerie Queene and read it literally, enjoying the marvellous narrative and the terrifying descriptions. Yes maybe, but I can't imagine too many children today reaching for their parents copy of The Faerie Queene.

The action of time over the intervening 500 plus years since Spenser's death have rendered his concerns over philosophy, politics, society and religion clouded in obscurity for the 21st century reader. We need to know the events that shaped his thoughts previous to and during his lifetime. Watson does an excellent job here, sketching in the major issues of the time and she takes this a stage further by gauging Spenser's reactions to those events and the ideas that were triggered. There are sections on Puritanism, Catholicism, classical and medieval philosophy. Spenser's position in the literary world and his place in the pantheon of Medieval/Renaissance writers is also discussed.

In the third chapter of her book Watson examines Spenser's poetry. pointing out the literary conventions of the time and how Spenser used these and how he developed them further, creating for himself an individual voice. His use of allegory is demystified and made intelligible and his influence on poets that followed him is given some thought. Watson describes the beauty of his imagery, the musicality of his verse and his innovative techniques with enthusiasm and skill.

Spenser's major poems are then discussed on an individual basis. Watson says that it is beyond the scope of this book to give a detailed commentary on The Faerie Queene, however she provides enough information and exposition to allow this reader to tackle the poem with some confidence. I will certainly have Watson's handy book by my side when reading the poems. Watson provides plenty of examples from the text and uses these wisely to make her points. Spenser's sixteenth century English is not too difficult to read and one soon gets used to it, but it is the thoughts of the poet behind those words that need some explanation and Watson does an excellent job in providing this, in the 170 pages at her disposal.

This book is now out of print and I do not know if there were any reprints after the initial 1967 edition. If there were not then there should have been because this is an excellent introduction to Edmund Spenser and I would rate it as 4 stars.

Beginnings - Minor White

This was taken at 72N. Union Street, Rochester February 1962.

Minor White is one of my all time favourite photographers. I first saw this as a print in a London Gallery in the early 1980's. At the time I did not have the £175 to buy it. I wish I had.

The image is probably frosted glass, but you can never be sure with White. He was always looking for that perfect mystical form. An image from daily life that could transcend into somehing quite magical. He certainly found it here.

Bas - nice photo, nice title. And what a great name to boot!

Transcending into the magical is a key skill for anyone - at least it is to my mind.

Barry, as you may know, Minor White lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for a while, and his photography along with that of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and others figured prominently in the San Francisco art consciousness. I share your enthusiasm for his work.

Suzanne, Yes I know the work of those photographers very well. In the late 1970's I studied photography at nightschool. I learned how to make good quality black and white prints and it became a bit of an obsession. I must have spent a couple of years in my darkroom, which was actually our bathroom: beavering away for much of the night. I don't know how I managed to keep awake during the daytime to actually earn a living.

I always thought that I would take up my hobby when I retired and had more time and so my attic here in France contains all my old equipment. Unfortunately it has remained in the attic. With the advent of digital photography, which doesn't interest me, my enthusiasm for making pictures in the old way has disappeared. However I still love to look at books of black and white photographs and The eye that shapes by Minor White is one of my favourites.

When you talk about the San Francisco art Consciousness, I suppose you are referring to the 1940's and 1950's and into the 1960's, when photography as an art form came of age and photographers and other pictorial artists were all in the same melting pot. Must have been exciting times in the Bay area.

bas - I was always excited by the idea of constructing a camera that could take Daguerrereotypes - their images look more like paintings to me than functional one dimensional images.

Sadly I have no practical skills that would enable me to build such a contraption, and the replica cameras appear prohibitively expensive.

Zeno, If you did make/own a Daguerreotype camera you would be in extremely select company as according to wiki there are only about 100 in existence.

I had to look up wiki because although I know about daguerreotypes from various history of photography books I didn't understand how the process worked. I am not even sure I have ever seen an original daguerreotype photograph. It is described as an intricate, complex and labour intensive process. Now I am certainly of the school that believes that time and effort spent in looking at an image brings its own rewards, I am not so sure I would want to spend huge amounts of time dealing with the daguerreotype process. However I would love to see one being made as the process itself sounds fascinating.

Oh I have just remembered I have seen an original daguerreotype because I remember wondering at the time why it was enclosed in a glass case. Sorry I'm rambling.

More Minor White


Capitol Reef, Utah 1962


Bird lime and surf

When the photograph is a mirror
of the man
and the man is a mirror of the world
then Spirit might take over
Minor White

When you talk about the San Francisco art Consciousness, I suppose you are referring to the 1940's and 1950's and into the 1960's

Yes, Barry, that's what I'm talking about. I arrived in SF in the mid 1960s and the overhang of enthusiasm for fine photography of that period continued for several decades afterwards.

Now I understand the basis of your interest. You should get that equipment out and have a blast. Your surroundings must be a photographer's dream.

Now you see my problem. I can't even put up flat pack furniture replete with detailed instructions....

Nor can I zeno. Lynn always takes charge when the flat packs arrive.

Received an e mail tonight from the secretary of the book club telling me she is not going to come to any more meetings - Oops something I said maybe?

Oh dear!

66> sounds like it's time for a new bookclub....

Ahh, the trials and tribulations of book clubs. Have you tried any of the group reads on LT? They aren't the same as a live discussion: which is both good and bad.

How can you read so many books at once? I would go insane! I am definitely a one book at a time gal.

Your review of Henrietta Lacks was an interesting counterpoint to other reviews I have read. I have been on the fence as to whether I should read it: sensational journalism (yuck) vs science (yea). Your review has convinced me to wait until I'm in a lifeboat with nothing to read and a copy floats by on the waves.

Hi Lisa,
Henrietta Lacks wasn't quite that bad. It was the best book I read with the book club, which doesn't say much for the other choices which were:
Bleed for me by Michael Robotham
The Junior Officers Reading club by Patrick Henessey
Room by Emma Donoghue

I have e mailed members of the bookclub suggesting that at the next meeting we elect a new secretary and talk about how it should function in the future and I have had a couple of positive responses. So maybe all is not lost.

Strangely enough I was at a Soiree at a neighbours house the other night and after several glasses of wine my french was still functioning well enough to understand some of the conversation. There were several members there of the local French bookclub who were most impressed when I told them I had read Colette, Zola and Maupassant. You must join us they said and if I did I would have special dispensation to read the books in an English translation, though I would have to discuss them in French at their meetings. It would seem that their meetings are extremely lively (unlike the English bookclub) as the secretary told me that she struggles to keep them under control, they all want to speak at once. Might be interesting.

I have gotten involved with the group reads over at the salon and at the moment I am reading Porius by John Cowper Powys and The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. Both of these take a fair bit of concentration and so I like to have something else to read late at night. Recently I chose Zeitgeist by Bruce Sterling which was a mistake as his post modernist style was more difficult than Edmund Spenser's 16th century English

Reading about your bookclub tribulations makes me feel a little envious... not because of the tribulations, but because of the fact that you actually seem to have access to quite a few bookclubs. I haven't been able to get any of my (admittedly limited) pool of friends to join a bookclub. The only people who seem interested here in Pretoria are either my mother's friends, who are in a bit of a chicklit club (ok, they do read some good books, like Middlesex, but apparently only by accident) or, to go to the other end of the spectrum, acquaintances from University who are even more pretensious than I am.

I'm just glad that I have LibraryThing groups on which to share my thoughts. Hope you find a bookclub that suits you, baswood.

It's difficult to find that perfect book club it's even difficult to find one where your not wasting your time. I like the idea of book clubs reading good books by accident.

Perhaps the answer is to create your own bookclub even if the membership is limited. Yes thank goodness for LT.

Zeitgeist by Bruce Sterling
I pulled Zeitgeist off the book shelf looking for a contemporary science fiction novel that would be entertaining, narrative in style and a relatively light read. This wasn't it. Instead I found myself ploughing through a melange of post modernist, magic realist and spiralist writing.

Zeitgeist; means the spirit of the age and Bruce Sterling has set his novel at the very end of the 20th century. His main character Leggy Starlitz has successfully promoted and exploited a talentless all girl pop group, but fears that their bubble will burst as the 20th century draws to its close. (Remember Y2K when some people thought that the computerised world would seize up and aeroplanes would fall out of the sky.) Starlitz has got rich through aggressive marketing of G-7 (the ironic name for the group) and it's spin offs: lip gloss, bags, action dolls, underwear etc. As the end of the century approaches Starlitz finds himself battling for control of G-7 with a powerfully connected Turkish drug baron, however his machinations are brought to a halt with the unexpected arrival of his estranged 11 year old daughter. Suddenly priorities change and Starlitz embarks on a journey with Zeta to discover their roots and to find some sort of redemption.

This basic outline is merely a convenient hanger on which Sterling can demonstrate his wit and writing skills. The relentless pace and the cut and paste techniques remind me of Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius books. The action is every bit as overcooked, the characters are just as super cool and all outcomes appear totally meaningless. His characters can vomit money, rise from the dead, survive impossible firepower and be winked in and out of existence as Sterling sees fit.

Starlitz says very early on in the novel; in answer to a protagonists claim to be able to sell the big picture that "it's the spirit of the times it's the soul of post modernity." Everything and everybody has its price and Sterling uses his razor sharp wit to mock, criticize and lampoon the world of big capital, gangsters and war mongers. His pyrotechnics flash and burn, but leave no lasting impression. How can they when his anti-hero the irrepressible Starlitz on hearing of a scheme that will lose other peoples money says "I am so with this! I can't wait to get started! This is the spirit of Now!" Sterling never lets character development or story line get in the way of a smart one liner or a witty anecdote. More often than not he hits the mark with his splatter gun technique but it makes for exhausting reading. Sterling strains hard to be cool or legit: politicians, poets, film makers , fashionable contemporary authors and pop musicians are all name dropped in a "look man, I know my stuff" kind of way. I kept getting the feeling when reading the book that Sterling was looking over his shoulder to make sure the reader was keeping up with him. He allows his characters to argue about whose narrative they should be following: "You can't argue with me because my language defines the terms. You can't discuss it any further because it never took place" says Starlitz.

Bruce Sterling has proved he is at home with post modernism. His writing is well up to the task and there are some brilliant flashes. However Sterling's description of modern cinema comes very close to being a description of his novel:

It had abandoned merely Modernist plot structure for a steady, rhythmic round of stunt violence, expensive sets, and a hot babe. Sadism, Snobbery and Sex, a Free world formula that was the twentieth century's catnip for the masses.

I would rate this as a 3 star read.

Great review, baswood. It reminds me not so much of the course work we had for Postmodernism - although I didn't always enjoy that much either - but of the asinine opinions of some of the more pretentious students I had the displeasure of meeting during the semester. The book sounds like a typical example of what James Wood calls hysterical realism, a genre that I don't much care for, although I see that the wiki article lists Bulgakov, Mervyn Peake, and even earlier writers like Laurence Sterne and Robert Burton, as early precursors of the style, so maybe I haven't been as successful in avoiding it as I thought.

