Books
by Philip Hensher
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The King of the Badgers |
A child abduction focuses attention on a small Devon coastal town. What follows is a portrait of the lives and issues of the inhabitants. Well-observed and frequently funny - notably a hilarious evening in which a restrained neighbourhood soirée gets mixed up with a gay orgy - it borders on being patronising but you want to keep on reading. (Tony Pratt)
(Tony Pratt - bwl 66 Autumn 2012) |
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The Mulberry Empire |
A jewel of a book, as rich and splendid as the story it tells. Set in 1839 it tells of Alexander Burnes, an English adventurer who visits Kabul and the sumptuous palace of Amir Dost Mohammed, and in taking his story back to London, unwittingly prompts the ensuing war, as the arrogant and vainglorious British army suffer defeat at the hands of the bloodthirsty Afghans. A delicious, well researched and at times tenderly romantic read.
(Jenny Freeman - bwl 17 February 2003) |
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