Reads that pack the thrills
TOMORROW on our Books Page we feature Halloween thrillers that will give you gooseflesh. From authors like Elena Passarello, David Priilaid, Alberto Manguel to Stephen King, these books are ideal for binge reading this weekend.
A Keeper, by Graham Norton, is a must-read, says reviewer
Sue Townsend. Set in Ireland, moving between the small town of Buncarragh and a windswept farmhouse next to the sea in Muirinish, Norton weaves the stories of Elizabeth and Patricia.
Norton first tells us how Elizabeth comes to have flown from New York to Ireland to pack up her mother’s house.
He then begins to give us the mother’s (Patricia) story of 40 years ago; how she met Edward and what subsequently happened when she went to meet him and his mother in Muirinish.
In her latest reviews for the Cape Times, Karina Szczurek writes that Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions is Alberto Manguel’s farewell to his extraordinary collection of 3500 books “housed in an old stone presbytery south of the Loire Valley, in a quiet village of fewer than 10 houses.”
The book is, as the subtitle suggest, a lament for the absent library. Manguel recalls how it took shape throughout his nomadic life and influenced the author’s reflections. In the digressions of the subtitle he writes about concerns such as literary creation and revenge.
In her latest collection of essays, Call Them by Their True Names, Rebecca Solnit writes about the present crises facing America and beyond: the infamous election of 2016, inequality and climate change. Addressing such diverse topics as cynicism, gentrification and the justice system, Solnit galvanises readers into action and supplies us with hope. She shows how not to remain passive, but to fight for what we are passionate about. With its integrity and clarity, Solnit’s writing is, as always, exhilarating.
Christopher Hart’s Lost Children is an intense tale of a quest to find a child, which will move you to tears. Hart tackles a contemporary subject – the idealism of youth and how it can evaporate.
For more on these books, do not miss Friday’s edition of the Cape
Times – and, as always, we include QR codes for you to order the books instantly from Loot.co.za.