This is Canadian poet and author George Bowering's memoir of his friend and compatriot, the painter Greg Curnoe, who died in a road accident in 1992. The two were friends for almost 30 years.

Until 24 hours ago, I had heard of neither. I picked this book up for a few pennies at the literary equivalent of the last chance saloon - a vast line of shelves outside a second hand bookshop in Hay-on-Wye on the England-Wales border.

Having read a quarter of it before even paying, I went back to my car, mesmerised, and finished the book before driving home. I now want to read as much as I can by this author and to see the works of his subject.

Bowering chooses not to give us the written equivalent of a photograph, but rather that of a briefly and deftly-made sketch - a sketch which is all the more effective because of precisely that brevity and deftness.

Each page contains a single memory. It might be a memory of an art installation, a poetry reading, a strange dream, a meal, a car journey, a television appearance, the two men and their families going on a day trip, or whatever. In spite of its brevity, my first thought on reading The Moustache was to make a comparison with Boswell's Johnson. That is not to say Bowering is guilty of Boswell's self-aggrandizement, but rather that he has the Georgian biographer's ability to draw with words and, above all, the same empathy with and love for his subject.

From what I can tell by browsing Amazon, Bowering is as deservedly well-known in his native land and the United States as he is undeservedly unknown here, even if this book is currently out of print on your side of the Atlantic.

The Moustache is one of those pieces a person discovers and then feels the need to evangelize about.

Which I suppose I just have.

I read this book for a book report in class. I enjoyed reading it. It starts off a bit boring, but then at about the2nd chapter it gets interesting. It stays really good until about the 25th chapter when its gets very exciting. I would reccomend this for kids 12 and up, unless you are a very good 10 year old reader.

This book was originally published in 1954. It takes place in British Columbia Canada. The main character, Maggie, is living in Vancouver with her 2nd husband Eddie. She is unhappy in the marriage due to "humiliation and anger". She plans for some time to leave her husband and slowly packs away her clothing and other items and hides the bag. One night after dinner while doing dishes she simply walks out the kitchen door and to her new life. She travels to the country and gets a job at a fishing lodge at Three Loon Lake. But jealousy of the fishing lodge's owner threatens to disrupt her new life. Maggie remains in touch with her friend, Nell, in Vancouver. Nell has a sentimental attachment to an old revolver named "Swamp Angel" that she used in her former career as a juggler in a circus. The gun holds a different symbolic meaning for Nell and her daughter.

This book depicts the emotions of everyday people and shows how emotions can not only affect yourself but others around you. Overall the quality of the writing was very good. The book leaves alot of questions unanswered though.