tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1312653003746104662.post3029102966999857526..comments2013-09-01T12:23:28.858+12:00Comments on Writing anyway: Not knowing everythingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1312653003746104662.post-58465052853580390872009-11-14T23:13:40.152+13:002009-11-14T23:13:40.152+13:00Thank you for your helpful suggestions, Lynn.Thank you for your helpful suggestions, Lynn.Michalsuzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11084889297961477430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1312653003746104662.post-26834375935599504742009-11-14T04:00:30.582+13:002009-11-14T04:00:30.582+13:00In the UK Diane Athill has acquired almost Churchi...In the UK Diane Athill has acquired almost Churchillian status since her last book came out. Of course she started late but it seems you have to be either very old (near death) or very young (leaping about) in order to attract serious attention. Diane Athill is revelling in her new-found recognition and why shouldn't she? Jean Rhys and Barbara Pymm also went out of fashion in the middle years and came back into it at the end of their lives (and William Gerhardie nearly did).<br />I agree, the best psycholiogical thrillers are the ones that mirror the uncertainies of life. These are the ones that stay with you. The 'jump-out-of-your-seat type end as soon as you leave your seat behind. Inevitably, of course, there is a conflict in fiction between truth to reality and truth to art, which demands a 'satisfactory' conclusion in artistic terms. My last book features a biographer faced with this conflict in his memoirs: should he tell the truth or make his life into a work of art by leaving unpalatable details, one of which is his former lover (a big mistake).<br />If you enjoy Pat Barker and Diane Athill, Penelope Fitzgerald is worth reading. So is Sebastian Barry 'The Secret Scripture', John Banville's 'The Sea' and Ian Mckewen's 'On Chesil Beach', all penetrating explorations of why human beings do things rather than what they do and the quietly tragic results.Lynn Bushellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03283835345900364941noreply@blogger.com