Wynnes World of Books

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo

2011-08-12T12:58:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: August 2011

NOTES: The Redeemer is a tautly plotted crime thriller. The wintery atmosphere of Oslo is brought to life as Harry Hole investigates the murder of a member of the Salvation Army. Much of the book follows the modern formula of a policeman with a troubled private life, drinking problem and antagonism to his superiors. However the writing is good, the characters well drawn and fairly credible and the action moves at a cracking pace.

The plot is fairly complex, involving a hitman (the Redeemer) from Croatia coming to Norway to carry out a contract killing. But who sent for him? Nesbo keeps us guessing right to the end. There are biblical references to the Redeemer and how he rises again on the third day – but this is not overdone. It may have been better with fewer characters but there were lots of twists and turns and it was a compulsive read.

Translators are rarely acknowledged – but Don Bartlett deserves congratulations for a very stylish translation.

The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam

2011-08-12T10:05:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2011

DATE READ: July 2011

NOTES: This is the follow-up book to Tahmima Anam’s excellent A Golden Age. It follow the story of Maya and Sohail and their mother Rehana and what happened to them after the end of the Bengali War of Independence.

She uses the narrative device of two different time lines: the first in the immediate aftermath of the war in 1972 and the second in 1984. She shows how all have been affected by the war in different ways. Maya is cynical about the way things have turned out and is shocked and confused by her brother Sohail and his devout adherence to Islam. But even though she counts herself as an unbeliever she finds herself drawn into the spiritual atmosphere of the female followers of Sohail.

Feelings of despair about the new state of Bangladesh run through the book but fortunately there is a redemptive ending. The one false note in the plotting was Sohail’s attitude to his young son Zaid whom he treats with disdain and neglect.

The Good Muslim is beautifully written – and tells a good story.

Our Kind of Traitor by John Le Carre

2011-08-10T12:40:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: July 2011

NOTES: After the somewhat disappointing A Most Wanted Man John Le Carré is once more back on form with his latest book. An English couple on holiday in the Caribbean meet a rich Russian, Dima, and his family. They are both curious about him – their relationship with him is a mixture of fascination and revulsion. Dima seems to be at odds with the Russian criminal fraternity and wants to make a deal with the British to enable him to live in London and bring his large laundered fortune to British banks.

Needless to say the plan does not go smoothly. Perry and Gail have different motives and the Intelligence Services are murky and untrustworthy. Our Kind of Traitor is written with great verve and style as we are propelled through political and financial machinations. Le Carré casts his cynical eye over the current British establishment. Links between grasping politicians, amoral bankers and the criminal fraternity? Surely not! The dialogue is terrific – especially that of the intelligence agents Hector and Luke. A film script already written….

Prophecy by S J Parris

2011-07-07T12:44:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2011

DATE READ: July 2011

NOTES: This is a follow-up to Heresy. Once again Italian ex-monk GiordanoBruno becomes involved in unravelling a mystery. This time two of Queen Elizabeth’s maids are found murdered and there seems to be a plot to kill the queen and install Mary Stuart on the throne.

Prophecy is quite a lively read. The atmosphere of late 16th century London is well drawn and the scenes at court are particularly vivid. The diplomatic rivalries, religious in-fighting and scheming are well drawn. I feel that the plot became over-complex with the introduction of occult symbols carved into the flesh of victims and the search for the esoteric book of Hermetic wisdom. Bruno is not a very attractive character, nor unfortunately were any of the other protagonists (though I liked Castelnau, the French ambassador). Although the plot moves at a good pace there are some rather “clunky” moments. At one point Bruno is trapped in a room and a villain informs him of his role in the plot and that Bruno will presently be killed. Then the bad guy leaves Bruno alone in the room. Big mistake! And right at the end just as Bruno is once again facing certain death a new character appears from nowhere! Very unsatisfactory.

A good summer read…..but my loyalties remain with Shardlake!

The King of the Badgers by Philip Hensher

2011-06-28T16:20:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2011

DATE READ: June 2011 (audiobook)

NOTES: The King of the Badgers shows Philip Hensher at the top of his form. If you liked The Northern Clemency you will love this. Set in a fictional North Devon town, the book is inhabited with a huge range of (mostly awful) characters. On the surface everything seems fairly conventional but it doesn’t take much scratching to find out the reality of their lives. In these genteel streets there is adultery, betrayal, cheating, lying, lying and megalomania! Catherine is thrilled that at last her son is coming to visit – and is going to bring his boyfriend. But David never succeeds in attracting a boyfriend and persuades the desirable Mauro to accompany him and pretend to be his partner to please his mother. Kenyon and Miranda seem like the ideal couple except he is having an affair and their daughter is an appalling. Sam is a cheerful owner of a cheese shop in a long-term relationship with Harry but this doesn’t prevent them from joining in the local gay couplings. The gay orgies portrayed are shown to be funny but at the same time somewhat pathetic. And then there is John Calvin the mad-as-a-hatter Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator.

The part of the book that is definitely not funny is the disappearance of China, a child from the local housing estate. Actually I retract that statement – there is much comic material here in the attitudes surrounding the disappearance. But the part dealing with what happens to her subsequently is unfunny in the extreme. He uses a different writing style and relates the shocking details as if he were telling a fairy tale.

The whole book buzzes with ideas and observations. Among the choices for Miranda’s book group are Roberto Bolaño’s Nazi Literature in the Americas and The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki. (Ye gods, I’d be drummed out of my book group if I made suggestions like these!)

A sharply observed black comedy.

Burying the Bones by Hilary Spurling

2011-06-04T15:48:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: June 2011

NOTES: I have been fascinated by the books by Pearl Buck that I have read…..especially The Good Earth which paints such a vivid picture of peasant life in China. However I knew virtually nothing about the author so was intrigued to read Hilary Spurling’s biography.

Pearl Buck had an amazing life that Hilary Spurling brings alive to the reader. Buck’s
parents went out to China in 1880s as missionaries. They were met with indifference from the local people and at times antagonism. But they also had to face dirt and disease. Spurling recounts the heart-rending events of losing three of their children in quick succession to cholera and fever. Pearl’s father was a driven man who cast aside everything except his work of proselytising; her mother was lively and sociable. Spurling acknowledges the contradictions in their lives. They were happy to ride roughshod over Chinese culture to encourage the conversion of souls but gave Pearl a Chinese tutor (as well as an amah) who taught her Confucianism as well as Calligraphy. Her ability to understand and communicate with so many different strata of Chinese society is what made her so different from writers at that time. She was able brave enough to tackle some taboo subjects: the subjugation of women, infanticide and marital rape.

From an early age Pearl Buck seems to have felt compelled to write but was only really keen to publish when she needed the funds. Spurling points out the irony that in her later life Buck was referred to in China as an interfering imperialist while back in America her espoused liberal causes made her a target for McCarthy.

