Ursula Buchan
The best non-fiction book that I have read this year (apart from James Buchan's Frozen Desire: The Meaning of Money which consanguinity disqualifies me from recommending) is John Harris's No Voice from the Hall (John Murray, £17.99). Mr Harris was one of the organisers of the Destruction of the Country House exhibi- tion at the V&A in 1974, which did so much to change public and private atti- tudes towards the conservation of build- ings. In this elegiac book, he recounts his experiences of exploring 200 distressed and, usually, deserted houses, in the years after the war. His prose is easy and amus- ing, but the story he tells is a desperately sad one. The best novel is Larry's Party by Carol Shields (Fourth Estate, £6.99). It is a clever, funny and humane story, about 20 years in the life of a man, Larry, who designs mazes. I am glad to say that he gets to the centre of his own at the end.
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