The Globe and Home

More terror in airline travel, but this time averted in London. Daily reports of the new flare-up in the Middle East. The world pushes in. So too the themes of some of the books I've read this week. One was a real gem of a book, "Small Crimes in an Age of Abundance" by Matthew Kneale. Just as the writer of the review I am not usually a fan of short stories and indeed tend to actually avoid them, but a "mistake" at the library landed this book in my hands and I can only agree with the reviewer, it was an increadible read - and about the western world's relationship to the rest of the world. (Unfortunately my library doesn't have Kneale's lauded "English Passengers", but I will certainly read it some time in the future).
Another book that puts the recent news into a more personal perspective is Dan Fesperman's "The Warlord's Son". This was a book full of suspense and, amazingly enough, hope. The ending was perhaps more "happy" than it should have been thereof the hope. The third book this week was a new Fannie Flagg offering called "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven". A bit corny, but a feel good book for us old-fogeys.