Lisnaholic

^ Turns out that I've read more Steinbeck than I thought, as I've read four out of those five. I thought Of Mice and Men was a wonderful book, and I remember one of his short stories, The Red Pony, too. Isn't he, like Hemmingway, very much a man's author that girls don't take to? Have you ever tried recommending his stuff to girlfriends?

Notice how the mention of girls leads me very cleverly to this book, which I finished just 15 mins ago:-



^ The sad protagonist is a middle-aged Catholic woman struggling through genteel poverty in Ireland. No fancy stylistic surprises, but a well-told story with characters convincingly coming to life - especially if you've seen the movie of the same name. () I can also recommend it for its brevity - at 200-odd pages, you get a taste of Ireland without commiting yourself (like InnerSpaceBoy) to the life and works of J Joyce!

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953