Book 1: Men at Arms This book starts off with a discussion of the localized history of a estate belonging to a wealthy English family, all of which sets the scene for the kind of historical and cultural and familial draw the role and life of the soldier has on the protagonist of this novel. Somewhere between the Sword of Damocles and Chekhov’s rifle, the titular Sword of Honour (the trilogy’s if not this novel’s name) hangs over the family providing fate, guidance, and doom. […]
Wickedly funny, and painfully accurate, satire of journalism
I loved Scoop. LOVED IT. I’m also slightly miffed that I never read it until this year. How could it be that this awesomely biting satire on journalism was not in my life before? What starts out as a case of mistaken identity secures a foreign correspondent gig for the reluctant William Boot, a hapless columnist for the gardening section of the Beast. He is sent to the fictional African country of Ismaelia, where he is told to report the war between the good vs. the […]
The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder
I was inspired to read this book after a stellar review during last year