Bibliography, April 2011

Read: 13

BOTM - C.L.R. James, Beyond a Boundary

J. Austen, Persuasion (K)
J. Austen, Sense and Sensibility (K)
D. Eddings, The Belgariad, 5 vols*
C.S. Lewis, Four Loves
Muraski Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, chs 1-17 (K)
A.Trollope, The Claverings (K)
M. Twain, The adventures of Tom Sawyer (K)
P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit


I'm not surprised by BOTM this time, given it is famously the best book ever written on cricket, though more on that later. I should give honourable mentions to some of the others though - Both of Austen were brilliant, though Persuasion edges its more famous counterpart, and The Claverings an underrated gem from Trollope. I have loved and reread before the Belgariad, an extensive fantasy sequence, and I stand by the judgement I made at 12 - it's brilliant. However, James was better.

However, I am not sure James is brilliant for the reason that is over given - its account of the racism rife in West Indian cricket before and just after the war. That is rather the minor theme running through the book which comes to glorious fruition at the end of the book. No, actually the best sections in the splendid book are James' account of the Victorian origins of cricket, closely followed by the description of an island obsessed by cricket (Trinidad) and the pen portraits of its great stars and their club environment. James' particular perspective - an intellectually brilliant black West Indian educated in the tradition of the British public school system. Having imbibed its ethos (one suspects better than most British natives) he able to create a beautiful and insightful view on the schools and the development of organised games within the Empire, as well an encomium to W.G. Grace. All are better than any account I have read on the subject.