Monthly Archives: January 2011

Jane Haddam, “Glass Houses”

Posted on January 30, 2011 by carolwallace

After all my highbrow Virago reading last week I’m faintly embarrassed at returning to murder mysteries, but there you have it. Sometimes all i want from a book is escape, and over the years Jane Haddam’s series mysteries have provided … Continue reading →

Posted in mystery | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Enid Bagnold, “The Loved and Envied”

Posted on January 29, 2011 by carolwallace

I’ll get the trivia out of the way first: Enid Bagnold’s great-grand-daughter is Samantha Cameron, wife of David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Also, the film of National Velvet (based on a book by Bagnold) appeared in 1944, … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, classic | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Elizabeth Taylor, “Palladian”

Posted on January 26, 2011 by carolwallace

“Cassandra, with all her novel-reading, could be sure of experiencing the proper emotions, standing in her bedroom for the last time…” This is the first line of Elizabeth Taylor’s Palladian, and it certainly got my attention. Another novel about a … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, classic | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Antonia White, “Frost in May”

Posted on January 24, 2011 by carolwallace

I was rather horrified when I first read this book, oh, a long time ago. So when Rachel of Book Snob and Carolyn of A Few of My Favourite Books proposed the delightful Virago Reading Week, Frost in May was the first … Continue reading →

Posted in classic | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Eleanor Brown, “The Weird Sisters”

Posted on January 23, 2011 by carolwallace

I fought against The Weird Sisters. After reading Janet Maslin’s review in the New York Times, I thought, “That’s one I’ll skip.” Then a friend gave me a copy, saying, “I thought this might be interesting for you, being one … Continue reading →

Posted in contemporary fiction | Tagged | 15 Comments

Gene Kerrigan, “The Midnight Choir”

Posted on January 22, 2011 by carolwallace

What should I have deduced from the fact that The Midnight Choir’s title comes from a Leonard Cohen song? That it would be hip? Sad? Dark? Here’s the quotation: “Like a drunk in a midnight choir/I have tried in my … Continue reading →

Posted in mystery | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Frans Bengtsson, “The Long Ships”

Posted on January 18, 2011 by carolwallace

Well! I just spent a week reading a 500-page novel about Vikings and I adored every moment of it. Last fall when I was doing the New York Review Books challenge, I was intrigued by the cover of The Long … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Carol Wallace, “Leaving Van Gogh”

Posted on January 12, 2011 by carolwallace

No, I’m not actually going to review my own book! But I’ve made a page for it — see the tab above, far right. It doesn’t come out until April but we are starting to build an online profile for … Continue reading →

Posted in art history, contemporary fiction, literary fiction | Tagged | 12 Comments

Joseph Roth, “The Radetzky March”

Posted on January 11, 2011 by carolwallace

In a scene about three-quarters of the way through The Radetzky March , Joseph Roth shows us the old Emperor Franz Joseph reviewing troops in an eastern portion of the empire. The Emperor loves his troops, loves the noise, the pageantry, … Continue reading →

Posted in German, literary fiction | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Are You a Virago?

Posted on January 9, 2011 by carolwallace

I finally looked the word up. I thought I knew that it meant an outspoken, hot-tempered woman — a shrew, in fact. My dictionary (Webster’s Third International: old school) offered “termagant” as a synonym. Don’t you love the word “termagant?” … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments