A dancing class for trees
Something utterly comforting about orchards, especially old and haphazard ones. But I never thought of them as a dancing class...
Being certain vs being correct
Know the sort? Enough confidence and you can get yourself obeyed even if you are ordering people in the wrong...
Watching the sun rise
This line stands out in the book as a contrast to the father’s generally benighted, crushing behaviour towards his sons,...
Daft and marginal
I liked this description of a region being 'daft-and-marginal' before splitting in two, with one half somehow managing to rule...
Like atoms of radium
A fine metaphor for dots of kindness shining through darkness; Grossman's hope for the future is largely vested in the...
For morning lovers
I love mornings, particularly bright ones, and the magic of getting up early, especially when it’s light at five. If...
In praise of the slow, the deep and the difficult
Reading this, I am trying to figure out how to ‘restore the positive perception of certain almost lost qualities’ that...
Living like pigs
With all due respect to our porcine friends, I loved this line by the competent, demanding and house proud farmer's...
Plus ça change…
Although this was written in the context of distant history, our TV screens are awash with images of men being...
Of edible houses
A donkey nabbed by the Italian army in the Second World War finds himself in Abyssinia where, from his perspective,...
Butterflies of all colours
Dorothy Wordsworth's eye for details, and her care in noting them, are a wonder, allowing her to converse with people...
Dietrich as satellite dish
One of the best film reviews I’ve ever read, so bewitching. I must seek out The Scarlet Empress, Dietrich as...
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