What are you reading now?

[french frank]

... I think he should probably be filed under H. Or possibly F. Don't think M really permissible

No argument. If I'd filed it under F (just before EM Forster) I'd have found it at once. Instead of that, I thought I must have taken it to the Amnesty bookshop (and now I think about it I don't think I bought - or read - Parade's End). Just settling in with The Good Soldier.

[vinteuil]

Just settling in with The Good Soldier.

... such a good - a great - book. And indeed, as the sub-title has it - 'The Saddest Story Ever Told'

[Ein Heldenleben]

... ah, that I recognize!

I was always amazed that my father, who had an extensive book collection (I hesitate to say 'library'), never seemed to read anything. He explained that 'in his youth' (father William... ) he had read a lot, and had now lost the appetite

And now I can say that 'in my youth' (father William...) I read voraciously - but now just dip in to things, from time to time

Mme v is at the beginning of Ford Madox Ford's 'Parade's End'. I wish her luck...


.

You’ve probably told her : Don’t bother with the final volume. Only eclipsed by Godfather Pt 3 in the worst ever final chapter stakes.

[Pulcinella]

This article, forwarded by my godson in Australia, has made me want to read Graham Greene's The Quiet American again.

https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/at-15-my-world-was-upended-this-was-a-lesson-i-ll-never-forget-20260120-p5nveo.html

[Ian Thumwood]

I rarely give up with books but i did try a Julian Barnes novel about a school boy suicide and found it unreadable. I never fibished it - i did enjoy either the subject or writing style. Louis De Bernieres felt the same to me too , just not worthy ofthe hype. One of tbe worst was 'The Essex serpent' which looked fascinating and disappointed big time.

Contemporary fiction is a lottery. I tend to stick with writers as opposed to ouevres and go for more literary and unusual topics as opposed to pulpy best sellers. Not a massive fan of American writers yet devour the writing of Claudia Pineiro who is an Argentinian writer about crime and politics.

It is intriguing how wroters like Paula Hawkins churn out best sellers. A lot of popolar stuff is quite shallow but then i would argue with FF that Kate Atkinson is usually on the mark although her last Jackson Brodie was a disappointment. I love Roman history but some of the sword and sandal stuff can be dire.

This thread seems to be split between those who love classic writers and those who prefer contemporary authors. I used to be with the former but now identify with the latter but i still think some if the greats could churn out stinkers.

i do wonder which current writers will still have reputations in 100 years time. I am currently reading an early Rebus novel and feel that he has chronicled Scottish society and politics in his books which draws parallels with Zola capturing French society 150 years ago. I feel they are saying as much about society as crime.

[Petrushka]

...the worst ever final chapter stakes.

I finished Andrew Miller's The Land in Winter last week and mostly enjoyed it but found the final few pages decidely odd, as if Miller couldn't wrap up the story and a good candidate for the world's worst final chapter.

I did, though, very much enjoy his characterisation and the chapter on the Boxing Day party is brilliantly funny, sharply observed and with great dialogue. I really felt as if I was there with them! Nice mention of the Willcocks' St John Passion recording which, while not named as such, the giveaway is the description of the LP cover. If you know, you know.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I finished Andrew Miller's The Land in Winter last week and mostly enjoyed it but found the final few pages decidely odd, as if Miller couldn't wrap up the story and a good candidate for the world's worst final chapter.

I did, though, very much enjoy his characterisation and the chapter on the Boxing Day party is brilliantly funny, sharply observed and with great dialogue. I really felt as if I was there with them! Nice mention of the Willcocks' St John Passion recording which, while not named as such, the giveaway is the description of the LP cover. If you know, you know.

Oh I thought that was enigmatically wonderful !
Yes the party was well done - very sixties and pretty much as it was though I saw it through a child’s eyes.

[Petrushka]

Oh I thought that was enigmatically wonderful !
Yes the party was well done - very sixties and pretty much as it was though I saw it through a child’s eyes.

