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This sounds fascinating. And great that you picked it up at random. (From another blog neglecter to another).
Commented May 22, 2022 on Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori at a gallimaufry
Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
Let’s skate over the fact I haven’t posted here for aaages and move on to this odd little novel, which I have just finished reading. I picked it up entirely because of the cover, which struck me as sweet but faintly unsettling too, and that cover sums up the novel itself extremely well. The pro...
This sounds so interesting! I've read all the books several times, as a child and as an adult. Not for a while, though - if only I had some battered Puffins in my attic.
Commented Apr 6, 2022 on From Spare Oom to War Drobe: Travels in Narnia with my Nine-Year-Old Self, by Katherine Langrish at a gallimaufry
From Spare Oom to War Drobe: Travels in Narnia with my Nine-Year-Old Self, by Katherine Langrish
When I was nine years old I wrote a book called Tales of Narnia, and I still have it. In spiky blue ink, written in my best handwriting with only occasional crossings-out and spelling mistakes, it runs for eighty-six numbered pages and fills an old hard-covered notebook from front to back. [...]...
What a totally excellent review - hope it encourages lots of people to buy what is obviously a really interesting and enjoyable book.
Commented Mar 17, 2022 on Into Egypt, by Rosalind Brackenbury at a gallimaufry
Into Egypt, by Rosalind Brackenbury
Into Egypt is the third of Rosalind Brackenbury’s novels to be re-published by Walmer Books, and if you haven’t yet discovered her writing you are in for a treat. Her first novel, A Day to Remember to Forget, depicts a family coming together for a Sunday birthday lunch, evoked from different v...
I don't handle ghost stories at all well. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver scared me so much I couldn't finish it, and I still remember the time and place where I was reading it and was unable to sleep afterwards. And when I was quite a young child, someone read us Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad. Even the title gives me the shivers now.
Commented Mar 5, 2022 on Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia at a gallimaufry
Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
When it comes to creepy fiction, my needs are quite specific. I am incredibly weedy, I once had nightmares after watching an episode of Midsomer Murders which is about as feeble as you can get without actually turning into a flower, so my tolerance of ick and gore is non-existent. Edgar Allan P...
Thanks Simon yes very happy to have read it. I’ve also read The Love Child and will review that soon.
Commented Nov 14, 2021 on Which Way by Theordora Benson on Shiny at Harriet Devine's Blog
Which Way by Theordora Benson on Shiny
Just a quick shout out for my newest Shiny review. This is one of the latest batch of the British Library's Women Writers series. It was published in 1931 and is the story of Claudia, a highly intelligent but totally feckless young woman. whose life is spent in gossip and cocktail parties. Th...
Lovely.
Commented Oct 31, 2021 on Halloween, by John Burnside at a gallimaufry
Halloween, by John Burnside
This is the first poem in John Burnside’s 1994 collection, The Myth of the Twin. I have recently started reading it, having had it all these years, because of my new book arrangement. (Here we see why some of us benefit from having physical, paper books instead of digital books; I had quite for...
Thanks. Yes, I wish we could all sit around in pretty white dresses sewing and reading (unless we’re men, of course, though no reason wy they shouldn’t too if they feel like it).
Commented Aug 9, 2021 on Woman Reading at Harriet Devine's Blog
Woman Reading
It's a while since I posted one of these though I'm still collecting them. This is my latest find and I think it's very pretty. The painter is the American Impressionist Frank Weston Benson (1862-1951). .
I've never read her but you've made me long to read The Hidden River - it sounds right up my street. Off to find a copy.
Commented Jul 18, 2021 on next year’s reading week at a gallimaufry
next year’s reading week
As I mentioned in my round-up post, this year was the last Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week that I shall host. I have loved doing it. Each year I’ve learnt more about STW and been ever more impressed with her writing. She will always have a special place in my heart and I’ll continue reading ...
You are right. And yes she’s one to add to your list. Enjoy!
