The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , ,

Aesthetics are higher than ethics.
– Oscar Wilde

When I was on my recent beach holiday, I read a book a day. I locked-in quickly on the day I picked up The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. It was gripping.

In a nutshell, it’s the true-crime story of Swiss master art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser, and his girfriend, Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus. Over the course of eight years, Breitwieser stole more than three hundred rare and precious objects, from paintings and ivory carvings to silver ware and weapons (he had a penchant for 16th century pieces). He targeted smaller museums and cathedrals all over Europe and the robberies occurred in broad daylight. His tools were nothing more than a Swiss army knife, stylish clothing, and his girlfriend’s designer handbag. As he later revealed, ‘…all forms of security have a weakness‘ and ‘…it isn’t action … that usually lands a thief in prison. It’s hesitation.’ Continue reading →

Sample Saturday – books recommended by author Austin Duffy

Posted by Kate W in Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye.

This week, all three books (and all are novellas) were mentioned in this interview with author Austin Duffy (whose book, The Night Interns, I enjoyed). Continue reading →

Things That Are Making Me Happy This Week

Posted by Kate W in Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

01. Friday evening at Slow Poke cocktail bar (and then dinner afterwards at Pincho Disco). The view from Slow Poke toward Kew is one that you don’t get often. And, the Slow Poke Sling cocktail was exceptional. Also, is it crazy to have made travel plans for 2028?! Because my friend and I have… Continue reading →

Six Degrees of Separation – from Wuthering Heights to Constable’s Skies

Posted by Kate W in Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up. Continue reading →

Two memoirs

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Not quite sure what compelled me to read these two memoirs one after the other, given that both deal with the topic of suicide (although the focus of the Toews is on her writing and how her life experiences have shaped that – those experiences include the death of her father and her sister by suicide). Anyway, it wasn’t the cry-fest I anticipated. In fact, not a tear was shed. Partly because Li has quite a different perspective on suicide than others I’ve come across, and in reading Toews, I was marvellously distracted by her plans for a wind museum. Continue reading →

Literary Wives Club: Mrs Bridge by Evan S. Connell

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , ,

For the same reasons I enjoy the work of Richard Yates, I enjoyed Evan S. Connell’s novel, Mrs Bridge  – spare prose (not a single unnecessary word); intensely depressing; bleakly suburban; and satirical.

It does not go unnoticed that the protagonist, Mrs Bridge, has an exotic name – India – and that despite initially thinking to herself that ‘…she could get along very nicely without a husband’, she marries Walter (Mr Bridge) who promises her that ‘…one day he would take his wife on a tour of Europe.‘ Mr Bridge proceeds to focus on building his law practice, and providing well for his family (they have three children, Ruth, Carolyn (Corky), and Douglas). And India leads a very staid, conservative suburban life.

They had started off together to explore something that promised to be wonderful, and, of course, there had been wonderful times. And yet, thought Mrs Bridge, why is it that we haven’t – that nothing has – that whatever we–? Continue reading →