Chéri (1920): Colette

March 20, 2012April 14, 20203 Comments

★★★★½

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Apologies again for flitting in and out rather a lot. I’ve read quite a lot of books recently, but haven’t been doing much else; and I’ve just discovered the fantastic website LibraryThing, which has finally enabled me to catalogue my books and make a definitive record of what I actually own. Hopefully it’ll enable me to avoid any duplicate purchases… If you’re like me, and make a beeline for people’s bookcases on visiting their houses, feel free to take a look at my own collection here.

Continue reading →

A Song for Arbonne (1992): Guy Gavriel Kay

September 6, 2011April 14, 20202 Comments

★★★★

This is the sixth book I’ve read by Guy Gavriel Kay and it is once again set in his distinctive parallel world with its single sun and twin moons – white and blue – though the names of the countries and the gods aren’t the same as in his other books. Like the vast majority of his novels, A Song for Arbonne takes place in a context closely mirroring a historical period from our own world: in this case, Southern France in the age of the troubadours.

Continue reading →

La Princesse de Montpensier (2010)

July 30, 2011April 20, 20215 Comments

★★★

(directed by Bertrand Tavernier, 2011)

Bertrand Tavernier’s new historical epic is a bit of a mixed bag. Based on a short story published in 1662 by Madame de La Fayette, it tells the story of a young woman’s fall from grace during the wars of religion in 16th-century France. It looks fabulous, but somehow its Gallic charm never quite forges its way through the eye to the heart.

Continue reading →