Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Review: An American Type

Written by Henry Roth
W.W. Norton & Company, 2010; 320 pages

This review refers to an advance uncorrected proof of the novel.

Henry Roth was the author of the much-admired modern classic Call It Sleep, published in 1934. That largely autobiographical novel chronicles the experiences of a young boy growing up in the Jewish immigrant ghetto of New York's Lower East Side in the early twentieth century. The book was critically acclaimed and hailed as a modern masterpiece, but was never a huge seller, and Roth would not produce another novel until his four-volume Mercy of a Rude Stream appeared in the 1990s. And now comes Roth's final novel, An American Type. Published posthumously, it was put together by former New Yorker fiction editor Willing Davidson, who read through the nearly two thousand pages of writing left by the author at his death in 1995.

Set in 1938, An American Type centers around Roth’s alter ego, Ira Stigman, and is divided, roughly, into three sections. In the opening chapters Ira abandons his current domineering lover, Edith, when he falls in love with an aristocratic blond pianist (referred to only as “M”) at Yaddo, the artists’ retreat at Saratoga Springs, New York. The new romance exposes Ira’s conflicts between his working-class Jewish roots and his more “upwardly mobile” and artistic ambitions. For a while he abandons both his lovers and his own family to travel to California with an old friend, Bill Loem, seeking possible film-writing work. The second section of the novel is the story of their trip by car across the country to Los Angeles, and the adventures they have once they arrive in the film capital. But when work in the movie industry doesn’t develop, Ira returns to New York and his golden-haired muse; the story of their courtship and marriage makes up the last major section of the book. In addition, there’s a short first chapter and an epilogue which both take place many years after the main part of the book, and bring us up to date on Ira and M and the story of their marriage.

I suppose when a major author dies, there’s always the hope that we’ll find among his or her papers that undiscovered masterpiece to be published posthumously and enjoyed by all. So I can understand Willing Davidson’s enthusiasm and excitement when he was handed the task of reading through Henry Roth’s papers, to see if there was anything salvageable. And with the publication of An American Type, Davidson has done a fine job of demonstrating that there definitely was some wonderful writing there.

The problem with the book, it seems to me, is that it really never comes together as a novel – its many short (sometimes no more than a page or two) vignettes or incidents never provide the necessary weight and coherence a novel should deliver. It’s a shame the work couldn’t have been published as a collection of short pieces (or simply notes for a novel, as in the case of the recent volume of Nabokov’s notes for the unpublished Laura), rather than being forced into a form that doesn’t really suit it.

I had the same problem with the main character that other readers have mentioned – Ira never really gained my full sympathy or interest. It’s true that he has a distinct voice and outlook, and his adventures, sketchy and scattered though they may be, were at times compelling and maddening, and sometimes all too believable. But the constant focus on one character’s thoughts and feelings and behavior became irritating after a while. Davidson says in his editor’s afterword that Roth “couldn’t leave anything out – he found all personal detail equally engrossing.” And it shows. But the parts of the book I found most appealing were those brief moments when Roth turns his concentration away from Ira and gives other characters some space on stage – I would have welcomed a little more of that.

However, I ended up enjoying most of the book a great deal, and I’d certainly recommend it to other readers. Even with its failings, the novel is filled with some beautiful writing, and provides a fascinating glimpse of a very rough period in our national history.

Note: This review refers to an advance reading copy of the novel, provided free of charge by the publisher, through the Early Reviewer Program at Library Thing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

A-Z Wednesday: "U"

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicki at Reading At The Beach. To join in, just visit her blog for the guidelines and leave your link in a comment.

This week's letter is "U." So I went to my shelves, and this is what I pulled out.

The Uncommon Reader
Written by Alan Bennett
Published 2007

The cover of the first edition:



Description from Good Reads:
When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.
See the author's page at Wikipedia here.
See the book's page at Amazon.com here.

The cover of the first American edition:


A photo of the author:


And a photo of the queen herself looking very sunny in yellow (you know you love the hat):



This little book is wicked funny. I read it last year and couldn't stop laughing. I even made my husband read it and he has passed it on to his colleagues at work. Of course, I find Queen Elizabeth endlessly entertaining anyway, but Bennett's version of the old girl is hilarious and yet strangely respectful at the same time. If Bennett's QEII isn't the real QEII, then she should be!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: Damaged

This week my teaser lines come from Alex Kava's Damaged, one of several books I've got going at the moment. Right away, I should point out that the quote comes from an advance reading copy of the book, so it's possible that the finished version might differ slightly.

This excerpt is from page 9 of the ARC, and it's our first sighting of the book's (and series') main character, FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell. She's just returning home after taking part in an FBI search in which the "perpetrator" they were looking for was shot and killed. And, yes (once again) it's a little more than two lines (you knew it would be, right?):
Maggie O'Dell peeled off her blouse without undoing the buttons, popping one before it came off. Didn't matter. The blouse was a goner. Even the best cleaners couldn't take out this much blood.
Hmmmm. This is the first Maggie O'Dell book I've read, and so far I'm enjoying it a lot. But I can see it's going to be one of those books you really don't wanna read on your lunch break.


How about you? Got a great teaser from a book you're reading right now? Want to play along? Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

Monday, June 28, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link.

Okay, I had great intentions last week, but didn't actually get much reading done. Only got one book read – The Spider Bites by Medora Sale. I received the book through the Early Reviewer program at Library Thing, so I wanted to get through it as quickly as possible. Fortunately, it was very short (more like a novella) and a very quick read. As a matter of fact, it's part of a new series of "Rapid Reads" being published by Raven Books: short easy-to-read books for adults (interesting concept, although probably not something I'd try again).

I'm still finishing up the other two books I was reading last week. Hope to get those done quickly, so I can start a couple of the ARCs I've got stacked up for the summer. And, as usual, I'm also hoping to get some time to finish up several reviews I've started but never posted. Lots to do. And since I'll be mostly staying indoors this week, away from the record heat and humidity, I should be able to get at least some of it done.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

A-Z Wednesday: "T"

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicki at Reading At The Beach. To join in, just visit her blog for the guidelines and leave your link in a comment.

This week's letter is "T." So I went to my shelves, and this is what I pulled out.

This Side of Paradise
Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published 1930

The cover of the first edition:


Description of the book (from Good Reads; I believe this is originally from Scribner's):
First published in 1920, This Side of Paradise marks the beginning of the career of one of the greatest writers of the first half of the twentieth century. In this remarkable achievement, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays his unparalleled wit and keen social insight in his portrayal of college life through the struggles and doubts of Amory Blaine, a self-proclaimed genius with a love of knowledge and a penchant for the romantic. As Amory journeys into adulthood and leaves the aristocratic egotism of his youth behind, he becomes painfully aware of his lost innocence and the new sense of responsibility and regret that has taken its place.

Clever and wonderfully written, This Side of Paradise is a fascinating novel about the changes of the Jazz Age and their effects on the individual. It is a complex portrait of a versatile mind in a restless generation that reveals rich ideas crucial to an understanding of the 1920s and timeless truths about the human need for (and fear of) change.
See the book's page at Wikipedia here.

See the author's page at Wikipedia here.

A selection of covers of different editions:


And a photo of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald in their prime, during the Jazz Age (who's the prettiest?):

One of my all-time favorite novels, although it's been many years since I last read it. Of course, I don't think I've ever read anything by Fitzgerald that I didn't love.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: The Three Weissmans of Westport

This week my teaser lines come from Cathleen Schine's The Three Weissmanns of Westport. It's a modern reworking of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, set in New York City and (you guessed it) Westport, Connecticut. I've only read a few chapters, but it's passed the 50-page test with flying colors, and is turning out to be a great summer read.

