Book Reviews: 8 November
OUT NOW
FRIENDSHIP by AC Grayling (Yale University Press, £12.99; offer price, £10.99)For the past century, Western culture has held romantic love as the gold standard for human relationships. More recently, our obsession with parenting has come to share the podium. But what about friendship?
In an age of displacement and fragmented families, friendships are more important than ever.
Wearing his impressive intellect lightly, Grayling offers an accessible exploration of ideas about friendship through the ages, from Ancient Greek thinkers through to the present day – grounded in experiences from his own life. In a refreshing break from the tradition of analytical philosophy, he goes beyond abstract, logical arguments to offer valuable insights for our lives. With social media stretching the defi nition of ‘friend’ to near meaninglessness, this is a timely and thoughtprovoking read.
Juanita Coulson
THE PROPOSAL by Tasmina Perry (Headline Review, £14.99; offer price, £12.99)This mesmerising, romantic novel is set in 1950s London and Manhattan. New Yorker Amy Carrell spots an advertisement in The Lady to be a companion to elderly Georgia Hamilton, a wealthy ex-publisher. Following them through the ups and downs of love and aristocracy is fascinating and thrilling. This book will have you engrossed from cover to cover, with the added bonus of a guide to Manhattan at the end.
Natasha Howe
ARKLE: THE LEGEND OF ‘HIMSELF’ by Anne Holland (O’Brien Press, £16.99; offer price, £15.29) Arkle was one of the most memorable Irish racehorses of all time: a celebrity of the 1960s. It is 50 years since the first of his three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cup wins.
Reading this book, you feel as if you have walked into a lively Irish pub where everyone talks to you at once – every page is full of wonderful stories of Arkle, the horses he raced against, and the various people connected with him.
Holland pulls off with aplomb the difficult task of writing about an animal without lapsing into anthropomorphic sentimentality. Throughout her book, Arkle remains a horse – but what a horse!
Stephen Coulson
THE FLAVOURS OF LOVE by Dorothy Koomson (Quercus, £16.99; offer price, £13.99) Saffron is a mother of two, whose beloved husband Joel has been murdered – and his killer never found. She lives in Brighton, isolated by her grief, struggling to control the eating disorder that has her in its grip. When she discovers that her 14-year-old daughter is pregnant, and begins to receive letters from her husband’s killer, her world begins to crumble. A psychological thriller where the suspense and fear comes from the protagonist rather than events that surround her, and the action takes her on a journey of redemption.
Victoria Clark
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Couture Queen
THE ALLURE OF CHANEL (DELUXE EDITION) by Paul Morand, with illustrations by Karl Lagerfeld (Pushkin Press, £30; o
ffer price, £25)Little black dresses, quilted handbags, tweed suits in town – so much of what is chic, practical and ubiquitous in our sartorial landscape is the brainchild of Coco Chanel. But at the time of their invention, these trends were revolutionary; she freed women from corsets and put them in fluid silk jersey.
Based on intimate conversations between the author and the iconic couturier, Morand’s nely tuned prose combines with Chanel’s originality to form a faultless ensemble, capturing the designer’s life and times, her vision and her beguiling contradictions.
Chanel mixed with the nest minds of her time, from Picasso to Stravinsky, admiring them but never intimidated by them. She loved two men passionately – Boy Capel and the Duke of Westminster – but refused to marry either of them. And while claiming that women did not understand loyalty or friendship, she was staunchly loyal to her friends.
With fascinating insights into the influences that shaped her unique aesthetic, and portraits of famous contemporaries like Misia Sert and Diaghilev, what emerges is the voice of a fiercely independent character who did not suffer fools gladly, but had a generous heart.
Originally published in 1976, this new luxury edition is exquisitely illustrated with charcoal drawings by Karl Lagerfeld. A triumph of monochrome simplicity worthy of Mademoiselle, it is as irresistible to look at as it is to read. JC
COFFEE TABLE BOOK
JAPONISME AND THE RISE OF THE MODERN ART MOVEMENT by Gregory Irvine and Tayfun Belgin (Thames and Hudson, £45; offer price, £40)
All things Japanese were in demand at the end of 19th century. Van Gogh wrote: ‘In a way all my work is founded on Japanese art.’ This book features illustrations of exquisite lacquer boxes, porcelain and oil paintings made in the reign of the Emperor Meiji (1868-1912) alongside paintings by Van Gogh, Egon Schiele, Klimt and Whistler, with excellent explanatory text.