Interesting to think of cyberpunk and post modernism in the same breath. I never thought of Sterling in literary terms at all, having read the short stories (or at least some of them – can't remember whether I actually finished that book) in Globalhead some years ago. I'll have to dig that out and refresh my memory. Zeitgeist sounds worth a look.

Dewald, Yes Zeitgeist definitely falls under the label of hysterical realism.

It does a good job of transporting the reader to a sort of hyper world, but the constant adrenaline rush becomes wearing quite quickly.

Suzanne, in the words of the Micheline guides: it maybe worth a look but not worth a detour.

Nice review of Zeitgeist, answering in part the question I asked you earlier today on my Club Read thread--as we both liked Perdido Street Station, what other recent SF would you recommend? I don't think I would care much for Zeitgeist either.

The French book club sounds both more challenging (in French) and more interesting for you. I hope you at least try it and report back to us. :-)

It would be interesting to see the differences in approach, if any, between the anglophone and francophone book clubs...

Hi steven you will have picked up my ramblings on your thread by now'

Lisa & wandering star, I will certainly go to the french book club if they follow through with their invitation. - rather a lot of wine had been drunk when it was discussed. I know I had drunk a fair amount because the French always serve the champagne at the end of the meal after the pudding or the cakes, and we were well onto the fizzy stuff when we were chatting.

I love reading your thread, Barry, even if I cannot comment on the books you discuss. I am especially envious of your life in France - it is my dream to take a year off from work and move to Europe. Your depictions of French customs and culture always make me itchy to travel. Thanks for a highly entertaining thread!

81-
After the meal? As a French person I've only had champagne before the meal as we all sit in the sitting room. After the meal comes the coffee and the pousse-cafe.

lilsin, it must be different down here in South West France. Even at our Xmas meal the champagne is served after the dessert. it still surprises me.

Cait86 nice to know you read my thread. Take that year off work - Europe's waiting for you.

Requiem - Mozart. L'Astrada, Marciac
(Transcription for soloists choir and piano with four hands)

The first classical music concert at L'Astrada proved to be very good indeed. A full house enjoyed some fine singing from L'Ensemble Vocal Unite. This transcription from Mozart's original orchestral score allowed the vocals to come to the fore as the piano accompaniment was never too intrusive. The music had more space and the vocal harmonies could be enjoyed to the full. No need for microphones tonight as the choir and soloists sounded fresh and clean in the 500 seater auditorium. A piece of magic on a very hot summer's evening (38 degrees centigrade)

Mozart - Requiem, Weiner Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan .
This 1986 (released in 1987) recording has been lambasted by the music critics. Karajan has taken a piece of music from the classical period and turned it into a full blown romantic epic. Tempo's have been slowed and the music score has been interpreted to provide maximum drama. It sounds like an opera. Quite different from the music I heard this evening in Marciac, but I love it.

I am not one to worry about musical purity. I think there is room for many different versions of a piece of music like Mozart's Requiem as long as it is well played and reaches out to an audience in a way that touches the emotions and/or the intellect. Karajans recording is dramatic and exciting, the soundscape convinces me that I could be listening to Don Giovanni (which happens to be one of my favourite operas). Turn up the voluime, listen to some extraordinary music and don't worry about what Mozart thought it should sound like.

I love Mozart's Requiem, and there is nothing like a live performance in a relatively intimate setting – if one may call a 500-seat theatre "intimate." But compared to the huge concert halls where it is often heard, I think you got the best of it. Sounds wonderful.

The Cooking of India, Santha Rama Rau
This superbly illustrated coffee table book published by Time Life Books should not stay on the coffee table; it belongs in the kitchen. It is just as well that the coffee table size book is supplemented by a smaller paperback size one that extracts all the recipes and so you can avoid the inevitable food stains spoiling some amazing photographs of foods and markets in India.

The introduction to the recipe book starts unpromisingly by stating that: "The recipes in the book have been selected to present the dishes that are most practical for British Cooks. Although some modifications were necessary, every effort has been made to preserve the authentic character of Indian Food" A quick glance inside and you will realise that these are not dumbed-down recipes; they just shout authenticity. The first recipe in the book is for garam masala an essential spice mix for many Indian dishes and this is followed by "ghee" (Indian Butter oil). There is no substitute for making your own ghee, your curries will take on a wonderful nutty taste, that you won't get with shop bought products.

The recipes cover all areas of Indian cooking; vegetarian dishes, rice dishes, meat, fish and poultry, breads, salads and yogurt dishes, chutneys, sweet dishes and sweet meats. The recipe index (there are over 115) is in both English and Hindi. The proof of any recipe collection is whether they work when you try them in your own kitchen. I have not tried every recipe in the book but those that I have work beautifully. I am particularly fond of Indian vegetable curries and there are some good ones here: Ghobi ki sabzi (curried cauliflower), Mattar pannir (home made cheese and peas) and Baingan ka tikka (aubergines baked with curried vegetable stuffing). The meat and fish dishes are excellent too with a full range of; dhansaks, goshts, kormas and koftis. Any Indian recipe book like this one that doesn't contain recipes for onion bhajis or chicken tikka masala has got to be in with a shout for some sort of authenticity.

A book well worth tracking down; ever since I got a copy in 1976 it has never been out of my kitchen and I will be using it again this week. Rating 5 stars of course

A cooking day for me tomorrow as we have a group of friends coming over to help us celebrate Lynn's birthday on Wednesday. I am making a selection of curries from my well thumbed Cooking of India recipe book. Perhaps curries do not sound too exciting to many people but they are an event for us ex-pats living in France. It is a 40 minute drive to the nearest curry restaurant (which is not good) and they of course open only for normal French dinning times (12noon - 2pm and 7.30pm - 9.30pm) I did once have a half decent curry in Paris but that's a long way away.

It is essential to cook curries the day before and you must grind your own garam masala and make your own ghee.

Wow! You are indeed a man of many parts, Barry! Your wife is very lucky – not to mention your friends!

#88 What entertains me most about this is that I have a copy (probably an American edition). It came from my wife's aunt - a whole collection of Time-Life: Foods of the World. We've never used them, as far as I know.

bas - I have probably 5 or 6 indian cooking books, but none as comprehensive as yours seems to be.

I keep meaning to go on an indian cooking course, but also enjoy making it up as I go along (never been too good at following rules).

I've started trying my hand at Thai cooking, and have an eye on Malaysian & Indonesian too.

You can't beat having a couple of hours of cooking in front of you on a Saturday in summer!

I remember the Time-Life international cooking series well, because my mother had many of them when I was growing up in the 60s. She must have tired of them, because I didn't find them when I was going through books at my parents' apartment. They were a lovely combination of recipes, photographs, and information.

The Cooking of India sounds wonderful. I cook a good deal, but don't really venture out of the French/Italian technique and the Americas.

Also, saw you mention SW France. I believe you are somewhat near where my maternal family came from - Nestier. The best I can understand it is in the SW near the border.

Rebecca, Dan, The cooking of India seems to be the sort of book you are likely to stumble across in your or one of your relations attics. I am sure many people bought it for the gorgeous photographs and the "Look" of the book. I know I did.

zeno, As I am fairly useless at home improvements or do-it-yourself projects, I "pay my way" by cooking and gardening.

Jane, Nestier is about 50 minutes drive from my village. I live just outside Marciac, NW of Nestier.

Suzanne, my wife does not think she is so lucky when she wants the bathroom tiled and refitted, but I think we have reached a compromise solution - we are going to pay someone else to do it.

I had already starred your log for your choice of reading, and add your choice of music to that.

welcome edwin nice to see you here

47)Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
This is a light fast enjoyable read. A satire that targets: politicians, government departments, career men and women, Al-Queda and rich Sheiks. About the only thing it does not satirise are the salmon and the people who fish for them.

In a satire ; vices, foibles, abuses and short comings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals and society itself into improvement. How effective or sharp this is depends on the nature of the satire. One that uses scorn, outrage and savage ridicule is more likely to grab our attention than one based on exaggeration, folly and irony. Torday's satire is of the latter variety, it is mild and gently humorous. As I was reading It became difficult at times to separate the satire from actuality, which certainly gave me pause to think.

Alfred Jones a scientist working in the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is asked for a feasibility study on introducing salmon and salmon fishing into the Yemen. He correctly points out that such a project would be laughable; there are no suitable rivers, the climate is too hot for the fish and they would not be able to reach their breeding grounds in the North Atlantic. Poor Alfred is blissfully unaware that a powerful Sheikh will bankroll such a project and the British Government desperate for a good news story in the Middle East see it as a vote winner. Alfred is made to change his mind and his scientific pride leads him to involve himself fully in the impossible project. He is spurred on by the charismatic Sheik and his crush on Harriet who works for the company that represents the Sheik's interest. What happens when a crazy project is fueled by enough money and the political will? It succeeds of course.

The story is told in a series of diary entries, correspondence, e mails, interviews by a parliamentary subcommittee, an unpublished novel and extracts from Hansard. Torday is skillful enough to weave these disparate elements into a very readable narrative format. Torday has a lightness of touch about everything he writes here and never loses sight of his story or his need to make the reader smile.

The novel succeeds for me because there is very little exaggeration in the workings of a government department. I kept thinking I have seen these sorts of things happen or worse. Almost everything else has a ring of credibility about it. Tordays most savage satire is reserved for Peter Maxwell who is a Director of Communications (spin doctor) and works closely with the Prime Minister. This characteris probably based on Alastair Campbell and his work with Tony Blair. One scene stands out particularly for me. Maxwell desperate for a good news story to offset the casualties being reported from Iraq has an idea for a new TV game show. It will be set in one of the villages partially destroyed by rocket and mortar fire and will feature actual villagers as contestants, who will stand to win glamorous prizes. He presents this idea to the usual Friday evening get together of the PM and his cabinet cronies who are sipping wine. After the presentation one of the members remarks "Peter you ought to get out more". Maxwell is close to tears he can't believe that his brilliant idea has been given such short shrift. Torday I think has been cever here, he finally presents a scenario that is ridiculous and has his characters reject it out of hand. This leads the reader to think that all the other stuff that has gone before could well happen in real life.

This is a funny humorous book, but the sting in the tail for me is that so much of it could and probably does happen and we all blithely have to accept it. This novel should be read by all government workers, lets just hope you don't see yourselves here. I rate this at 3.5 stars

Barry, just based on the title alone, this book makes me smile. Your review convinces me that I'd enjoy reading it. It's on my wishlist.

I've had this book for a while, Barry, but I haven't gotten round to it yet. It sounds quite humorous and enjoyable. What does make me a bit wary is Torday's prolificacy - I've seen a new novel by him every year since Fishing came out! Not that being prolific is necessarily bad; I just hope that the books aren't rushed. Well, he only got published at 59, so maybe those other novels have been gestating for years.

