Love in the Time of Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith, Vantage 2022 - How does McCall Smith do it? His highly successful career in medical law was long ago eclipsed by his fame as a best-selling author. The sheer volume of books produced by McCall Smith might leave one wondering if he has any time …
VIOLETA BY ISABEL ALLENDE
Violeta by Isabel Allende, Ballantine Books, 2022 - In Isabel Allende’s last book, ‘A Long Petal of the Sea’ (reviewed in an earlier blog), she favored a style of writing that used a great deal of first person narrative instead of dialogue. In her latest book, ‘Violeta’ she goes even further in this direction. The …
A MAN FOR ALL SNEEZES
More ripples in Kanadoodle with the Consumptive Party choosing a new leader – someone who can go head to head with Dustbin Truthless in the next election. For those who didn’t follow the Consumptive Party convention yawn-fest, it was a virtual coronation for Pierre (cluck, cluck) Poulet, a combative rooster that has no intention of …
THE ROYAL REPUBLIC OF KANADOODLE
The Queen is dead, long live the King! You have to hand it to the Brits - they really know how to go all out with the pomp and hoopla around any big royal event. The death of Queen E Two has provided monarchists worldwide with the greatest show in royal history. Aside from …
9/11 REVISITED
It’s been twenty-one years since the al-Qaeda attacks of 9/11 and the occasion was marked in America this week by a number of ceremonies commemorating the nearly three thousand people killed. The attack itself was a message for North Americans who, up until then, were remarkably insulated from the radical ideologies that spawn global terrorism. …
KING LEOPOLD’S GHOST BY ADAM HOCHSCHILD
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild – Houghton Mifflin, 1998 – If you’ve ever wondered why so many African countries continue to be in disarray, long after they chucked out the colonial system, this is a book that you should read. King Leopold II of Belgium (1835 – 1909) managed to carve out a huge …
THE LAST GARDEN IN ENGLAND BY JULIA KELLY
The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly, Gallery Books 2021 - What better time spent than enjoying the delights of a resplendent garden? The famous gardens of the world are the result of landscape designers attempting to enhance, harmonize or tame nature in a way that reflects their will. But landscape gardening is a …
THE NEW RELIGION
In 'Murica, the Publican Party has embraced a new religion and the rest of world is going to feel the wrath of the Almighty if they don’t shape up and sign on! The new theology trumpets the REAL TRINITY: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Smokes - Rump! HALLELUJAH! In anticipation …
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME
When I was growing up back in the cretaceous period, there were many words to describe homosexuals: queers, poofters and fags being common. Needless to say, these words were used in a derogatory manner – a kind of verbal put-down for the intolerant to assert their supposed superiority, or insecurities, against those who were different. …
THANK YOU JEEVES BY PG WODEHOUSE
THANK YOU, JEEVES BY PG WODEHOUSE, Herbert Jenkins, 1934 - Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves are ranked among the great comic duos in English literature. P.G. Wodehouse wrote thirty-five short stories and eleven novels featuring the two, beginning in 1917 with the short story ‘Extricating Young Gussie’ and finishing in 1974 with the novel …
Richard's Left Bank 