This sampling comes from page 358 of the large-print edition, and is (as usual) a bit more than two lines:
There was a pot of tea at the tea at Aunt Charlotte's, but little else. . . . Betty was glad she had brought the cake from Balducci's. The goyim, she had explained to the girls, do not feed their guests; it is not their custom, and we must respect the customs of other cultures, but that does not mean we have to starve.
I guess Betty and the girls definitely haven't spent much time in the South. Most of the goyim I grew up with were well-known for overloading their guests with goodies. After all, if you're a Southern hostess, you've got all those dishes for every occasion – you really do want to use them, right?


How about you? Got a great teaser from a book you're reading right now? Want to play along? Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link.

I only finished one book last week, but it was a bit of a chunkster, so I don't feel like such a terrible slowpoke. Also started several reviews that never quite got themselves completely written – I'm hoping to get those finished up and posted this week (no, really – this time I mean it). Summer seems to have slowed me down a bit – all that dreaming of the beach can really get in the way of everything else, if you're not careful.
  • Finished last week:
    The Magicians, by Lev Grossman

  • Reviews posted:
    None (yet again!)

  • Reading this week:
    The Three Weissmanns of Westport, by Cathleen Schine (Picked this one up at the library on my last visit; I've heard mixed reports about it, but I'm enjoying it so far.)

    Damaged, by Alex Kava (Looking forward to this one; I've had it for a while now and don't know why I keep putting it off.)

  • Next up:
    Probably Fever Dream, the newest addition to the Pendergast series by Preston and Child (looks great!), or another of my library finds, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, by Helen Simonson.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A-Z Wednesday: "S"

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicki at Reading At The Beach. To join in, just visit her blog for the guidelines and leave your link in a comment.

This week's letter is "S." So I went to my shelves, and this is what I pulled out.

Strong Poison
Written by Dorothy L. Sayers
Published 1930

A photo of one of the earliest editions:


Description from Amazon.com:
In the first of Dorothy L. Sayers's famous Harriet Vane mystery series, amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey falls in love with mystery writer Harriet Vane as she stands in the dock of Old Bailey. Ms. Vane is on trial for the diabolically clever murder of her fiance. Not only does Wimsey believe in her innocence, he falls in love with her at first sight. . . .

What follows are the twin stories of Lord Peter's search to find the real killer and his romantic pursuit of Harriet. Both are charming. As always, Sayers has plotted her story brilliantly, with a satisfying mystery and a sly comic touch (a gentle poke at the spiritualist movement is particularly fun).

See the book's page at Wikipedia here.
See the author's page at Wikipedia here.

And a few covers from various other editions (click on image to enlarge):

One of my favorites of the Lord Peter Wimsey books, but then I love 'em all. I suppose there's not as much suspense here as in some of the others in the series, as we know from the outset that Harriet isn't going to end up on the gallows (she goes on to have a mystery series all her own). But it's still great fun, just like all the other Wimseys.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays: Whiter Than Snow

I've only read a few pages of the book my teaser lines come from this week. On my last library visit, I picked up Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas. I've heard good things about Dallas, but I've never read anything by her, so thought I'd give this one a try. But after a closer look, I'm not sure it's really something I want to read right now – sounds a little depressing for a summertime book.

Anyhoo – this excerpt is from Chapter Two:
Lucy Patch was the smart one. People had always said that about her, ever since she was a toddling child. . . . "Dolly Patch is the pretty one," they'd say at the beginning, and then add, "Lucy's the smart one," as if being smart was honorable mention. (p.9)
And since the book is about a group of school children buried by an avalanche (no spoiler here – you know that from the get-go), I'm betting the future holds at least a bit of misfortune for the two Patch sisters. So, do I continue with this one, or shelve it for now and get right to Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid? (Delivered, overnight, into my eager hands by that very efficient Amazon monster yesterday.)


How about you? Got a great teaser from a book you're reading right now? Want to play along? Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

Monday, June 14, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link.

