This was a really delightful read, combining often quite diverse elements. There is a breezy romance at its heart, but the story also takes time to explore the ways in which the main protagonist comes to terms with her own debilitating medical condition. It's quite confessional and there are moments when the author is reflecting upon her own personal struggles. I enjoyed the pace of the novel and the often comical inner monologues of “Ines“.

The Secret of Chantilly has a quite distinctive theme but it's one I very quickly became absorbed within. The author has the clarity and eloquence of a natural storyteller and I found myself eager to follow the progress and adventures of the protagonist, the humble Antonin Careme whose artisan talents, predominantly in the French culinary art of patisserie, elevates him to create desserts at the courts of many of the European aristocracies.

I was very keen to read this travel book about the authors journey by foot across Europe in 1933/34. The middle section when he was walking through Germany just as Hitler had come to power was particularly compelling. Fermor's charisma is apparent and he is a keen observer. He was only 18 at the time though and the insights and reflections an older traveller might have are perhaps lacking. Walking from Britain to Turkey was quite a feat in itself!

The Road Back is a remarkable novel. It has the authenticity of a man who had personally endured and survived the mechanized slaughter of the First World War. There are many very poignant moments and Remarque gives the reader a very vivid impression of the many ways the First World War ruined a generation, both during the conflict and in the years that followed it.

Masinissa: Ally of Rome resumes the story of the Numidian Prince at a moment when he is beginning to question his alliance with the Carthaginian Empire during the Second Punic War. He has been fighting as a cavalry commander on the Iberian Peninsula for several years but the fortunes of war and his own clandestine meeting with the Roman consul Scipio Africanus, ostensibly his sworn enemy, has led him to reconsider his loyalties.

If I were to do a detailed review of Creation, I would have to include quite a number of critical exemptions, caveats and clarifications. With that in mind, I‘ll keep my views brief. I did really enjoy the novel and was hugely impressed with its scope. Vidal was an enormously learned and eminent academic and that is apparent throughout. it was a great read with much to admire and reflect on.