Le Clezio, Fenby, Lyon, Leroy

I read a number of books since my last post. I read Le Clezio's Le chercheur d'or. Clezio is a revelation, succint, direct style with the riveting telling detail. I also read Orhan Pahuk Nouvelle vie, with some extraordinary opening pages on reading that I could have repeated for myself, word for word. I also read Lyon's The House of Wisdom, an essay on the scientific contributions of Islam to knowledge. I read Fenby's History of Modern China, with the first pictures I recall of the Western Empress, but also a lot of detail about Communist China, including the tidbit that Mao had to give permission for surgery for the Chinese elite around him. That certainly explains why Zhou looked so bad. I also learned a good deal about the Cultural Revolution and some of its prominent victims. I also read a novel based on Zelda Fitzgerald's life, Alabama Song by Gilles Leroy. I liked it, but I knew the story quite well already. It's sad to see again the details of a wasted life and talent.