Will read the final chapter again. It was certainly enigmatic! I was 8 in the winter of 1962/3 and agree that the party was very 1960s and I, too, saw it through a child's eyes.

[smittims]

I agree with you, Ian ,that 'contemporary fiction is a lottery'. I've looked into it, but so many novels now are not even written in correct English.

I'm sorry you don't like Julian Barnes, though,as in my view he is a shining exception. In an age when most new novels seem to be written by women for women to read, he seems to me to be one of the few to offer the male reader something worthwhile. Give him another try; I think he's a worthy succesor to CP Snow.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Will read the final chapter again. It was certainly enigmatic! I was 8 in the winter of 1962/3 and agree that the party was very 1960s and I, too, saw it through a child's eyes.

Doctors eh ? Absolute shockers….

[Ein Heldenleben]

I agree with you, Ian ,that 'contemporary fiction is a lottery'. I've looked into it, but so many novels now are not even written in correct English.

I'm sorry you don't like Julian Barnes, though,as in my view he is a shining exception. In an age when most new novels seem to be written by women for women to read, he seems to me to be one of the few to offer the male reader something worthwhile. Give him another try; I think he's a worthy succesor to CP Snow.

Yes he can really write but I think he’s run out of things to write about. Also his publishers have a habit of taking the mick by charging full price for a 100 pager..
I think I’ve now read all his books partly because doesn’t churn out 400 pagers all the time.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Yes he can really write but I think he’s run out of things to write about. Also his publishers have a habit of taking the mick by charging full price for a 100 pager..
I think I’ve now read all his books partly because doesn’t churn out 400 pagers all the time.

I thought I had heard this news item this week or last:

Julian Barnes on his last novel: 'I hope it's a good one to go out on'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99kn9xyekeo

[Ein Heldenleben]

I thought I had heard this news item this week or last:

Julian Barnes on his last novel: 'I hope it's a good one to go out on'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99kn9xyekeo

Yes he’s retiring.

[Ian Thumwood]

I agree with you, Ian ,that 'contemporary fiction is a lottery'. I've looked into it, but so many novels now are not even written in correct English.

I'm sorry you don't like Julian Barnes, though,as in my view he is a shining exception. In an age when most new novels seem to be written by women for women to read, he seems to me to be one of the few to offer the male reader something worthwhile. Give him another try; I think he's a worthy succesor to CP Snow.

Smittims

i think men are more disinclined to read than women and that is reflected in the books that are available. A lot of this is crime.

I read loads but not pulp fiction. There are writers i prefer but will branch out if something piques my interest. I have tried celebrated authors like Rose Tremain who i have not enjoyed and wont try again but my tastes are varied. Currently reading a lot of scientific books about dinosaurs / Prehistoric life but i will read anything that piques my interest

[johncorrigan]

A year or so back, my attention was drawn by someone on the Forum to a film running on BBCTV, 'That They May Face the Rising Sun', based on the John McGahern book of the same name. I loved going into that rural Ireland world and found the film magnetic. I had read a couple of novels by McGahern - 'Amongst Women', while being a tough read in places was most wonderfully written. One of my pals had given me a short story of McGahern's, 'The Country Funeral', about three brothers who go from Dublin back to their homeplace to bury a deceased relative - it was captivating, and on the back of it I searched out a book of his short stories. I was not disappointed.
Just before Christmas I was rummaging around in a charity shop in Edinburgh and saw 'That They May Face the Rising Sun' on the shelves, so decided to pick it up. The story concerns a couple, Kate and Joe, who leave London to settle back in the area where he was raised. By the time the book starts they have been there for about ten years. It proceeds to takes us through a year of life in this pastoral setting; in many ways it is a celebration of a world that is passing into history; and it talks about the people who come to inhabit their lives. Nothing much happens, I suppose. It is the most enjoyable book I have read in many a long day, beautifully written and beautifully paced. I was so sad to finish it as I didn't want to leave the place; so have gone back to the short stories to ease myself out. Wonderful writer.