Last week I finally finished The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. It's a big book, and it took me a couple of months to get through, even though I enjoyed it a lot. I kept getting flashes of A.S. Byatt as I was reading, although I think Morton is a little better than Byatt at telling a really ripping yarn. Hoping to get a review up later today, if things go well. Now I'm looking for that next read. I've been looking at several books, but haven't settled down with any of them yet. So here's how things stack up:
  • Finished last week:
    The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton

  • Reviews posted:
    None

  • Possibilities for this week:
    The Magicians, by Lev Grossman (Officially, I've still got this one going, although I haven't actually been reading it much.)

    Damaged, by Alex Kava (This is an ARC and I really should get to it.)

    Whiter Than Snow, by Sandra Dallas (Picked this one up at the library, but haven't started it yet. I've heard good things about it, but it looks a little depressing. Might not be the greatest summer-time read.)

    A Ghost in the Machine, by Caroline Graham (One of Graham's Inspector Barnaby mysteries, which I love. Probably the one I'll go with. The Barnaby books are always a treat.)

  • Next up:
    I have Fever Dream, the newest addition to the Pendergast series by Preston and Child, and the new Rick Riordan, The Red Pyramid coming from Amazon this week. So those might be possibilities, too. Also have several reviews in the works that I really need to get finished and posted. Also a bunch of recently-acquired books I need to add to my Library Thing listing. So I've got a lot to keep me busy. And as the temperature today is supposed to get up to at least 90 degrees, staying indoors and playing with my books is sounding more and more appealing!

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

A-Z Wednesday: "R"

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicki at Reading At The Beach. To join in, just visit her blog for the guidelines and leave your link in a comment.

This week's letter is "R." So I went to my shelves, and this is what I pulled out.

Rebecca
Written by Daphne Du Maurier
Published 1938

A photo of the first edition:


Description (from Fantastic Fiction):
Working as a lady's companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Life begins to look very bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory of his dead wife Rebecca is forever kept alive by the forbidding (housekeeper) Mrs. Danvers.

Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the Other Woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity.
See the book's page at Wikipedia here.

And the author's page at Wikipedia here.

And a few different covers, including some foreign editions:

Rebecca is probably DuMaurier's most famous work, and one of the most widely-read Gothic romances. I read it for the first time when I was about thirteen, and loved it immediately. Since then, I've reread it many times, and always manage to fall under its spell. The 1940 Hitchcock film of the book, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, isn't too bad, either!

Teaser Tuesdays: Lingering in the Garden

Well, this week I'm finishing up The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Started it last month, but had to put it aside to read a couple of ARCs. I really expected to be done with it last night, but real life intervened – so tonight, for sure. The reason for all the delay doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the book – I'm really enjoying it. Just a very slow reader, as I think I've mentioned before.

This snippet comes from around the middle of the book (page 306 of the paperback edition), when Cassandra (one of the main characters in a book full of "main characters") is just about to discover the forgotten garden of the title (no spoiler here – you know pretty much from the beginning that she'll go looking for it). As usual, I've found it impossible to limit myself to two lines – sorry, but I just couldn't decide where to cut.
She made her way along the hedge, trailing her fingers lightly over jagged ivy leaves. . . . Midway along she noticed a gap in the brambles, a small gap but enough to see that the light shone through, that there was something solid behind it. Careful not to be pricked by the thorns, Cassandra reached a hand in and leaned closer as the hedge devoured her arm, all the way to her shoulder. Her fingers scraped against something hard and cold.
And you're just gonna have to read the book to find out what that cold, hard something is.


How about you? Got a great teaser from a book you're reading right now? Want to play along? Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

Monday, June 07, 2010

Review: The Hypnotist

Written by M.J. Rose
Mira Books, 2010; 410 pages


In M.J. Rose's fascinating novel, The Hypnotist, Lucian Glass, once a promising artist, and now a special agent with the FBI’s Art Crimes Team, is called upon to help investigate a series of incidents involving a mysterious collector who has been stealing and destroying priceless masterpieces. Glass's undercover work takes him to the Phoenix Foundation, an organization dedicated to the science of past life study. There, in order to maintain his cover, he agrees to be hypnotized in order to explore his past lives and how they’ve influenced his present existence. He’s been trained to withstand even this extreme form of questioning, but Glass is also being plagued by disturbing dreams that seem to be actual memories of lives he’s lived in the past. And when he wakes from these dreams, he feels a compulsion to draw portraits of women from those past lives – women he thinks he’s harmed in some way, but can’t remember how.

