Books

The Pineapple Party

Norman Pearson returned towards the end of January, after an absence in Spain and Portugal, bearing two bananas, two oranges…

2 years ago

Comfort Food and Comfort Books

A recent NYTimes Cooking newsletter from Melissa Clark drew my attention to the article about Raghavan Iyer by Kim Severson …

2 years ago

The Rise and Fall of Spurious George

Two centuries after William Hogarth published his engravings of the decline and fall of Tom Rakewell, Rebecca West wrote a…

2 years ago

Classic Crime: Murder, she laughed

Felled by the dreaded lurgy in early January I was sidelined from my usual reading routine. It’s hard to concentrate…

2 years ago

Literal Nazis and the Retro-transing of History

 Researching Marienbad and the Savoy led me to Erika Mann and all the gossip, scandal, politics, and drama of her…

2 years ago

The Aspirational Dottiness of Old Age

Here's a treat for those who relish fiction with off-the-wall cognitive mayhem - The Hearing Trumpet Suddenly it seemed as…

2 years ago

Murder? Can you prove it?

I do remember the trial of Dr. Bodkin Adams. My family took The Daily Herald back in 1957 and I…

2 years ago

Ronald Blythe, Akenfield, and The Age of Illusion

I follow the art historian Richard Morris on Twitter and his tweets are a daily delight - each one providing…

2 years ago

Classic Crime: Death Comes to Kellings

This is a review of a book I have not read that does not actually exist. Needless to say, I…

2 years ago

Lists are the Origin of Culture

We like lists because we don't want to die Back, book, casualty, honors, naughty and nice, shopping, spelling, top-ten, and…

2 years ago