Literary Duets


There have been interesting parallels between some of the books I’ve read recently.

Life Abroad 
Lost and Found in Spain: Tales of an Ambassador’s Wife by Susan Lewis Solomont is brimming with American self-confidence. She is convinced of the relevance and value of their years in Spain and it sounds idyllic: staff to pave the way, banquets and travel, opportunities to use her own professional expertise. There are even opportunities to share American cuisine – hot dogs are the highlight of one July 4 celebration.


Jay Martin has a very different story to tell of her years as an Australian diplomat’s wife in Poland. Vodka and Apple Juice: Travels of an Undiplomatic Wife in Poland is on the one hand a travelogue outlining her voyages around the country and her struggles to learn the language. On the other hand, it’s the story of a marriage unravelling as her husband is dragged down by the workload and Martin fails to find a satisfactory outlet for her own professional expertise. She lends a hand when the embassy is short-staffed (a large climate change conference and a state funeral) but questions the value of diplomats being forced to dance attendance at embassy-sponsored concerts and art exhibits.


Linguistic Puzzles and Mountains of Books 
In Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, Kory Stamper describes the day-to-day puzzles of the lexicographers who put together the Merriam-Webster dictionaries. This is a book for word geeks who are endlessly fascinated by the origins and definitions and uses of words. Does including gay marriage in the definition of the word marriage influence societal mores? Is a surfboard a plank, a panel, or a platform – and can it be a plank if it’s not made of wood? What is the correct pronunciation of nuclear?


The Diary of a Bookseller is Shaun Bythell’s journal of a year in the life of Scotland’s largest secondhand bookstore. It’s a tale of staff with minds of their own (the part-time assistant who is a Jehovah’s Witness places Darwin in the fiction section), battles with Amazon, and customers who profess their love of books but don’t buy any. The book is surprisingly addictive and kept me up well after midnight last night as I read just one more entry. If you enjoy this book, Bythell has written a sequel: Confessions of a Bookseller. You may also enjoy reading an article about How the Wimpy Kid Author Built His Dream Bookshop.

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