The illustrations show the finest Japanese porcelain and enamel work from the Khalili Collection, and Japanese paintings from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Some of the lesser-known Van Goghs could have been painted by a Japanese artist.
Hugh St Clair
PAPERBACKS
THE CHARIOTEER by Mary Renault (Virago Modern Classics, £8.99; offer price, £8.54)Renault chose an apt title for this tale of strong, polarised emotions, alluding to Plato’s allegory of the soul, in which the charioteer must control a pair of horses, one representing the moral impulse, and the other, irrational passions.
Set during the Second World War, this is the story of Laurie Odell, a soldier whose love for two very different men – a conscientious objector and a naval officer stirs conflicting feelings within him. Fully aware of his own sexuality, he is torn between a chaste friendship and a sensual liaison. The profound plot and vivid emotions are weakened by uniform characterisation in the dialogue, but this is still a powerful and sensitively handled tale.
Philippa Williams
BEHIND THE DOORS OF NOTORIOUS COVENT GARDEN by Elizabeth Sharland (iUniverse, £12.95; no offer price available)
A charming reference book, filled with interesting facts about this buzzing area of London, its history, people and places: for example, diners will visit the famous Rules restaurant with a special appreciation after reading about its libertine past. In true raconteur style, local resident Sharland tells how the area, home of The Lady’s offices, has become a hub of cultural activity.
Lizzie Greenhalgh
3 GREAT BOOKS: ABOUT JEWELS
- THE NECKLACE by Guy de Maupassant
- THE EUSTACE DIAMONDS by Anthony Trollope
- THE MOONSTONE by Wilkie Collins
ALSO ON THE SHELF
A PRIVATE HISTORY OF HAPPINESS by George Myerson (Head of Zeus, £12.99; offer price, £11.69)Myerson refl ects on moments of joy from diff erent periods and cultures in this book, illustrating how the simple things in life can bring us true happiness. With extracts from memoirs, letters, diaries and poems, it challenges readers to reassess their perception of happiness. Bursting with feel-good factor.
Patricia Phillips
AUDIO BOOK OF THE WEEK
SOLO by William Boyd, narrated by Dominic West (Random House Audiobooks, £17.98; offer price, £14.99)It’s 1969 and Bond’s mission is to stop a civil war in Africa. Mixing the best ingredients of the Fleming novels with some unusual details, Boyd’s take on 007 is crisp and invigorating, like a stiff Martini.
JC
JAZZ AGE JEWELS
Our resident flapper Melonie Clarke on the best new novels set in the 1920s
Melting The Snow On Hester Street by Daisy Waugh (Harper, £7.99; offer price, £7.59)Like The Great Gatsby, this novel celebrates the wealth of the 1920s, but also takes a sobering look at what happens when the champagne stops flowing.
Max and Eleanor have been hiding behind a facade of glamour and money. When Wall Street crashes, and with their marriage already on the brink, they are forced to face certain questions. To their movie mogul friends, they’re just like any other rich couple in their glitzy Hollywood set – but as well as being secretly unhappy, they are hiding their past.
What would appear at first to be another party-filled saga of the Roaring Twenties turns out to have hidden depths: a fast-paced page turner you won’t want to put down.
Southern Cross The Dog by Bill Cheng (Picador, £14.99; offer price, £13.49)Cheng’s debut novel is a refreshing take on the 1920s: its protagonists are ordinary people, as opposed to the bright young things who dominate most novels about the period.
When Robert’s home is destroyed by the Mississippi flood of 1927, he loses everything.
Set against some great American landscapes, the story charts Robert’s travels, from hard labour to thwarted love – a coming-of-age journey.
Although Cheng never set foot in Mississippi, the book is full of accurate details about the place: even the title is a reference to a railroad crossing.
Cheng also pays tribute to many Southern blues men, and brings the dirt tracks and tin-roofed shacks to life.