SUN LIT

The current spot of atmospheric warmness might have led me to contemplate those great passages of poetry and prose which have described relentless, oppressive, unstinting, stultifying (yes, the Central line is getting to me) heat . Instead, thanks to the mental giddiness engendered by both the soaring temperature and my imminent holiday (we're escaping to chilly Tuscany), I thought you might enjoy a list of literary landmarks which so nearly describe our current weather.

You might like to start with the feminist standard - Fear of Frying, before leaping into the urban present with Rainspotting and then, pining for the quieter bucolicism of the English countryside, reach for Bakenfield. Why not wash that down with the somewhat frothier narrative, Thirst among Equals, leading naturally enough to that sad state of affairs, The Last Bottle. Or you may prefer a traditional, cosy detective series, such as Sweaty Wainthropp Investigates*.

Finally, what better epilogue to the whole experience than to return to - following the inevitable hosepipe legislation - Graham Swift's mysterious, elegaic Waterbanned.


The blog is now packing its bags and practising its appalling Italian, and will return on Monday July 13'th, or thereabouts.


David


*Fair enough, it's a TV series based on a novel, but who could resist?