Hello St Marks

Laurie Graham's 'The Importance of Being Kennedy' reminded me of Jo Baker's 'Longbourn, The Servants' Story'. Both are re-imaginings of familiar stories from the help's perspective. 'Kennedy' is voiced by Nora Brennan, no-nonsense nursemaid to all nine Kennedy children— those Kennedys, American royalty, infamous and tragic. Both novels sound like trash and weren't. 'Longbourn' was lyrical, 'Kennedy' is acerbic; both are clever and thoughtful with the frisson of a familiar story told fresh. 

I'm back, lightly committed to recording every book I read this year. Sadly, I'm a year too late. 2020 was the noteworthy year for me; as COVID-19 changed everything, I read like a demon, at full tilt. Two or three books a week and—after I was sodden with mostly forgotten novels—remarkable for a line up of really good non-fiction. So last year was, in the end, a year of reading to be proud of. All now unrecorded, unremarked and (recall my Swiss cheese memory) largely un-remembered. Neverthless. I'm starting badly because it's 13 January and I can't recall everything I've read so far. Working backwards: 'American Dirt' by Jeanine Cummins. Best book of the year by far. Really, it's a keeper; I'm confident it'll make my Best Of list for 2021. 'Longbourn, The Servants' Story' by Jo Baker, a re-telling of 'Pride and Prejudice' from the servants' perspective. Now this one sounds like trash, doesn't it? But wasn't a...