Tag Archives: Sybille Bedford

Calvin Tomkins, “Living Well Is the Best Revenge”

Posted on February 1, 2011 by carolwallace

Living Well Is the Best Revenge was  widely read in my parents’ social circles when it was first published as a book in the early 1970s, so when it turned up on the magical laundry room shelves of course I … Continue reading →

Posted in art history | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Somerset Maugham, “The Razor’s Edge”

Posted on April 22, 2010 by carolwallace

Baffling. This is one of those books that was on people’s shelves when I grew up. Grandmothers had Maugham’s novels, along with Galsworthy’s: he must have done very well with the Book of the Month Club. I had never read … Continue reading →

Posted in classic | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Sybille Bedford, “A Legacy”

Posted on December 13, 2009 by carolwallace

“Show, don’t tell” — that’s what we’re instructed, as writers, to do. But after finishing Sybille Bedford’s A Legacy, I no longer remember just why that is. To…. keep the reader interested? To keep the plot ticking over? If Bedford … Continue reading →

Posted in literary fiction | Tagged | 3 Comments

Sybille Bedford, “Jigsaw”

Posted on November 25, 2009 by carolwallace

I first read Jigsaw years ago, on the warm recommendation of a friend, and picked it up again when another friend mentioned how much she was loving it. I wasn’t sure that I’d still appreciate what I’d found so compelling … Continue reading →

Posted in literary fiction | Tagged , | 3 Comments