Orwell is a man of strong convictions. He believes so passionately in the fight against fascism that in 1936 he travels to Barcelona to fight in the revolution. Homage to Catalonia is a detailed account of the politics surrounding the revolution, a fervent defense of the working class and a witness of war from the trenches. “All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.” I will be honest and say that the politics interested me […]
an exercise in lying to liars
What began as a slow and cold (le Carré-esque) waiting game grew into a white hot flash of deceit, anxiety, and dangerous thrills. I cannot claim to know the full horrors and trials of World War II- nor can I draw a true comparison between that dark time and the present, but the world of this book is a different world from our current version. One constant remains: the truth is subjective. In 1940 a young woman is recruited into the fold of MI5. Europe […]
“She did not like being a public person. She was happiest in her garden, at her country home.”
Bunny Mellon is one of the most interesting people in history that you have probably never heard about. Mrs. Mellon came onto my radar after I read Frank Langella’s subpar memoir during Cannonball 9 and the several Kennedy biographies I’ve read over the years but Meryl Gordon’s exhaustive biography was so much more interesting than I could have imagined. Bunny wanted to exert control over her environment yet give the illusion that everything was effortless. Her favorite saying was: “Nothing should be noticed.” Rachel “Bunny” […]
Diamonds and death
This is book six in the Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mysteries, which are the exploits of an American anatomist in 18th century London. I had read book two last year, and somehow didn’t realize this one was four books after that already. Still, I was able to pick up the threads of the series without too much effort again. It begins with a duel between Thomas and another man, over the affections of Lady Lydia Farrell, whom Thomas hopes to marry. She has been through some […]