Dewald, It is not great literature, but is is a fun read. You mentioned that it might be rushed, yes I got the feeling that it could have been sharpened up. I read it for my book club

A beach book?

Disembodied cowboy hat with sun flowers in the field ahead

tres artistique!

I wouldn't want to destroy the mood by speculating who and what that is a picture of (but parenthetically, would that be your wife – I think I spot an earing dangling from the left ear –under said disembodied cowboy hat and would that be a view of the countryside from your window?) taken by you, no doubt, but I could sit here and look at that picture all day.

Well detected Suzanne, right on all counts

Wow; fabulous photo! I wish I was there.

Barry, been meaning to ask you: Have you read Le Morte Darthur yet, or is it still to come? I realize it is about a century later than your 14th century concentration. I just pulled my copy down because it has an excellent glossary in the back. Mine is a Norton Critical Edition, which is outstanding. I loved it. I thought that glossary might assist in reading The Faerie Queene. There is some spelling variation, but it is very useful.

Your review about Salmon Fishing in the Yemen made me think of a research project I heard about on NPR many years ago. These Danish scientists were all excited at having identified a new phylum of bacteria living... wait for it... on the lips of Norwegian lobsters. Well, who knew lobsters had lips? The story went on to say that the scientists were now hoping for the funding to expand their project and compare the bacteria on their lobster with those on the lips of Maine lobsters.

Anyway, you mention that the book was read for your book club. Does that mean that things have been smoothed over?

*sigh* beautiful view

I love the Minor White photographs. I had not heard of his work before.

Suzanne, Le Mort D'Arthur is very high up on my TBR pile, I am planning to read it this year. I have discovered that I have two versions:

1) The Globe Edition: first published 1868 and I seem to have the 1899 edition. It has two columns to the page and an introduction by Sir Edward Strachey, Bart. It has a charming dedication as follows:
to FRANCIS STRACHEY her father inscribes this book, the introduction to which could not have been re-written without her help in making the ear familiar with words which the eye can no longer read.
There is an index (added in 1869)

2) The everyman edition published in 1906 and I seem to have the 1928 edition. This is in two volumes. This has a glossary and a preface.

The glossary in the everyman edition looks to be helpful as I have cross referenced it with the fairy queen.

I have often seen the "Norton critical editions" of classics advertised, but don't own one myself. What extras do you get for your money usually?

Hi Lisa,

Ah the bookclub.......... I probably won't know the state of the bookclub until the date of the next meeting which is July 19. If anybody turns up then I think we will still have a book club. I am currently reading on my kindle Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna and so I will have read both the choices by the next meeting.

Urania1 - nice to see you here

Barry – it turns out I have two books by accident that are Norton Critical Editions — one being Le Morte Darthur (they spell it without the apostrophe) and the other being an edition of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy (I have several editions, this one translated by Richard H. Green, which I bought after reading the Oxford/P.G. Walsh translation). At any rate, Norton claims to provide "authoritative texts," whatever that means (actually it is explained in each case), and in addition, there is a substantial amount of background material including scholarly critical essays and a section they call "Contexts," which in the Boethius contains relevant excerpts from Plato's Gorgias and Timaeus, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and St. Augustine's "On Free Choice of the Will." Le Morte Darthur has about ten critical essays (more than a hundred pages) and another hundred pages of "Sources and Backgrounds" for various elements in Mallory's book. The Mallory is printed on very thin Bible paper so that it is about half the size and weight of your typical 950-page book. Both have the usual introduction, chronology, bibliography and the Mallory has a glossary as well. There is sadly no index to the extraneous material. But all in all, they seem to be quite worthwhile.

I really liked my Norton edition of Le Morte Darthur. After a while, the old English became easier as my ear got tuned in and my vocabulary grew. It was easier than Chaucer by quite a bit.

I have always made a point of looking for Oxford editions or sometimes even Penguin if they have good introduction and notes. I am a fiend for notes, especially on old texts because of the historical context they provide. The Norton editions have footnotes as opposed to end notes, but they are not nearly as substantial as, say, Oxford World Classics provides by way of end notes.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for that Suzanne. The critical editions sound well worth having: I will keep my eyes open for them

48) Ricardian Poetry: Chaucer, Gower, Langland and the Gawain Poet by J A Burrow
A very well written and readable book of literary criticism, but who or what is its target audience

It is sometimes difficult to know what to expect from a book of literary criticism that does not clearly state its purpose in its under title. The subjects of the book are the four canonical poets of the late 14th century and I was hoping that Burrow would be discussing aspects of their poetry and style. This was not described as an introduction and so I was looking for some insightful criticism aimed at a reader familiar with the 14th century texts. I had noticed the book was only 141 pages with an additional 17 pages of notes and references and so I was not expecting a comprehensive review. I had hoped however to discover some fresh ideas that would enhance my enjoyment of the poetry.

I became a little wary of Burrow's intentions when he launched straight away into making a case for labelling these four poets: The Ricardian Poets. A useful label yes, but to spend ten pages justifying your choice (perhaps with one eye on posterity) is a bit like playing to the gallery. It does however provide Burrows with a modus operandi, because the task he has set himself is to demonstrate enough similarities in these texts to justify his addition to the nomenclature of poets.

In the first chapter "Ricardian Style" Burrows says that all the poets in their various ways find time to address the audience directly, a throw back to when most poetry was oral in nature. The poets were generally self-depreciating and all prone to dullness. They submit more docilely than their successors to the constraints of idiom, rhythm, rhyme and alliteration. In his second chapter Burrows discusses; reasons for the divisions within the larger poems, the level of detail chosen, the use of literary rather than allegorical form and the preference for the exemplum. At this point well over the half way mark I took a step back and concluded it had been interesting enough, but hardly more than an intelligent reader familiar with the text could have gleaned for him/herself.

It was not until the third chapter: An Image of Man (p93) that Burrows really grabbed my attention. Here he discusses the avoidance of heroic figures, the concentration on the seasons cycles and individuals humbling confrontation with more than human or all encompassing power. He discusses the use of humour and the diversity of the reactions of individuals to different circumstances. He goes on to take Arnold's famous point that Chaucer lacks high and excellent seriousness and shows how this could be said of the other poets. It is not until chapter four: Conclusion, just ten pages from the end that Burrows discusses poetic style in any detail by discussing the use of similes. This is excellent stuff and made the reading of this book worthwhile for me.

Burrows final two sentences are interesting:

The present book can hardly claim to represent 1971, let alone 2000. Critics who stand more outside the English "art tradition" than I do will no doubt be able to frame hypotheses which will represent more truly and explain more powerfully the various characteristics exhibited by poets of the Ricardian period. But I hope to have established at least that it is in something like the full literary sense, a period.

There he is still banging on about his idea of the Ricardian Poets. A cautious recommendation from me - 3 Stars

I too find the Norton Critical Editions useful. I have a random selection: Paradise Lost, Hamlet, Utopia, War and Peace, and Hard Times. They are not pretty, but if you don't have ready access to scholarly literary criticism, these will give you a snapshot.

Thanks Lisa. I have ordered Utopia Norton critical edition this morning.

Barry – In your interesting review of Ricardian Poetry you raise the question of who the target audience is. Does that mean the book would serve as an introduction for a reader who has limited exposure to said Ricardian poets?

Suzanne, I don't think it would serve as an introduction. To make his points Burrows uses small extracts from the relevant texts and I think it might be difficult to follow issues raised if you had not read the text yourself; so that you are able to provide some context.

If its not for the beginner and neither would it serve as an introduction then I suppose its aimed at students or someone like me. I just expected it to be a little more focused on the poetry, as there was no other clue from the title of the book. As it turned out the book was more about making a case for Burrow's invention of the term "Ricardian" than anything else. I still found it interesting and as it can be found for just a few pence I didn't regret the cost or the time spent reading.

Another thought - Have you ever heard Chaucer referred to as one of the "Ricardian" poets? I don't think I have and so I guess Burrow's has not been that successful with his label.

Nice review, Barry. I have always associated 'Ricardian' with economics, but I see that it can also refer to someone interested in restoring Richard III's reputation, after the retooling Shakespeare did on him. Does Burrow use 'Ricardian' in the sense of Richard's time period - which I thought was later than Chaucer, Langland, etc. - or does it refer to something completely different?

Dewald, its Richard II and refers to the period of his reign, which was from 1377 to 1399.

When I first saw the book advertised as Ricardian poetry, i did not have a clue who it referred to.

Barry, no I have not heard the term "Ricardian poetry" in any connection, so apparently you correctly assess Burrow's labeling attempt. In fact, I had to make a quick run to Wikipedia to be sure which Richard he was talking about as I don't carry around in my head a timeline of the British monarchical succession, although I wish I had that capacity. So it was immediately clear from Richard II's dates that the named poets flourished during his reign. I've read enough Chaucer that maybe this book would be interesting to me. I'll add it to the wishlist.

So this is where you all are. Bas, I missed that you had started part 2 thread. I am currently back at Clare. Thank you thank you thank you for such a long Clare review. Clare is one of my saints, and is so often overlooked. He deserves to be better known. The Night Wind poem is fantastic, what a brilliant opening line!

Hi TC, glad you found us all here. I enjoyed my sojourn with John Clare. I will go back to him and search out some more of his poems. An interesting life that is well worth examining further as well, particularly his acceptance then non acceptance in literary society at the time.

Yes there are some great lines in "Nightwind" which is a superb sonnet. I like:
Thinking of roads that travel has to find

49) Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna
I won't spend too much time reviewing this book as I have already spent too much time reading it. I read it for my book club (that's my excuse)

Romantic fiction? certainly not historical fiction. The book follows the fortunes and misfortunes of an Indian family from 1858 to the start of the second world war. A three generation family saga set mainly in the Southern Indian hill station area around Coorg. This feels to me like novel writing by numbers. The story line is horribly predictable; the heroic male characters are indeed heroic and the beautiful women are indeed beautiful. Tragic events within the family are kept secret until they destroy the lives of the characters. Houses, homes and landscape all get the prettification treatment. Hardly a hint of the real India shines through. This story could have taken place in any colonial land. There is a backdrop of world events but it never gets in the way of the story.

Not my cup of tea, nothing to lift this out of the slough of romantic fiction 2 stars

Barry, I've been bemoaning the fact that I didn't have a book club, but I'm now thinking LT is the best book club of all for all the obvious reasons.

Suzanne, This was the last selection under the old regime of the book club. I am going to avoid reading future selections that have no literary merit.

Lt is by far the best book club. It has the great advantage of allowing you to look at other peoples libraries and to read their past reviews etc so that you can make a better judgement on their recommendations.

Lt is by far the best book club.

hear hear!

>45 baswood: Thought review with interesting comments on the Henrietta Lacks book.

>102 baswood: Loved this photo. I saw an exhibit at the Met in April called the "Rooms With a View: The Open Window in 19th Century" and your photo recalled it to my mind.

Will have to mention to dukedom that you have read the Sterling. Not sure if he has seen your comments.

