| Richard Ford - The Sportswriter
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| Set in an ordinary Middle American town towards the end of the twentieth century, the story here is told in the first person in a totally straightforward manner. This is a superb novel of American life away from the big cities.
(Jeremy Swann)
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| Vikram Seth - An Equal Music
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| A book about love lost and found and lost again set against a background of music. I found it totally absorbing and it made me want to rush out and buy all the CDs of the pieces he mentions. (Jenny Baker)
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| Robert Stone - Damascus Gate
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| A remarkable and to me haunting thriller set mainly in Jerusalem. It took some getting into but once there had me rushing to find out what would happen in the next chapter. Very good on the atmosphere of Jerusalem and its exotic mixture of inhabitants.
(Jeremy Swann)
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| Barbara Trapido - The Travelling Hornplayer
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| If you're a fan of Trapido, you'll love this one. It's full of zany characters and comedy that teeters on the edge of tragedy. It begins with a girl killed in a car accident whose ghost haunts and affects the lives of all those around her.
(Jenny Baker)
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| Kinta Beevor - A Tuscan Childhood
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| On the same theme as A Valley in Italy, (see below), but more serious and with recollections of some of the interesting and colourful figures amongst the expatriates of Florence in the Twenties and Thirties. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Ebenzer Brewer - Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
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| If I am ever marooned on a desert island, this is the book I would like to have with me. It is amazing how often it can be relied upon to provide the origin or explanation of. some obscure word or phrase. It is packed full of interesting information. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Lisa St Aubin de Teran - A Valley in Italy
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| A light-hearted account of how the author and her eccentric family bought and partially restored a palazzo in the Umbria region of Italy. An amusing light read. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Chris Stewart - Driving over Lemons
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| This is the story of the ex-Genesis drummer turned sheep shearer who bought a derelict farm in Andalucia. It is down to earth and funny without ever being patronising. (Jenny Baker)
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