It’s as if the characters function as a kind of strophe and antistrophe — the male voices pressing on with the war and the females analysing, wondering, and in their own way, pulling back even as they participate. The tension between these dispersed voices drives the narrative forward and helps give the story a drama which goes beyond the action on the battlefield.
Month: October 2007
A review of Garibaldi: Invention of a Hero by Lucy Riall
Riall sees the mythos of Garibaldi as an effective if unrealistic public relations tool. His frequent intransigence and independence was as valuable as if he had been the brainless tool of Cavour, Cavour’s successor, or Vittorio Emanuele. In the pursuit of her message she inundates the reader with trivia, which, however relevant, could have been more effectively presented.
A review of The Illustrated Life of Pi by Yann Martel
It would be unlikely that you do not have a copy of Life of Pi already. The new edition is such a happy event that you should give your copy away and replace it with this one.
A review of Unknown Man Number 89 by Elmore Leonard
This is a crime novel that has some fine deadpan humour, a poignant romance – Ryan falls for a young woman who has problems with the bottle – and also has elements of the Western. Ryan is a kind of latter-day bounty hunter.