BACK LIST
NAOMI MITCHISON
AS IT WAS
Naomi Mitchison celebrated her ninetieth birthday in 1987 and is considered one ofthe foremost contributors to the literary scene.
AS IT “A S is anew illustrated paperback edition of her first two volumes of autobiography — Sill/.1. 'I‘.-l LR and .vll.l. (‘lelNUli Illz'Rlz'. £5. 99 1m ‘11. t RI) om; u m Misti/yr; 1/11) (il.lS(i()ll
literary acclaim (even the honour of I winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1971) for her collected short stories) was ever going to compensate for the suffering which led to her eventual self-destruction. Roberts's exploration ofthis dark and tragic story is both compelling and revealing. There is a morbid fascination with pain and psychological breakdown and the aftertaste is interesting but it is. in the end. somewhat soured by the appalling way in which this woman lived and died. (Catriona Oates)
SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN
The King Of Children Betty Jean Lifton (Chatto £14.95) This first English biography about the great Janusz Korczak — doctor. writer and educator — introduces a wealth of spiritual and historical material. Hailed in his native Poland and all over Europe for his progressive work with children. this Polish-Jew was indeed ‘The King of (‘hildren‘.
A pedagoguc. he fought all his life for children‘s rights. Understanding that children cannot defend themselves in an adult world. he protected them under the roofof his orphanages.
Using his own meticulous observations. he also wrote many books. magazine and newspaper articles. Never too tired to examine a
I.
Booksellers since 1797
— Thursday 6 ()ctober Kleet RAYMOND BLANC
renowned chef from Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
7pm for 7.30pm
ADMISSION FREE Wine will be served
5 () Gordon Street, Glasgow Telephone: Glasgow 22] 0262
NEW OPENING TIMES 9am—8pm Monday—Friday 9am—5.30pm Saturday 12n00n—5pm Sundays; with live music 1—2pm
child. never too tired to talk to or listen to an unhappy child. he created a small utopian community.
From his life story. the sad irony emerges that it was he who walked his 2110 Jewish orphans to their deaths. When he was offered a chance to escape. he chose to stay with the children — they needed him. At the hands ofthe Nazis. they died at Treblinka.
The descriptions of Korczak running round the (ihetto. getting food for the children and helplessly watching as others died of disease and malnutrition. are heart-breaking. As the Jewish quarter was tnade smaller and smaller by the Nazis. the life and the soul of the persecuted men. women and children were crushed.
Lifton’s ten years of research into
the life of Korczak and the horrors of
the Holocaust is a tribute to this great man and an attribute to literature. She herself has written extensively on children‘s rights and has witnessed the cruel consequence of war in the Far East. Thus equipped. Lifton has identified the vitality of Korczack's work. (Lorna Bateman)
MICHAEL JACKSON AND OTHER ANIMALS
Body and Soul: An Illustrated Biography of Michael Jackson (Virgin Books £5.99) An illustrated biography ‘written for the fans‘. Body and Soul will disappoint the serious Jackson scholar. The work of a British journalist who does not seem to have actually met pop‘s most celebrated llama-keeping recluse. Body and Soul is 1% pages of uninflected enthusiasm.
A desire to establish Jackson as the tnost intelligent. sensitive and talented individual ever to have adorned a bedroom wall produces some dottin partisan passages — spirited assaults on the rival Osmond and Partridge broods for example. and a hilarious section of practical criticism on the lyrics ofthe Thriller album.
()n more serious issues. Brown is silent. Though admirany severe on the institutional racism of the world music industry. Brown is curiously unwilling to address the disturbing implications ofJackson‘s skin-lightening surgery. which is painfully evident from a comparison ofearly with more recent photographs.
As Spielberg says ‘Michael’s world is a nice place. I wish we could all spend sometime there.‘
PAPERBACK BIOGRAPHIES
I The Lite of Kenneth Tynan Kathleen Tynan (Methuen £5.95) Bitch-free account of the life and times of the most influential theatre critic since Shaw. undeservedly best remembered as the first to say ‘fuck' on television.
I As It Was: An Autobiography 1897-1918 Naomi Mitchison
(Richard Drew £5.99) The nonagenarian's first two volumes of autobiography. free from cant and sentimentality with splendid pen portraits of Oxford. Edinburgh and (‘Ioan around the turn of the century.
I Kings Over the Water: The Saga of the Stuart Pretenders ’I‘heo Aronson (Cassell {(1.95) ‘l)ynasty‘ in plaids instead of shoulder pads.
I Eliot‘s Early Years Lyndall (‘rordon (Oxford L'niversity Press £4.95) Analytical exhumation of the young poet aecentuating the autobiographicaI elements in his poetry. Exemplary scholarship. fascinating reading.
I OscarWilde Richard Ellmann (Penguin 1.6.99) ()n a par with same author‘s monumental life ofJoyce: felicitously scribed. impeccably organised and researched.
I Baldwin Roy Jenkins (Collins £8.95) Stanley not James. treated with sympathy and respect.
I Enemies ol Promise (‘yril (‘onnolly (Deutsch £5.95) The hedonist's ambition was to write a book that endured for ten years. So far this one has survived fifty and is still going strong thanks to its author’s aphorisms. blunt commonsense and arguable opinions.
BOOK EVENTS GLASGOW
I Hatchards 5l)(iordon Street ((141 221 11262) o()ct: Meet Raymond Blanc. renowned chef from ‘l-e Manoir Aux ()uat‘ Saisons’. 7pm for 7.30pm. Wine will be served.
I John Smith & Sons 57 St Vincent Street ((1-11 221 7472). 7 ()et: Meet Melvyn Bragg who will be talking about his new book Rich — the life of Richard Burton. (i.3ll.7.3()pm.
I Sherratt & Hughes 45 So Princes Square (ll-ll 221 965(1) 1 1 ()ct: Derek Jameson. 1.15pm.
I Forbidden Planet Ins Buchanan Street. 29 Sep: Ann Noeenti and John Bolton signing copies of the ‘Someplace Strange' graphic novel. Noon.
EDINBURGH
I Waterstone's 114 (ieorge Street ((131 225 5-130) All events at 7.30pm. 2 ()ct: Hamish Brown. 5 ()et: Ken Hom (‘ookery Demonstration. 6 ()ct: Salman Rushdie.
I Science Fiction Bookshop 40 West (‘rosscausewayz 4 ()ct: Jim Baikie. John Smith. Pat Mills and (‘arlos Ezquerra signing copies of the new 2000A I ) spin off ( 'risis. 4pm.
I West and Wilde 25a l)undas Street. 4 ()ct: Suniti Namjoshi. author of ‘l’lesh and Paper'. and (‘hristine Donald. author of the ‘Breaking Up‘ poems will be reading from their work. 8pm.
FUTURE EVENT
I Joseph Heller In Conversation at the Queen's Hall. 21 Oct. 6.45pm. £2.75 (£1.50 conc) lrom the Queen’s Hall, Central Library and Waterstone’s Bookshop.
52The List .‘wtlSept — 13 Oct 1988