{"id":787,"date":"2021-12-22T12:53:19","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T20:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/?p=787"},"modified":"2021-12-22T12:53:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T20:53:19","slug":"latest-reading-fall-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/latest-reading-fall-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest Reading. Fall 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Silverview\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John Le Carr\u00e9<\/h2>\n

A posthumous novel completed by his son.<\/p>\n

Camino Winds\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John Grisham<\/h2>\n

Ok.<\/p>\n

The Deer Park\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Norman Mailer<\/h2>\n

Re-reading this book always gives me the utmost delight.\u00a0\u00a0 It is one of my favourite novels. \u00a0It has the ring of reality. It is written with effortless energy.\u00a0 The characters are instantly recognisable, even when they are movie stars.\u00a0 It\u2019s about Palm Springs and the Movie People but it is really about Love.\u00a0\u00a0 And Sex.\u00a0\u00a0 I had not realised until now that his Publisher rejected it, and Mailer refused to make cuts.\u00a0 In 1955 Viking stepped in. I have a British first edition from Arthur Wingate 1957. I don\u2019t know anything finer by this author.\u00a0 I am hard put to explain why I find it so appealing.\u00a0 I think it is because he brilliantly pictures two different male\/female relationships, but each couple with the same tensions.\u00a0 The whole ambivalence of love and lust, and fear of, and gratitude for, such bonding.\u00a0 He understands this beyond his years (the war) and is able to illustrate perfectly, the unique human ability of the sexes to misunderstand each other and yet still be reconciled through sex.\u00a0 Both share the magic.\u00a0 It is a wonderful commonality.<\/p>\n

The swats at the film industry are funny, as they always are at that industry.\u00a0\u00a0 I had never spotted any Fitzgerald in Mailer hitherto and yet here it is in Sam Spades, but with a strength, clarity and modernity of language which I think is new, both from and caused by the wartime experiences of these writers.\u00a0 Remember Holden Caulfield travelled across the battlefields of Europe in the knapsack of J. D. Salinger. From D-Day to Dachau.\u00a0 They were young men, but with such awful, traumatising experiences of war.\u00a0 No wonder their novels seemed fresh and arresting.\u00a0 They had lived with death.<\/p>\n

The Left Handed Twin\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thomas Perry<\/h2>\n

In cracking form this is one of the most thrilling of his recent novels. It\u2019s a Jane Whitefield novel, and the pursuit of her along the Appalachian trail is one of the most intense things he has ever written.<\/p>\n

The Silence of the Girls\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pat Barker<\/h2>\n

One of the most brilliant and best written books I have ever read.\u00a0 I really loved this account of Troy through the eyes of the women.\u00a0 A terrific idea and wonderfully executed. She writes like an angel.\u00a0 I thought she brought to life the daily incessant dull, terrifying grind of warfare brilliantly, and how virtually invisible the women are.\u00a0 Between Queens and slaves.<\/p>\n

The Women of Troy. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pat Barker<\/h2>\n

And I loved the sequel too.<\/p>\n

The Thursday Murder Club\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Richard Osman<\/h2>\n

Reluctantly retired oldies solve crimes.\u00a0 Funny and sweet.<\/p>\n

Revolution.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Peter Ackroyd<\/h2>\n

The next book in a very fine history of England from the Battle of the Boyne to the Battle of Waterloo.<\/p>\n

He writes very well and his stories are fine and well chosen.<\/p>\n

Mike Nichols A Life\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mark Harris<\/h2>\n

A very fine portrait of a wonderful man.\u00a0 I must have met Mark at Mike\u2019s apartment. He is married to Tony Kushner the brilliant writer.\u00a0 The book is both sympathetic and insightful, and highly readable.<\/p>\n

Dolphin Junction\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mick Herron.<\/h2>\n

The latest thriller from the very best contemporary British thriller writer.\u00a0 He is a must read.<\/p>\n

On Provence\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Henry James<\/h2>\n

He is a mustn\u2019t read.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Silverview\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John Le Carr\u00e9 A posthumous novel completed by his son. Camino Winds\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John Grisham Ok. The Deer Park\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Norman Mailer Re-reading this book always gives me the utmost delight.\u00a0\u00a0 It is one of my favourite novels. \u00a0It has the ring of reality. It is written with effortless energy.\u00a0 The characters are instantly recognisable, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":788,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787\/revisions\/788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ericidle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}