Monthly Archives: March 2009

Marina Lewycka, “A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian”

Posted on March 31, 2009 by carolwallace

I am not a huge fan of the “triumph-of-the-human-spirit” genre.  I am a pretty soft touch and I deeply resent being manipulated, but from time to time, I’m caught unawares and charmed. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian did … Continue reading →

Posted in contemporary fiction, funny, literary fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Adam Langer, “Ellington Boulevard”

Posted on March 28, 2009 by carolwallace

Adam Langer is one of those people who notices everything.  There’s a throwaway detail early in Ellington Boulevard where he has a minor character drive away from a scene in a car missing a license plate.  Of course the alcoholic … Continue reading →

Posted in contemporary fiction, literary fiction | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Muriel Barbery, “The Elegance of the Hedgehog”

Posted on March 24, 2009 by carolwallace

I wanted to like The Elegance of the Hedgehog. For one thing, it has been brought to us by the estimable Europa Editions, publishers of the totally wonderful Jane Gardam. Clearly these are people of discernment. Then, of course, I … Continue reading →

Posted in best seller, contemporary fiction, French | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Laurie R. King, “Touchstone”

Posted on March 19, 2009 by carolwallace

Laurie R. King is really good at what she does. Her characters are interesting, she plots well, and she’s really good on atmosphere.  The prologue of Touchstone includes a wonderful passage in which a pair of hands intent on a … Continue reading →

Posted in mystery | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Jane Mulvagh, “Madresfield: The Real Brideshead”

Posted on March 17, 2009 by carolwallace

This one’s a little frustrating. Madresfield is a little-known English country house that served as the inspiration for Brideshead Revisited.  But part of what made it interesting to Mulvagh was its early history and the fact that the house has … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, art history, nonfiction, scholarly | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Linda Grant, “The Clothes on Their Backs”

Posted on March 12, 2009 by carolwallace

I bought this book because the cover was so pretty…. and then read it on a Kindle. That is to say, I picked it up at Barnes and Noble, added it to the pile of eight books I was going … Continue reading →

Posted in literary fiction | Tagged | 2 Comments

Julian Barnes, “Nothing to be Frightened Of”

Posted on March 9, 2009 by carolwallace

Well, it was Dead Writers Weekend around here and it ended last night as I read John Updike on John Cheever’s biography in The New Yorker (March 9). Disconcerting: Updike’s voice sounded so very alive!  And writing about Cheever, who … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, biography, memoir | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Molly Gloss, “The Jump-Off Creek”

Posted on March 3, 2009 by carolwallace

I was glad to see that there’s a new edition of The Jump-Off Creek, because I read a 1989 hardcover that looked as if it had come off a dude ranch’s shelf of books left by guests.  I wouldn’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, horses, literary fiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, “Pages from the Goncourt Journals”

Posted on March 2, 2009 by carolwallace

If you spend as much time as I do mentally visiting 19th century Paris, you can’t escape the Goncourts.  I had read two of their novels, Germinie Lacerteux and Manette Salomon, but only in connection with my own novel about … Continue reading →

Posted in classic, French, memoir | Tagged , | Leave a comment