This is a beautifully written book that sweeps the reader into the world of a fascinating woman writer.

The Beacon by Susan Hill

2011-06-04T15:44:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: June 2011

NOTES: A well-crafted novella that creates the atmosphere of a northern farmhouse and the somewhat dysfunctional family living there. It began well with some good characterisations and interesting plotting. An unprepared and unsupported May Prime goes off to university in London but suffers from mental problems and returns home after a year. This episode rings true – especially the way in which there seems to be no support system for May either at university or at home.

The central theme of the book is the rift in the family caused by the second son Frank. We have to wait a long time to find out the cause and when it emerges it raised some questions. If Frank had decided to break with the family why would he have taken photographs from his childhood with him? I don’t want to give away the plot but surely newspaper reporters would have approached the Prime family for their side of the story….

There are ambiguities in the family and hints of hidden memories. The way in which The Beacon was written made it a gripping read but was ultimately unsatisfactory – especially the ending which was really a bit feeble.

WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy by David Leigh and Luke Harding

2011-05-30T12:21:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2011

DATE READ: April 2011 (audiobook)

NOTES: This book reads like fiction as it details the remarkable story of WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange. At the time of its publication it was still very much an unfinished story – Assange was awaiting extradition to Sweden, Bradley Manning was awaiting trial for espionage in US and repercussions of the leaks were still reverberating round the world. I did wonder if the Guardian reporters felt it important to lay out their side of the story so far….

They do this in unflinching detail. Their part in the story is told without hyperbole – their share with us their initial doubts and anxieties as well as their increasing frustrations in dealing with Assange. Julian Assange is revealed as an intriguing character. His computer skills are brilliant, he is a driven man in his campaign for freedom of information but is also egotistical and arrogant. Leigh and Harding reveal how he often changed his mind about future plans and acted contrary to agreements made about publication. To their credit they recount these events objectively and calmly (but I bet they raged in private!)

It will be interesting how the WikiLeaks story will be viewed by future historians. The published Afghan war logs revealed the existence of US death squads, the Iraq files told of the torture of prisoners and of civilian murders. The huge release of thousands of diplomatic cables at the end of last year caused a sensation – the current uprisings in North Africa can be directly linked to the reaction to these cables.

At the time of writing this review (May 2011) things have gone rather quiet on the Wikileaks front. But Hilary Clinton’s fury is unabated and she is demanding Assange’s extradition. Bradley Manning, the soldier who downloaded the files, is in solitary confinement in gaol awaiting trial for espionage and a threatened 55 year sentence. His fragile mental state will cut very little ice with his accusers.

A fascinating and well written book – but it will probably need to be updated in a few years hence.

Wish You Were Here by Graham Swift

2011-05-23T14:34:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2011

DATE READ: May 2011

NOTES: Graham Swift is a very skilful writer. In Wish You Were Here he is terrific at evoking atmosphere – both physical and emotional. He describes the bleakness of an out-of-season seaside caravan park, the strange formality of repatriating the bodies of soldiers and the hard life of a dairy farmer. In particular the grief (bordering on madness) felt by Jack about the loss of his younger brother is powerfully written.

This novel is less successful with the characters. Apart from being not very sympathetic (which may not matter in the long run) some of their actions and attitudes were not wholly believable. There is no real explanation for Tom choosing never to communicate with his brother after he joins the army. Ellie’s refusal to accompany Jack to his brother’s funeral is similarly inexplicable.

Wish You Were Here shifts in time between points of the past and present. Sometimes this could be a bit confusing – especially when he further introduces passages detailing not “what happened” but “what might have happened”.

The ending is tense and I wanted to find out what was going to happen. While this book has many positive points I sadly found it relentlessly depressing and gloomy.

Towards the End of Morning by Michael Frayn

2011-05-21T14:32:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1967

DATE READ: April 2011

NOTES: I had forgotten how funny Michael Frayn’s writing could be. Towards End of the Morning is a comic novel set in a newspaper office in the 1960s – a cross between The Observer and The Guardian. Much of the story is very funny – the pre-TV programme meal could have been straight out of Monty Python – but there are also some dark undertones of ambition, job security and jealousy. Frayn is very prescient about celebrity culture and the middle-class angst about getting one’s children into the “right” school.

In many ways this book is “a blast from the past”. Mrs Mounce recommends the wearing of a roll-on, suitcases have no wheels, flat-dwellers shared a bathroom, and it was not the done thing to have your girlfriend stay overnight. All that, and the non-stop smoking and drinking make it very much a period piece.

An odd thing is how little work anyone seems to be doing…..I did wonder how any newspaper actually got printed. There are some sympathetic characters but others are appalling. Comparisons have been made with Waugh’s Scoop – and rightly so.

Great fun.

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

2011-05-03T17:18:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2002

DATE READ: April 2011

NOTES: This book languished on my “to be read” shelf for many months. I had heard good reports of it but was put off by its enormous size: 830 pages of small print! However I so enjoyed the first episode of The Crimson Petal and the White on TV that I decided to make a start…..

What a brilliant book! Right from the start we are swept up into the Victorian London world of Sugar as she makes her way through life. She works as a prostitute but is bright, articulate and quick to take advantage of anything (or anyone) that comes her way. But at the same time she remains a mystery. Is she the tart with the heart of gold or the whore with her eye on the main chance. One of her customers, William Rackham, becomes enamoured with her and she seizes on the chance to escape from her depraved surroundings. But again we are never sure whether she feels any real affection for William.

There are some wonderful larger-than-life characters. Mrs Castaway is the abusive brothel keeper who is mother to Sugar. William’s brother Henry has rejected the family perfume business and is hoping to become a minister of the church and rescue lost souls. He loves the widowed Mrs Fox but is incapable of being open with his feelings for her. She in turn is portrayed as a somewhat comical creature at the beginning of the book as she attempts to convince young prostitutes to give up their life of sin and turn to Christ and honest work. But as story progresses she becomes a rather fine human being who is motivated to do good works. And then there is Agnes, William’s wife – naïve, abused, depressed, addicted and anorexic. Poor thing, what fate awaits her?

The whole is a wonderful mix of class and sexual politics. It has been compared to Dickens – this is how Dickens may have written if he was not constrained by Victorian censorship. There are echoes of Our Mutual Friend, Jane Eyre, Vanity Fair and Middlemarch.

Some people will be disappointed by the ambivalent ending. I loved it – it is very much within the spirit of the book. Michel Faber takes us by the hand and leads us into this world. But he doesn’t tell us everything – some things are best left to our own imaginations.

Superb.

So Much For That by Lionel Shriver

2011-05-01T12:06:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: April 2011

NOTES: Shep Knacker has a dream of leaving New York and setting up home in some distant place. He plans to lead a simple life with the help of his substantial nest-egg acquired from the sale of his business. However his dream is his alone and not shared by his wife and children. His research tells him that an ideal place to spend his “Afterlife” would be an island paradise off the Tanzanian coast. But his determination to set off on this adventure is shattered by the news of his wife’s cancer.

