If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, you must be the one to write it.
Corners of buildings. Collins Street, as seen from Wellington Plaze, Hobart. April 2012. Two great reads this week from two exceptional authors. First up is a sequel that I never knew existed, Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck. Following on from Cannery Row , it is set in the years following World War II. We reunite with those characters who made it through the war. There is a little more plot and less vignette in this one, and ultimately it amounts to a love story of sorts. Love, duty, happiness and loneliness are the central themes here and the story progresses at great speed to a satisfying conclusion. Although I enjoyed the book very much, and would strongly recommend reading it in companion to Cannery Row , I can't help but feel that it was somewhat slighter in tone. But maybe that was just the more upbeat ending! Highly recommended. Second up is Julian Barnes' prize-winning The Sense of an Ending . A tightly focused novel that relies heavily on a single narrative voice, i...