Chance Meetings

Now there are those of you who would say that there are no chance meetings in life but that is another discussion. This morning I had a virtual chance meeting with Carl Lennertz of HarperCollins, Publishers. I was trawling the book trade news when I came across a reference to Mr. Lennertz and his discovery of neglected books ( www.neglectedbooks.com ) It turns out that one of his favourite neglected books is a favourite book of mine. My copy of J.L. Carr's A Month in the Country has traveled with me back and forth across the Atlantic many times now. I found it in a wonderful old bookshop in the Charing Cross Road area of London in the early 1980's and it was an immediate friendship. I have read it many times now whilst living in the UK and on the west coast of Canada. Each time something new resonates with me.

So I thank Mr Lennertz for bringing A Month in the Country to the notice of many new readers. Perhaps it is time to read it just one more time.