Customer Reviews

Dining Out With Mr Lunch

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My older sister turned me onto this book - and she was right, as older sisters often are. It is a real gem. She discovered it when she was Downunder on holiday last month and brought it back with her. The author is an Australian journalist who writes insightful and human stories. Half the book features Australian writers, half features American, English and Canadian authors. Each chapter takes a different approach and you end it wanting more. I liked the humor, I liked the sharp observations, I liked the way he made me feel as if I had met the subjects. I just wish American journalists wrote like this - read it, you will enjoy the experience.

It's fascinating when writers are put in the spotlight - some flourish and some flounder. This collection became compulsive bedside reading for me - it's not heavy on literary theory but it sure revealed the people behind the author's cloak in a personal, perceptive and frequently funny way. I really got the feeling that I was meeting the people interviewed - warts and all. Yet it was done so as to leave dignity intact. Vanities, secrets and courage were all revealed. It made me want to rush out and buy many of the subjects' books. I guess the best comment is that I was sorry to finish. I also liked the way the authors were such an international range - and I recommend the chapters on Antonella Gambotto, Kinky Friedman, Morris West and Brian Keenan in particular. More please.