Monthly Archives: February 2012

Edward St. Aubyn, “At Last”

Posted on February 27, 2012 by carolwallace

Once I finished the Patrick Melrose novels, I was absolutely compelled to gulp down At Last. I can’t quite explain the sense of urgency this novel created in me, but at one point yesterday I found myself perched at the … Continue reading →

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Edward St. Aubyn, “The Patrick Melrose Novels”

Posted on February 25, 2012 by carolwallace

All of the current enthusiasm for Edward St. Aubyn’s latest novel At Last made me curious about the earlier Patrick Melrose books — curious but nervous. On the one hand, they were supposed to be dazzling dissections of emotional disarray … Continue reading →

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Michael Gilbert, “He Didn’t Mind Danger”

Posted on February 22, 2012 by carolwallace

I hope Michael Gilbert is better-known than I think he is. I used to buy his books second-hand in the 1980s — so somebody else must have owned them, right? — but I’ve never heard anyone mention reading them and … Continue reading →

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Honore de Balzac, “Pere Goriot”

Posted on February 20, 2012 by carolwallace

Wouldn’t it be fun to know how many library books circulate without ever getting read? I haven’t had a library card in 25 years so I’m just getting used to the new freedom of choice that lets me bring books … Continue reading →

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Back by Popular Demand: To Marry an English Lord

Posted on February 15, 2012 by carolwallace

Yes, indeed: The People have spoken and the world of commerce has heeded their word. (Actually I give my New Best Friend Julian Fellowes  a lot of credit for this.) Workman Publishing has swiftly produced a reprint of To Marry … Continue reading →

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Alan Hollinghurst, “The Stranger’s Child”

Posted on February 15, 2012 by carolwallace

Only a really good writer could have pulled off The Stranger’s Child. And only a really good writer could have given it the subtle depth charge that I still find blooming in my memory, 24 hours after I put the … Continue reading →

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Benjamin Black, “A Death in Summer”

Posted on February 10, 2012 by carolwallace

This, my friends, is a very classy entertainment. Dark, certainly: Benjamin Black is no cheerful read. On the final page of the novel our wounded protagonist Dr. Quirke sums up the previous 300 pages to Detective Inspector Hackett: ‘It isn’t … Continue reading →

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Elizabeth Taylor, “In a Summer Season”

Posted on February 8, 2012 by carolwallace

In a Summer Season opens with Kate Heron waiting on the steps of her mother-in-law’s London house, trying not to be intimidated or annoyed. She has come for lunch; her hostess is apparently not yet out of bed; she disapproves of … Continue reading →

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Susan Hill, “The Betrayal of Trust”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by carolwallace

OK, it’s official. Susan Hill enters the contemporary murder mystery pantheon, along with the goddess Tana French and the goddess Fred Vargas. Why, you may wonder, are these women deities in my little firmament? Because they consistently deliver entertainment that is … Continue reading →

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Alan Bennett, “Smut”

Posted on February 6, 2012 by carolwallace

I’ll admit I got a little kick out of sitting on the subway reading a book called Smut. But the cover, with its pattern of tea-cups, its genteel blue background and upright type, goes far to undercut the title. And, … Continue reading →

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