What an absolutely wonderful book this is, an engaging mix of history, of the advent of climbing, of Mr. Macfarlane’s own climbing adventures, all coming together in a delightfully informative, exhilarating read. The author weaves his own climbing trips into his exploration of how mountaineering evolved from the mid-1700s to …
I am not sure at which point enthusiasm becomes embarrassing, but I’m going to risk it anyway. In Shanghai last week to visit my son who works there, I re-read all the Inspector Chen novels with great pleasure. As I have said before in other book reviews, there is nothing …
There is such a delight in discovering (admittedly well after everyone else) a fabulous new detective hero, and after reading “Bangkok Eight” I am a fan, a firm, verging-on-embarrassingly-enthusiastic fan of Sonchai Jitpleecheep. Sonchai Jitpleecheep is an unusual Bangkok cop. For one thing he is only half Thai. For another …
Well, you live and you learn. Intrigued by the title, I found out that to describe a woman as “round-heeled” implies that she is, well, an easy lay. A whore. But absolutely not the delightful Jane Juska, who uses the expression with her witty tongue very firmly in her well-bred …
Any book that has the expression “a rattling good read” quoted on its cover sounds ideal for holiday reading, and indeed, this big fat first novel, published in 2003, was a nicely satisfying pick for a rainy European holiday. I have a pronounced weakness for any book about South Africa …
“People like Ourselves” by the South African novelist Pamela Jooste is both engaging, but also ever so slightly disappointing at the end. Perhaps it’s because I lived in Johannesburg for several very happy years, in a gated community that is featured in the novel, that I felt an instant connection …
The delightful, quirky novel “The Housekeeper and the Professor” manages to weave such seemingly disparate elements as memory loss, mathematics and baseball into a poignant, very touching story. The Professor, a brilliant mathematician, suffered a severe accident in 1975 and ever since, he lives with only 80 minutes of …
