Books
by John Banville
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The Book of Evidence |
Desperate for money to repay a loan, Freddie, a gifted scientist, visits his family home in the hope of retrieving some valuable paintings, only to find his mother has sold them to a friend. He decides to steal one, is disturbed by a maid and brutally kills her with a hammer. Awaiting trial in prison, he writes this astonishing confession as a meditation on evil and guilt. The prose is Nabakovian - poetic, compelling and darkly comic. Unforgettable!
(Denise Lewis - bwl 110 Autumn 2023) |
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The Sea |
This is a delicate and poignant intertwined story of the death of the narrator's wife and his memory-invoking refuge in the place where he lost his innocence on a summer holiday as a child. Yes, it's all been done before, but Banville's prose makes it different, with its crystalline images popped in between intimate and colloquial exchanges with the reader. I'm not sure what he was getting at (enlighten me somebody!) but enjoyed the experience anyway.
*Winner of the 2005 Man Booker prize
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 33 February 2006) |
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The Untouchables |
Inevitably the figure of Anthony Blunt plays a part in the reading of this amazing book together with other disguised characters taken from the 20th century's biggest UK spy scandal. But the fictional cast takes on authentic dimensions of its own as the story unfolds. Absolutely riveting.
(James Baker - bwl 2 March 2000) |
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