I stumbled across Russian fable The Nose, by Nikolai Gorky, at Donlon Books last Christmas and bought it because the book itself was such a beautiful object (and is pink and green).  The story turned out to be very funny and you can whip through it swiftly, but in a satisfying way. It begins with couple Ivan Jakolevitch and Prasskovna Ossipovna waking up, going to breakfast and discovering a nose hiding in their bread. “…moreover, it seemed to be the nose of an acquaintance!” Ivan says. And the bizarre story continues from there, the nose apparently having its own identity and passport as well as a troubled owner who starts the same morning with “a perfectly smooth vacancy in his face.”

Now I’ve discovered – a bit too late since it closes tomorrow – that an opera of The Nose has been on at The Royal Opera House. I’m not a massive opera fan, but this one has definite visual appeal…

…and is it just me, or do you think The Nose would make a brilliant fancy dress outfit?

The edition of the book I bought ended up being a go-to gift for friends and is from a series called Four Corners Familiars. There are all sorts of works in there, including classics Vanity Fair and Dracula, and all are quite beautiful. I was a tiny bit disappointed that each edition does not follow a similar identity to The Nose though – mindful of shelf-aesthetics and all that.

This edition is interspersed with photos by Rick Buckley, which are funny and a little bit Where’s Wally.

I’ll leave you with the ROH’s film about their production of the story. Almost as good as going to the show and as good a distraction as any from (OMG) the election…