Books Reviewed in the FT and NYT

The Weekend FT gave a rave review to Lark and Termite by Jayne Ann Phillips (see my review in March). Phillips was praised for the beauty of her prose, her exquisite sense of time and place, and the ability to provide words to the wordless. Also reviewed was Who Will Write Our History: Rediscovering a Hidden Archive from the Warsaw Ghetto by Samuel Kassow. Eva Hoffman is the reviewer and her books are themselves worth discovering and reading. Kassow diligently worked to record life in the Ghetto for all those who would and would not survive. He organised reporters and archivists to save items of daily life, words, quarrels, activities, stories. This is the first translation into English of this amazing labour of life and love. Barry Unsworth reviewed 'Laish' by Aharon Appelfeld. Unsworth is another favourite author of mine (his most recent book is Land of Marvels). 'Laish' is the story of a journey where no one is interested in the journey/process, just the destiny. The narrator is a 15 year old boy, Laish, and someone worth spending a journey with.