Under hypnosis, Glass travels further and further back in time, and uncovers several former existences. These journeys cause him to question his beliefs, his professional training, and even his sanity. And they eventually bring him right into the middle of one of the most bizarre art thefts in history, when the Metropolitan Museum is targeted by would-be terrorists intent on stealing a 1500-year-old, eight-foot-tall statue of Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep.

The book includes a couple of parallel plots, as well – both of them ultimately involved with the theft of the Hypnos statue. One is the story of Lucian and his lost love, Solange, another young artist who was murdered twenty years ago. When Lucian’s work requires him to visit Solange’s aging father, he’s introduced to a woman who may or may not be the reincarnation of his long-dead love. She seems to know things about him that only Solange could know, and he finds himself more and more drawn to her. And another story line has to do with the mysterious head of the Phoenix Foundation, Dr. Malachai Samuels, who is busy tracking down an ancient set of Memory Tools – “deep meditation aids” that help people access past-life memories. And Dr. Samuels will do anything to retrieve those Memory Tools.

The Hypnotist is the third novel in Rose's "Reincarnationist" series (the first two, The Reincarnationist, and The Memorist, also deal with aspects of the Phoenix Foundation), but it can very definitely be read as a stand-alone work. I haven't read either of the earlier novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Rose does a good job of introducing the reader to the overall reincarnationist back story, without letting it dominate or slow the action of the current work. And even though the book keeps multiple narratives afloat, and includes dozens of characters to keep track of, Rose manages to keep it all pretty straight-forward and easy to follow. All the characters are distinct, even the ones who only have a minute or two onstage; there's plenty of suspense, humor, and romance along the way; the plot continues to twist and surprise right up to the end. And I loved it that one of the characters was a librarian delving through unexplored files in the Phoenix Foundation's secret library – what a great job, even if your boss is possibly criminally insane!

The only real disappointment I experienced was at the very end – I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say I found the ending just a bit too predictable. Not a bad ending, just a little more wrapped-up than I was expecting. Still, it's not enough to change my mind about the book. This is one terrific read!

Dorothy Parker

My land is bare of chattering folk;
the clouds arc low along the ridges,
and sweet's the air with curly smoke
from all my burning bridges.
(-- "SANCTUARY")

Dorothy Parker
August 22, 1893-June 7, 1967

Sunday, June 06, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. If you want to let the world know what books you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link.

Well, last week went by in a flash, and I'm still reading The Forgotten Garden. But I really do intend to finish that one up tonight. So this week, I'll be starting on a couple of new books – one library book that has to go back soon, and an ARC that needs to get read and reviewed pretty quick. (Yeah, right.)
  • Finished last week:
    Nothing (lazy week, allergies making me crazy, French Open grabbing my attention)

  • Reviews posted:
    None (lazy week, yada, yada)

  • Reading this week:
    The Magicians, by Lev Grossman (the library book – haven't completely bonded with it yet, but so far it's holding my interest)

    Damaged, by Alex Kava

  • Next up:
    Not really sure. I'm supposed to have a book coming from the Early Reviewers program at Library Thing, so when/if it arrives, I'll be putting everything else aside for that. Also a couple of new books that look interesting, although I don't have copies yet: Fever Dream, the newest addition to the Pendergast series by Preston and Child; and the new Rick Riordan, The Red Pyramid. I haven't read any of Riordan's Percy Jackson series, and I'm usually not much of a young-adult-fantasy fan. But I glanced at this new work at Borders the other day, and it does look intriguing. Might be a good summer-time read.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Booking Through Thursday: The Long and the Short

This week the BTT topic is about short vs. long fiction: "Which do you prefer? Short stories? Or full-length novels?"

