The internationally renowned 'David Duff Corker Award' is, as you know, eagerly sought after by the literati of the world. (Incidentally, should you have been disappointed in the past please do try bribery and/or corruption, I'm not choosey!) Where was I? Oh, yes, today two proud recipients stand ready to accept, with, I hope, suitably gushing gratitude, their DDCAs.
First, is this week's Spectator. Alas, you will have to wait a few days before extracts are placed on their website, but that gives you all a good reason to actually go and buy the bloody thing! Today's edition is absolutely everything that I have always liked about The Spectator, witty, intelligent, perceptive and instructive. I intend to indulge my innate idleness by quoting from it in the fairly near future but not immediately because I want you to go and buy the bloody thing! (Am I making myself clear?)
My second grovelling and grateful recipient of his DDCA is the multi-zillion-trillion best selling author, Scott Turow, for his novel Innocent. (It may well be that given the incredible wealth he has accrued over the years in producing one best seller after another that he might feel impelled to show his gratitude to me in the time honoured fashion! Well, a man can hope, can't he?) In this book, he reprises the 'hero' of his very first smash hit Presumed Innocent which later became a film starring Harrison Ford and Greta Scacchi. To be honest, I can't really remember the details of the first book except that the young 'hero', a budding judge, has a bit on the side, the girl is murdered and the judge is in the dock on a 'murder one' charge. This second plot takes up the story some 20 years later and, just like the first one, the plot twists and turns and "twists again like it did last summer", or at least, 20 summers ago. I thought I had spotted the outcome about two thirds of the way in but, guess what, I was wrong - again. It has a beautifully constructed plot which takes some degrees of concentration to follow but it's worth it.
There you are, you lucky people, two corkers for the price of one.
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