Commented Jul 14, 2021 on The Spoilt Kill by Mary Kelly at Harriet Devine's Blog
The Spoilt Kill by Mary Kelly
A couple of weeks ago I reviewed Mary Kelly's brilliant 1962 novel, Due to a Death. A central character in that novel is the rather mysterious Hedley Nicholson who, we gather, has taken time off whatever his work may be to process events that he has recently experienced. What those were is nev...
Yes - I like to read more of Gardam - I’ve read and loved the Old Filth trilogy, but little else. But as you say, she’s pretty popular already.
Commented Jul 5, 2021 on Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week 2021 round-up – and competition! at a gallimaufry
Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week 2021 round-up – and competition!
Thank you to everyone who has written a post and sent me the link to it! There are some wonderful reviews out there for any readers or potential readers of Sylvia Townsend Warner to look at – and I recommend you do... Lory at Entering the Enchanted Castle wrote about The Corner That Held Them: ...
Great series of reviews. I hope someone else may do STW next year, but also that you find someone else that I could learn to love. I haven't read either Storm Jameson or Alice Thomas Ellis so either would be fine for me. Jane Gardham might be another possibility? or is she too well known?
Please put me in the draw for The True Heart. x
Commented Jul 5, 2021 on Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week 2021 round-up – and competition! at a gallimaufry
Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week 2021 round-up – and competition!
Thank you to everyone who has written a post and sent me the link to it! There are some wonderful reviews out there for any readers or potential readers of Sylvia Townsend Warner to look at – and I recommend you do... Lory at Entering the Enchanted Castle wrote about The Corner That Held Them: ...
Indeed. Yes you are right about the potential anchoress - no reason, just seems nobody can be bothered to do anything about it
Commented Jul 4, 2021 on The Corner that Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner at Harriet Devine's Blog
The Corner that Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week has come round again. The announcement describes it as the third and last one - I do hope it won't be the last, as I've still got lots left to read by this exceptional author (yes of course I could read them anyway, but I do enjoy the community spirit). Anyw...
Sounds wonderful. Definitely my next STW read.
Commented Jul 2, 2021 on The True Heart, by Sylvia Townsend Warner at a gallimaufry
The True Heart, by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Published in 1929, following Mr Fortune’s Maggot, The True Heart shares with Lolly Willowes the claim to be Sylvia Townsend Warner’s sunniest and most charming novel. Which doesn’t mean nobody is gored to death by a bull, but does mean that both tone and ending are predominantly happy and the w...
Yes indeed. I’m. Now reading her earlier novel, The Spoilt Kill, also in BL. It’s excellent too.
Commented Jul 1, 2021 on Due to a Death by Mary Kelly at Harriet Devine's Blog
Due to a Death by Mary Kelly
I want to grip people by the mystery and to have attention to the last page due to the unsolved secret so that they cannot leave it. That is what I want - to grip them and force them to read to the bitter end. That is why I sometimes try something new. In Due to a Death I first give a tantali...
Sounds like a wonderful collection. You've made me long to read it.
Commented Jun 30, 2021 on English Climate: Wartime Stories, by Sylvia Townsend Warner at a gallimaufry
English Climate: Wartime Stories, by Sylvia Townsend Warner
This is a very nice and cohesive collection of short stories, written by Sylvia Townsend Warner between 1940 and 1946 for the New Yorker, and put together by Persephone Books. The stories centre on the Domestic Front: an ideal location for STW since domestic realism is one of her fortes and wit...
This is such a good one, Helen - I know you’ll enjoy it. I’ve read Snow - liked that too
Commented Jun 21, 2021 on Due to a Death by Mary Kelly at Harriet Devine's Blog
Due to a Death by Mary Kelly
I want to grip people by the mystery and to have attention to the last page due to the unsolved secret so that they cannot leave it. That is what I want - to grip them and force them to read to the bitter end. That is why I sometimes try something new. In Due to a Death I first give a tantali...
Aha! I actually didn't remember that this was coming soon but I recently got The Corner That Held Them on someone's recommendation and am halfway through reading it. So I'll be able to contribute. Hooray.
Commented Jun 15, 2021 on reminder: Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week 2021 at a gallimaufry
reminder: Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week 2021
It’s coming soon! In two weeks, to be exact. Rush to your library or bookcase, seize that STW novel or poem or short story you’ve always wanted to read, pour yourself a nice G&T and settle down in the lovely June sunshine...
