Cressida Connolly
Of Mice and Men
Shrinking Violets: A Field Guide to Shyness
By Joe Moran
Profile Books 269pp £14.99
Joe Moran is so clever, interesting and quietly witty that while reading this book I kept wishing that I were friends with him so that I could join in the conversation. There were passages that made me yelp with agreement and others that I longed to argue over with him. Shrinking Violets is one of those books that require the proximity of another person, someone with the forbearance to look keen when you keep saying, ‘Listen to this!’ There are marvellous observations: ‘Brief Encounter is like Anna Karenina strained through the fine sieve of English shyness’; ‘America gave birth to that now thriving sub-species of the shy, the nerd’; blushing was once known as ‘the lava of the heart’.
Elsewhere, Moran suggests that seals are shy – which is plain wrong – and neglects to mention the very epitome of animal reticence, the adorably solitary okapi. He says The Beatles were cheeky, cheery chappies, overlooking the fact that George Harrison was known as the quiet one (and
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm