April 17, 2010
Flocks of starlings, rustling like silk, flew to fresh pasture, driven by some necessity of movement, and the smaller birds, the finches and the larks, scattered from tree to hedge as if compelled.
Well, here is Daphne, the Cornwall Kid, introducing menace. She was awfully good at menace. Alfred Hitchcock made a dang good movie from this story, but reading the tale as told by Daph is well worth the effort.
April 16, 2010
“Don’t you think you’ve gone a tad overboard with the ‘coaching’ thing?”
April 15, 2010
Lady May of Orrun
Prince Dale Lightly
The tenth birthday of these twins looms on the horizon in Part Two of A Tale of Fiddleeebod and is the engine driving the plot to its amazing conclusion.
April 14, 2010
A Portrait of Rembrandt
Rembrandt frisked from room to room, banging his tambourine on the top of his head. He larked, clicking his heels. He boomed a bawdy ballad and roared with laughter. He ran outside giggling and destroyed his neighbor’s tulips. Energized, the young artist, sucking on a plum, returned to his easel. He narrowed his eyes and studied most carefully his favorite subject in the mirror.
Moral: If you happen to be Dutch, go ahead and flaunt it.
April 13, 2010
Clouds all streaming away like ghost fish under the ice.
The eccentric old loon of an artist, Gully Jimson, narrates The Horse’s Mouth, Cary’s brilliant novel. Gully is this loon’s favorite character in all of English literature. I mean, look at that fragment. There are plenty more like it to be tasted by the lucky reader. I recommend that you take steps to count yourself among the lucky.
April 12, 2010
The grain elevator of hope often comes a cropper when faced with the fidgety fingernail of despair.
April 11, 2010
This is the hollowite, Yones. He is the faithful attendant of Lord Fay Dot of Orrun and plays a central role in Orrun, the first part of a two part story entitled A Tale of Fiddleeebod. In addition to a shoot-across-the-room tongue and wings, Yones is blessed with six legs.
April 10, 2010
The cheesemaker raced along the breakwater in hot pursuit of Naomi Radetich, the Lambeth Strangler. Radetich leaped into a waiting speedboat, turned and squeezed off a few rounds from her automatic semi-automatic in the cheesemaker’s general direction. The cheesemaker returned fire with his bolt-action flamethrower. The speedboat sped off, and the cheesemaker flung his flamethrower in frustration. It wheeled through the air and plunged into the merciless sea. The cheesemaker returned to the dairy, where he combed his hair, washed and aproned himself, and took on his day’s work among the curds and whey.
April 9, 2010
‘I have to take it with me everywhere. Otherwise, it says it will kill me.’
April 8, 2010
General Malaise was to review the troops, but he couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed.
