Book review: “Good Evening, Mrs. Craven” by Mollie Panter-Downes

This book is a collection of short stories, originally published in the New Yorker magazine during the second World War. The author was a prolific writer for the magazine throughout her career, submitting a wide range of work including poems, book reviews, London Letters, and Letters from England, as well as these short stories.

The twenty-one stories in this collection are vignettes of Middle England through the war, briefly chronicling the experiences and emotions of her subjects. The stories range from light-hearted, almost wickedly observed meetings of a Red Cross sewing party, to the melancholy tale of a lonely, isolated civil servant, to the sparkling joy of a young bride finally stepping out from the shadow of her sister. The characters are perceptively observed, and the wit and compassion of the writer jumps of the page all the while shrewdly documenting wartime England, and the state of the nation.

Persephone Books are fast becoming my fail safe method of ensuring I read entertaining, intelligent, beautifully written books, and this was no exception. I don’t read a lot of short stories, but these were an absolute joy, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to others.

Film review: “Sounds Like Teen Spirit”

This British feature-length documentary about the Junior Eurovision contest, is a heart warming and heart felt film. I’d never heard of Junior Eurovision before this, and it’s a shame that the UK don’t compete in it, as it looks like a great competition – better than the adult version!

The director follows entrants from four countries, showing how they were selected, their preparation for the event, and the week they spend at the actual competition leading up to the live show. The children show us around their homes and show us where they live and how they feel about representing their country.

I loved that there were no pushy parents, and although there are moments to both laugh and cry, you never feel as though the children are being exploited or there is any intrusion into their privacy. As a complete antithesis to all the media representation of most children and teenagers in this country, the children the director has chosen to follow, all seem genuinely nice, talented kids. In fact, their talent is not only their singing or performing, but as part of the rules of the competition, they have to write their own song (music and lyrics) in their own language.

A warm, funny, feel good film – I loved it.