Conversations in Bolzano - Sandor Marai, translated by George Szirtes

When the cover says A tale of Casanova by the author of Embers, and shows three blokes, two dogs and a wench in a bustle heading for the countryside, how could you not expect rumpy-pumpy and a sword fight? Well, not if you had already read Conversations in Bolzano. There is nothing X rated here. Bolzano bedrooms are exclusively Y, Z and G rated. You hit Y at page 10: yawwwn.; and Z about 20 pages later: zzzzz, zzzzz, zzzzz. G is when a book about gardening distracts you, never to return (page 70). Someone who did go all the way said it gets more interesting, but not enough to justify the effort.

Conversations in Bolzano

Sandor Marai, translated by George Szirtes

Penguin, ₤7.99