James Sandoe compiler. Dorothy Sayers: Lord Peter (1972)

      James Sandoe compiler. Dorothy Sayers: Lord Peter (1972) All the published Wimsey stories, plus “Tallboys”, an unpublished one. A delight for the Sayers fan, and a torture for those whose snobbishness balks at her frank admiration of Lord Peter. Sandoe’s introduction is competent if a trifle too admiring; and Carolyn Heilbrunn’s closing essay isn’t much better in tone, but it adds a few bits of necessary information, and reminds her fans that Sayers’ other career as translator, scholar, and theologian was as important as her command of detective fiction, and in her own eyes more so. E C Bentley’s “Greedy Night,” a wonderful and affectionate satire, rounds out the volume.
      Well, what can I say? I like Sayers’ books very much, including her theological writings, and unlike many (apparently) male readers, I like both Lord Peter and Harriet Vane. I suppose I admire Harriet’s unwillingness to let gratitude for her rescue by Lord Peter (Strong Poison) cloud her judgment of her own feelings, an attempt that actually prevents her from recognising that she loves Peter. It’s not until Gaudy Night, after all, that she comes to realise her feelings are not tainted by gratitude. Since this volume was compiled and the essays written, Sayers’ illegitimate son has been discovered; Thrones, Dominions has been completed by Jill Walsh; and Sayers’ academic reputation has been revived. But that has no effect on the pleasure of rereading these stories. **** (2003)

Bill Watterson Weirdos From Another Planet (1990)

     Bill Watterson Weirdos From Another Planet (1990) Another Calvin and Hobbes collection, and as always a pleasure. Watterson’s trick is to present adult insights from a child’s perspective, without losing either. Not many people can do this, and I think it’s Watterson’s wonderful drawing that does it. The newspaper comic strip is an underrated art form; Watterson shows what can be done with it. If you infer that Calvin and Hobbes are two of my favourite characters, you're right. **** (2003)

Morris Wolfe, ed. Aurora: New Canadian Writing 1978

     Morris Wolfe, ed. Aurora: New Canadian Writing 1978 Short stories and poems, the latter mostly unreadable; the influence of the West Coast school destroyed a lot of writers’ ears, and most of the rest don’t seem to realise that a poem must sound good. Still, Al Purdy and Miriam Waddington are in good form. The stories for the most part are narrator-focussed tales of some sensitive soul’s scarring by the awful indifference of the Universe, or worse.
     Rudy Wiebe’s straightforward telling of the tale of Broken Arm satisfies. He has the knack of telling a story neutrally, so that protagonist’s point of view appears undistorted and clear. A great story in my opinion. Guy Vanderhaeghe’s “Man Descending” is one the few stories about a gormless twit that not only convinces but also arouses compassion. But most of the rest are at best of “academic interest”, the sort of stories that some student of Canadian literature will read dutifully in order to produce an essay. They even seem written for that purpose, with their self-conscious “social relevance”. * to **** (2003)

Simon Brett. Crime Writers and Other Animals (1998)

     Simon Brett. Crime Writers and Other Animals (1998) A collection of short stories, all with the usual Brett twist, and mostly amusing in a macabre way; poetic justice of a sort is Brett’s favourite motif. However, some stories are darker, and the most disturbing is told by an emotionally retarded man accused of murdering a child, but it’s plain that he’s innocent, and that his father’s rigid and narrow upbringing has caused the miscarriage of justice. He’s unable to contradict the investigating detective’s assertions because he is reminded of his father; and one of his father’s tenets was that it’s bad behaviour to contradict his elders and betters. It’s clear the man will be murdered in prison, although he expects his father’s admonition to be always on his best behaviour to stand him in good stead. ** to *** (2003)

Ben Wicks. No Time to Say Goodbye (1988)

     Ben Wicks. No Time to Say Goodbye (1988) Ben Wicks was evacuated from his East London home in 1939 in order to escape the expected dangers of bombing. This marked him forever, as it did the thousands of other children who were moved into villages and country towns. Almost fifty years later, he decided to find as many evacuees as he could, and ask him to share their experiences. They range from very good to horrific.
     As might be expected, most children missed their families terribly. Their hosts ranged from grudging to welcoming, from kind to abusive. Some were strict, some were easy going. Some let their religious and other bigotries interfere.  Many children returned home as strangers, no longer comfortable in their own class; even those who were glad to be back often found themselves at odds with their families. Some found their host families an escape, others a model for future endeavours. Some told of their experiences for the first time in their lives. Most felt that their story had been ignored, and were glad to have chance to tell it. As a group, their discovery of how other people lived made them determined to change the social and political structure of England.
     Wicks narrates the story of the evacuation by connecting excerpts from the letters with brief links. It’s a combination of chronicle and theme, and works well. In each chapter he briefly recounts his own relevant experience, then gives us the letters. It adds up to a moving and detailed story, one that needs to be known. Worth reading. ***

Primo Levi. The Periodic Table (1984)

     Primo Levi. The Periodic Table (1984) Tr. Raymond Rosenthal Part memoir, but meditation, part fiction, part sketches, this is wonderful book. It’s one of those books whose style reveals a charming mind, a beautiful person. The memoir is sketchy, partly because Levi wrote about many of his chief life events in other books, which I will look for. Each reminiscence and story appears under the head of an element, but despite the title, their arrangement does not follow that of the periodic table. Levi always completes his tales, but his digressions, sometimes merely a word or phrase, give them a richness and complexity that the otherwise spare style might prevent. That spare style makes it hard to summarise the book. I won’t attempt it. But this is a book I’d like other people to read. In many ways it reminds me of Oliver Sacks’ books. It hews to its subject, yet finds so many connections between that subject and so many other things that one comes away with the impression not only of a whole person, but of the wholeness of the universe. **** (2003)

James Reston Jr. The Last Apocalypse (1998)

   James Reston Jr. The Last Apocalypse (1998) A history of the turn of the last millennium, focussing on a variety of figures, such a Olaf Trygvesson, Harold Bluetooth, Sylvester II, and Otto III. Far too many typos, the kind that occur when a semi-literate is given the task of using a spell-check, as well as multiple errors arising from cut and paste operations. The book is also piecey, an effect of its plan and the lack of strong editing. The content is interesting enough, but the defects of the book make it a chore to read, and interfere with creating the memorable impression Reston apparently strives for. Reston is also much given to the foreshadowing portentous, which in the event usually disappoints, perhaps because he has forgotten just what he promised, and so changes his emphasis. The overall impression is that Europe of the late 900s was a brutal place, and that Christianity was more of a political ideology than a faith. * (2003)