This is a list of my recent reading (starting June 2009):
Alain de Botton, The Pleasures and sorrows of work - an interesting, often perceptive, look at work in the contemporary world. I'm still not convinced of the non-monetary benefits of employment.
Annabel Crabb, Stop at nothing - entertaining, not really any particular insights to offer about Malcolm Turnbull, and a touch overwritten. The fault may well be the subject's not the author's. At first glance, Turnbull should be an interesting subject but in fact here, and on Australian story more recently, comes across as an ambitious, arrogant bully with little in the way of redeeming features. This may not be true and may not be fair but Turnbull has real problems in revealing a character that would be interesting to the general public.
David Gilmour, The Last Leopard: A Life of Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa -
Claire Keegan, Antarctica - Having been so impressed by the recent (second) collection, see below, I just had to get a copy of the first collection and I was not disappointed, it's fabulous.
Claire Keegan, Walk the Blue Fields - Keegan is a wonderful Irish short story writer, and this is her second collection. They are brilliantly balanced and executed, with many memorable moments.
Declan Kiberd, Ulysses and Us: The Art of Everything -
Beverley Kingston, A History of NSW -
John Lanchester, The Debt to Pleasure - inspired by @colvinus I re-read this wonderful novel. It's a clever and delicious story. I won't spoil it for you but the combination of crime thriller and food porn is irresistable for many of us. Lanchester writes regularly for the London Review of Books and his stuff is well worth checking out.
Andrew O'Hagan, The Atlantic Ocean - a collection of excellent pieces of journalism, originally published in the London and New York Review of Books, by this outstanding Scottish journalist and novelist. They stand up well, including a piece on Michael Jackson written a few years ago.
Bruce Pascoe, Bloke - A crime genre novel rescued by its location (east gippsland) and indigenous themes. A rattling good read on a wet arvo, but not hugely satisfying or anything.
Simon Schama, The American Future: A History - Schama is a wonderful writer and historian, this is an attempt to explain the complexity and contemporary relevance of American history written during the 2008 election year. There's some really fascinating stuff in here. I think the best bits are when Schama is giving it to a racist New England establishment that betrayed the promise of America and promoted immigration restrictions a century ago.
Leonardo Sciascia, Equal Danger - As a sicilian writer and MP, Leonardo has a great understanding of power and corruption. If you like crime fiction laced with intellectual references and discussions, you'll love this
Leonardo Sciascia, The Moro Affair - This is a fascinating analysis of Moro's letters during the many weeks he was held by the Red Brigades before ultimately being assassinated. Sciascia concludes that Moro was essentially cut loose by his own side. This is Sciascia's minority contribution to a parliamentary inquiry into the Moro affair. It's a great read for any political scientist interested in narrative analysis.
Colm Toibin, Babylon - brilliant novel, as close to pitch perfect as possible, not a wasted word. It deals beautifully with the immigrant experience and its impact on how we see ourselves and how others see us.There's been a fair bit of criticism of the alleged 'passivity' of the lead character, but I think that is a mis-reading and a reflection of our contemporary need for characters who take 'personal responsibility'.
Colm Toibin, The South - an interesting novel, raises some fascinating issues but I didn't feel that it was entirely satisfying. But well worth reading.
Evelyn Waugh, A Handful of Dust - Brilliant satire, of course. I first read this a couple of decades ago. This time I was more conscious of the way Waugh portrays just how quickly (he thinks) civilisation (ie the old order of settled class relations and the habitual observance of the proper decencies) can descend into a kind of ludicrous chaos. A lot of nonsense is written about this book and what Waugh was 'saying', largely I think because a lot of people are perplexed by this bitter defence of the aristocratic ideal. Waugh despised democracy, and some of the harshest barbs are reserved for parliament, parliamentary practices, and the MP friend of the main characters, Lord Tony and Lady Brenda Last. And yet Waugh is also savage on the upper classes because it is ultimately their failure to live up to the aristocratic ideal that is undermining the old order. Waugh's perspective, in short, is so far removed from our own democratic cast of mind that it can be confusing for us.
Evelyn Waugh, Scoop - An uproarious classic, pretty much an indispensable primer on journalism. In the end, the magnate Lord Copper, Waugh tells us, will spend the rest of his life engaged in activities (like business dinners) that no sane man would willingly participate in. While the unwitting hero, William Boot, returns to a happy obscurity in the country. Once again Waugh's meaning is plain, the modern world of busy commerce is absurd and debased.
Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World - a good, often insightful look at how the world will look with the rise of the rest (particularly China and India), it is a well-balanced thesis pointing that America will be the most important power by a long way for a long time but will have to learn new ways of conducting foreign policy if it is to remain effective in using its military and economic predominance in the decades ahead.
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