Hello, Barry - I realized I had not visited your thread before, and you being one of my more faithful visitors/commenters! What a wonderful mix of books, film, music, life, culture - such a rich intellectual life and one of which I am only the tiniest bit jealous... I will be back!

Thanks Katie, glad you dropped by

The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, Thad Carhart.
A memoir of an American resident in Paris during a two year period in the 1990's.

A memoir writer who has no celebrity status and who has not lived through newsworthy world events, must either have an interesting story to tell or must bring something else to the table. Thad Carhart's story is not particularly exciting: he discovers an old piano shop near where he lives in Paris and then negotiates his way around the peculiarly french way of doing things to buy a piano, have it installed, and arrange for lessons for himself and his daughters. Not enough to sustain a 268 page book. The extra things that Carhart brings to the table are: a snapshot of an outsiders struggle to come to terms with the french way of life, a rekindling of a partially forgotten passion to own and play a piano and a sort of potted history and description of how a piano works and is manufactured. These together with some childhood memories are interwoven to fill the required number of pages. This sounds a little negative and although I did enjoy the book I felt it outstayed its welcome by a few chapters.

Carhart is at his most interesting when he is describing the "intricate world of mutual trust and obligation" that exists amongst the artisans who live and work in the quartier where he lives. As an outsider he must break through some of the barriers to achieve his aims. For example he must get an introduction from a former client of the piano shop before they will even consider his request to buy a piano. There are so many books on the market about the experiences of English speakers living and working in Europe that it requires something a bit special to stand out from the crowd. Carhart scores here by limiting his canvas to a relatively small area of Paris and by his ability to gain acceptance into the hidden world of the artisans and musicians. His observations ring true and he brings his characters to life on the page: Luc the young patron of the piano shop who steers a course between his love of an unusual piano and the need to sell them to make a living, Jos the eccentric piano tuner living with his alcoholism ticking underneath him like a time bomb and Anna his sympathetic piano teacher.

Carhart writes well about the rekindling of his passion to own and play the piano. He comes across as an enthusiastic amateur with a good ear who wants to feel the music. He wants to discover for himself the qualities needed for a great piano player and a great piano. He learns all he can from his repeated visits to the piano shop, his lessons with Anna and his attendance at some master classes. He explains in loving detail how a piano works and relates many anecdotes from the artisans on how they should be made and restored. Some technical details are necessary for the reader to understand some of the conversations with the artisans and on the whole Cathcart makes a decent fist of explaining these for the general reader. He is not so good at an attempted potted history of the instrument and his attempts made my eyes glaze over at times. The frequent discussions of the various piano makes/brands and their relative worth were also a little dull.

Carhart writes well enough in an easy flowing style, but when he needs to move into another gear to demonstrate his passion and enthusiasm, it is not quite there. There is no poetry in his prose. He lacks the ability to raise the quality of his writing to turn a good read into an exceptional one. He comes across as a regular likeable guy, but seems to lack a sense of humour. perhaps he takes himself too seriously. I can just imagine the patron of the piano shop when he is together with his cronies spotting Thad about to pop in saying "here comes that American again whose writing that book, nice enough guy, a bit intense and no joie de vivre

An enjoyable book but I am going to be tough on my rating 3.5 stars.

Hi Barry, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the Piano Shop on the Left Bank more. I read it several years ago at the recommendation of my piano tuner. I had just moved to Nevada from San Francisco, and the musical connection I formed with my piano tuner was just what I needed in view of the cultural contrasts between SF and LV. Whew! (My friends and relations are still shaking their heads at my decision to move here!) Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. When I stayed in Paris it was on the left bank so it all resonated.

Edited to fix touchstone.

Susanne, As I was reading Piano Shop on the Left Bank I was wondering whether it would resonate more with a pianist or piano owner.

We were at a friends house for dinner last night and the conversation got round to asking the question "If you could invite 4 writers (living or dead) round to dinner who would they be?

Thad Carhart would never get on my list.

LOL! Now you've really got my attention! Who would you invite? That's a much better question, by the way, than who are the 50 greatest novelists of all time.

4 writers round to dinner?

My invitees would all be men and they would be; D H Lawrence (with special dispensation to bring Frieda), Bertrand Russell, Ted Hughes (but definitely not Sylvia) and Dr Samuel Johnson.

A few observations: They are all English (apart from Frieda)
D H L and Bertrand Russel did meet and correspond with each other although they eventually fell out.
Would anybody be able to get a word in edge-ways when Sam Johnson found his feet.
Would Ted be overawed by the company he was in.

Anybody else want to play? You can invite 4 writers round for dinner (living or dead). Who would they be.

I had to think about this one. My strategy was to pick one author, and then arrange a seating chart around them. So my four authors would be different depending on whom I chose first. For instance, I would love to have Sozhenitsyn on my list, but he really couldn't sit next to Mark Twain. He would require a completely different set of dinner partners. So here are my picks:

Me
To my left Mary Doria Russell (I just heard her speak, and she is very funny)
To her left Neal Stephenson (historical science fiction parallel)
To his left Mark Twain (both can be very witty)
To his left Sigrid Undset (if all else failed they could discuss Joan of Arc)
Me

The only problem is that I didn't stick to the boy/girl/boy seating guideline, but then intelligent conversation always trumps etiquette in my book!

Now if I did choose Solzhenitsyn... Hmmm Bohumil Hrabal, Tahar Djaout, Farnoosh Moshiri?

I had made a list of living authors in anticipation of this, but since dead authors are allowed, I scrapped the contemporary list and am naming basically my favorite writers from the past with no regard to seating pattern or whether they will relate. Surprisingly I managed to come up with two each of male and female. I may need to have several of these dinner parties:

Umberto Eco
Herman Melville
George Eliot
Isak Dinesen

Bas, your review made me miss Paris more than ever!

I would invite:

Dorothy Parker
W.H.Auden
Anthony Burgess
Iris Murdoch

Invitations go out to:

James Baldwin
Albert Camus
Yukio Mishima
Frantz Fanon

I would also slip a note under Murr's door, and secretly invite W.H. Auden—and Murr—to my dinner party (please bring vodka, smoked sturgeon and caviar, if you don't mind).

~135 - bas why Freida but not Sylvia? I know the latter is supposed to be the domain of teenage girls, but I like her. There is an intensity there ('the tulips are too red in the first place, they hurt me...).

My four would be:

Franz Kafka
Robert Musil
Marcel Proust
George Orwell

At least 3 of the 4 woul be introverts, 2 (GO & RM) would, I imagine, be quite chippy if conversation didn't go their way, but once they got talking some potentially interesting things might be said.

Couldn't resist having another go:

Oscar Wilde
Stephen Fry
Colette
Djuna Barnes

I would definitely want to sit in on this one, witty conversation and possibly some frisson.

zeno #140 I would be distraught if Sylvia turned the conversation around to her favourite subject - suicide. Ted might be a bit uncomfortable as well.

I tried putting together a serious dinner with the likes of Vassily Grossman and Thomas Mann, but I decided all in all I'd rather have a lively, fun dinner with:

Patrick Leigh Fermor
Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Mario Vargas Llosa
Anne Fadiman

But there are so many others . . .

Interestingly, three of these guests are alive and one is very recently dead. I may have another go at this with writers who are no longer alive later today.

PLF would be great fun.

Now that you mention it, there are a ton of authors I wish I could talk to, or at least listen to them talk...not speak to a crowd, but just talk. Wonder how this dinner would go?

David Foster Wallace
Norman Maclean
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Proust

Interesting point Dan. What role should one play as the host. Would we want to pitch in and get involved in the conversation or would we just make the introductions and let them get on with it.?

Have any of you read Night at the Majestic: Proust & the Great Modernist Dinner Party of 1922? I haven't yet, but it seems that this real-life dinner party didn't turn out as expected...

#147 - noted, sounds like an interesting book on Proust.

I would be intimidated to invite Proust to dinner after all those parties he described so brilliantly in In Search of Lost Time!

Actually, one of my reasons for inviting these great writers is because I have a ton of questions I'd like to ask each of them.

Here's a contemporary group I'd love to invite:

Peter Ackroyd – loved Albion and just acquired The Clerkenwell Tales!
Alain de Botton – his The Art of Travel is a treasure! I actually exchanged e-mails with him at one time.
Frederick Forsyth – my favorite Cold War novelist; he also wrote a great collection of short stories No Comebacks.
V.S. Naipaul – I suspect he would add a certain spice to the whole shebang!

Love Story

You keep your love hidden
like the nightdress you keep under your pillow
and never wear when I'm there

But
one sunfilled day
you took me to your magic room
at the end of the yellow corridor
and showed me enchanted stilllifes
Nivea tins Bodymist sprays cold cream jars
glowing like jewels
your body singing pink in the sunlight
opening to me like the red pulsing heart of a flower
in Public Gardens
where peacocks open their thousand eyes for us
and birdpeople move noiselessly
through the dripping palm house
feeling your body under me
warm and alive as the grass under our feet

I LOVE YOU

When listening to Bruckner in the sunlit bathroom
When the hills and valleys of your morning body
are hidden from my gaze by Body Mist
When I don't have to ask who it is on the telephone
When we can't wait till the programme finishes
When I slip out quietly leaving you to sleep
untroubled dreams till morning in your darkened room
When I walk out into the dark shinning streets
bright signs from petrolstations lamplight on leaves
hard unyielding lights from city flats

I LOVE YOU

Walking home yellow moon over the rooftops
cars crawling girls stopping everywhere smelling of you
Going off to sleep smelling the rich luxury lather in your hair
Walking holding your mini-hand
Standing in the Saturdaymorning bank
hot with people worrying about money
Seeing half a bottle of gin smashed on the pavement
Even when seeing schoolgirls on buses
their blackstockinged knees in mourning for their lost
virginity

I LOVE YOU

on trains
in cars
on buses
in taxis

I LOVE YOU

in that midnight hour
when all the clocks stopped
and it was midsummer
for ever

Adrian Henri

I first came across Adrian Henri in The Penguin Modern Poets series published in the 1960's. 1967 in fact one of my favourite years. The book was subtitled "The Mersey Sound" and featured Roger McGough and Brian Pattern as well. The Penguin series was responsible for kindling my interest in poetry. I love the whole series.

The above poem did not appear in the Mersey Sound collection but was featured as a song on the The Liverpool Scene's first LP. Adrian Henri was a wonderful reader of his own poems and an enthusiastic leader of the poetry/jazz/rock group The Liverpool Scene

more later......

Hi Bas, I only just found your thread. Can I come in?

Here is my dinner list:

George Eliot
Robertson Davies (these two would get along pretty well, I think, once the generation gap was bridged)
Kazuo Ishiguro

For the fourth, if it had to be a woman I'd pick Anne Bronte, though she might be a bit timid and hysterical in the urbane company of the two gentlemen, and most uncomfortable in the presence of a lady who lived with a man she wasn't married to. I wouldn't want to distress the poor sweet.

