Jay Parini
New World Orders
Good novels are hard to come by, so I always welcome a fresh one by Peter Carey – a writer whose work I’ve read closely, usually with pleasure. Parrot and Olivier in America, his eleventh novel, ranks among his best, on a par with Illywhacker (1985), his darkly humorous early masterpiece, or True History of the Kelly Gang (2000), possibly his finest moment in fiction – although I harbour affections for such early (and quirky) novels as Bliss (1981) and Oscar and Lucinda (1988).
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With just a few days to go until the first issue of the new decade, does anyone recognise the stern figure on our February cover?
'Fiona Shaw, in Jonathan Miller’s production, is the best shrew I have seen. She starts off in a mustard yellow dress with a mustard sharp tongue.'
From the archive, Kate Kellaway on a 1988 production of 'The Taming of the Shrew'.
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'He was not a revolutionary at all of course. He was only marginally a socialist. His tradition was rooted in the Liberal aristocracy, and his politics were entirely bounded by Parliament.'
From the archive, Paul Foot on Tony Benn's diaries.
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