John Mortimer
RICHARD Holmes' Coleridge, Early Vi- sions (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.95) strikes exactly the right note of amused, poetic and occasionally exasperated enthu- siasm for its subject. I enjoyed it very much indeed. Ruth Rendell has written a chilling masterpiece about the sinister side of suburbia; a love affair with a psychopathic girl is marvellously described in The Bridesmaid (Hutchinson, £11.95). I re- lished the elegant writing in Julian Barnes' History Of The World In 101/2 Chapters (Cape, £11.95), particularly in his account of the trial of certain woodlice for blas- phemy and of Gericault's painting of the Medusa raft. Gavin Ewart's Penultimate Poems (Century Hutchinson, £5.95) are funny, sensual and optimistic without illu- sions. The most overrated book is the Michelin. The guide to Italy points you unerringly to plastic hotels and boringly pretentious restaurants.
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