FRESH AIR READING

Yesterday I was able to sit out and enjoy reading in the fresh air.

Unfortunately I had left my hardback Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer upstairs so I could nag my dedicated womenfolk to fetch it for me, or alternatively guard me on a stair climbing expedition. But for once giving them a rest [they have looked after me so well] I decided to pick up a short paperback to read, and before I knew it I was fifty pages in and completely hooked.

I went on to finish it later on that evening.

The book was Needle in a Haystack [La aguya en el pajar] by Ernesto Mallo, and this novel, set in Argentina under the military dictatorship, has got to be a contender for next year's International Dagger, if it is eligible.

I will post a short review of the book later, but here is a snippet from this superb book to whet your appetite.

The first lesson is this: to cook well you have to cook with pleasure, otherwise the food turns out bad. My grandma used to say you had to cook with love. Well, it's the same thing, and cooking and loving have several things in common, not least their unpleasant side. Meaning? Tears. And so, chopping the onion is your job.

By the way as you can see from the photograph my horribly white leg is healing well, although the phrase 'keyhole surgery' obviously did not apply in my case.