The Shadowy Third by Julia Parry

The power of writing, in particular letters, is at the heart of this very readable book. The author’s maternal grandfather, Humphry House, had a long term and variable relationship with the well known writer, Elizabeth Bowen. They communicated by letters which conveyed a sense of the time and place, as the 1920s moved through the challenging 1930s and the Second World War. The “Shadowy Third” person for at least part of the time was Madeline, Humphry’s wife and the only character who the author met. There are photographs of the people involved, the places where events took place, a terrific sense of the time when the relationships involved changed. Far more than a biography, this sensitive and well written book conveys the light and shades of very real people, as the author has deployed the letters that she found from all three parties and…

Jaipur Journals by Namita Gokhale

Many book lovers, authors and agents have been to a book festival, to listen to talks, panels and perhaps pick up a bit of book related gossip. The thousands of people who attend the Jaipur Literature Festival are no different, though for some the stakes are a little higher. An older woman carrying her precious manuscript, a criminal poet, a school girl, agents, experts, and so many others turn up at an event which reminds some of what they have lost, others what they may gain, and the social and personal turmoil of lives at a major yearly landmark event. With hundreds of events and over two dozen languages, there are all sorts of ramifications for those present, as past hurts and passions emerge in this humourous and well written book. Far from documenting what is obviously going on in the sight of the world…