Monthly Archives: November 2013

Julia Spencer-Fleming, “Through the Evil Days”

Posted on November 25, 2013 by carolwallace

Just in case you’re having a busy day, here’s a synopsis: this is one more post about the challenges that face writers of mystery series. Julia Spencer-Fleming’s original premise was unusual: she paired the cranky chief of a small-town police … Continue reading →

Posted in mystery | Tagged | 4 Comments

Donna Tartt, “The Goldfinch”

Posted on November 14, 2013 by carolwallace

One of my favorite things to see in a painting is a passage where the artist straddles a divide. On the one hand, your conscious mind knows you are looking at marks on canvas, yet you also see the simulation … Continue reading →

Posted in best seller, contemporary fiction | Tagged | 12 Comments

Anthony Trollope, “Phineas Redux”

Posted on November 13, 2013 by carolwallace

Is Phineas Redux the weakest of Anthony Trollope’s Palliser novels? Or am I not fair to it? I probably wasn’t fair on this reading, letting it linger on my bedside table and reading only before going to sleep. Did Phineas … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, classic, Victoriana | Tagged | Leave a comment

Rose Macaulay, “The Towers of Trebizond”

Posted on November 7, 2013 by carolwallace

Some books are just really insistent. I’ve owned three copies of The Towers of Trebizond. The first was my mother’s; she was much given to quoting the famous opening line: “Take my camel, dear,” said my aunt Dot, as she … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, classic, funny, literary fiction | Tagged , | 4 Comments