Otherwise I'd go left field and invite Simon Schama.

It would on the whole be a quiet, reflective, scholarly and nerdy evening, with no insensitive type to tread on anyone else's feelings. I'd love it.

Hi Muse,
Welcome, glad you found us here. It is fascinating to think about how all these dinner parties would go isn't it? and what the guests would make of each other.

oh yes, an evening with George Elliot would be interesting!

Yes, George Eliot was on my first guestlist. Among other things, I would love to ask her about her notebooks, one of which I have a copy. Items in there are in six languages!

I was thinking this over last night, and couldn't help myself from creating a whole different kind of evening altogether. How's this:

WB Yeats
Emily Dickinson
Oscar Wilde
Vera Brittain

Fireworks! :)

And, wouldn't it be nice to invite Anonymous along... maybe along with Homer, Euripedes, etc...

Oh gosh, I can't see that one working out, Choco, I think Saint Oscar would be bored rigid, Yeats would get all mystical, Emily wouldn't say anything at all, and I don't know what Vera would do....

I was thinking Vera would stir Oscar up - she'd get all soap boxy and feminist, and Oscar would get annoyed at the drama and turn epigrammatic, and then Emily and Yeats would get emotional and melodramatic, seeing dark visions. I didn't say it would 'work', as such, but that it would be an evening to remember.

But I guess you're right about OW getting bored, which would change the whole dynamic.

oh yes, I see your point. Perhaps if we put vodka in the water and catnip in the salad it might work lol.

Meeting of the book club today and a 50% increase on attendance over the last meeting - there were three of us.

We had all enjoyed reading Paul Torday's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and the discussion ranged far and wide for about an hour and a half.

I am the new secretary of the club (elected unopposed.) and so we immediately set about discussing with some enthusiasm what we should read for the next meeting. We quickly agreed that we would read the collected novels of John Cowper Powys as a start. (I jest of course),
but we did agree to read two books:

The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet David Mitchell

We are confidently expecting more members for our next meeting.

51) The Power and the Glory Graham Greene
By the time The Power and the Glory was published in 1940, Greene had eschewed his flirtations with modernism and had turned back to writing in a clear narrative style, intent on creating memorable characters and tackling some of the most contentious issues of his generation. Perhaps the overriding theme here is the indomnitable human spirit. Europe was at war and for many people suffering and death were becoming a part of daily life. Greene takes an unnamed catholic priest as his anti-hero; a priest who gives in to most forms of temptation including the cardinal sin of Pride, and yet by the choices he makes and despite himself he achieves some sort of dignity and even redemption in our eyes. The novel is by no means a paean to the catholic church, in fact Greene is continuously critical of it and its ministers throughout, but he does suggest it offers hope in times of oppression.

Greene was commissioned to visit Mexico in 1938 to report on the religious persecution being enacted there and this provides the subject matter for the novel. A catholic priest is being hunted down by a fanatical lieutenant, who sincerely believes that the state will benefit by his elimination. Most of the priests have fled and so this last one (the whiskey priest) has become a bit of a cause celeb-re, who may or may not escape his fate if he makes it across the border.

Greene's visit to Mexico cannot have been a particularly enlightening experience for him because from the very first sentence the reader is plunged into a night mare world of filth, heat and deprivation:

Mr Tench went out to look for his ether cylinder, into the blazing Mexican sun and the bleaching dust. A few vultures looked down from the roof with shabby indifference: he wasn't carrion yet.

This first part of the novel takes alienation as its theme. Mr Tench: a dentist has no money to leave the shabby port town. A gringo bank robber and murderer is on the loose. Padre Jose has been forced into marriage and a rebuttal of his catholic faith. Mr Fellows the plantation owner is trying to make a home of a land where his wife is made ill by the heat. In the villages the whiskey priest is finding it harder and harder to find shelter.

The second and by far the longest part of the novel deals with the priests ever more desperate attempts to keep body and soul together as he flees the red shirts. He has to offer a mass as a kind of bribe in the village where he has fathered a child. Greene fills in some of his background, he is not a good priest but no different from many; "an energetic priest was always known by his debts". He is befriended by an informer a sort of vampire figure with yellow fangs and provides him with many of his moments of self knowledge:

No, if he had been humble like Padre Jose, he might be living in the capital now with Maria on a pension. This was pride devilish pride, lying here offering his shirt to the man who wanted to betray him. Even his attempts at escape had been half-hearted because of his pride-the sin by which the angels fell

This section also contains some of Greene's most unforgettable scenarios: a night the priest spends in a filthy overcrowded cell, hiding his identity from the authorities but trusting his fellow prisoners with his true identity, leaving it to fate to save or condemn him, then the shameful fight with the broken backed dog for a meaty bone and finally his futile attempts to save the life of an Indian women's child.

Part three finds the priest safely across the border but the informer finds him and the priest is tempted back to certain death by the chance to save the soul of the fatally wounded gringo murderer. Here Greene superbly captures the cowardly priests dilemma. A chance for salvation a chance to be true to his faith, a real chance to make some difference. This leads to the most fascinating part of the novel where the Lieutenant and the priest come to accommodate each others views. Both think the other is basically a good man.

Part four steps back from the priest and we see the results of his actions through the eyes of the dentist Mr Tench.

I think this is an important novel of it's time that raises many issues concerning a persons struggle to make sense of his life. In this case it is a Catholic priest and so faith and the catholic church are high in Greene's scheme of things, however there is much to be enjoyed by any reader with an interest in the human condition. Greene is at the top of his game here bringing so much to the table for discussion. The book can be read and interpreted in a number of ways. My advice if you are at all interested in Graham Greene's novels is to make sure you read this one.

I would rate this as 4.5 stars.

We quickly agreed that we would read the collected novels of John Cowper Powys as a start

way to go! lol

good stuff on GG. I used to enjoy him, but his Catholic stance begins to weary me. I just don't care about these pointless 'dilemmas'. The last GG I read was The Heart of the Matter, and I thought the central character's moral dilemmas could have been solved with a good spanking session.

I still rate Brighton Rock very highly though. probably his best.

I'm glad you liked The Power and the Glory, Barry. I picked up a copy earlier this year, but have not tried it yet.

Great review, Bas.

movin' this one waaaay up the tbr list--- fantastic review! :o)

Thanks folks

I have got four more books by Grahame Greene on my bookshelf to read this year:
The Honorary Consul
Doctor Fischer of Geneva or the bomb party
The confidential Agent
Reflections, Graham Greene

I will also try to squeeze in Brighton Rock

52) Purple America by Rick Moody
Hex an alcoholic has been left to care for his mother: Billie, who is immobilised in the final stages of a wasting disease. Hex's life spirals out of control during a hectic two day period and it's Rick Moody's ability to tell this sorry tale with both humour and compassion that kept me riveted to this novel.

The rush of events start with Billie's second husband Lou planning to leave the household for good as soon as he can get through his last day at work at the nuclear power plant. Unfortunately while he is undergoing his farewell party an emergency situation develops with the plant. Meanwhile Hex after bathing his mother decides to take her out for dinner, where he has far to much to drink and bumps into Jane an old flame. Leaving a now distressed Billie in the hands of the less than able Jane, Hex chases after Lou. An altercation with Lou's workmate leads to a scuffle and back home Jane's attempts to give Billie another bath results in her being hospitalised. Meanwhile a radiation link from the nuclear power plant becomes worse than first thought.

This is story of people who are not quite able to cope with life's problems, despite their best intentions. Hex is always thinking about giving up drinking. Lou cannot face the final stages of Billie's illness and Jane unlucky in love is always prepared to give her men the benefit of the doubt. They all feel guilty in various ways about Billie and their responsibilities to her, while Billie the most intelligent of them all is trying to deal with the pain and her approaching death..

Rick Moody's use of first and third person narrative style, slipping effortlessly between the two allows him to let the reader view the world through the eyes of his characters. His masterly variations in speech and thought patterns further adds identity. Hex suffers from a life long stutter that worsens with embarrassment, but can ease with inebriation his thoughts are expressed on the page in fragmented form as he becomes more drunk. Billie finds speaking painful and so her clear and precise thoughts are expressed in short sharp phrases. Jane's thoughts are expressed by colloquialisms and TV culture and ramble on inconclusively. Moody's finest achievement is in making his story amusing. The reader smiles at the characters ineptness although never losing sight of the fact that that they are all doing the best they can. Moody shows his writing skill with an opening sentence of three pages that describe Hex's bathing of his mother:

...whosoever notes this response calmly, whosoever now finally sets his mother's glasses on her nose and adjusts the stems to make sure that they are comfortable on her ears, whosoever kisses his mother a second time where her disordered hair is thinnest and takes her now fully in his arms to carry her to the wheelchair in the doorway, whosoever says to his waiting mom while stuttering out of generalized anxiety and because of insufficient pause for the inflow and outflow of breath, "Hey, Mom, you look p-p-p-p-pretty fabulous t-t-t-tonight, you look like a million bucks.".....
Hex Raitliffe. And if he's a hero, then heroes are five-and-dime, and the world is crowded with them as it is with stray pets, worn tires, and missing keys.

Some of the humour is dark, some of it is pure slapstick, but much of it will bring a wry smile to the readers face. There are deeper issues here as well. The effects of the wasting disease on Billie and her subsequent loss of dignity. is foreshadowed by the possibility of the radiation leak and the fact that her first husband died as a result of H bomb testing. The unspoken thought here is that many people could end up like Billie.

There is much to enjoy here and my only criticism is that the novel seems to run away from Moody in its denouement. Having said that, the quality of the writing, the humour and depth of characterisation makes this as good a novel as you will find on many Literary prize shortlists. An enthusiastic 4 stars.

good review and one I think I might like. (loved the film The Ice Storm-- have you read the book?) --the purple of the title, as in excessive?

Excellent review of Purple America, Barry; that easily makes my wish list.

Thanks Jenny and Darryl. I have not read The Ice storm, which was his previous novel published in 1994, but I remember enjoying the film. Strangely enough Purple America was published in 1996 and then there was a big gap until The Diviners was published in 2005.

Purple America has made me want to read more by Rick Moody and so I will certainly track down The Ice Storm and anything else I can find. I picked up Purple America at a book swop a few years back and only read it now as it caught my eye on my book shelves and when this happens I try and read the book.

Excellent review, as always, Barry!

Thanks Suzanne

J. I. M. is here tomorrow.

Hi, Barry, excellent review of Purple America. I hadn't heard of Moody before, although I do know about the movie of The Ice Storm. He sounds like another excellent writer to whom I need to pay some attention.

Like poquette I have also finished Porius by John Cowper Powys, which was an incredible reading experience. Catch tomcatmurr's excellent review: http://www.librarything.com/work/779498/reviews/74634546

I will probably write about my experiences in reading Porius soon, when I have got my thoughts together and have done a little re-reading. It's not for the feint-hearted, but I would encourage everyone to give it a try. You just might think it is the best novel you have ever read.

