With only days to go before my overseas holiday, I didn't want to start a new novel. Perusing my shelves, I found Nobody's Looking at You (2019) is a collection of essays by the legendary Janet Malcolm. Rather than reading from cover to cover, I have dipped in and out of this collection for many years, savouring her brilliant writing and fascinating choice of subjects. This compilation of narrative non-fiction contains her work that has been previously published in the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books.
Some essays have a nostalgic flair. 'Three Sisters' follows the owners of the Argosy book shop, a family business passed does the generations. 'The Emigre' covers George Jellinek's final taping of The Vocal Scene, his radio show broadcast for thirty-six years. Malcolm writes lovingly about a fellow migrant.
I was intrigued by her essay 'The Art of Testifying', where Malcolm looks at the ways in which Supreme Court nominees have charmed Congress during their confirmation hearings. It was interesting to read about Justice David Souter (who passed away last week) and the Clarence Thomas hearings, which I remember well.
Malcolm's essays regarding authors and books are delightful, as she writes about Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Ted Hughes, and reviews Helen Garner's book The First Stone.
One of my favourite essays is 'Socks' about Constance Garnett's translations of Anna Karenina and attempts by other translators to modernise the language have seen this classic novel loose some of the poetry and magic. 'Remember the Ladies' looks at Alexander McCall-Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective series, which Malcolm clearly loves.
Not all the essays work well for me. 'Comedy Central on the Mall' is one which kind of feels like you had to be there to get it. 'Pandora's Click' is a review of a book about email, which Malcolm originally published in 2007. Now it is terribly dated.
I have read a number of Malcolm's books (before I began blogging), including The Journalist and the Murderer (1990) and The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes (1994). I admire her curiosity and intellect. She has a knack for finding interesting subjects for her sharp critical eye.