lunababymoonchild

Whitsuntide fast approaches, Another Bank holiday beckons. Time for a long week-end in the pub Or sitting in the garden whose grass Needs cutting with dandelions like Saucers. This is the new Pentecost, People mooching around the shops Looking for that something that they Didn’t realise they wanted only to find They had one when they got home. People enjoying the Bank holiday Not realizing what the holiday means. Of family day trips to the seaside with Children eating ice cream that spread Around their face and noses. A day to escape the daily grind. Whitsun, David Wood

The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorn

Cruelty by Roald Dahl is the first in a series of books to explore human nature. It is a collection of short stories (which I did not know when I bought it). I have always loved Roald Dahl and this collection is as excellent as anything else he's written. Ten short stories with the last one being the longest and each deliciously twisted at the end. Even although I knew that there would be a twist at the end and that Dahl would be brave enough to make it breath-taking I was still taken by surprise by some of the endings. Highly recommended.

Near to the Wild Heart, Clarice Lispector

Olivia de Havilland, last of the Gone With the Wind actors at 104. She played Melanie Hamilton, should anyone need to know, and of course, that wasn't the only character she played.

Roald Dahl, Cruelty

I felt exactly the same when I read it.

This felt like an epic novel although it was only 434 pages long (my copy). Probably as a result of the wordy descriptions. A young man in his twenties feels forced, as a result of his poverty, into committing murder. He ends up committing double murder. The book concentrates on his mind and the emotions he goes through regarding the double murder whilst also dealing with his continuing poverty, not to mention his family. I won't spoil the ending. Worth reading as it's a classic and it's also very good. An insight into the times and culture of Russian society at the time. Recommended

Good to hear from you Momac. My condolences on the loss of your dog. I know how much that hurts and knowing you did the right thing probably doesn't help. We are fine for the most part. My father gets crabbit when he's bored but that's about all we have to handle. Take care

Ebenezer Le Page, G B Edwards

Octave

Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment

Phew! Thought it was just me. Kafka isn't tough btw, unless there is a lot of symbolism in it and that always goes straight passed me!

While I was reading Camus' The Plague I suddenly felt the urge to read Kafka. So I'm now reading Kafka. This has never happened to me before, has it happened to anybody else?

I'm still humming and hawing about this, I might give it a go.