The Booker was announced this week, from a shortlist which was by far the richest I've read through, ever since I first started to read the longlist twenty and more years ago. Chapeau to Edmund de Waal, who as chair of the panel must have had a lot to do with the choice of the novels which ended up on the list.
'Orbital', by Samantha Harvey, was a worthy winner - mesmerisingly beautiful as it is - but in fact it hadn't been my first choice. Best of the bunch for me was 'Held', by Anne Michaels, which is staggeringly good...poetry in prose....with glorious phrases and ideas peppering the text throughout; closely following behind, if not joint equal IMHO was 'Stone Yard Devotional', by Charlotte Wood, which is head and shoulders better than the (admittedly good) other things of hers which I've read: this is a book which immediately calls to be re-read as soon as the final paragraph has been finished, to re-think all of those elements which have been casually half-buried in the text along the way.
'Creation Lake', by Rachel Kushner, is impressive, and fun, and 'SafeKeep' is an excellent first appearance by a writer (Yael Van der Woden) who promises well for the future. I didn't like the sixth in the list, 'James' by Percival Everett, which was clearly the woke option, and only there for the purposes of public balance; in comparison with these others, I found it slight (from a writer whose work I find in general competent, but never great)...others might find more in it than I did, but for me it quckly turned into something I just wanted to finish and get out of the way.
I've also this week been reading 'Cat's Paw - A story of Friendship' by Will Collins. Not a writer I've come across previously, but I've enjoyed it. It's not necessarily a warm-and-cuddly read, but the pace and development worked for me and the references struck a deep chord.
Tonight's Dinner:
Peas and Feta
Chicken Jalfrezi
Almond Cake and Orange Mascarpone
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