Flaming Bodies
Impressions after a slow read: itemised wealth and pageantry of 18th century empire; the foregrounded fortunes of a maimed soldier and his seer beloved, book-ended by flaming bodies of the Inquisition. The human cost of building the palace of Mafra. Parades, processions, convoys – the royal entourage, bleeding barefoot novices, press-ganged artisans marched to Mafra,…
The Gorgeous Grisly
#thebookonmytable Kevin Barry: Night Boat to Tangier, Canongate Books, 2020 (2019) Some novels, you think (improbably), “I could’ve written this.” But Night Boat to Tangier? Never. Neither the what nor the how of it. Gorgeous phrases, grisly world. Every line charged, explosive with danger, humour, menace, pain. The narrative swerving against expectation. A master class…
No longer SO modern
#thebookonmytable Malcolm Bradbury (ed): The Penguin Book of Modern Short Stories, 1987 “Modern” in anthology titles is asking for trouble, if you ask me – like “final” in document file names. What’s dated and what still shines? I relished the stories by V.S. Pritchett, Angus Wilson, Muriel Spark and Rose Tremain. Unexamined sexism and othering…
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Annie Holmes 