Page 480 of our reviews
Live from the Artist’s Den
From the time I first heard Patty Griffin’s debut album Living with Ghosts in 1996, I have been enraptured with her. I was working at her record company and it seemed that myself and two friends were…
Dedicated
Long regarded as Australia’s pre-eminent female soul and R&B singer, Geyer returns with another fine album to showcase her great voice. She has chosen some excellent songs too: ‘Why Can’t We Live Tog…
The Memory Room
Former diplomat, Derek Bradley, returns to his memories when he visits the old home of his friend Vincent Austin. Vincent has stored his highly detailed diaries there and instructed his aunt to give …
The Street of a Thousand Blossoms
It’s 1939 and two orphaned brothers are living with their grandparents in Tokyo. One is obsessed with sumo wrestling and the other with creating hand carved masks for the Noh theatre. The boys both b…
What the Dickens
This highly inventive novel is really two stories in one. Three children and their older cousin are trapped at home in a violent storm when electricity, food and communications are almost non-existen…
Revival
Not many artists so easily conjure up images of times past. John Fogerty is one such voice. Familiar, still tapping into our consciousness with messages relecant to today’s world. At times the lyrics…
The President’s Last Love
Sergei Pavlovich Bunin, a Ukranian, lives in the futuristic world of 2015 – and is president of the Ukranian Republic. Some weird things are going on in his life: his heart transplant is causing odd …
Beethoven: Piano Concertos 3 & 4
This recording from the latter part of the 1970s remains strikingly fresh and Pollini’s reading of both concertos, particularly the third, is inspired. Karl Boehm’s faithful accompaniment only adds t…
Boccherini: Guitar Quintets 4, 7 & 9
This recording from 1971 has long been one of my favourites. Narciso Yepes is at the top of his game in this lively performance and he gets great support from the Melos Quartet. Also listen for Lucer…
Zugzwang
Zugzwang is the first novel from Irish writer Ronan Bennett since 2004’s Havoc in its Third Year. I remember meeting him in London for the launch of his 1998 book Catastrophist; he is a really nice p…
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