Tag: Faber

Skill In His Genes

Today the weather was dull throughout without even the relief of the forecast drizzle. Jackie was trapped this morning in a dreaded two hour Tesco shop. While waiting for her in the car I had plenty of time to finish reading my book.

As so often years ago, when a book review had prompted me to buy a copy, I would leave the newspaper article slipped inside my purchase.

Normally I would write the date and source on the cutting. On this occasion I didn’t. I was therefore pleased to see

this snippet about Andy Irvine on the reverse. A little research established that the piece would have been published some time in March 1981.

I don’t normally give away much of the story of a volume I am featuring.

Philippa Toomey’s review, being itself an essential part of my tale for today, has, on this occasion, done it for me. Any review ending with ‘a very strange book indeed’ linked with the name Wyeth was bound to send me off to the Baker Street Bookshop managed by my friend Graham Charnock to order a copy, the delivery note of which, dated May 1981, fits with my research.

My copy of The Helga Pictures by Andrew Wyeth was the reason the name appealed. I now know that the Wyeths are dynasty of leading American illustrators dating back to N. C. Wyeth from the golden age of the early 20th Century.

Andrew was the husband of Betsy James and the father of Jamie.

This book was published simultaneously in America and Canada by Farrar Straus Giroux in 1979. To Pilippa Toomey’s review I would add that the narrative of Mrs Wyeth flows, surging with life, as do the exquisite drawings of her son, whose skill is in his genes.

In this selection of pages from the work I have been constrained by the format and the breadth of the artist’s vision. I could not include everything. As usual, a click on any image will access the gallery, each member of which can be viewed full size by clicking the box beneath the right hand corner. Further enlargement is also possible.

This evening we dined on roasted chicken thighs; crisp Yorkshire puddings; creamy mashed potato; crunchy carrots and broccoli; and tender green beans with tasty gravy. Jackie drank Hoegaarden, which, of course, was the reason for the Tesco shop; and I drank Western Cape Malbec 2019.

From Erotic To Gothic

Having admired Mario Vargas Llosa’s epic tale , The War of The End of The World’, I decided to embark upon another of his works. This time I chose a slighter book, the elegant and gentle piece of erotica ‘In Praise of the Stepmother’. Very well written, the tale was ultimately a considerable disappointment. The first book had contained a few indications of the writer’s fascination with sexual love, but the more violent descriptions seemed the less remarkable in the context of a savage war.
The second book, cleverly links the narrative with famous paintings, such as Titian’s Titian, Venus with Cupid and MusicVenus with Cupid and Music’. The novel features an inappropriate relationship between a forty year old woman and her stepson, in which the small boy emerges as the scheming initiator. The disappointment is that the child is presented as possessing the control. In any such relationship it is the adult who is misusing power. Given the focus on historic child abuse in recent years in this country, I wonder how Faber’s 1991 publication would be received today.
I finished reading the book this morning, before taking my usual Hordle Cliff beach walk in reverse.
PigeonsAs the leaves fall from the trees, the rooks will soon be returning to their nesting area, but at the moment that is occupied by pigeons.
Chalet demolition 1Chalet demolitionThe chalet demolition in Shorefield Country Park continues apace.
Although the morning was drier and brighter than yesterday, strong winds roared across Sea and cloudscapeGrasses by seathe Solent, bringing waves crashing on the shingle, and bending the ornamental grasses growing beside the steps descending from the cliff top. Sunlight set autumn leaves Bramble leavesThe Needlesablaze and threaded its way through The Needles.
ClematisOur winter flowering clematis Cirrhosa is displaying the freckles by which it is known.
I was fortunate to avoid much of the rain this morning. The afternoon was rather wetter. Having recently watched Andrew Graham-Dixon’s BBC4 programme, ‘The Art of Gothic’, I was inspired to read Horace Walpole’s ‘The Castle of Otranto’, described as the first Gothic novel. I read Devendra P. Varma’s introduction to my Folio Society edition this afternoon.
Jackie’s recent sausage casserole has, with the addition of slabs of beef and a little more bacon, has become a mixed grill stew. And delicious it was too, as we dined on it, with roast potatoes and boiled carrots and runner beans, this evening. My choice from the array of desserts was tiramisu. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank Castillo san Lorenzo reserva rioja 2009. Flo just ate her dinner.