The Blue Afternoon: William Boyd

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Clare, Doug and Mark are William Boyd fans, and both Clare and Doug have tried previously and unsuccessfully to get us to read Boyd novels, and this time Clare was successful. Introducing this novel, she expressed admiration for the standard of its prose, for its enjoyability and its depiction of human behaviour under stress. She found particularly good Boyd's descriptions of scenery and weather, and his ability to conjure a strong and vivid sense of place. The ending consists of Carriscant and Kay arriving in Lisbon and the reader will have to read the story to find out if their search for the mystery woman is successful and why Carriscant is looking for her. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth

Blue Afternoon - Wikipedia Blue Afternoon - Wikipedia

It is Los Angeles 1936. Kay Fischer is a young, ambitious architect who is shadowed by a mysterious stranger claiming to be her father. Within weeks of their first encounter, Kay will join him for an extraordinary journey into the old man's past, initially in search of a murderer, but finally in celebration of a glorious, undying love. Feeling down in the dumps, Kay decides to take up her 'father's' offer of the trip to Lisbon - vital for him as he does not have the finances to pay for the trip. However, in return her father has to tell her all about his family and the next part of the book is about his life in Manila in the Philippines. Carriscant is the son of Archibald Carriscant, a Scotsman and railway engineer, who married Juliana, the daughter of a local mestizo landowner. After studying medicine at Glasgow University, during which time Archibald died, their son Salvador returned to Manila to set up his practice in 1897. Surely one of the most beguiling books of this season, this rich, sophisticated, often hilarious and disarming novel is the autobiography of a typical Englishman as told through his lifelong Continue reading »Having just won their independence from Spain, the Filipinos were fiercely opposed to once again being occupied. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the First Philippine Republic at the Malolos Congress and had begun to build the foundations for an independent nation. Admiral Dewey, however, claimed he never recognized the Philippine Republic, as he did not have the authority to do so and did not consider it an organized government. War broke out between the Filipinos and the Americans on February 4, 1899, when an American soldier shot and killed a Filipino in Manila. The Americans pursued the retreating Filipino forces province by province, until General Emilio Aguinaldo (then president of the Republic) surrendered in Palanan, Isabela, on March 23, 1901. The Young Female Staff may need a little bit more training, although they were polite but maybe a little smile would be nice. Trevor said that the trouble was that it seemed that Boyd was considered a bit of a commercial novelist, and I didn't like commercial novels and was judging him by different criteria. I said that I understood that, on the contrary, Boyd was considered literary, and Clare then read out from the biography in her copy a list of the prestigious literary awards he has won.

The Blue Afternoon by William Boyd - Publishers Weekly The Blue Afternoon by William Boyd - Publishers Weekly

John James Todd, the tenacious, reflective, wise, ambitious, romantic filmmaker and adventurer who is the narrator of Boyd's (A Good Man in Africa, An Ice Cream War) fourth novel, is not a real Continue reading » This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. ( June 2010) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) We discussed the title, The Blue Afternoon, about which some people were a little puzzled. As Clare and others pointed out, there are many references to blue throughout the book. The 'blue afternoon' is the afternoon on which Carriscant and Delphine first consummate their relationship, an afternoon of rain and sun when the light seems to turns blue (a phenomenon which is indeed beautifully conjured, and, by - for once - recreating Carriscant's transcendent emotional experience, primes one not to view him ironically). However, no one really knew what the significance of the blueness was, and I felt that, like the apparently postmodern ending, it was an attempt at a metaphorical mode that sat at odds with the thriller and adventure-story aspects of the novel. Very shy and utterly British Henderson Dores comes to New York to work as an art expert. His strongest desire is to become a ""real,'' spontaneous American, which occurs in unusual fashion after a Continue reading »Paton Bobby comes to see Carriscant as another body has been found – this time a soldier called Corporal Maximilian Braun, and Carriscant also meets a young American Colonel called Sieverance. Salvador examines the body and notes that the heart has been removed. They then visit Governor Taft’s office in the Malacanan Palace to update him on the situation and Carriscant gives him his negative opinion about Dr Wieland’s abilities. Carriscant is hauled before Cruz and Wieland for a dressing down and a fight ensues between the three men whose enmity has now spilled over. The doctor is then summoned by a note to Jepson Sieverance’s house and here he re-encounters Delphine, the Colonel’s wife who is suffering from acute appendicitis. Cruz and Wieland appear to examine her but Carriscant persuades her to ignore their misinformed medical opinions and she is taken to San Jeronimo where he successfully performs an operation on her, also thrilled to be able to see and touch her naked body whilst she is under an anaesthetic. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ U.S. troops invaded Manila in 1898 and waged war with the Spaniards and Filipinos in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. Following the defeat of Spain, U.S. forces took control of the city and the islands in one of the most brutal and forgotten chapters of Philippine American history. The United States Navy, under Admiral George Dewey, defeated the Spanish squadron in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. Admiral Dewey testified that, after the battle, the Spanish Governor wished to surrender to the Americans rather than the Filipinos, whom he feared. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Male waiter gave us the option to choose Table which was great, then was asked if we wanted drinks Three times by different staff within 5 minites which was Really annoying.

The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever - Letterboxd The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever - Letterboxd

Los Angeles 1936. Kay Fischer, a young, ambitious architect, is shadowed by Salvador Carriscant, an enigmatic stranger claiming to be her father. Within weeks of their first meeting, Kay will join him for an extraordinary journey into the old man’s past, initially in search of a murderer, but finally in celebration of a glorious, undying love. I believe the protagonist is rushing home to be with their child because they realize what's happening. Think the title was something about the sky... The Blue Afternoon ( 1993) is a novel by William Boyd. It won the Sunday Express Book of the Year in the year of its publication [1] and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction. [2] Plot introduction [ edit ] John James Todd, the tenacious, reflective, wise, ambitious, romantic filmmaker and adventurer who is the narrator of Boyd's fourth novel, is not a real person--except that Boyd delightfully makes Continue reading »

Doug nodded, endorsing her, although he didn’t think it was one of Boyd's best novels, and he liked the first section concerning Kay better than the story set in the Philippines. Trevor said he enjoyed it too but on the contrary he was much keener on the Philippines story - which culminates in a dramatic Romeo-and-Juliet-type bid for elopement involving a medically-induced death-like trance, a bid foiled by Carriscant's arrest for the murders.

The Blue Afternoon - William Boyd - Google Books

Los Angeles, 1936. Kay Fischer, a young and ambitious architect, is being followed by an old man. When confronted, he explains that his name is Salvador Carriscant - and that he is her father. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4thed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734. Set in 1936 and the opening years of the twentieth century, and told in three sections, it concerns the approach of 32-year-old Los Angeles architect Kay Fischer by a stranger claiming to be her father, and the subsequent revelation of a love story taking place in Manila against the aftermath of the little-known American-Philippine war. William Boyd discusses the idea of the maxim 'write what you know' in relation to his own writing [1] I was full of doubts, of conflicting versions and explanations of this strange and complex story I had been told. But at least I knew there had been a man called Salvador Carriscant and he had been in love with a woman called Delphine Sieverance. That much I could confirm, having witnessed it with my own eyes.suit most people and would seem very reasonable. The restaurant and bar is tastefully decorated and has a lovely warm atmosphere. Original Album Series". Rhino.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2011 . Retrieved 7 April 2023. Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winners". Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. Archived from the original on 10 April 2003 . Retrieved 25 October 2008. Finally Jenny said, And what about the fact that the down-at-heel Carriscant had been heir to a landowning fortune, which would have come to him when his mother died?