Ilium

Ilium by >Lea Carpenter
4 of 5 stars

I needed a breather from required reading and picked up Lea Carpenter's book as a perfect antidote. A young innocent falls in love with a CIA agent and during their honeymoon, he asks her to act as an art appraiser to gain access to a Cap Ferrat mansion on the sea where a prominent Russian agent resides. Innocence, suspense, location: Ilium fit the bill with allusions to the Odyssey, revenge and other aspects of Greek mythology while zipping along at spy novel pace. The ending brought together some vagueness earlier about "the hit" planned by CIA operatives. Three and one-half stars, ideally, but the book delivered on its promise.

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Hold Still ****

Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not only are the author's stunning photos and a collection of family history snapshots included in this memoir, the writing is exceptional. And an interesting story of growing up in the South coping with dramatic family events and race and politics. And always creativity and art.
Linking to current creative monster discussions, Sally Mann (Photographer) talks about the distinction between the images she produced and their creator (accused by some of immorality). "Do we deny the power of For Whom the Bell Tolls because the author was unspeakably cruel to his wives? Should we vilify Ezra Pound's The Cantos because of its author's nutty political views? Does Gauguin's abandoned family come to mind when you look at those Tahitian canvases? If we only revere works made by those with whom we'd happily have our granny share a train compartment, we will have a paucity of art."
Highly recommended.

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The Tortoise and the Hare ****

The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written languid novel of 1950's England about Isobel, an accommodating young woman married to an older professional husband, Evelyn, who takes an interest in a sporty, wealthy neighbor, an unlikely threat to their twelve-year marriage. Well drawn is their irritating young son Gavin and his stolid friend Tim who sit in at teatimes at their country estate. The countryside and furnishings are artfully represented as are the characters which make up this tale of the slow disintegration of a marriage and a way of life.
Hilary Mantel wrote the introduction comparing Elizabeth Jenkins to Rebecca West and Sybille Bedford (a favorite of mine), and even compares her prose to Jane Austen: "formal, nuanced, acid. She surveys a room as if she were perched on the mantelpiece an unruffled owl of Minerva, a recording angel."

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