From this point disastrous events occur. All Shep’s former financial decisions have been wrong and he is now caught up in battles with a third-rate health insurance company that will only pay a portion of the astronomonical fees. His wife Glynis is put on a range of experimental (and expensive) drugs and month by month Shep sees his nest-egg diminishing. He seems to love Glynis rather than like her and an inner resentment builds up. Shep is a decent character but is generally considered a “soft touch” by his whole family. As well as supporting an ailing wife he has a son at an expensive school, a daughter being subsidised through university, a sister who is too creative to actually earn money and a father who despises the monetary system but expects to be assisted by his son.

His long term friend Jackson has a disabled daughter suffering from a horrific genetic syndrome. Jackson is often filled with rage and has frequent rants about how the government is ripping everyone off. He is convinced that people who works hard and pay their taxes are made fools of by both the federal government and by idle scroungers.

Sounds awful, doesn’t it? But actually this is a really compelling read. I was enthralled, horrified and angry in turn. Sometimes I wanted to scream: “Shep – get a grip!” By halfway through this book I expected the ending to be really depressing. But amazingly it is not. Lionel Shriver actually gives us a redemptive and (dare I say) uplifting conclusion.

(This book should be compulsory reading for anyone who thinks more privatisation in our Health Service would be a good thing!)

The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer

2011-04-30T10:08:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: March 2011

NOTES: An extremely readable approach to medieval life. Ian Mortimer points out that “Medieval England” covers a very long time span and so rightly chooses to concentrate on one century – the fourteenth. It is written in guide book style and gives us insights into what life was like for people (or travellers) of that time. He describes the landscape, homes, food, clothes, health and transport. There is a fascinating chapter were on Health and Hygiene – if you do get ill you are best to avoid the ministrations of doctors! It was also best to try to keep to the right side of the law but even this might not keep you out of trouble. The short, sharp shock was very much in vogue at the time. But as Mortimer points out the law is designed to find somebody guilty – it does not necessarily follow that that somebody is the person responsible for the crime in question.

This is a really fascinating and insightful book into an England of long ago. It is obviously meticulously researched but wears its scholarship lightly as it is a very entertaining read. It is helped by the selection of superb colour illustrations.

An essential for any potential Time Traveller…….

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

2011-04-22T14:20:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: March 2011

NOTES: Another great (if somewhat confusing!) read from Kate Atkinson. A complex story set in two different time scales and from the point of view of lots of characters. The plot cannot be encapsulated easily. In 1975 a prostitute is found murdered in her flat. One of the officers attending is Tracy Waterhouse. We then move on to the present day when Tracy, now a retired police inspector, buys a child from a know drug-user. On the same day Jackson Brodie takes possession of an abused dog. A doddery ageing actress, Tilly, loses her purse in the shopping mall. Jackson is trying to help Hope (who lives in New Zealand) to find her real family but some people seem to be deliberately blocking his way. More confusion abounds when another detective appears – also called Jackson.

We have an incredible mix of lost parents, lost children and sad memories. There are murdered relatives, aborted babies, lost loves, road deaths, police corruption and a dramatic funeral. But the whole is infused with Atkinson’s joyful language and energetic pace. Some of the best bits are when Tracy tries to be a parent to Courtney – very much an unknown territory for her. Tracy was surprised that more kids weren’t killed on so-called play equipment. People (parents) seemed blithely oblivious to the peril of small bodies arcing high into the sky on swings they weren’t strapped into, or of the same small bodies launching themselves from the top of a slide when they were knee-high to a gnat. Courtney was astonishingly reckless, a kid without a reck was a dangerous thing.

I enjoyed it very much although I wasn’t always sure if I was keeping up with the plot. There were a few loose ends (or was it me?) And I did wonder about the brilliant abilities of the ex-gangster Harry Reynolds. No request seemed too much for him and he deserves a book of his own!

(The Yorkshire Ripper has worked his way into the social and cultural fabric of the 1970s and 80s. The references here are not at all gratuitous but does Sutcliffe know – and does it give him pleasure?)

The Perfect Murder by H R F Keating

2011-04-18T16:03:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1964

DATE READ: April 2011

NOTES: I was first introduced to the Inspector Ghote books over thirty years ago. I overheard a conversation on the London Tube as a passenger praised the books written by an Englishman about an Indian policeman. He said that the author had never visited India and had used a street map of Bombay to help with his plotting. I was intrigued and on returning home I got a couple of Keating’s books from the library. I remember enjoying them at the time but never bothered to seek out any more.

Now some of this series is being re-issued so I was happy to have another look into the life and work of Inspector Ghote. The Perfect Murder has a lot of charm – and Ghote is a great creation. He cares about doing a good job; he wants to be a person of high morals but is all too aware of corruption all around him. The story itself is well plotted and coherent which makes it a very easy read.

The atmosphere of 1960s Bombay “feels” right. But does that mean it is right? As (like most readers) I have not lived any length of time in India but have nonetheless built up a picture of how the country works, how people relate to one another and how they use the English language. But what are the sources of this picture of India? E M Forster? Paul Scott? Kipling? – or Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Ruth Prawer Jhabvali and Rohinton Mistry. Do any Indians really talk like Arun Varde with his rhyming words (“corruption poppuption” and “doorstep poorstep”)? I would like to hear how and Indian born and bred in India responds to these books.

Or perhaps I am taking the whole thing too seriously……

Heresy by S J Parris

2011-04-07T17:01:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: April 2011

NOTES: Giordano Bruno is an Italian ex-communicated monk who escaped from the Inquisition to France and then on to England in 1583. He has rejected much traditional religious thinking and his heretic philosophy goes beyond Copernicus. With his friend Philip Sidney he travels to Oxford – ostensibly to debate with their senior don but also to seek out a lost book of Hermetic writings. As a further complication Sir Francis Walsingham has inveigled him into looking out for anti-Elizabeth sentiments among the Oxford academics. While in Oxford some murders occur and Bruno finds himself in the role of investigator.

Heresy is a well-written atmospheric historical fiction. The scenes of London, the Thames and Oxford are all well done. The tensions caused by religion and politics in Elizabethan England are clearly described. Although there were many who clung desperately to their chosen religion and were prepared to be martyred others just wanted to get on with their lives. “You must excuse Doctor Bernard some of his harshness,” he said, apologetically. “He has had to change his religion three times under four different sovereigns.”

The Tudor period has given rise to many other novels so any writer approaching this period needs to show considerable originality. Although Heresy has many positive attributes it is far from original. There are echoes of The Name of the Rose – especially with the reference to the secret book. The Shardlake books have already encompassed the role of Tudor detective so S J Parris had her work cut out to compete.

