Bibliography, November 2023

BOTM: M. Mazower, The Greek Revolution (2021)

J. Crace, eden (2022)
E. Crispin, Holy Disorders (1945)
J. Hamilton-Paterson, Cooking with Fernet Branca (2004)
R. Heinlein, Farmer in the sky (1950)
A. Martine, A desolation called peace (2021)
E. Mittelholzer, My bones and my flute (1951)
R. Sepetys, I must betray you (2022)
C. Spencer, Killers of the King (2014)

Almost all the novels I read were pretty good, though I think eden isn't up to Jim Crace's normal standards. Best of them was probably Mittelholzer, in part because of the distinctiveness of the background. Slightly unfairly, because I think this is a pattern, they all came second to a very done summary on a historical issue I'm interested in to read a full account of, but not enough to read several. I do wonder if I'd have put Mazower top if I'd read lots about the Greek revolution. As I haven't, this was a great book. I think he's a great historian. I would say he's undervalued, but this did win major prizes. Either way, it does a very good job of disentangling the complex background of the Greek revolution, and making clear the contingent nature of its success as well as the complexity of Balkan politics at the time. I'm very glad I read it before the Elgin marbles controversy blew up again.