SEQUELS THAT will have you wanting to read the originals again
Lila, an enquiry into morals
by Robert M. Pirsig
Best known for his Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig’s worldwide bestseller holds a unique and unforgettable place in modern Western literature. Now, he brings us a new voyage, a poignant journey and a passionate philosophical exploration in his newly revised work, Lila, an enquiry into morals.
Phaedrus – a character familiar to readers of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – is sailing down the Hudson River when he meets Lila Blewitt, an unapologetically sexual, psychologically unstable woman. Phaedrus is drawn to her physically and interested in her intellectually, finding her “a culture of one” in whom he discerns an unexpected “quality”.
Sailing with him to Manhattan, where her mental state deteriorates further, Lila prompts Phaedrus to explore conflicts of values, such as those between Native Americans and Europeans, or between the insane and the normal. Finally, after years of struggling, he formulates his “Metaphysics of Quality”, which offers a system of understanding, and evaluating actions according to a hierarchy of four evolutionary realms (natural, biological, social and intellectual).
Lila remains elusive to Phaedrus’s penetrating intellect and her destiny remains a mystery. Pirsig’s wide-ranging philosophical explorations will provoke and engage readers in the memorable experience of pursuing the journey started by Pirsig in the 1970s to its final end.
Available in paperback at 12.50 euros
The Emperor’s Bones
by Adam Williams
Adam Williams, the author of The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure, now returns with his new work, which is also set in China. This time, he features Catherine Cabot, beautiful, headstrong, unconventional and 20-years-old when she arrives in China.
Against an uneasy political background, a bittersweet, triangular love affair develops between Catherine, Edmund and George Airton. Throughout this, she is trying to uncover the truth of her past, unaware of the danger it might pose to her. Who is Henry Manners, the mysterious man, who once wrote to her mother and who she knows now lives in China?
Running in parallel, is the extraordinary story of Yu-Fu-Kuei, a Chinese revolutionary working as a Communist spy. Yu and Catherine met when they were at Oxford immediately after the Great War, and the friendship is a deep and permanent one.
As the Japanese mass themselves on the borders, waiting for an excuse to invade, Catherine, ignorant of a history steeped in hatred, unwittingly becomes the perfect tool to settle the scores of two men, who will stop at nothing to wreak their revenge. Yu-Fu-Kuei discovers that love might be the strongest weapon that any warrior has.
Adam Williams, whose family has lived in China since the late 19th century, was born and raised in Hong Kong, his local knowledge shines through this masterful tale.
Pardonable Lies
by Jacqueline Winspear
The third novel of this unique and absorbing Maisie Dobbs crime series, a deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton, KC, to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator.
As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her, not only to the edge of madness, but also to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world. Maisie is plunged into a case that tests her spiritual strength, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission will take her to France and reunite her with her old friend Priscilla Evernden, who lost three brothers in the war, one of whom has an intriguing connection to the case.
Set against a finely drawn portrait of life between World Wars, Winspear fills her novel with convincing characters. She creates a complex tale of truths, half-truths, lies and long-held secrets. When you’ve read this one, don’t be surprised if you follow the example of other new readers and go straight to the first two books in the series.
The Griffin Bookshop Christmas book catalogues are now available. Visit the new Bookfair in Monte Gordo at the Iberotel, Praia Monte Gordo from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22.
