First published 1959. Sphere, paperback, 1984, pp 330, c.135,000 words. This is a clash-of-cultures book, which is Masters usual territory, but this is a clash between Americans and Spaniards in the 1950s and not the British and Indians during the colonial period. Masters again conveys a love and admiration for both sides, but this does […]
Fandango Rock — John Masters Read More »
First published 2000. Faber, paperback, 2000, pp 368, c.120,000 words. This is Ishiguro’s fifth novel, appearing eighteen years after his first. That slow pace is reflected in the quality of the writing and is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Each sentence is beautifully polished, but somehow the overall result is rather dry. This is
When We Were Orphans — Kazuo Ishiguro Read More »
First published 1904. Methuen, paperback, 2005, translated by Michael Frayn, 1978 (revised to 1990), pp 152 (main text pp 67). Chekhov called this play a comedy, but the original producer, Stanislavsky, insisted that it was a tragedy [p xxii]. So which is it? Both, of course. Like Shakespear’s Twelfth Night, there are elements of each.
Cherry Orchard, The — Anton Chekhov Read More »
First published 2006. Bloomsbury, paperback, 2012, pp325, c.115,000 words. I remember enjoying this when I first read it some ten years ago. Boyd is a writer who I greatly admire and has ranged widely across the genres of contemporary fiction. This is his spy thriller, the spy element mainly taking place between 1939 and 1941
Restless — William Boyd Read More »
First published 2005. Harper Collins, paperback, 2005, pp 317, c.120,000 words. This is the last Flashman book that MacDonald Fraser wrote, although not quite the last in terms of Flashman’s chronology: The second part of Flashman and the Redskins and Flashman and the Tiger record events a little later than this, the story of Flashman’s
Flashman on the March — George MacDonald Fraser Read More »
First published 1999. Abacus paperback, 2002, pp 453, c.135,000 words. This story centres on a love affair. Unfortunately, I didn’t believe in it. Why would a thoroughly decent middle-aged doctor with an attractive and intelligent wife, a couple of children, a thriving practice, a respectable place in the community, and admired by his intelligent peers,
Fortune’s Rocks — Anita Shreve Read More »
First published 1970. Sphere paperback, 1989, pp 383, c.145,000 words. This is one of Master’s late works and a very unusual one. It is a history of The Rock of Gibraltar told through a series of fictional stories, each of which is introduced with some short factual historical background. Masters is best known for his
Rock, The — John Masters Read More »