Michael Arditti
Meeting the Other
The old adage about not judging a book by its cover should be amended, in the case of Matthew Kneale’s latest, to not judging it by its blurb. Nowhere is there any indication that this is a collection of short stories. On the contrary, it is described simply as a ‘new work’, and the diversity of the settings, from Europe to North and South America, to Africa and the Middle East, is made to seem the expansiveness of a single fiction.
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'Thirkell was a product of her time and her class. For her there are no sacred cows, barring those that win ribbons at the Barchester Agricultural.'
The novelist Angela Thirkell is due a revival, says Patricia T O'Conner (£).
https://literaryreview.co.uk/good-gad
'Only in Britain, perhaps, could spy chiefs – conventionally viewed as masters of subterfuge – be so highly regarded as ethical guides.'
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-spy-who-taught-me
In this month's Bookends, @AdamCSDouglas looks at the curious life of Henry Labouchere: a friend of Bram Stoker, 'loose cannon', and architect of the law that outlawed homosexual activity in Britain.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/a-gross-indecency