J. Barnes, A pedant in the kitchen*
A. Bennett, Clayhanger
W. Golding, Rites of passage
P.H. Newby, Something to answer for
Astute observers will notice that I am filling in the missing Booker winners I've not yet read. I'm getting very close to being able to produce a definitive ranking. Astute observers will also note that I haven't actually managed to do much reading, but there is much to remark about on these. What I'm most struck by is the fragility of literary reputation. Newby and Bennett are obscure now, yet neither deserve to be - Bennett is particularly marvellous. I'd also comment on the loss of Egypt as a setting in modern fiction. From the 1950s onwards, Egypt crops up again and again. I'm thinking here of Durrell, Olivia Manning, Waugh et cetera - most of course about the war. Lively's, with The English patient five years' later, is really the last hurrah (I am happy to be corrected on this). It's all India now and that's a shame. Anyway, Moon tiger was great. Elegantly written and deeply affecting. Go find it. It's quite short and well worth it.