The first day of the Marciac jazz festival today and for us it got off to an excellent start. We went into town a little early as we had been invited to a vernisage (gallery opening), however having some time to amble around the town we followed a group of peole through to L'Astrada the new theatre which is featuring at the festival for the first time this year. Here a traditional jazz band were playing in the courtyard and champagne and coctails were being liberally handed out. It must have been a private bash, but we knew a few peple there and so we managed to blend in.

Ben Brotherton and Mollie Brotherton were the featured artists at the vernisage.



This is one of Ben's paintings "Evening plane trees St Dode"
He is a young artist who paints in the impressionist style and Lynn has been taking lessons with him for the last couple of years. Whenever Lynn suggests we buy one of his pictures I usually say that I am waiting for her to paint one for free. However Ben's latest work is so vibrant that I think we may succumb this year.

Ben and Molliie's website http://terrain-vallonne.co.uk/Paintings2011.aspx

I'm eager to hear more about the jazz festival!

First act tonight in the chapiteau was Richard Bona and Raul Midon. They were backed by a percussionist and a keyboard player.

Richard Bona is a bass guitarist and vocalist who has played at Marciac many times before. Raul Midon was nothing short of sensational a guitarist singer/songwriter with a very expressive vocal style. He has a superb voice and also a master of other vocal techniques making trumpet like sounds through pursed lips. His rhythmic guitar style makes him sound like a one man band at times. Bona has a high tenor voice that moves into a falsetto and they both sang well together. The songs were catchy with soul and reggae influences. We were treated to jazz-soul, jazz-reggae and jazz pop. The audience loved them and so did we.

More later - A fantastic set by Chick Corea's Return to Forever

It's all sounding too delicious for words, Barry!

Nice! I was just looking at the schedule for this year's festival, and noticed that two of my favorite musicians, Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau, are playing there tomorrow. Will you be going to that performance? I saw them perform together in San Francisco several years ago, in a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Thelonious Monk's 1957 Carnegie Hall concert, which featured John Coltrane. I'm very interested to hear about this performance if you do go, as I'm planning to go to their duo performance in October, during the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

Darryl, I have just got in from tonights concert I will post about it later. Yes I am going tomorrow night to see Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau

ENVY ENVY ENVY, can you see from there how green I am? Brad Mehldau! HAve you heard him and Charles Lloyd on ECM recording.....gosh, wait for it......The Water is wide? is that right? Amazing!

Thanks for linking to my review of Porius. I"m looking forward very much to your thoughts on the book.

And well done on Moody!

Marciac Jazz Festival

The second act on Friday night was Chick Corea's Return t Forever, which had some steller names in the lineup. Stanley Clarke on bass, Jean Luc-Ponty on violin, Lenny White drums,Frank Gambale guitar along with Chick Corea on keyboards.

The volume was ramped up immediatly for this jazz/rock fusion band and it took everybody a couple of numbers before the group started to communicate with the audience. There are moments in some concerts when suddenly the group seem to gel and then kick on from there. Curiously this happened when the group switched to acoustic instruments and played a Jean Luc-Ponty tune Renaissance. Excellent piano and violin solos were followed by a feature for Stanley Clarke on upright bass. If you have not seen Stanley Clarke then make sure you catch him at a "town near you" His rhythmic yet lyrical playing is often followed by flamenco stylings where he will strum his instrument with power and much rapping off the soundbox to get that flamenco effect. He is a big man and perfectly capable of picking up the bass and playing it just like a guitar.

Back to the electronic instruments and the band really got into some nice grooves and the solos started to flow. Jean Luc-Ponty visibly started to enjoy himself and he was on fine form tonight. Lenny White said when he was introducing one of the songs that he did not know whether the band was a jazz group or a rock group. Lenny White's drum kit is set up like he is playing in a rock band with no less than eight drums of different sizes ranged around him and although he can swing when he wants to he is adept at pounding out those rock rhythms. As the group moved towards a powerful climax to the performance the mood noticeably swung more to the rock spectrum. That was fine by me as people were out of their seats by now and jigging around in the big wide aisles of this great venue. Yeah right on it was just like being at a rock concert at the end.

Hi TC, I am looking forward to the Brad Mehldau concert tonight. I saw him here at Marciac three years ago when he played a magical solo piano set which lasted for an hour and a half and had the audience entranced from the first note to the last. Joshua Redman was also here a couple of years ago and he performed powerfully with his trio and became my favourite tenor saxophonist of the modern era. The Brad Mehldau performance of three years ago was released on CD and rather unimaginatively entitled "Live in Marciac."

On with the name dropping and I saw Charles LLoyd here a couple of years ago and the years have been kind to his playing. My CD data base tells me I have got "the Water is Wide" . I must dig it out and give it a spin.

I have re-read you review of Porius after my inappropriate comment on THE THREAD THAT SHOULD NOT BE NAMED. I can only stand back in admiration at your insight into the theme of Pre- modern consciousness, nothing short of brilliant murr. That to me signals out a real creative review/criticism in that you are able to make that jump and explain it so well.

I plan to select a chapter or two to close read before commenting, but I will probably not get round to it until after the jazz festival, much to busy having a different kind of fun, which seems to result in desperately trying to get some sleep and ward off the hangovers.

The sun shone brilliantly today but still not too hot with temperatures not above 28 degrees.

Another vernisage this evening, but this time in our village (ST Justin) up on the ridge above Marciac



Cotes de Gascogne - Jamie Peters
Jamie paints mainly in watercolours and he is also a professional musician and so his New Orleans Jazz band "64 Dixie" performed just beside the ancient gateway that was part of this once walled village. Jamie was coming with us tonight to the concert and so as soon as his group had finished playing and his wife had fed the band (this is France) we drove down to Marciac just in time for the concert.

Marciac Jazz Festival

Guitar night in the chapiteau and two artist that have never played the festival before.

John Scofield Quartet with John were Mulgrew Miller on piano Scott Colley bass and Bill Stewart drums. The quartet were soon into their stride and John Scofield's blues tinged guitar licks were reverberating round the chapiteau. Most of the musicians say how pleased they are to play the festival (It was only Diana Krull who famously said she felt tired and gave the impression she would have rather been somewhere else) and John Scofield said he had always wanted to play here.

Mulgrew Miller is an excellent pianist in the McCoy Tyner style with those heavy left hand chords providing a building block for some lyrical playing with his right hand. He has the ability to float above and out of time in some of his solos and he built up the tension behind John Scofields guitar solos to great effect. This was rock influenced electric guitar playing but with a swinging jazz beat. Bill Stewart having a standard jazz kit on which he played around with time and rhythm. The group got an excellent reception with John Scofield qiuping that they had to leave the stage as he wanted to listen to his hero John McLauglin, who was on next.

John Mclaughlin and the 4th Dimension



Well after listening to this performance I am convinced that I have just heard the best guitarist on the planet and Jamie said he was going home to sell his guitar. John was fronting a jazz/rock group and played electric guitar throughout. He has always been at the cutting edge of new music and tonight he proved he is still there. He was backed by Gary Husband on keyboards (who also played as a second drummer) Etienne M'Bappe bass and Ranjit Barot drums. The group were fiercely muscular employing two drummers with great effect at times. I have often listened to McLaughlin's lightning fast guitar runs on record, but to actually see him doing it on stage with apparently so little effort was amazing. They started the set at a furious pace and hardly let up. At the end of the show the three note riff of "A Love Supreme" transfixed many of us in the audience and then John had us all chanting the mantra along with the group. Whew a truly wonderful show that had everybody buzzing as we hit the cool night air at 1.15pm.

Walking back through town there was still plenty of activity with three live groups playing in and around the cafes. It was late but the lure of the wagon selling crepes and gauffres was just to much and there was still plenty of music to listen to.

Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman Duo

A full house, not a seat to be had anywhere in the 5,500 seater chapiteau for this marvellous duo performance. People were early to their seats so as to not miss a note of this enthralling performance and really it did seem that precious. Brad as ever hunched over the piano seemingly lost in a world of his own playing those gorgeous flowing melodic lines. It is always harder I think for the saxophonist in this situation to make his presence felt and Redman is a muscular player especially on the tenor saxophone. The duo setting therefore presented a huge challenge for him, but it was one he rose to splendidly. He needed to dig deep to match the lyrical flowing lines coming from Brad and after a hesitant start more and more he injected his own thoughts into the proceedings until it was a very level playing field. He chose to play half the songs on soprano saxophone, with which he was able to insinuate his lines along with Brads, however when he took up the challenge on his tenor saxophone he was at his best and the two musicians were a delight together.

Mehldau's playing throughout the set was almost continuous. Redman did have a couple of unaccompanied solos, but when they were together as a duo and it was his turn to solo Mehldau kept up a continuous flow of notes that sent the performance into a dream like landscape. Redman did nothing to break the mood but enhanced it with fine lyrical playing himself, there was no show boating this was a duo performance of the highest calibre.

I could have listened to them all night and by the reception they received at the end I am sure that the majority of the audience felt the same way. A master class indeed

The second act tonight on this third day of the festival was Hiromi: The trio Project
Hiromi is a young virtuoso piano play with a dazzling technique and she blends jazz, classical, pop genres into her playing. Sounds good? No not to me, although from the audience reaction I was in the minority. It is all crash and flash as her incredible technique carries her small hands in a blur up and down the keyboard. I would not say she blends genres its more like she lurches from one to the next as the ideas come into her head. Her music has no personality and no identity. As for the drummer and bass player they might as well not have been there. How can you provide any rhythmic pulse to a pianist who seems to be all over the place all at once. Well you cant and so the drummer resorted to bashing his huge kit in mostly simple rock rhythms while the bass player just looked bemused.

I have seen some large drum kits on my concert visits but Simon Phillips's tonight was immense and he took a 20 minute drum solo at the end, which made me think "Come back Ginger Baker all is forgiven".

We should have left the chapiteau after the Mehldau and Redman performace. Hiromi managed to take us to a place we did not want to be.

Fabulous write-ups of the festival. Boy do I wish I could have been there for some of the performances. Thank you for spending the time to share your impressions (and photos) with us.

>185 baswood:
That's a jolly nice thing to say! thank you! Looking forward very much to your close read.

>186 baswood:
lovely! it reminds me of Samuel Palmer.

I'm enjoying reading your jazz posts. you write about jazz very well, it's a pleasure to read. I checked out Hiromi on you tube and she is indeed not very inspiring...

Thanks TC and Lisa. This thread is turning into a music thread more than a book thread and that's because I am having difficulty in finding time to read.

We didn't go to a concert last night: It was Al Jarreau and Dianne Reeves in the chapiteau. We did go into town late afternoon to catch the last set of the Festival BIS (free festival) in the main square. Afterwards we went to an excellent Cous-cous restaurant set up in the old square and then wandered round catching some of the free music around town.

