If you are a reader of books in paperback, hardback or kindle:
I like to
read in batches, two or three novels or essays by the same author, or by
periods in time. I recently read the
excellent ‘Le Trois Dumas’ by André Maurois out of print and in French –
was it ever translated into English? [Alexandre Dumas 1802-1870].
France at
the end of the 19th century [1840-1902] Emile Zola’s ‘Joie de Vivre’,
and ‘Nana’ and ‘La Carée’ which
gives one a flavour of the times followed by Manpassant’s ‘Bel Ami’ and
his short stories.
Flip to the
18th century, I re-read after many years, Nancy Mitford’s ‘Voltaire in Love’. Her writing is bliss and she certainly evokes
the time in which he lived.
Iraq
has been a preoccupation for the West, the war controversial and painful, not
least to the poor Iraqis. It has not
been easy to keep up, or indeed understand, the well meant interventions or the
politics. ‘Occupational Hazard’ by Rory Stewart describes the chaos
[without the journalistic jargon] of
this unfortunate country.
Countries in distress led me to a
book I have wanted to read but no-one had written on the history of Eritrea, its occupation by the Italians, the
British Mandate during World War II, after which it was handed over to Ethiopia which
led to a war lasting thirty years. This
thoroughly researched book by Michelle
Wrong has the worst title imaginable:
‘I Didn’t Do It For You – How The World
Used and Abused A Small African Nation’. It is moving and heartbreaking, and a book of
great interest to me as I spent years of my childhood in this mountainous and
mythical country.
Read also ‘Asmara: Africa’s Secret Modernist
City’ by Edward
Denison, whose avant-garde,
pre-war architecture has remained intact until this day – excellent and
comprehensive.
‘Motherland’ by Dimitri Kakami,
more about exile and the march of time, a minor work, but heartrending.
It is difficult to
resist a Man Booker Prize winner. They
can be disappointing, but not so ‘Wolf Hall’ by Hilary Mantel - what
a good read! Every character came to life.
History at it’s best?
‘Eight White Nights’ by Andre Aciman, recently out and very
well reviewed. I cannot arouse any
interest in it but I shall leave the book about and try again, or put it on the
pile for donation to the Red Cross. Thin out your bookshelves and throw out any
books you will not read again!
During a trip on the
Nile, not long before the marvellous eruption of Tahrir Square, I read ‘Gustave
Flaubert’s Letters’ [1821-1880], written to his mother from Egypt, while sailing, as was I, on the Nile. In search of
contemporary, Egyptian literature, I ordered book from Amazon.co.uk, ‘Sunset
Oasis’ by a leading Egyptian writer, Bahaa Taher – quite fascinating but, translations you cannot ‘hear’,
the language a pity as Arabic, as spoken in Egypt, is quite wonderful.
Books bought in 2010 that you can dip in and out of in 2011 and for
a lifetime:
‘The
Landmark Herodotus’,
edited by Robert B. Strassler, a wondrous book with maps and
illustrations.
‘An Ottoman
Traveller, A Selection from the Book of Travels’ by Erlya Celebi –
a seventeenth century writer who travels widely and describes the most bizarre
events, vivid and believable and shows that times have never been tranquil.
A treasure
trove for references, full of instructive, refreshing ideas is the impeccable
[illustrated of course] ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’ by Niall MacGregor, the brilliant Director of the British Museum, based on the
hugely successful BBC radio 4 series.
On the theme of change, persecution and exile, three outstanding
books:
‘The World of Yesterday’ by Stefan Zweig
‘Alone in Berlin’ by Hans Falla
‘The Hare with Amber
Eyes’ by Edmond de Waal