Yes I read your review Liz. I didn’t expect to enjoy this at all, so I was delighted to find out how much I did! Yes poor woman a total monster.
Commented Jun 15, 2021 on Tension by E M Delafield at Harriet Devine's Blog
Tension by E M Delafield
This is one of the two most recent releases from The British Library Women Writers Series (the other was Mamma by Diana Tutton). I have to admit that, though I've dipped into one two of Delafield's novels before, I have never read her enduringly famous Diary of a Provincial Lady. So you could ...
Yes it’s excellent Helen. I’m sure you’ll like it. I’ve read lots of Elizabeth Taylor but not The Soul of Kindness. Must seek it out.
Commented Jun 12, 2021 on Tension by E M Delafield at Harriet Devine's Blog
Tension by E M Delafield
This is one of the two most recent releases from The British Library Women Writers Series (the other was Mamma by Diana Tutton). I have to admit that, though I've dipped into one two of Delafield's novels before, I have never read her enduringly famous Diary of a Provincial Lady. So you could ...
Thanks Simon. I’ve found Delafield’s complete works on kindle for 99p so I’ll certainly be reading more soon.
Commented Jun 11, 2021 on Tension by E M Delafield at Harriet Devine's Blog
Tension by E M Delafield
This is one of the two most recent releases from The British Library Women Writers Series (the other was Mamma by Diana Tutton). I have to admit that, though I've dipped into one two of Delafield's novels before, I have never read her enduringly famous Diary of a Provincial Lady. So you could ...
Yes, isn’t it Claire. I could just see myself in that chair by the fire.
Commented May 31, 2021 on Woman Reading at Harriet Devine's Blog
Woman Reading
Thanks to Rob Spence for this lovely image, which is by the British painter Gerald Gardiner (1902-1959). Painted in 1935, it's called 'The Artist's Wife, Evelyn, Seated, Reading'.
You’ve got a real treat in store then! Do read The Rector’s Daughter - it’s superb.
Commented May 28, 2021 on Miss Browne's Friend by F.M. Mayor at Harriet Devine's Blog
Miss Browne's Friend by F.M. Mayor
I first encountered Flora Mayor ten years ago, and wrote a very enthusiastic review of her 1924 novel The Rector's Daughter [here]. I went on to read The Squire's Daughter, which I don't seem to have reviewed, and her first, The Third Miss Symonds (1913) [here]. But all this went on in 2011, a...
It is beautifully produced, Liz, and so worth reading!
Commented May 28, 2021 on Miss Browne's Friend by F.M. Mayor at Harriet Devine's Blog
Miss Browne's Friend by F.M. Mayor
I first encountered Flora Mayor ten years ago, and wrote a very enthusiastic review of her 1924 novel The Rector's Daughter [here]. I went on to read The Squire's Daughter, which I don't seem to have reviewed, and her first, The Third Miss Symonds (1913) [here]. But all this went on in 2011, a...
It is really is, Hayley. What a pity she wrote so few novels - she was excellent!
Commented May 28, 2021 on Miss Browne's Friend by F.M. Mayor at Harriet Devine's Blog
Miss Browne's Friend by F.M. Mayor
I first encountered Flora Mayor ten years ago, and wrote a very enthusiastic review of her 1924 novel The Rector's Daughter [here]. I went on to read The Squire's Daughter, which I don't seem to have reviewed, and her first, The Third Miss Symonds (1913) [here]. But all this went on in 2011, a...
It is indeed. I should have mentioned Florrie who is another lovely character.
Commented May 27, 2021 on Miss Browne's Friend by F.M. Mayor at Harriet Devine's Blog
Miss Browne's Friend by F.M. Mayor
I first encountered Flora Mayor ten years ago, and wrote a very enthusiastic review of her 1924 novel The Rector's Daughter [here]. I went on to read The Squire's Daughter, which I don't seem to have reviewed, and her first, The Third Miss Symonds (1913) [here]. But all this went on in 2011, a...
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