Excellent music reviews, Barry! I wish I was there. I've already purchased a ticket for the Joshua Redman/Brad Mehldau concert in San Francisco on October 22nd (more info here if anyone is interested; the link includes two videos of Joshua & Brad performing together).

Thanks for the links Darryl and I hope you enjoy the concert on the 22 October

Marciac Jazz Festival: Day 5

Got a telephone call from Jamiie's wife at some unearthly hour this morning; 9.30am actually, but when you haven't got to bed until 3.30am the previous night it feels pretty early. Jamie had gone back to England for a couple of days and there was no one to act as custodian at his art show, could we help. I volunteered to stand in today and so I went round to their house to collect the key to the gallery and get some instructions.

I knew that Jamie is a little disorganised but was fairly surprised to find out from Susie that there were no titles or numbers to identify the paintings and no price list. Susie had concocted a sort of list scribbled out on a sheet of paper which I took along with me to the gallery. Don't worry she said it will be quiet today you wont sell anything. My first task therefore was to try and identify the paintings from the list, just in case someone wanted to buy something. Not so easy as three of the 40 odd paintings just had the title Lys and most of the others were only identifiable from the countryside around Marciac.

Half an hour to go before closure and I thought I would not need my detection skills as all I had sold were a few postcards. Then four people came in who had been to the opening night, when of course there had been no price list or any other means of identifying the paintings and so they started quizzing me on what they were and how much they cost. I walked round with them list in hand doing my best to identify the paintings. Finally we stopped in front of one of them and it quickly became apparent that they wanted to buy it. It was a typical Gersois country scene very nicely painted which had a bit of a special feel to it. When they asked me what it was and how much it cost I quickly looked at the list and chose the most expensively marked item on it. Fine they said how do we pay and can we take it now? A cheque will do fine I said and yes you can take it.

I took the key back to Suisie and told her I had sold one of the paintings. Really! she said, which one? I described the country scene with the haystack in the bottom right hand corner. Oh she said I don't remember that one and then she dashed into her lounge to find a suspicious gap on the wall. Oh she said Jamie has snuck in here and taken my favourite painting off the wall to put in the gallery sale. She looked a bit downcast until I handed over the cheque and she saw how much it had been sold for. Oh well she said he can always paint me another one.

Music: day 5

Tonight the music in the chapiteau had a definite Spanish Influence, yet none of the artists came from Spain, which surprised me

Al Di Meola world Sinfonia


I had always thought that Al Di Meola was Spanish. Whenever I have seen him he has played a Spanish acoustic guitar and his style of playing is definitely Spanish and for goodness sake he just looks Spanish. He was however born in New Jersey and that is still where he lives. It is fair to say that in his early career he was criticised for being too technical a player and of course that technical skill has never left him. His fingers move at an incredible speed as he executes amazingly fast single note runs on the acoustic guitar. His chordal playing with flamenco overtones is also mightily impressive. His playing these days is tempered with some excellent tuneful material from his back catalogue and his songs were mostly fairly short affairs and well arranged.

He had as a special guest the cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba whose thoughtful playing fitted well with Di Meola's acoustic guitar. The two front men were augmented by Fausto Beccalossi on accordion, Peo Alfonsi on second guitar and Peter Kaszas; drums. The playing was of the highest order with most songs ending with a virtuoso flourish from Di Meola. The audience love him here and the group were brought back for two encores.

Michel Camilo & Chucho Valdes


Now I have always thought that Michel Camilo was Spanish, but he is actually from the Dominican Republic. Chucho Valdes is Cuban and these two piano players put on a scintillating show tonight. They played duets for most of the performance, with just Camilo taking a solo spot. Camilo hits the keys hard whereas Valdes has an altogether softer approach, but both players improvise splendidly and for much of the concert they blended so well they sounded like one piano. Old standards were given a roasting while there was also piano music from Ravel. Plenty of fireworks from Camilo to keep the audience happy and they both worked themselves into a bit of a lather on this warm night. Encores were demanded and were enthusiastically given and when Camilo thumped out the chords to "Chan chan" the audience rose up to applaud. This was followed by a take on Coltrane's Giant Steps, hardly anybody had noticed the rain teaming down outside and as if timed to perfection it had pretty much dried up by the end of the concert. Another superb night of music.

So much excitement, Barry, squeezed into a few days. Your energy is contageous! Great writing, as others have noted.

Thanks Suzanne. It's halfway through the festival now but in a few days time I will probably be wishing that it would all be over and we could have our town back. But then of course perversely I will already be looking forward to next years festival.

Roberta Gambarini quartet
The very glamorous Roberta Gambarin sung in front of her trio at L'Astrda in Marciac last night. L'astrada is a new 500 seater auditorium which has an intimate atmosphere and state of the art acoustics. After seeing groups in the large chapiteau over the last few days it was a different experience listening to music at the Astrada. There is no hiding place here and Gambarini did not look at all like she wanted to hide, wearing a dress that looked like it had been sprayed on. She has a good jazz voice and improvises well. She sung mostly standards giving space for solos to her pianist Kirk Lightsey.

Alexandre Tassel quintet
They were on first. A young hard bop group that produced plenty of excitement in their hour long set. Tassel plays trumpet and he and Sylvian Beuf on tenor saxophone produced some good solos. They were propelled along by some excellent drumming by Julien Charlet. They played mostly their own material at brisk/quick tempos only slowing down once to play a ballad. It was great to hear this acoustic jazz group play so well and communicate their excitement to the audience. I would have been happy to listen to more.

Brass brass and yet more brass at day 8 of the Marciac jazz festival. The halfway point and I am beginning to lose track.



Thelonious S Monk jnr tentet with special guest Nnenna Freelon

This ten piece group were warming up while people were still looking for their seats. Led by Thelonious S Monk jnr on drums; the son of the great Thelonious Monk, they payed homage to the great pianist/songwriter and bandleader by playing only Thelonious Monk originals. The band were soon together as they ripped through one tune after another. For any jazz fans these tunes are so much a part of jazz heritage that when they are played with so much love and gusto as they were tonight it is a thrilling experience indeed. Some of the arrangements were ferociously difficult to play but the experienced brass section led by Willie Williams negotiated them well enough. The tunes I recognised: Ruby my dear, Little Rootie Tootie, Reflections, Trinkle Tinkle, Played twice, Evidence and the encore which was Blue Monk of course. The band swung mightily and Helen Sung the young Chinese-American played some powerful solos, wisely in her own style not trying to duplicate Monk's playing.

Nnenna Freelong came onstage to sing three numbers one of which was a superb rendition of Around midnight. She has a marvellous voice and I could not help comparing her with Roberta Gambarini who we had heard and enjoyed last night. There was no comparison Freelong sense of timing, her ability to swing with the band and her rich voice made her head and shoulders above Gambarini. In walked Bud was taken at a brisk pace and Freelon improvised marvelously. I was sorry she only stayed for thee songs, but then this concert was all about Monk's music and with such a great band playing the songs it was all over far too soon.

Dave Douglas "Tea for Three" were the second act on tonight.
Three of the best jazz trumpet players; Dave Douglas, Avishai Cohen and Enrico Rava were backed by Uri Caine on piano, Linda Oh on bass and Clarence Penn on drums. Three trumpet players for me was a bit too much and Uri Cain's excellent work on the piano stole the show. The three soloists all have distinctive sounds on their instruments, but almost inevitably they seemed to sound more alike as the concert unfolded. Perhaps the amount of music I have been listening to over the last few days is catching up on me, but I felt tired at the end of this set and we left the chapiteau just before the start of the third encore.

Barry, no matter how wonderful, there is only so much a body can take. But I feel your motivation to take it all in and not miss anything. I have done my own share of musical marathons, but not eight days straight!!! You deserve some kind of a medal.

>195 baswood: - I'm surprised to hear you say that as Al Di Meola came to fame as the guitarist in the Return to Forever (not the original but on their best recordings). He was famed for his electric playing until he turned to the acoustic guitar in the 90s - as John McLaughin had done before - they recorded an acoustic album together in 1996 (alongside Paco de Lucia), it's worth hearing if you can get hold of it.

It's festival time here in Edinburgh now and I already feel tired (after 4 days, only another 25-30 to go) - the population of the city grows by fourfold and even doing the most basic things like shopping for a pint of milk becomes an effort. There are only so many jugglers, unicyclists and people dressed as giant fruit you can fight your way though before you start wanting to club them to death with their tools of the trade.

Suzanne, It was actually nine days straight because we were out at a concert last night as well. It is impossible to take it all in because there is so much happening throughout the day and night.

The official festival provides free music throughout the day at three venues, starting at 10.45 am and going on till 9pm. There are about 40 groups in this part of the festival ranging from traditional dixieland jazz through to modern jazz and more experimental music, there are also salsa bands and blues bands. When the free festival finishes the headline acts play in the 5,500 seater chapiteau or the 500 seater L'Astrada. There are over 50 top line acts this year.

That's not all however, there are two semi official jazz clubs, that provide a programme of artists appearing in them and numerous other eating and listening venues. Then there are the itinerant groups that play on street corners or in restaurants. I have never been able to get a fix on the total number of restaurants, but it must be well over 50.

Marciac is a compact bastide town of 1,300 residents it has two bars and five restaurants and two squares, very quiet throughout the year, but transforms itself into a venue to cater for 200,000 people during the two week festival. It seems like everybody's garden or front room becomes an eatery for those two weeks.

We usually stroll into town about a couple of hours before the main concert and head for one of the champagne tents in the main square, where we meet up with friends and sink a bottle before the concert.

It was 2.30 am last night when we emerged from the Chapiteau and when we walked through town back to our car, one of the jazz clubs was still going strong and music was issuing forth from a couple of the bars.

#201 Hi turnerd, I always said to myself that I would spend a couple of weeks at the Edinburgh festival, but I never got there. The mother of a previous partner of mine was heavily into the theatre and would be planning months in advance her yearly trip to the festival.

A month long festival is a long time and it is especially hard on the local people, but not so bad if you can enjoy yourself occasionally at the events.

John Mclaughlin, Al Di Meola and Paco De Lucia released their first acoustic guitar trio album in 1983. It was called Passion Grace and Fire and your post made me dig it out and its playing as I type this post. It has a special place in my collection as it was one of the first CD's I bought after finally convincing myself that I would give up analogue for digital recordings. I suppose 1983 was about the time when most people gave up buying LP's The guitar trio did I think also make a live recording some years later, but I have not heard that.

This gives me an excuse to provide a link to one of my favourite albums of all time: John Mclaughlin's Extrapolation. This also has the majestic John Surman on baritone saxophone and strangely enough I saw John at the festival here last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9aUxPcA6Co

I have never been convinced that a classical orchestra and a jazz group belong on stage together, but that was until tonight....

A triple header at day 9 of the Marciac festival.