One of my problems with this book was the characters – none were especially prepossessing. Among the Oxford academics there was little differentiation and they all become merged in my mind. However the pace picked up towards the end and the final denouement was exciting if not credible. Why do the villains admit and explain what they have done? They don’t do this in real life but it happens again and again in books and films.

Orchid Blue by Eoin McNamee

2011-03-30T13:53:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: March 2011

NOTES: This is a novel based on real life incidents. In 1961 and young girl was savagely murdered in Newry following a dance at the Orange Hall. A local man, Robert McGladdery, is accused but the Detective in charge is concerned that because feelings are running so high he might not get a fair trial. Things are further complicated by the appointment of Lord Justice Curran as the trial judge. Nine years previously his own daughter had been murdered and the accused in that case was deemed of unsound mind and sent to a mental institution. The death sentence still exists and there seems to be a general feeling that the ultimate penalty should be paid for such a dreadful crime.

Eoin McNamee is a very good writer. He creates the atmosphere of the sixties brilliantly and all the characterisations are excellent. McGladdery is shown to be an enigmatic character who is not helped by the sloppy police tactics of the time. There are also the many ambiguities regarding the murder of the Judge’s daughter. Parts of the story do not add up but it is as if he was too important a person to be vigorously questioned.

If this was a complete fiction it would be a brilliant book. But as it is based on real people and real incidents I felt very uncomfortable reading it. 1961 is not so long ago – some of the people involved could still be alive. He also writes in a detailed way as to what people said and what they were thinking. I found myself thinking “How does he know this”.

I didn’t know about this case before reading Orchid Blue so would not have known how McGladdery’s trial ended. However on the inside cover is a spoiler….. black marks to the publisher!

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

2011-03-26T16:32:00.002Z

One of Dickens’ best loved books – and no wonder. Bleak House is a complex many-threaded tale filled with an astonishing array of characters including gentle Esther, menacing Tulkinghorn, kindly John Jarndyce, ambitious William Guppy and illerate but wily Krook. At the centre of the narrative is the legal case of Jarndyce versus Jarndyce. This has been going on for years and concerns some disputed wills (never fully explained) but many of the characters are hoping to gain from the outcome of the court action – or gain along the way from ongoing fees.

Dickens keeps his readers guessing – Who is Nemo? What is his link to Lady Dedlock? Just how hopeless will Richard turn out to be? Some of the characters are essentially “good” such as Esther, Ada and John Jarndyce. Others are much more nuanced although some are real caricatures – such as Mrs Jellyby. And what a wonderful creation is Stimpole – he was so irritating that it is hard to believe he would have survived without someone taking a blunt instrument to him!

I hate to say this but I thought the narrative dragged a bit in the last third…..

David Copperfield remains my favourite Dickens’ novel but Bleak House is not far behind….

The Einstein Girl by Philip Sington

2011-03-26T15:08:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: February 2011

NOTES: In pre-war Germany a young girl is found barely alive near Potsdam. She seems to have no memory and the only clue as to her identity is a handbill advertising a lecture by Einstein. Einstein has a summer house in the locality so there is a possibility that she was on her way there. The police are baffled and the press interested and soon she is named in the newspapers as the Einstein Girl.

Martin Kirsch is a sympathetic psychiatrist (who has coincidentally seen her before her accident) and is fascinated by her case and she enters his hospital for treatment. Strong links with Einstein emerge – but as we are in a world of insanity it is hard to know the truth from dreams. Even Martin has problems with reality as his latent syphilis moves into a dangerous stage.

The Einstein Girl is very good on describing the prevailing atmosphere of inter-war Europe. The emergence of the Nazis as a political force is well told – as are the subtle shifts in the requirements of the medical staff to collaborate with the authorities.

This was an intriguing read – quite challenging in parts. It was advertised as a thriller but it was not really part of that genre. It was not a “whodunit” – more of a “what’s going on?”

Classy and intelligent.

Trespass by Rose Tremain

2011-03-17T19:20:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: March 2011

NOTES: Set in the Cevennes regions of south-east France Trespass has two separate narratives both based on siblings. Anthony Verey’s antiques business in failing and he seeks solace with his sister Veronica who has moved to France with her partner Kitty. His plan is to buy a house and settle there. Aramon Lunel lives in a large decrepit farmhouse that he has inherited from his father. His sister Audron was only left a small portion of the land on which she has built a small modern (and ugly) bungalow. Aramon, an alcoholic, decides to sell his house as he is led to believe that he will get an enormous price for it but soon realises that his sister’s bungalow is a blot on the landscape. He has no qualms about turning her out of her home.

This is a fascinating story of sibling rivalry, jealousy, greed and inheritance. The “trespass” of the title occurs throughout the narrative. Anthony is trespassing on his sister’s relationship. Kitty hates his presence and is desperate for him to go. In her turn Veronica resents Kitty trying to come between her and her beloved brother. And the memory of their long dead mother continues to trespass into the thoughts of both of them.

Much more sinister “trespasses” have occurred in the past of the Lunel family. But now Aramon views his sister as a block on his future fortunes, while she in turn vows to remain on the family land. Another more subtle trespass is the influx of foreigners buying up French property.

As we have come to expect from Rose Tremain this is a beautifully written and cleverly constructed novel. It begins with a child’s scream but we are not told why until over halfway through the book. The atmosphere of France is brilliantly conveyed and all the characters believable (if not likeable!).

I was not entirely happy about the redemptive ending which I thought was lacking in credibility but this was nonetheless a great read.

Pub Walks in Underhill Country by Nat Segnit

2011-03-13T13:55:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2011

DATE READ: March 2011

NOTES: This book consists of the notes made by the now-departed Graham Underhill. He set out to produce another in his series of walking guides but was unable to resist telling us about his own life and problems. It’s a great device for a comic novel and on the whole works really well.

Graham is a keen walker but is unable to prevent pedantry and pomposity creeping through. While describing the (genuine) walks well he tells us lots of things we really don’t want to know. In relating his refreshments he describes the “two compartment picnic cooler” which holds the “Snap’n,’lock food containers”. He is always keen to let us know about flora and fauna, geology, history, philosophy and poetry. Poor Graham. He is so well-meaning but, let’s face it, he is the person you make sure you are not walking beside if you are on a group ramble!

It is soon made clear that his marriage to the beautiful Sunita has very rocky foundations. We know this but Graham fails to see what is going on under his nose. Many of the incidents recorded are ambivalent and it becomes hard to judge what facts can be relied on.

I was drawn to this book as I like walking. So what about the walks described? I have done some of these in the past but will put some of the others to the test in the coming year. Hopefully I will not succumb to some of Graham’s potential threats: angry farmers, slippery paths, dangerous cliffs – or even aggressive schoolgirls!

Great fun.