And my short answer is: long. It's not that I don't like short stories – I certainly do, and at one time I read quite a lot of short fiction. Lately, however, I've sort of fallen out of the habit. These days I read many more novels than shorter works; even though a well-constructed short story can be just as satisfying as a full-length novel, and can pack an even greater emotional wallop.

But there's just something about immersing myself in a good long read, getting involved in a new world, a different reality, and sticking with it for a good long time – something about that definitely appeals to me.

Also, when I'm reading a short story, I always feel compelled to keep reading right to the end – almost like having to keep to a schedule. But with a longer work, I don't usually feel any of those time constraints. I don't mind stopping and starting; reading a little now and coming back to read a little more, later; reading a bit from this book, and then a bit from something else. I know that's probably not the most efficient way to get my reading done, but it seems to suit me. So I suppose my preference for longer works could all just boil down to laziness!

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

A-Z Wednesday: "Q"

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicki at Reading At The Beach. To join in, just visit her blog for the guidelines and leave your link in a comment.

This week's letter is "Q." So I went to my shelves, and this is what I pulled out.

Quartet in Autumn
Written by Barbara Pym
Published 1977



Description from the publisher:
In 1977 England rediscovered one of her best living writers: Barbara Pym. Readers and critics alike acclaimed her new novel, Quartet in Autumn, as a major work by an important writer. Quartet in Autumn was the first new Barbara Pym novel to be published in sixteen years. After over a decade of being shunned by publishers as "out-of-date," Barbara Pym was once again a fashionable author.

Written at a time when the author had given up hope of ever being published again, Quartet in Autumn is the softly compelling story of human dignity in the midst of hopelessness. The novel presents us with Edwin, Norman, Letty, and Marcia, four elderly single people who work in the same office. Their work is their chief point of contact with each other and with society in general. The two women retire, an act that threatens the lives of all four.

Lovingly, poignantly, satirically - in the gentlest but sharpest way - Barbara Pym guides us through the lives of her four protagonists and shows us the facade they erect to defend themselves from the facelessness of the welfare state. Seemingly hopeless, their story is also optimistic, and even funny at times. Out of the tragic material of old age, Barbara Pym has made a beautifully constructed, almost musically perfect tale, told in revolving order from four points of view. It is the story of the subtle triumph of human dignity over the threats of solitude and death.
The book's page at Library Thing here.

The book's page at Wikipedia here.

And a few more covers, including some foreign editions:

I'm a huge Barbara Pym fan (I just might have mentioned that once or twice before), and Quartet in Autumn is possibly my favorite of her novels (it's hard to choose just one). It was short-listed for the Booker Prize, and helped establish Pym's reputation as a major 20th Century writer. I first read it during the 1980s and fell in love with all the quirky characters. I've reread it several times over the years, and although the subject matter sounds depressing and dull, it never fails to lift my spirits. Today, I'm much nearer in age to the protagonists than I was when I first read the book, and I'm wondering what my reaction would be now. I guess it's probably time for another visit.

Oh, and by the way, Barbara Pym just happens to have been born on June 2, 1913.

Teaser Tuesdays: The Magicians

This week, my teaser lines come from The Magicians, the latest novel by Lev Grossman. I haven't actually started reading this one yet, but I've glanced through it a bit. Grossman's first novel was Codex, which I read a few years ago, and really enjoyed. So when I found this one during one of my recent library browses, I was intrigued enough to bring it home with me. These teaser quotes come from page 109, and seem to be taking place between the book's main protagonist (Quentin Coldwater) and one of his professors at Brakebills College, a school for aspiring magicians:
"Professor Bigby, are you a--" Quentin stopped. A what? An elf? An angel? . . . .
Bigby smiled a pained smile. His wings made a dry chitinous rattle.
"Pixie, technically," he said.
He seemed a little sensitive about it.
After taking a closer look at the book, I'm not sure it's one I'll be able to stick with - seems to be a sort of Harry Potter for grown-ups, about student magicians and their many adventures. Not a subject I usually fancy. But we'll see what develops.


How about you? Got a great teaser from a book you're reading right now? Want to play along? Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.