The frog days of summer - Harbour Spiel Online
The frog days of summer - Harbour Spiel Online
The frog days of summer - Harbour Spiel Online
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ooks<br />
s novel<br />
basin to paint its rare fl ora and even<br />
found a new species, Circaea Livingston<br />
Philippiana, named to honour her<br />
ancestor. Or did she? Clare is nothing<br />
if not ingenuous. And she is not above<br />
telling a lie, whether it’s about the<br />
provenance <strong>of</strong> her western belt buckle<br />
or the truth <strong>of</strong> her Amazonian expedition.<br />
Clare becomes entangled in turf<br />
wars between archaeologists with different<br />
agendas and Lambert plunges<br />
the reader into the world <strong>of</strong> tombaroli<br />
or tomb robbers, <strong>of</strong> the fascinating<br />
business <strong>of</strong> trying to reconstruct<br />
mythical gardens through pollen<br />
analysis and the faintest <strong>of</strong> traces, and<br />
the diffi cult excavations <strong>of</strong> desire and<br />
memory. Who is on Clare’s side? And<br />
are snakes in the<br />
meadow the only<br />
danger?<br />
In this fastpaced<br />
novel, everything<br />
shifts and<br />
changes as swiftly as<br />
the light over the ruined<br />
walls, the shadows<br />
<strong>of</strong> umbrella pines<br />
leaving their own<br />
mysterious clues.<br />
Objects take on<br />
huge signifi cance.<br />
<strong>The</strong> tiny blue bead<br />
that emerges in a dig<br />
at Poggio Selvaggio,<br />
Laurie<br />
Verchomin’s<br />
illuminating<br />
memoir:<br />
$19.99<br />
BOOKS<br />
for example — the story it tells <strong>of</strong><br />
imported objects arriving in Etruria<br />
from the Middle East, or farther, is<br />
so intriguing. Or the mirrors, found<br />
in tombs, which were decorated with<br />
graphic legends and were passed from<br />
woman to woman the way a romantic<br />
novel would make the rounds in<br />
contemporary society.<br />
I loved the careful attention to<br />
plants and terrain in this book and<br />
the rich descriptions <strong>of</strong> artistic process,<br />
how the layers <strong>of</strong> colour applied<br />
to paper tease out the shimmer <strong>of</strong> a<br />
poppy or the fragile petals <strong>of</strong> rock<br />
rose.<br />
Near the beginning <strong>of</strong> the novel,<br />
Clare explores her new property.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> leaves ruffl ed silver. It felt<br />
like a memory <strong>of</strong><br />
a different, parallel<br />
life, wandering<br />
among these trees.<br />
<strong>The</strong> sun streamed<br />
down with the sweet<br />
weight <strong>of</strong> honey.<br />
She found a grassy<br />
hollow and lay back,<br />
studying the quality<br />
<strong>of</strong> the light. Painting<br />
here would require a<br />
different palette...”<br />
And like Clare,<br />
the reader is eager<br />
to see what this<br />
palette might be.<br />
THE BIG LOVE:<br />
Life and Death with Bill Evans<br />
Back by popular demand:<br />
Saturday, Sept 15th Jazz Weekend<br />
SUMMER READS ☼ GUIDEBOOKS ☼ LOCAL HISTORY<br />
Open Tuesday to Saturday (Downtown Madeira Park)<br />
info@bluewaters.ca 883-9006<br />
BC<br />
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September 2012 Page 39<br />
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