The Railway Children by E Nesbitt

2011-03-10T19:08:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1906

DATE READ: February 2011

This is the well known classic children’s book that I knew from the film but had never actually read it. Set in 1905 it is the story of a prosperous London family stricken by the tragedy of the father being taken away by the police. The three children are unaware that he has been arrested and sent to prison for espionage. They leave their large London home and travel to a small cottage in the countryside.

Despite missing their father (and at the beginning worrying about him a great deal) they are interested and excited to be living in the country – and are particularly thrilled to be so near to the railway line and the local station.

It is a charming story – no wonder it has been read by generations of British children. The children are great characters and the author also shows real affection for the people living nearby. The appearance of a Russian dissident in the story was probably quite brave for the time – and also a reflection of Nesbitt’s own somewhat Bohemian life.

From an adult point of view the plot doesn’t really hold up – but in the end this really doesn’t matter. And I did wonder why these middle-class children were not at school. Only towards the end does their mother start to give them lessons.

A Room With A View by E M Forster

2011-03-06T17:56:00.002Z

A Room with a View is one of Forster’s lighter books – but it is still infused with humour and wit and offers a satirical dissection of the middle class both at home and abroad.

Lucy Honeychurch visits Italy with her uptight Aunt Charlotte as her chaperone. Charlotte is constantly alert to the rules that should be followed – not mixing with “unsuitable” people, being wary of foreigners, not allowing Lucy to go anywhere unaccompanied, etc. But despite her best efforts things go awry.

It is the old story. Girl meets boy but rejects his advances. She meets much more suitable and conventional boy and agrees to marry him. Continues to reject first suitor….but does she protest too much?

Mrs Honeychurch is the archetypal middle class snob. “If books must be written, let them be written by men,” she says. All the characters are well drawn but young George Emerson is beautifully described. Was the author in love with him?

I was intrigued by the quotation painted on Emerson’s wardrobe in the Florence hotel: “Mistrust all enterprises that require new clothes.” How wise….

Swan Peak by James Lee Burke

2011-03-06T17:11:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: January 2011

NOTES: Dave Robicheaux and his friend (and ex-colleague) are on vacation in Montana when some murders occur and Dave is assigned temporarily to the local Sheriff’s staff. In the meantime Clete is obsessed with Jamie Sue Wellstone – an ex-Country and Western singer now married to a scarred war veteran. The wealthy Wellstone family have a ranch and some shady connections and are hoping to search for oil on their land.

The plot is fairly convoluted but what makes this book so great is the richness of the characters and the way in which they interact. Sometimes Clete must feel like a weight around Dave’s neck but he is continually loyal to his troubled friend. The bad guys are really bad but in the end no match for Dave and Clete.

Swan Peak has some lovely writing – and is sprinkled ideas: “…we love the earth but we don’t get to stay” or “Never go to bed with a woman who has more problems than you”.

There were a few bits of plotting that bothered me. Firstly, J.D. escaped from gaol and took refuge with Albert Hollister. He was miles from home – so where did he get his guitar from? Also I thought that Troyce Nix talked a bit too readily to Candace about his problems and his past transgressions. Seemed a bit unlikely.

But once again, Dave Robicheaux is the person to have on your side. And he makes great picnics!

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

2011-01-10T19:13:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: January 2011

NOTES: Cutting for Stone is a very ambitious novel which takes us to Ethiopia, Kenya, India and United States. Its main setting is a mission hospital in Addis Ababa run by an odd collection of medical staff. In an early dramatic episode twin boys are born and one of them, Marion, relates the strange symbiotic relationship that exists between him and his brother Shiva.

Verghese has created some wonderful characters – especially Hema and Ghosh who act as parents to the twins. The medical staff of the hospital in New York are particularly well drawn – in fact some of the best parts of the novels are set in United States. There is a Dickensian feel to the book – disappearances and reappearances, objects lost and found, betrayals, love and family loyalty.

The political situation (in both Ethiopia and US) is dealt with skilfully and intelligently. Surgical operations are described vividly – so this is not a book for the squeamish!

I thought the plot at the end was just too melodramatic and unbelievable but I can nonetheless understand the overall appeal of this book.

Hand Me Down World by Lloyd Jones

2011-01-07T16:36:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: December 2010

NOTES: An African woman, working in a Tunisian hotel, gets pregnant by a German visitor. When she gives birth she is tricked into signing adoption papers and the child is taken away by the father. Her story is told through some of the many people she comes into contact in her search for her child – but when she at last is given her own voice many of these narrators turn out to be very unreliable. (Or perhaps it is the woman who chooses not to tell us the whole story?) The book is interesting inasmuch as the information the author withholds from us – we never know the real origins of the woman, nor her real name (she adopts the name of Ines), nor the eventual resolution of her missing child.

Interestingly, Ines is not shown to be an innocent victim – she acts as a prostitute when necessary, steals and lies. But the writing makes clear that we are meant to believe that she has been wronged and our sympathies should lie with her.

The writing is superb. The different voices are well defined – not an easy task with so many characters. There are also some lovely “set pieces” – such as the scene in the mountains when the American food writer resists giving money to Ines but is “persuaded” (i.e. blackmailed) into it by his Italian hunter companions.

The blurb on the cover said “This is a novel you cannot stop thinking about”. True.

The Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan

2010-12-28T14:22:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2002

DATE READ: December 2010

NOTES: Rose appears to have a very enviable life. Both she and her husband Nathan are in well-paid jobs, her good-natured children are emerging from University and she lives in a comfortable house with a much loved and well-cared for garden. So what can go wrong?

When Nathan reveals that he is having an affair and about to leave her, Rose sinks into despondency. Her problems far from over – his new love, Minty, is Rose’s underling at work and within a short time the ambitious Minty is promoted and Rose is squeezed out. This could then have become a story along the well-trodden path of the bitter, wronged and innocent woman versus a callous man. But Buchan avoids this and is much more nuanced in her approach.

It is a subtle story of a woman coming to terms with both her past and her present. Her children are very well drawn – and far from problem-free! I thought the only wrong note was the traitorous Minty turning up uninvited to a family celebration.

The Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman holds some lovely writing. The descriptions of the garden are particularly good – especially how the sudden neglect of the garden reveals itself. (Analogous with Rose’s neglect of her marriage?)

My first book by this author – but I shall look out for more!

The Tent, the Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy

2010-12-23T12:38:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: December 2010

NOTES: This book was subtitled “My family’s disastrous attempts to go camping in the 70s”. It was certainly that – never was there a more inept and ill-prepared group of campers. Each holiday they set out optimistically but were continually dogged by disaster and misfortune. The book begins off well and is quite funny for the first two chapters. But there really is not enough material to sustain the narrative for 300+ pages and it feels as if the whole thing has been padded out.

Lots of the incidents sound very implausible. I don’t think this matters – but it should have been funnier! Telling us that French people are weird is not funny…..

