0661 | The Man Without Qualities | Robert Musil
This unfinished tome of a book is an extremely strange one to experience. Written in a very Magic-Mountain-like way, we find ourselves party to the life of Ulrich, a minor…
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0626 | Eclipse of the Crescent Moon | Geza Gardonyi
This is on the 1001 Books list simply because it is a Hungarian classic chronicling the successful defence of Eger Castle from the Ottoman Turks by a vastly outnumbered army….
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0583 | The Radetzky March | Joseph Roth
A book filled with melancholy not only for the characters but the world in which they live, The Radetzky March is a carefully constructed memorial to a lost age. Roth…
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0522 | The Bridge on the Drina | Ivo Andrić
This is a masterful portrayal of Balkan history which, for anyone not familiar with it or, like me, familiar but confused, is a great way to gain more understanding. The…
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0340 | The Making of the Atomic Bomb | Richard Rhodes
Context: Just after I finished this off, a 7.3 earthquake with more explosive force than an atomic bomb smashed a pot in our living room from 100 miles away. REVIEW…
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0269 | In Europe – Geert Mak
Context: Finally finished this off at our friends’ lovely house in Beamish, County Durham. REVIEW This was an amazing book and I can’t think why it isn’t better known. For…
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0245 | Fateless – Imre Kertész
Context: As I was reading this, our Dell printer ran out of ink and I got some ink to refill them manually. Never done that before. Dead easy. REVIEW This…
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0188 | The Good Soldier Švejk – Jaroslav Hašek
Context: Borrowed a guitar while I was reading this as mine’s in PNG. REVIEW Švejk is one of literatures great great characters. If English did not so dominate the world…
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0179 | Embers – Sándor Márai
Context: First fiction I’ve borrowed from a British library in well over a decade. Got this one the day I joined Bar Hill library. REVIEW This is the story of…