Catherine, Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons is quite a light hearted take on the melodrama typical of many books from the 1930's. It is quite hilarious at times. Filled with odd-ball supporting and sideline characters and an ever so snobby yet utterly charming main character, Flora Poste, the novel is easy to read and not preachy. Nor is it too long! That is exactly why i chose it; i needed something that was uplifting, intelligent, and well written. This one passed the test for me. Very probably the funniest book i've read since Catch 22 and Diary of a Nobody!
I would also recommend A Passage To India which i read in September or October and really enjoyed. I had thought it was going to be dull and tedious; i was judging by the "blurb" on the back of the book. I found it to be quite thrilling. The characters had a ring of reality to them; their imperfections were central to their characters and so understandable. I'm not sure if this one rams its message down your throat, as one friend of mine maintains. The Newton Letter by John Banville is quite short and very captivating. It should be made into a short movie! John Banville is an Irish author famed for his "revolutions trilogy", of which this book is the third. It isn't really a trilogy. In fact, they are three entirely stand alone novels. The first i've not read "Doctor Copernicus", the second "Kepler" i am currently reading, slowly but surely, and the third "Newton Letter" i enjoyed immensely. It is about scientific revolution, if indeed such a thing existed. The Newton Letter is semi fiction, if that term makes sense Catherine. A contemporary researcher gets caught up in his research about Newton and i suppose he beocmes sidetracked as he tries to finish a book he is writing, and this makes for a good little story! I;m not giving it away, just in case you do decide to take that one! Let us all know what you eventually decide Chaterine!! LOTR isn't bad, so they say:-) GARRET