We camped all through the 70s and had a great time. Yes, things went wrong. Cars broke down in France and Spain, we once forgot to take our camp kitchen and our roof rack collapsed in the Pyrenees. I got gastro-enteritis in Portugal – it was 108 paces to the toilet block! But it was all great. Hope no-one is put off camping by this book!

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

2010-12-12T14:41:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1947 (first published in English 2009)

DATE READ: December 2010

NOTES: This is a bleak, terrifying and haunting novel. Set in wartime Berlin it seeks to tell the story of Otto and Anna Quangel – a pair of very unlikely dissidents. After the death of their soldier son in France they decide that they must do something to challenge the Nazis. Otto decides he will write postcards with anti-regime slogans and leave them in random spots to be found and read by others. The book makes clear from the start that their actions are doomed to failure but despite that the story is compelling.

The title is intriguing. Throughout the book there is a sense of “aloneness” of the characters. Otto and Anna seem to be living quite separate lives (but do come together emotionally later in the book). The wastrel Enno moves from woman to woman thinking only of himself. Frau Rosenthal is a Jewess living alone and appearing to have no friends or relatives. Judge Fromm is also quite alone in his apartment with his books and his thoughts (or is he?) Even the Gestapo Inspector Esherisch is alone in his work with no respect for those around him.

What this book makes clear is the answer to the question: When the German people realised how bad the Nazis were why didn’t they challenge them? Fallada describes in graphic detail the ruthlessness of the police, the justice system and the terror and insecurity of the ordinary people. For the overwhelming majority it became easier and safer to be quiet, keep your head down and avert your eyes.

But (according to Fallada) in the final analysis the question to ask oneself is whether you remained a decent human being or sunk to the level of those around. When asked if their resistance has been in vain the prisoner Doctor Reichhardt says:

“Well, it will have helped us to feel that we behaved decently till the end………As it was, we all acted alone, we were caught alone, and every one of us will have to die alone. But that doesn’t mean that we are alone or that our death will be in vain.”

A profoundly moving book.

A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré

2010-12-12T13:48:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: November 2010

NOTES: I have become a great fan of le Carré’s post-Cold War fiction – The Constant Gardener, Absolute Friends and The Mission Song. While I enjoyed A Most Wanted Man I found it to be a little uneven and didn’t hold my attention as much as his other books. The setting is Hamburg and he describes the Turkish community there vividly and realistically – explaining their hopes, anxieties and disappointments.

I think the main problem was the character of Issa – a young man who seemed to have appeared from nowhere and is espousing Islamic fervour. He reminded me of Prince Myshkin in The Idiot – a sort of innocent very much out of his depth. Le Carré has, I assume, deliberately made him an ambiguous character but for me he was the weak link in the plot. The banker Tommy Brue has various financial skeletons in his vaults left over from his late father’s regime and he seems to agree to help Issa and his attractive lawyer Annabel.

What the book describes well are the machinations and manipulation by various intelligence organisations. Their ruthlessness is terrifying – but in a very subtle way. They may appear to be on your side but in the final analysis all their loyalty is with their own organisation not with the people they are supposed to protect.

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith

2010-12-07T13:06:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: December 2010 (audio)

NOTES: A gentle, funny satire on modern Edinburgh life. There are lots of characters whose lives cross in different ways. Matthew struggles to come to terms with marriage, young Bertie with his psychotherapy sessions, Domenica with increasing loneliness, Angus worries about what to do with six puppies delivered to his door and Big Lou is forever offering food and comfort. And Ian Rankin even makes and appearance!

There is no one plotlines – the story meanders along with a series of misunderstandings and errors of judgement.

The Steiner School children are particularly funny – and bearing some really whacky names: Tofu, Hiawatha, Merlin, Pansy, Laksmi! All very comical but a bit too precocious for six year olds (but perhaps I am misjudging Rudolf Steiner!). Bertie is an unwilling participant in psychotherapy. But he proves to be clever and manipulative and we cheer him on.

What comes over is McCall’s deep affection for Scotland and in particular Edinburgh.

As indicated in the title this book is light and fluffy. It is a feelgood read – and none the worse for that.

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

2010-11-29T17:18:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1933

DATE READ: November 2010

NOTES: I had forgotten how good this book is. Orwell recounts his time as a hotel worker in Paris (albeit often unemployed) during the late twenties. He was hoping to write but found that all his time was taken up with looking, trying to eke out his money or recovering from the long hours required by hotels. What comes over again and again is the way in which employers were able to treat their workers with utter disdain. Jobs could be lost for the smallest infraction with no consideration for the employees’ situation. Although conditions are harsh Orwell tells of how friends help one another, give good advice and even share their meagre rations.

In London Orwell joined the large community of tramps. By being on the inside (rather than being a well-meaning do-gooder) he was able to write about the full horror of life for men on the road. Apart from the horror of the sleeping conditions in many of the hostels available the lives of the tramps were made more difficult by the numerous petty rules. For instance, men could only stay for one night in any place and could not return with a month. Although there were undoubtedly many people hoping to help the men but were nonetheless unable to hide their disdain. As Orwell says: “Curious how people feel they have a right to preach at you and pray over you as soon as your income falls below a certain level.”

Throughout the book he shows great respect for the tramps, beggars and others down on their luck. These were times when being “broke” meant that you had literally no money or means of any kind – no credit cards, no bank overdraft – and certainly no state benefits. A few coins made all the difference between eating and starvation. Anyone who feels the poor are treated too generously now should read this book!

Secret Histories: Finding George Orwell in a Burmese Teashop by Emma Larkin

2010-11-22T14:17:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2004

DATE READ: November 2010

NOTES: Emma Larkin uses the writings of George Orwell as a “peg” for a travel memoir about Myanmar. She starts at Mandalay, goes on the Myangmya in the Delta region, then to Rangoon, then Moulmein and lastly to Katha. Her travels and interactions with locals are obviously helped with her knowledge of the local language. However in conversations it is never made clear whether they are talking in English or Burmese.

The best parts of the book are the linking together of Orwell’s novel Burmese Days with the places and people that she meets. Orwell was a complex character and some of his contradictions are included. He wrote passionately about anti-colonialism but he also seems to have been very domineering in his dealings with locals. The book fares less well when she tries to equate Animal Farm and 1984 with present day Myanmar. Many of the comparisons seemed clumsy and forced. I read this book in anticipation of a visit to the country. The book succeeded in giving a “feel” of the place – and I will definitely visit Pansodan Street, Yangon which is supposed to be filled with bookshops!

Homonym alert!!! On page 200 we have “hoards of people” – oh dear, that really should have been spotted by the editor….

