And Now For Something Completely Different!

I also post comments on books. God, I'm a self-important, wordy bastard. Thank God no one will ever read this crap.

Old Calabria by Norman Douglas, Jonathan Keates From the Publisher Among the finest books of travel in the English language, Old Calabria is Norman Douglas' account of his visits to the wild country of southern Italy in the early years of the twentieth century. Then, as now, Calabria was relatively ignored by traditional tourists. But Norman Douglas, the unrepentant pagan, was no traditional tourist. With his inexhaustible fund of erudition, wit and elegant literary style he conducts the reader from the promontory of Gargano to the tip of Aspromonte; through the influences of its many invaders - Greek colonists, Norman feudal lords, Spaniards and Angevins, until its absorption into the corrupt Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Delicate, allusive, urbane and civilized, it is recognized as a classic for its vivid evocation of the life, language, history and customs of Europe's most colourful extremity. Its literary quality puts it in a class of its own. CUSTOMER REVIEWS - An Open Forum Number of Reviews: 1 Average Rating: Phil Cummings (skep41@aol.com), July 29, 1999, Scottish Presbyterian vs. Pagan Catholicism The incomparable and sharply ironic writing style which died out with the onset of Joyce and Hemingway is at its best here. The chapter which proves that the importation of eucalyptus trees into the Mediterranian is a monstrous crime against scenery is alone worth the price of the book.A French and a Latin dictionary will be helpful as this author assumes a level of education in his readers which doesnt exist in these benighted times. Also recommended: Satyricon, Ovid's Erotic poetry