Philip Spires commonplace book

I have kept a commonplace book for many years. It's a place where scraps of impressions are filed for future reflection. It's not a diary, it's just a mental scrapbook, concentrating on book reviews, concert reviews, visual arts and some occasional pieces on travel. It is also a place where I occasionally reflect on what I write. Details of my books can be found at http://www.philipspires.co.uk

Showing posts with label film. France. Show all posts

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Monsieur or The Prince of Darkness by Lawrence Durrell

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Some decades ago I read Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet and all his travel books. The term addict could easily have been an under-stat...

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Knot Of Vipers by Francois Mauriac

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When you reckon your time is up and that you’d like to get a few things straight before you peg out, the temptation to take up a pen and use...

Monday, May 24, 2010

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier

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The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier presents a vivid story. It features two central characters, both women, who inhabit the same places but a...

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Ways Of Escape by Graham Greene

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Ways Of Escape is one of the most rewarding and, surprisingly, surprising reads one might encounter. On the face of it, the book is Graham G...

Friday, October 24, 2008

The Destiny Of Natalie X by William Boyd

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An aspect of William Boyd’s writing that always seems close to the surface of his work is an examination of selfishness. At the very least, ...

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About Me

philipspires: I was born in Wakefield and was brought up in Sharslton, a mining Village. I went to London University and then became a maths teacher, working initially as a volunteer teacher in Kenya. I spent sixteen years in London, in Balham and Islington. In 1992, I left Britain for Brunei and then Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. I currently live in La Nucia, near Benidorm in Spain. I am interested in the relationship between nature and nurture, birthright and experience. Themes of culture and identity and their relation to economic and social roles underpin my writing. What we are born into relates to what we become, but we are rarely in control. What others do, our interests and intellects and the way we choose to earn a living, all of these shape us into what we become. It may be that culture is the sum of all assumptions that others make on our behalf, whereas identity represents our reactions to them. I did a PhD on the effects of education in economic development in the Philippines. I was President of Alfas del Pi Music Society for twelve years.

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