Feeling: jealous, terrified and excited all at the same time (because one of my kids has been selected for a voyage on this next year) Continue reading
Tag Archives: Joanna Murray-Smith
Carol by Patricia Highsmith
Believe it or not, Carol is my first Patricia Highsmith. In the past, I’ve dismissed her work as ‘not my thing’ (on account of me being coverist* – you know those crime novels with darkly coloured covers and the author’s name in blocky gold-foil font, often found lying about at beach houses? That.) Anyway, I changed my mind a few years ago when I saw the fantastic play, Switzerland – Highsmith is the subject and the play included bizarre biographical details (things like carrying snails around in handbags). I was intrigued. Continue reading
Sample Saturday – a sociopath, finding a passion, and horse racing
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. Continue reading
Six Degrees of Separation – from Revolutionary Road to Rush Oh!
It’s time for #6Degrees, the easiest and, without question, most fun book meme (because there aren’t any rules). Join in! Link Up!
We begin this month’s chain with the Richard Yates classic, Revolutionary Road. I love Yates – he’s so goddamn depressing but he gets to the nitty-gritty of feelings. Although books brimming with feelings don’t always make the best movies, Revolutionary Road is an exception. The 2008 movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, is brilliant. Continue reading
Sunnyside by Joanna Murray-Smith
I read Joanna Murray-Smith’s novel, Sunnyside, while sitting on the beach. Basically, it’s the perfect beach read for a Mornington Peninsula holiday because fictional Sunnyside is a thinly disguised Mt Eliza and scungy Deptford is Frankston.
Anyway, I digress. It’s the story of Alice and Harry Haskins, their children, their flash house, their neighbours, their dinner parties and their friend Molly’s fling with the pool-man.It doesn’t get much deeper than a bowl of smoked salmon dip, which is exactly what you want in a beach read.
“All of them…made a good go of pretending they still led interesting lives. They subscribed to the Guardian Weekly, attended arts festivals, even went on the odd adventure-travel holiday. But was the stirring of the soul really answered by a two-week hike in the Himalayan foothills?” Continue reading