There's a real sense of urgent enquiry in this biography that makes it compelling to read. Fiona Sampson has to cross-question every piece of evidenceThere's a real sense of urgent enquiry in this biography that makes it compelling to read. Fiona Sampson has to cross-question every piece of evidence about Mary's life, partly because early correspondence and juvenilia have been lost, partly because Mary herself could be reticent about her feelings, and partly because there has been so much obfuscation by others. She evokes well the young Mary's radical literary and philosophical family background as the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, and the free-thinking, freestyle living of Percy Bysshe's circle in which Mary grows intellectually and creatively but suffers emotionally. The contrast with the staid convention of the squirearchy from which Percy has sprung is all too apparent, and it's fascinating how, after Percy's death, she has to suppress information about his beliefs and their life together in order to foster his reputation as a poet and because she and are young son are dependent on Percy's father for financial support. Above all one gains a vivid sense of what it was like to be an intellectual, a writer and a woman in the first half of the 19th century....more
Translated from Latvian by Margita Gailitis, this is a delicate and sensitively written story of three generations of women brought up in Latvia in thTranslated from Latvian by Margita Gailitis, this is a delicate and sensitively written story of three generations of women brought up in Latvia in the days of Soviet rule....more
I don't think I've ever read anything quite like these stories. The author comes at life from such an unusual angle. They're quirky and inventive withI don't think I've ever read anything quite like these stories. The author comes at life from such an unusual angle. They're quirky and inventive with language and metaphor, and their appeal creeps up on you. You finish one and read it again and are not totally sure what it's about, but it's cast a funny spell over you....more
This speculative novel set in the USA of 2029 and first published last year has already proved chillingly prescient, though the fictional wall separatThis speculative novel set in the USA of 2029 and first published last year has already proved chillingly prescient, though the fictional wall separating the US from Mexico is actually built by Mexico to keep impoverished US citizens from crossing the border. The devastating portrayal of American society following the collapse of the dollar as an internationally viable currency convinces and it's this plus the antics of the four generations of the sprawling Mandible family that keep one turning the pages. Shriver's prose-style is workaday and her characters have conversations that sound like newspaper financial pages, but this is a vigorous and entertaining critique of the way we could be heading....more
Faulks crafts a good story and his evocation of war is excellent. However, because the narrator is a very repressed character emotive scenes are recouFaulks crafts a good story and his evocation of war is excellent. However, because the narrator is a very repressed character emotive scenes are recounted in a dry fashion. Less philosophy and more deep feeling would have made this a more enjoyable book for me....more
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