I bet you've heard of the publisher Faber and Faber, right? But have you heard of their imprint 'Faber Finds'? The catchline is "bringing great writing back into print". And they've been doing this for a number of years apparently from the looks of their backlist. Where have I been? This seems just up my alley, and I would have continued on completely ignorant had not a copy of P.H. Newby's Something to Answer For not have crossed my desk earlier today. Newby won the inaugural Booker Prize in 1969 for this book, which was published in 1968.
The book itself is quite pretty and eye catching in its simplicity. I pulled it right off my cart and thumbed through it discovering that the aim of this imprint is to "restore to print a wealth of lost classics and authors of distinction". The books range in subject matter from fiction to chidlren's books as well as the arts. The only flaw I can see is that there is no description of the contents anywhere on the book. Luckily they've given it on their website (so maybe it was on purpose? As now I will be browsing the list of books...).
"It was 1956 and he was in Port Said. About these two facts Townrow was reasonably certain. He had been summoned there, to Egypt, by the widow of his deceased friend, Elie Khoury. Having been found dead in the street, she is convinced he was murdered, but nobody seems to agree with her. What of Leah Strauss, the mistress? And of the invading British paratroops? Only an Englishman, surely, would take for granted that the British would have behaved themselves. In this weirdly disorientating world, Townrow is forced towards a re-examination of the basic rules by which he has been living his life; and into a realization that he too may have something to answer for."
I like the sound of this one. As a matter of fact I like the sound of a number of their titles, which could be dangerous as they are on the high end cost-wise for paperbacks. I'll have to choose carefully as now I think I need to own one or two of these myself.
By the way, I thought I'd drop in as I am killing time waiting for a technician to come look at my furnace. I might add this is the second time this week I've had to have someone look at it. It's not been the fruitful week I had hoped for taking a blogging break, but never mind. Maybe it will be better to get back into a routine as I accomplished not a single thing, though it's been nice to hide under the covers since it's been a little nippy in my house lately. I heard a couple of rumors. One that it was spring, and that two it was going to be sunny today. Unless I can see these things with my eye, I'm not believing them!
Edited: Bad news. I have to buy a new furnace. This was not the news I wanted to hear. Just when I thought I was close to paying off my credit card and being debt free I am faced with another major purchase. Not the way I wanted to end my week! At least I can use the library as I don't think I'm going to be buying any new books for a while. Sigh. Maybe my library will buy more of these Faber Finds.