Dervla Murphy
Behind the Wall: A Journey through China by Colin Thubron (Heinemann, £10.95). For thousands of readers it no longer matters where or what Colin Thubron is writing about: they fall upon his every new book like starved travellers reaching food. And truly we are starved, nowadays, of literary excellence. Mr Thubron is among the few living authors who write so ex- citingly well that one often re-reads a paragraph for the sheer joy of watching a master at work. In China he travelled alone and frugally and seems to have been allowed almost complete freedom of move- ment.
The Village of Longing by George O'Brien (Lilliput, £10.95). Like all auto- biographers, George O'Brien must have done a little subconscious editing; yet surely less than is usual. The small boy who lives in these pages is totally and touchingly authentic. Behind a timid and slightly pampered façade, he is precociously perceptive, ever-questioning, instinctively averse to the stifling conventions and prejudices of Irish village life in the 1950s. In a few deft sentences this author can illuminate a whole panorama of Irish social history. Frequently his style changes, to match the mood or incident being recalled, but always he writes with exhilarating grace and power.
Viceroy's Agent by Charles Chenevix Trench (Cape, £16). This superb account of the Raj's Political Agents (1919-1947) is based on hitherto unpublished memoirs and on personal recollections of the author and his wife, who both come of families that for generations were moulded by their roles in India. It is a happy, high-spirited, immensely knowledgeable book which will help the younger generation to understand why so many `Politicals' and ICS officers are still remembered with affection and admiration by millions on the sub- continent.
To be continued next week
Previous page