The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck

2010-11-22T13:40:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1931

DATE READ: November 2010

NOTES: Pearl Buck lived in China for many years and spoke the language so I am happy to accept the authenticity of her writing. The Good Earth tells the story of Wang Lung - a hard-working peasant farmer with ambitions to improve his life. O-lan is a plain servant girl (effectively a slave) in the house of the local landowner. Wang Lung takes her as a wife having said that he does not want a beautiful woman but one that is strong and willing to work and bear him sons. Love is not an expectation.

Although Wang Lung and his wife work hard other things conspire against him and his life is a continual struggle against poverty and destitution. Buck writes in a very simple and lucid way – which somehow makes the issues that she raises even more shocking. The story is interwoven with infanticide, murder, drug-taking, prostitution, greed and betrayal. But throughout it all Wang Lung is convinced that it is the land which will offer them salvation. For much of the narrative Wang Lung and many of the other characters are far from flawless – but the author doesn’t judge them. Instead she relates their actions and attitudes and leaves the rest to the reader.

It is not made absolutely clear when the book was supposed to be set. Slavery was abolished in 1910 so it is probably supposed to be set about that time. By 1912 the Republic of China had been created although there were many internal factions leading to the era of the warlords. The Good Earth was first published in 1931 – so the story was written without knowing the massive upheavals that were to occur in China a few years in the future. But already the country was in a state of flux with the mention of distant wars and gangs of local robbers.

A brilliant book – a true classic.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

2010-11-15T17:34:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: October 2010

NOTES: Like his earlier work, The Corrections, this is a family saga. Outwardly Patty and Walter Berglund look like the ideal parents to an ideal family. They are a bit smug and judgemental about others. But this is no happy family. Tensions and divisions abound. Teenage son Joey clashes continually with his parents and leaves home to live with (to Patty’s horror) their blue collar neighbours. Patty is a depressive and still bitter about the way in which her mother seemed to prefer her second daughter. In the same vein Walter feels he has always played second fiddle to his brother Mitch.

But throughout the whole novel there exists an eternal triangle: Walter, Patty and Richard Katz. Katz is an intriguing character – charismatic, talented, emotionally powerful and yet odious. The book is complex and spins off in different directions of time and space. But it is so beautifully written that it would be hard not to be drawn into the narrative.

As well as being concerned with the dynamics of family life Freedom clearly signals issues from the first part of this century. Walter is a keen environmentalist and becomes involved in a fairly dodgy project. Joey gets well paid work “reconstructing” Iraq which actually means buying up substandard equipment for selling on at inflated prices.

Franzen isn’t frightened about letting us know how he feels about things. Different ideas about freedom intersperse the story as do his frequent “rants” – such as against consumerism, the shallowness of youth, the Republicans. I especially applauded his rant about cats!

I loved The Corrections and so was looking forward to this new work. Was it worth the ten year wait? Yes, it certainly was – it is brilliant!

The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham

2010-10-26T17:04:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1919

DATE READ: September 2010 (audiobook)

NOTES: Inspired by Gauguin, this is the fascinating story of Charles Strickland. Strickland has the ambition to paint (but only in his own inconventional and idiosyncratic way) and develops such a passion for this that he is unable to think of anything else. He leaves his family (with no apparent guilt) and lives a life of poverty in Paris, Marseilles and Tahiti. He shows no feelings for anyone around him but at the same times evokes compassion and admiration in others. Strickland is obsessed by his art but not in any resulting commercial value.

The book has an interesting construction. It is narrated by an honest admirer – sometimes describing what he has observed but often via a third person. It is a very compelling story – despite the fact that Maugham ensures that there is little endearing in Strickland’s character. His actions reveal him to be savage, misogynistic and unfeeling. As the narrator says: “Strickland was an odious man – but I still think he was a great one.” The reader is left with some interesting questions. Does a great talent excuse wicked behaviour? Is a genius governed by a different set of morals than us lesser beings?

A compelling story.

No Mean City by A. McArthur and H. Kingsley Long

2010-10-26T13:43:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1935

DATE READ: October 2010

NOTES: I can understand the stir this book made when it was first published in 1935. For many people in Britain the desperate lives lived in the poorest parts of our cities was something best not considered. But No Mean City showed in a powerful and graphic way the violence and poverty that dominated so many lives.

It tells the story of Johnnie Stark - the eldest son of a violent father. He seeks to make his mark in the community by fighting and soon becomes accepted as the Razor King. His younger brother Peter is also ambitious and hopes for a white collar job but quickly realises that he must escape from the Gorbals. Other characters are Bobby Hurley and his girl friend Lily. They are talented ballroom dancers and find that they can earn a decent living through this and soon have moved outside the Gorbals and have their own house complete with bathroom.

No Mean City shows the depressing aspects of the lives of so many of the inhabitants. They have become an underclass with few real ambitions. Johnnie’s sole aim in life is to be admired as a hard man and a hard drinker. In this he is supported by various women who are all happy to subjugate themselves to him and accept the violence shown to them. This casual violence towards women runs through the whole book.

But escape from the slums is no easy matter. Jobs are easily lost and there is a very narrow margin between managing the weekly budget and sinking into debt.

No Mean City is not a great piece of literature but it is a valuable social document.

NB. I remember my father talking of this book. He felt that it exaggerated the picture of life in the Gorbals. (This is where he lived for much of his life before he married in 1939.) His family were the “respectable” poor – they were always in work albeit in lowly paid jobs and certainly never associated with gangs or criminals!

The News Where You Are by Catherine O'Flynn

2010-10-13T16:58:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: October 2010

NOTES: I have always found something a bit ludicrous about local television news. When the main national newsreader announces “And now the news where you are….” you know that the whole tone of broadcasting changes. Out go the challenging questions to people in power and reports on serious world issues and in come the charity events, the sick children seeking funds for treatment abroad and the pensioner robbed by yobs. And local television news is virtually the same throughout the country – just different hairstyles, different puns and different settees.

I don’t think I have read another novel that is based in a local television news room – it’s surprising that no-one thought of the idea before. But O’Flynn doesn’t belittle her subject but instead treats it with good humour and affection. Her main protagonist is Frank – and unambitious journalist with a terrible line in (purchased) jokes who nonetheless has a substantial local fanbase. His co-presenter Julia is bright but cynical and clearly feels she is meant for better things than local news.

The themes running throughout this novel are loss and change. Frank’s father had been the architect of many of Birmingham’s brutally modern sixties civic buildings. But now things are changing and one by one they are being demolished – and Frank feels sad about their loss but comforted by his chirpy and optimistic young daughter Mo. Frank also takes it upon himself to attend the funerals of people who have been reported as dying alone – often as the only mourner. He is hardly able to articulate why he does this but feels it is his responsibility – but we see it as evidence of his “goodness”.

There is a plot – nothing like as complex as What Was Lost – about the unexplained death of his predecessor. But it is not the plotting that is important in this book. It is the vibrant characters, the great dialogue and a superb evocation of a changing city.

