The Return of the Soldier

I suppose most people who are keen readers have their own idea of what makes a good book - I certainly do. For me a good book is one which makes a very serious point but does so with a lightness of touch. At present I am re-reading The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West which has long been one of my top ten books. I'm as impressed by it now as I ever was. It is apparently a very slight book but it asks all sorts of huge and difficult questions about life. Rebecca West was only 24 when she wrote it and it amazes me that someone so young could know so much. I'm re-reading it partly because I'm going to write something about it for a literary magazine called The Reader which is produced by Liverpool University. If you don't know The Reader I do recommend it to you. It often contains very thought-provoking writing about books, reading, life ......