CW60 p68 Reviews:Layout 1 30/9/08 16:47 Page 68
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the edgy relationship and its final poignant
parting, which develops in the narrative.
There are dark themes here as well; head
injuries, abuse and suppressed sexuality,
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but there is also a glimpse of the bravery
needed to overcome broken relationships
All items reviewed are available from end and, a lovely touch, the condescending and try again. Every self-respecting bed and
Cornish World.
social awareness of the residents towards breakfast proprietor in the area should have
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the fortnightly visitors who do silly things. a copy for the entertainment and
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There is a necessary boredom during enchantment of their guests to while away
childhood, which has stimulated Elspeth’s an hour or two on misty, rainy days.
powers of observation and memory for George Care
detail. A memory, no doubt, that intensified
with the struggle and hardships that came
some years later.
This is not only a pleasant read; it is a
splendid nuanced account of slights and
sensitivities, with black and white
photographs that add their own gentle
bittersweet melancholy.
George Care
The Last Good Man
Patience Swift £14.99
The Last Good Man is set on Cornwall’s
rugged, windswept coastline and examines
The Great Western the themes of solitude, redemption and
Beach: A Memoir of a man’s relationship to the natural world.
Cornish Childhood The author, Patience Swift (a pseudonym)
between the Wars is resident in Cornwall and in this book
Emma Smith £14.99 manages to capture the atmosphere of
This memoir tells of Emma’s, (then called village life and the characters, both local and
Elspeth), first 12 years lived in Newquay incomers, who live there.
between 1923 and 1935. The story revolves around a man who has
The many strains and quarrels within the chosen to live apart from society and close
family are paused at the beach during Between Two Seas to nature. His life changes with the discovery
swimming and building sandcastles whilst RD Cook £6.99 of a child on a deserted beach and the
watching the waves. Occasionally, they visit This is an attractive and haunting novel set following sequence of events affect not only
the plush Victoria cinema and watch Will in West Penwith, concerning the relationship him but also the inhabitants of the nearby
Hay or Jackie Coogan. between a highly stressed young student, village, as the world intrudes on the
This is a family with tensions; Elspeth’s Tomas, and a strained young poetess whom lonesome man.
moody and irascible father is convinced he he is to interview. The novel covers themes of love and loss,
will become a great painter but is, in reality, She is recently separated and enjoys and ultimately redemption. The descriptions
a bank clerk upstaged by his attractive and experimenting with Welsh and Cornish verse of the Cornish scenery and wildlife give this
charming wife. forms and spending time in the protective book a mystical quality and the strength of
It is clear that Elspeth has to keep a atmosphere of a fogou. the central story makes it a genuine page-
vigilant eye upon both her parents, whose One can imagine that this will appeal to turner. This would be a great book to read
values seem more than a little incompatible. young readers and indeed anyone with an after a day wandering along the seashore -
Written with humour and charm, there is interest in Celtic verse, landscape, ancient or to remind you of the isolated coastline
almost a Proustian smell of wet deck chairs megaliths, country cottage interiors and the should you live in a crowded city.
with meditations on the beach at summer’s pleasures of cooking. All this contrasted with Geoff O’Donoghue
68 eth ha tri ugens
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