Book 19 – Swann’s Way

Sorry, I don’t care how wonderful it is in the French, in English it’s turgid and dull.

Book fail: I only got to P45.

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Book 18 – The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness by Timothy Keller. 

Nice little Christian self help book, speaking against the modern obsession with self esteem (it’s not a question of thinking more of oneself or less of oneself, but of thinking of oneself, less).

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Book 17 – Red Shift by Alan Garner

19_08_2017 08_26 Office Lens

Never read any Alan Garner before, though there are a number of his books around our house, possibly originating from my older brother’s teenage collection. But this is the 1992 impression and just happened to be sitting on the shelves, so I have no idea how it entered our universe.

Anyhow I read it because:

  • It’s short (I’ve been reading through a lot of doorstops lately)
  • It was mentioned in a tangential discussion about the folk horror genre on my new, favourite books podcast, Backlisted 

    I think it’s fair to call this quite an odd book. Set in three time periods, but one location, it explores fear, violence, alienation and sex in a way that let’s its early 70s sensibilities hang loose and free. 

    My main thoughts:

    • Don’t read this if you are looking for coherent narrative (there are three clear “stories”, but you have to work to find them.
    • They’d never publish this under a Young Adult imprint now.
    • I really hated the awful relationship between the modern story male protagonist and his parents. 

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    Book 16 – A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

    16_08_2017 07_34 Office Lens

    Wow, I had no idea. I’ve not really read any Woolf so far, but I’d this is anything to go by I’ll be teaching much more. Second wave feminism being expounded 30 years before the first wave got going. And such writing.

    (PS I’ve only read the first essay so far, may come back to Three Guineas later)

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    Book 15 -The Russian Countess by Edith Sollohub

    Fascinating autobiographical account of the privileged early life of a Russian woman at the turn of the 20th century, her childhood, marriage and hunting exploits; then the coming of the revolution, separation from her husband and children, hardship, imprisonment and eventual escape to the West.

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    Book 14 – The Glory Boys by Gerald Seymour 

    Pedestrian thriller, written in 1976, shows its age.

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    Book 13 – Emma by Jane Austen 

    I will never, ever tire of this novel. That’s all.

    (ps, Clueless is the best film version, no contest) 

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