Weekend reviews

And a happy start to the week for you all.
Saturday brought another instalment in the rather drawn out list of for Loving Mephistopheles :

'Loving Mephistopheles by Miranda Miller

A strange mixture here, but strangely beguiling – with echoes of J. K. Rowling and Angela Carter, and guest appearances by the likes of Max Beerbohm and Ezra Pound. We begin in Edwardian London. Jenny is a gutter-bred beauty making a living as a singer in the music halls when she meets the love of her life, the mysterious Leo. Through him, she sells her soul in exchange for eternal youth, and the two proceed to blaze a trail through the history of the 20th century. Great fun – utterly gripping if you just want the story, enormously clever if you appreciate erudition.'

Beguiling is a word that would look good in neon at the West End premiere, as would the last sentence. J.K.Rowling, Angela Carter, Max Beerbohm and Ezra Pound is about as good an off the cuff dinner party list as can be imagined.

More to the point, the review appeared in one of the best solutions to apparent lack of review space around at the moment - shorts thrown in between the longer reviews. Special mention should also go to the Financial Times Magazine who have an improved and larger books section.

Also literary Brummies will hopefully have enjoyed a review of Alfred Douglas which I'll try and get a copy of shortly.