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

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Faith In Fakes by Umberto Eco

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Faith In Fakes by Umberto Eco is a superbly entertaining beginner’s guide to semiotics. To what? Semiotics is the study and interpretation o...

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Costa Blanca Arts Update - Miraculous Bartok from Valencia Youth

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A full symphony orchestra in full flight is a thoroughly rousing experience. When that is combined with a programme that offers contrasting ...

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Costa Blanca Arts Update - Going down with a bang - Amsterdam Percussion Group in Altea

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Percussion ensembles often try to raise the macho to an art form. Loudness and aggression often predominate, usually to the detriment of mus...

Monday, July 21, 2008

Towards Asmara by Thomas Keneally

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Towards Asmara by Thomas Keneally was eventually disappointing. As a process, the experience was strewn with beauty, vivid images and arrest...

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote: Crime, punishment, and more

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In Cold Blood by Truman Capote was published in 1966, and is based on events that happened almost fifty years ago. The events were real. Thi...

Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Inheritance Of Loss by Kiran Desai

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The Inheritance Of Loss by Kiran Desai is a magnificent, impressive novel that ultimately is disappointing. As a process, the book is almost...

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The End Of The Affair by Graham Greene

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Anyone who has lived in London could place the Common that forms a geographical centrepiece in The End Of The Affair by Graham Greene. It do...

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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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