Here are short notes on a few Silver Mysteries read this year: The Killing of Katie Steelstock by Michael Gilbert (1980) When I first started reading mysteries, I enjoyed the amateur detective besting the police-officer (Fatty vs Mr. Goon) but over the years, it is the police procedural that has become my favourite genre in … Continue reading Four Silver Mysteries
Category: 1970s
Two Classics about Man-Woman Relationship: Vera (1921) and The Stepford Wives (1972)
In September, I read two books, vastly different from each other, but both had at their core, the relationship between men and women, specifically between a husband and wife. In Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim, young Lucy Entwhistle, in a shell-shocked condition after the death of her father, meets Everard Wemyss. Everard, himself, is trying … Continue reading Two Classics about Man-Woman Relationship: Vera (1921) and The Stepford Wives (1972)
#Classic Club: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (1971)
There are certain books about which you know a lot despite never having read them. The book under review is one such. Frederick Forsyth is my father's favourite writer in English and his books used to adorn the showcase in the drawing room. Papa would also narrate the stories to us or some of the … Continue reading #Classic Club: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (1971)
#1970 Club: Six Mysteries
As the 1970 Club draws to a close (and what a fulfilling event it has been) here are short notes on the mysteries read of this year. In alphabetical order: Beyond This Point are Monsters by Margaret Millar Devon, a young woman from the East coast does not feel at home in California. She had … Continue reading #1970 Club: Six Mysteries
#1970 Club: Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw
Mary Pease, brought up in an orphanage by Catholic nuns falls in love with German immigrant Axel Jordache who she thinks is a gentleman the way her father must have been. The young couple rents a place in Port Philip and Mary dreams of turning it into a cafeteria. However, her dreams about her husband … Continue reading #1970 Club: Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw
#1970 Classic Club: Troubles by J.G. Farrell
When I was in college, we all wanted to read J.G. Farrell because he was the one author who was supposed to have presented Indians sympathetically in his novel set during the 1857 revolt: The Siege of Krishnapur. Otherwise, the Mutiny novels simply presented Indians as brutal and savage. It was very tough to read … Continue reading #1970 Classic Club: Troubles by J.G. Farrell
#1970 Club #ClassicsClub: The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Inspector Peter Glebsky, tired of his job of investigating bureaucratic crimes and wanting some time away from his family, comes to a hotel called The Dead Mountaineer's Inn on account of a mountaineer staying at the inn dying while trying to scale a mountain. The first words that the owner, Alek Snever speaks to Glebsky … Continue reading #1970 Club #ClassicsClub: The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
#1970 Club: The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark
Like the previous read for the club, 84, Charing Cross Road, Muriel Spark's book had long been on my wishlist because though I knew nothing about it, I had heard it praised highly. Lise, the protagonist of the book, has been working in the same office for a number of years and when the novel … Continue reading #1970 Club: The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark
#1970 Club: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
From today, the second Reading Club of 2024, hosted by Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings and Stuck in a Book, begins. The year selected is 1970. Since April of this year, when the year was announced, I started looking at books published in that year and found some really great books. I open my account with Helene … Continue reading #1970 Club: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Hailing All Frequencies: The Sci-Fi Books of 1970
In less than a month, the second Reading Club of 2024, hosted by Kaggsy and Simon, will begin. The year chosen is 1970. While searching for books published in that year, I was surprised to see a large number of sci-fi books. So I have a couple of questions for my friends who love sci-fi: … Continue reading Hailing All Frequencies: The Sci-Fi Books of 1970
a hot cup of pleasure