Alexandre Tassel Quintet were first on and we had heard them a couple of nights ago at the L'Astrada. They played a shorter set here and sounded fine in the bigger venue

Richard Galliano - Hommage to Nino Rota



Richard Galliano a French accordion player is usually all over the festival and it's difficult to avoid him. Last night he was playing Bach at the L'Astrada and tonight he was here at the chapiteau leading a very experienced group of musicians through arrangements of some of the music of Nino Rota. He was accompanied by Dave Douglas on trumpet and John Surman on clarinet and soprano saxophone, Boris Koslov on bass and Clarence Penn on drums.

Nino Rota was an Italian composer who wrote many film scores, for Frederico Fellini and Lucino Visconti, he also wrote the scores for the first two Godfather films. I found this concert a bit of a curiosity, the accordion is not my favourite instrument and when arranged with the clarinet as here, it does sometimes give the impression of circus music. I did recognise some of the music from La Strada and Roma and it was all expertly played with Surman and Galliano dovetailing beautifully at times. There were a few short solos taken and when John Surman took up his soprano saxophone it took me back to when I used to listen to him in London when he was at the forefront of the modern/avant garde jazz movement back in the early 1970's.

Roy Hargrove Quintet and L'Orchestra du Conservatoire National de Toulouse



The title of the concert was "My Chet, My Song - Hommage to Chet Baker". Chet Baker himself played in front of a string orchestra and his tunes do lend themselves to orchestral arrangements. The success of tonight's concert was due to imaginative arrangements for the orchestra and some particularly sensitive playing by the jazz quintet. They blended superbly helped enormously by an excellent balance of sound achieved by those hardworking engineers on the mixing desk. We were enthralled as familiar tunes like "Love for Sale", I Remember You" and "I'm a fool to want you" were given the concert treatment, even some less than good vocals by Roy Hargrove on "For All We Know" did not break the spell. Riccardo Del Fra was featured on bass for a rendition of "My Funny Valentine". Hargroves open sounding and rich trumpet playing was excellent and there were good solos from Bruno Ruder on piano and Pierrick Pedron on alto saxophone. It was the ability of all the jazz musician s to blend their playing to the orchestra's sound that made this music something special.

Roy Hargrove since his first appearance last year is becoming a festival favourite, tending to pop up almost anywhere to jam with various groups.

>203 baswood: - I had forgotten all about that album. I used to own a copy on vinyl but haven't heard for years. What I miss about vinyl is that albums were of a listen-able length, i.e., 40 minutes - now it seems every CD I buy is too long, which, interestingly, is the same problem I have with so many modern novels.

Do you think a jazz festival like Marciac can only happen in somewhere like France now? I can't imagine something similar in the UK.

In terms of Al di Meola the acoustic guitar trio album called "Friday Night in San Francisco" is superb.

turnerd, Lps were much easier to listen to wern't they. After 20-25 minutes you had to physically get up to turn them over, which meant you could maintain concentration levels so much easier. Listening to a cd for 80 odd minutes is almost impossible. I tend to sleep through the the second part of many of my cds.

The music festival in Marciac is different from UK festivals in many respects. It is promoted and funded by the Regional Council. Of course there is an input from some French companies but none from international drinks, confectionery, pharmaceutical, or cigarette companies. Therefore the horrible razz m' tazz of the advertising industry is not present. This I think results in a tremendous amount of pride in the festival from local people. It is in every body's interest to make it successful and peaceful.

People in this part of the world are so much better behaved anyway. People are generally polite to one another. There are no gangs of young people roaming around looking for trouble. Drink is freely available throughout the day and night, but apart from the occasional drunk person there seems to be no untoward behaviour. We wander through the town most nights after and before concerts and it is just a pleasant experience. The most noise comes from the musicians and all you need to avoid is people dancing in the street.

Policing is absolutely minimal and there are no barriers or fences erected to control crowds. Parking is free and most food and drink is at normal prices.

The only comparable festival I can think of in the UK is the Wirksworth arts festival in the East Midlands. It is not comparable in size as it is a much smaller affair but it does have a feeling of local pride and the small town opens up to welcome it's guests.

France has not sold it's soul yet as England appears to have done. (I don't know about newly independent Scotland.)

Hi lilisin, I note from my cd database that I have a copy of "Friday Night in San Francisco". I will give it a spin

In the presence of the masters. "I'm still here" sang the 90 year old Dr Yusef Lateef and I for one was happy to be in his company at this historic performance at Marciac



Ahmad Jamal a mere youngster at 80 years of age today leads a youngish quintet who are heavily into world music percussion and sounds. Jamal has always been and still is an important piano player in the jazz canon; his percussive playing is echoed by the sounds made by his group. Herlin Riley is an outstanding drummer and in Manolo Badrens the quintet has a percussionist who can make all sorts of sounds from assorted drums and other instruments. The rhythms and textures are exciting and infectious as Jamal marshalls his group superbly.

After three numbers Dr Yusef Lateef shambled on stage and the groups sound became more eastern as James Cammack the bass player laid down a motif that stretched the time signature of the music. Lateef took up his flute and note by note became more confident as his beautiful tonal playing brought applause from the audience. It was however when he took up the tenor saxophone that he was at his best. Those ripe rich phrases pared down now because of his age still rang out with the intensity of a man who knows exactly what he wants to say. Absolutely spellbinding. He has written that:

It should be the goal of every musician to combine their theoretical knowledge with their life experience and to offer and accept knowledge from their personal source of strength, inspiration and knowledge

A rich and sagacious life was expressed tonight through the playing of both Lateef and Jamal. I did not want the concert to end and yet felt keenly aware of the age and frailty of Yusef Lateef. Not to worry all was laughter and smiles at the end and Lateef shuffled back on stage to sing the blues for an emotional encore.

Harold Lopez Nussa trio had opened the show and his cuban influenced piano style sounded fine. They were followed by Tigran Hamasyan A young Armenian who played thoughtful and fluid solo piano. Good performances that highlighted the different piano styles on show tonight. This concert though was all about those old stagers Lateef and Jamal who still have the power to uplift and inspire.

Marciac festival 9th August

No concerts for us tonight and so a chance to wander around and listen to the free music, which is an important part of this festival. At a road junction just a few hundred yards from the main square, two establishments sit at opposite sides of the road. La Ronde is a creperie that has seats under the trees stretching down to the road, a careful placement here allows an excellent view of the Espace Eqart (an arts centre) across the road. Both venues have live music throughout the evening with the artists negotiating when they will play so as to ensure continuous music, but only from one group at a time.

Our friends T Bone Kelly and Jamie Peters were booked in at La Ronde and across the road a young female singer Johanna Luz was performing. T Bone Kelly is an American blues singing psychologist now resident in Dublin (Ireland). He plays guitar and harmonica and tonight he had Jamie with him improvising on trombone. A great night of music, pancakes and putting the world to rights.

T bone Kelly and Jamie at a village near us last year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Jokv5YNW0

10 th August and Bossa Nova night in the chapiteau Marciac.

Carlos Lyra and Kay Lyra and band
Carlos Lyra an artist steeped in the history of the bossa nova in Brazil, performed competently tonight. I just got the feeling his best years were far behind him now and although he was charming and played some good acoustic guitar his group sounded a little lacklustre. He introduced his daughter half way through the act but she did little to enliven proceedings. Perhaps it was a problem of language (most of the songs are sung in Portuguese) or our ears were not tuned to the more subtle sound of the bossa nova.

Leny Andrade Another artist from the 1960's bossa nova movement came on stage after the interval. She has plenty of stage charisma and fairly belted through her set. The bossa nova seemed to come alive, helped I think by a more varied programme. Varied tempos and some space for her band to solo were welcomed by the audience.

Can only vaguely imagine what an exhilarating experience this has all been and reiterate my awe at your sustained energy level! You really missed your calling, Barry. You are a natural jazz critic! Bravo!

Thanks Suzanne. Only two nights to go now. We are starting to flag a little and I am looking forward to getting back to some reading.

We called in at The jazz atelier club tonight to catch The Sebastien Llado quartet. Sebastien plays trombone and was backed by keyboards, bass and drums. We found a seat right at the front; just off the stage carpet and enjoyed listening to some modern jazz in an intimate setting. Sebastien highlights his act by playing two conch shells at once; Is he the only man to do this I wonder? We enjoyed the set but didn't stay for the jam session afterwards. We did however catch up with T Bone Kelly who was doing another set at La Ronde.

Fantastic reviews, Barry! I had no idea that Yusef Lateef was still playing. I'd love to see Ahmad Jamal perform at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, but he won't be performing there until December 10th.

Darryl, I count myself extremely fortunate to have seen Yusef Lateef. When his name first appeared on the programme lists I could not believe it, as I remembered him as not a young man when I bought his LPs in the 1960's.

Ahmad Jamal is well worth seeing with his current group, they were at Marciac last year as well.

The last concert in the chapiteau tonight. Day 16 of the Marciac jazz festival.

A concert too far for us perhaps as Robin McKelle and the soul city horns drove us out of the arena long before the end of the concert. Robin McKelle has a powerful voice, but she does not have the feel of a soul singer, she has too good a voice to be a rock singer, but she can sing in a jazz style but there was little evidence of this tonight. Her intentions were clear from the start: to belt out the songs with no imagination to their arrangements for her six piece group, relying on solo spots for the trumpet, saxophone and trombone players, to provide interest.

It was her rendition of Walk on By, that finally made us lose patience and head for the exit. The Bacharach and David song that has such a wonderful motif was reduced to just another uptempo rock song. Not for us. We strolled back into town and enjoyed listening to the street corner musicians, far and away more interesting than the MOR stuff being served up in the chapiteau.

The festival limps along for this final weekend. There is still plenty of free music about and the streets and squares are still very busy, but all the big names have gone for another year.

Barry, It would be wonderful if you could compile all your commentary and photos — I presume they are yours — into a little booklet or at least a separate blog. This is all something that deserves to be preserved in memory.

Suzanne, I can't take credit for the photos, they are all purloined from the net. I will start a new thread soon and leave the jazz stuff on this old thread.

No reading for more than two weeks?

I finally looked up "Marciac" on the map. I am not a great fan of jazz, but that region of France is the origin of music by troubadours, which interests me deeply, the music, as well as the poetry, as just earlier this year I finished reading Paroles de troubadours.

Last week, I finished reading William Boyd's Any Human Heart the final chapter of which is set in the south of France, near Villeneuve-sur-Lot in southern France. I was thinking of you, while reading that. Today I looked it up on the map, and it seems quite near.

Villeneuve-sur-Lot is in another department Edwin, and so it might just as well be in another Country to the local people here. It is probably only an hour away by car.

Thanks for bringing to my attention Paroles de Troubadours. That sounds really interesting and I will look out for it. I had some friends staying with us recently who wanted to hear the local music. There seems to be little in the way of folk music and much of the traditional music is provided by the Bandas. This is brass band music heavily influenced by the Basque region and is raucous in the extreme.

I have not read the William Boyd book either.

I have started a new thread - I promise to concentrate on the books. http://www.librarything.com/topic/122102