Janet E. (janete) -
In these short pieces, originally featured in the Sunday Times, Carey chooses a chronological and personal selection of 50 works of fiction, memoir and poetry of the 20th century. Thankfully, Carey's choices reflect his own reading biases and are not even remotely similar to those awful 1000 Books to Read Before You Die lists that have the air of being generated by marketing department drones in publishing houses. (Or maybe they should now be called "media conglomerates"?)
American readers may find some of the works hard to track down. My God, you may actually need to visit a library. Imagine. But reading his essays is also pure pleasure. Carey's style is so unaffected and transparent it belies the artistry and intelligence beneath it, not to mention a lifetime of thoughtful and passionate reading. (Isn't that how we all aspire to read, if we just knew how? He makes it seem so simple!)
On Clive James:"he is the kind of stylist who does not just cross Niagara on a tightrope. He cycles across, backwards, juggling."
Or John Updike: "He writes a couple of sentences about a tube of toothpaste, and you feel you have never looked at one before."
After reading these essays, Christopher Isherwood's Mr. Norris Changes Trains goes on my TBR list, as does Stevie Smith's poetry, ditto G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, George Orwell's Coming Up For Air and Mikhail Bulgakov's A Country Doctor's Notebook. And more. Thank you, John Carey!
American readers may find some of the works hard to track down. My God, you may actually need to visit a library. Imagine. But reading his essays is also pure pleasure. Carey's style is so unaffected and transparent it belies the artistry and intelligence beneath it, not to mention a lifetime of thoughtful and passionate reading. (Isn't that how we all aspire to read, if we just knew how? He makes it seem so simple!)
On Clive James:"he is the kind of stylist who does not just cross Niagara on a tightrope. He cycles across, backwards, juggling."
Or John Updike: "He writes a couple of sentences about a tube of toothpaste, and you feel you have never looked at one before."
After reading these essays, Christopher Isherwood's Mr. Norris Changes Trains goes on my TBR list, as does Stevie Smith's poetry, ditto G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, George Orwell's Coming Up For Air and Mikhail Bulgakov's A Country Doctor's Notebook. And more. Thank you, John Carey!
