Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the others on the list, only to the one next to it in the chain.
This month we’re starting with Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow which I was looking forward to very much having loved Rules of Civility but I’m afraid I gave it up although not before I’d worked out that it was about an aristocrat under house arrest at Moscow’s Hotel Metropol in 1922.
Sebastian Barry’s A Temporary Gentleman is about an Irishman from the other end of the class spectrum whose commission with the British army elevates his status for a time.
Sebastian Faulks’ Human Traces is about two psychiatrists and their attempts to understand the human mind which takes them all over the world. This was my last Faulks. The story barely stood up under the weight of his research.
I felt much the same about E. Annie Proulx’s Accordion Crimes. Somewhere in there was a great story about migrants to America told through their music, buried beneath a mound of accordion lore.
Howard Norman’s The Bird Artist was published around the same time as Proulx’s bestselling The Shipping News here in the UK, both set in Newfoundland. One dominated the bestselling lists for months, the other sank without trace. I preferred the Norman.
I’d not heard of Len Howard before I read Eva Meijer’s delightful fictionalisation of her life, Bird Cottage, earlier this year. Aged forty, Howard threw up her life as a violinist in London and took herself off to Sussex to research the bird habits. In her time Howard’s books – Birds as Individuals and Living with Birds – were very well known and translated into many languages
Which takes me to another fictionalised life, and back to Russia, with Colm McCann’s Dancer, the story of celebrated ballet dancer Rudolf Nuryev who famously defected to the West.
This month’s Six Degrees of Separation has taken me from a count under house arrest in 1920s Moscow to the fictionalised life of a celebrated Russian ballet dancer. Part of the fun of this meme is comparing the very different routes other bloggers take from each month’s starting point. If you’re interested, you can follow it on Twitter with the hashtag #6Degrees, check out the links over at Kate’s blog or perhaps even join in.
I enjoyed your list, Bird Cottage intrigued me.
Thank you, Rosie. Bird Cottage is a delight! Highly recommend it, particularly if you have a soft spot for eccentrics.
I loved The Shipping News, but am now very keen to track down a copy of The Bird Artist. Great links.
Thanks, Annabel. Sadly, it’s out of print in the UK but I’m sure Google will turf one out for you.
Great chain! I loved A Gentleman in Moscow, so I’m sorry it wasn’t a success for you, especially as you’d been looking forward to it. I enjoyed The Temporary Gentleman too, although it’s not one of my favourite Sebastian Barry books.
thanks, Helen. I wonder if Rules of Civility might have set the bar too high for me. Perhaps I should try again. Yes, I’d agree about The Temporary Gentleman – I much preferred The Secret Scripture.
I like their way you’ve made your chain circular this time, ending up back in Russia.
Thanks, Cathy. I’d love to tell you I’d arranged it that way but it was pure luck, or maybe my unconscious getting to work!
All books that are unfamiliar to me. Great chain!
Thanks, Theresa!
Interesting chain here. I’m sorry you didn’t care much for The Shipping News – I loved it!
Oh, I did like it – I realise that I’ve given the impression that I didn’t. I was just sorry that the poor Bird Artist sat on the shelves of the bookshop where I worked largely ignored.
Ah… I see. Got it.
I have got Bird Cottage on my TBR pile so am pleased to see you enjoyed it
It’s a treat, Liz. Howard was such an eccentric, determined to pursue her passion. It’s so interesting that this is actually a translated novel, such was the reach of her popularity during her day.
‘Dancer’ sounds intriguing, Rudolf Nuryev must have had such an interesting life. I am sorry you didn’t get far in ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’, I absolutely loved it!
I beginning to think I should give the Towles another try. I really enjoyed Dancer, a very interesting life as you say.
Such interesting connections, thanks for sharing.
Thank you, and you’re welcome. These posts are such fun to write.
Great links. Funny, I thought so many people had read and loved A Gentleman in Moscow, and so far all the people participating in this meme haven’t. My chain is here: https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/09/07/six-degrees-of-separation-from-moscow-to-vimy/
Thank you. I’ve read several that have made me wonder if I should pick it up again! Thanks for the link.
I don’t know any of these books, although the authors’ names are familiar. Interesting list.
Thanks, Yvonne.
I enjoy Proulx if I’m in the right mood but she does falter under the weight of her research at times…
I think it’s probably because she was a journalist before she was a novelist. Her short stories are better than her novels, I think.
I agree Susan.
A clever circle 🙂
I wonder if I’ll feel the same as you about Gentleman in Moscow when I eventually get to it – my book group was very divided in the end.
Based on blurb alone, the Barry and the Norman both appeal – sounds like I should start with the Norman (I have been a little put off bird stories after reading The Birdman’s Wife by Melissa Astley last year – too many hisfic flourishes for my liking).
Thank you, Kate. A complete fluke! I can’t quite remember why I didn’t continue with the Towles but I think it was just a case of not being able to get into it. Interesting that far from everyone in your book group liked it.
Loved The Bird Artist although I’m not sure how easy it is to track down these days.
Good chain. Glad I’m not the only one who gave up on the guy in Moscow….
Thank you, and me, too!
Oh, but I liked the accordion lore! This might be my favourite Proulx.
Ha! I’m glad you enjoyed it.