?? Ebou Dibba,
Chaff on the Wind 
Two young men from rural villages independently set out for Banjul, a large city and the capital of The Gambia. It is the 1930s and World War II approaches, even in West Africa. We catch a glimpse of the family and village of one of them but know nothing of the other. They are different in every way and the book follows them each. We learn their fortunes, their relationship to each other, and a bit about Banjul as well. The story is nothing exceptional although the writing is good and the characters, both major and minor, are well-drawn. There are fairly minor subplots relating to the place of Christianity and colonialism, but the story focuses almost without exception on the two young men and life in the city, highlighting the growing tension between tradition and modernity. Worth the time.
?? David Malouf,
Every Move You Make [Stories]
+
Malouf has long been my favorite Australian writer and I’ve been baffled that he doesn’t seem to be better known or more widely appreciated. This collection of stories contains at least one exceptional story, “The Valley of Lagoons.” A few story lines, to the extent they are relevant, are aptly described on the jacket: “A young man going off to war tries to make sense of his place in the world he is leaving; a composer's life plays itself out as a complex domestic cantata; an accident on a hunting trip speaks volumes, which its inarticulate victim never could; and a down-to-earth woman stubbornly tries to keep her feet on the ground at Ayers Rock.” As always, wonderful prose and nuanced, highly believable characters—Malouf is superb at catching the words not spoken, the feelings, and the spirit of place: Australia is always a character in his stories and novels and he makes it felt quite beautifully.
?? Nirmal Verma,
Maya Darpan and other stories +
Twelve stories by a Hindi master all dealing in one way or another with isolation. Although the settings vary from London to the Czech Republic to a hill station in northern India, Verma’s characters tend to be city people, well-educated, usually confronting (or suffering from) a world-weariness, an
ennui. In reading about Verma’s stories, I came across this paragraph (by Oindrila Mukherjee in an excellent review of this collection published under another title,
here) that I think is an apt description of his work: “Occasionally, a fleeting connection offers a glimmer of hope, only to ultimately fail. Unexpected encounters and unlikely bonds provide temporary relief from solitude in Verma’s world. But, ultimately, they are too fragile to survive. Even when people appear to connect, their circumstances are so fraught that they lead to more sorrow than joy.” And yet, the writing elevates what might otherwise simply be a series of depressing vignettes. Definitely recommended.
?? Charles Dickens,
The Pickwick Papers +
Even Charles Dickens had a first book. This is it. Unlike virtually all his later works,
Pickwick Papers has only the loosest of plots. It’s more the story of Mr. Pickwick and his travels. There are, to be sure, a few overarching story lines but mostly it is episodic. Most of the episodes work, but I also found a few chapters downright boring. Still, I imagine that an “abridged”
Pickwick is anathema. In any event, Dickens is Dickens (which is, to my mind, a great compliment), even in his first book. The characters (and their names) are inimitable and indelible. The situations…Dickensian. And the ending, a tear-jerker. Some superb characters, some minor (such as Mr. Wardle) and certainly Pickwick himself and Sam Weller. Not among my favorites but I’m glad to have read it and don’t consider the time (it’s 800+ pages long) ill-spent—and often delightful.