I am a huge fan of Catherine O’Flynn’s debut novel What Was Lost so I approached her new book with some trepidation. But I was not disappointed – it really is an excellent novel.

Highly recommended.

A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler

2010-10-07T17:26:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1998

DATE READ: October 2010

NOTES: Another little gem from Anne Tyler. Her books never disappoint – she seems to create such lovely quirky characters and some really interesting and original story lines.

Barnaby is nearing his thirtieth birthday and is (let’s face it) a bit of a “slacker”. He has missed out on higher education and has instead moved from a delinquent adolescence to a job working as a helper for old people – moving furniture, carrying heavy loads, clearing attics and basements etc. He is divorced from Natalie and has a cool and rather forced relationship with his daughter. His mother is controlling and demanding – and very disappointed that Barnaby has not turned out better. Although there is much of his life that he finds unsatisfactory he seems to really love his job and is very good at it. His clients all like him because he is so patient and reliable and he gets on well with his colleagues.

He meets Sophia and begins to fall in love with her. She seems to be the ideal partner – so will it be “happy ever after” or will fate step in?

A lovely read.

(I don’t want to be too picky but if this story was set in UK then Barnaby with his police record would never be allowed to work in the homes of the elderly!)

Room by Emma Donoghue

2010-10-04T16:58:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: August 2010

NOTES: Emma Donoghue has said that her book was inspired by the events surrounding the Fritzl and Kampusch cases. I was hesitant about reading Room as I thought it could be salacious and exploitative. But it is neither – instead she has produced an uplifting book about the love between a mother and her child and the human instinct for survival.

The whole story is told through the eyes of five year-old Jack. He has been born in the room and knows no other world. He has seen television but has not understanding about life outside. His mother (Ma) has told him stories constantly and taught him how to count and how to read. Their warm relationship is ripped apart whenever “Old Nick” chooses to come into the room. Jack knows that he is a hateful person but at the same time is aware that they depend on him for everything.

By choosing to relate the whole story through Jack the author was setting herself a difficult task but she rises to it magnificently. It could have become very twee or artificial but this is avoided. My only query is Jack’s use of language. He tends not to use the definite article and refers to objects as “room”, “chair” or “bed”. He has a good role model in his mother and also has a television so I thought this struck a wrong note.

Once they are outside Jack becomes embroiled in a whole series of misunderstandings and misperceptions – hardly surprising. I don’t want to quibble (as I thought this a really good book) but felt that Ma and Jack were not as protected from the wider society as they would have been in real life.

As I read Room I wondered how she would write the ending. I was not disappointed – I thought the ending was spot on!

The Great Stink by Clare Clark

2010-10-04T16:38:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2005

DATE READ: September 2010

NOTES: William May is suffering from post-traumatic stress following the Crimean War. He is working for Bazalgette on the upgrading of London’s sewer system. His mental state deteriorates after he becomes convinced he has witnessed a murder in one of the tunnels. His psychological problems are described in a most distressing way.

Tom is a “tosher” who illegally hunts for things in the sewers – including rats to be used in the dog fights that are put on in some of the public houses. Tom helps to cover up a crime which has been committed and his world and William’s begin to overlap.

Clare Clark has created an amazing a realistic picture of the harsh life lived by many in Victorian London. Her descriptions are vivid enough to make the strongest stomach turn. Definitely not a book to be read while eating you lunch!

The story moves at a swift pace and she introduces some excellent well-rounded characters. My only criticism would be that she creates an atmosphere of almost unremitting gloom – a few less serious touches would have been welcome.

The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason

2010-10-04T16:34:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2007

DATE READ: September 2010

NOTES: Icelandic Police Detective Erlendur Sveinsson is sent to investigate a skeleton that has been found in Lake Kleifarvatn. The bones appear to have been there for many years. The skull shows a serious injury and the body has been weighted down with an obsolete Russian listening device.

Assuming that this suspicious death occurred during the Cold War Erlendur seeks out missing persons from the 1950s and 1960s. The action switches back to Leipzig in the fifties when a group of socialist Icelandic students attended university there. Erlendur becomes convinced that a Ford Falcon car abandoned at the time is a key to who the victim is and why he was murdered.

The Draining Lake was a somewhat disappointing read. Erlendur as lead detective was far from original (troubled relationships, difficult children, addictions) and the other characters were little more than ciphers. There was no tension or pace. The fact that the murder took place so long ago in a quite different world did not help. The parts of the story set in East Germany were very hackneyed and unsubtle. The dialogue was clunky and unbelievable.

Very dull.

The Man Who Disappeared by Clare Morrall

2010-09-30T13:50:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: September 2010

NOTES: The concept of someone choosing to disappear from society is intriguing. After reading this book I asked an ex-police officer how feasible it was to slip “beneath the radar”. Surprisingly easy, was his response – if someone chooses to disappear then there is a strong possibility that they will not be found. The exception, of course, is if a crime is suspected – then the authorities have more options.

In The Man Who Disappeared Clare Morrall explores what happens to an apparently happy and prosperous family when the father simply disappears. In this case a crime seems to have been committed. Kate Kendall soon realises how little she actually knows about her husband’s life outside the home. At first there is terrible anger and disbelief as she seeks to hold her family together – not helped by the fact that she is now penniless and in danger of losing her home.

This book is well-crafted and the suspense is kept up well. The three children are particularly well drawn as fully rounded characters – very believable. Rory, the quirky youngest child, was especially interesting. The ending was suitably ambiguous – much better than a conventional happy ending.

My only real problem with this book was the fact that it was written in the present tense. Not sure why I find this a bit jarring…..

The Love Secrets of Don Juan by Tim Lott

2010-09-11T16:58:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2003

DATE READ: September 2010

NOTES: “Spike” Daniel Savage is continually confused about Man/Woman relationships. His marriage of some ten years with Beth has failed and he is in therapy hoping to uncover the elusive secrets of how to love and be loved. He decides that the result of the contradictions in women is B. M. A. – Bewilderment, Misunderstanding, Anger.

Daniels struggles to find happiness through a series of unfortunate meetings and mishaps. Much of the writing is funny and perceptive – but there is always a tinge of sadness…

The scene with the divorce mediator where his wife screws even more money out of him seems to be written from bitter reality!

I didn’t think this was as good as Lott’s Rumours of a Hurricane but I enjoyed it very much.

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

2010-09-11T16:56:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2005

DATE READ: September 2010

NOTES: Four people all with different problems plan to commit suicide on New Year’s Eve. They meet up accidentally on the roof of a tower block (“Toppers’ Tower”). They are four very different personalities but by the end of the evening they have formed an uneasy alliance and agree to put off killing themselves until Valentine’s Day.

Some genuinely funny and quirky situations arise – all very Hornbyesque! The characters are more or less stereotypes – the disgraced media star, the downtrodden single mum, the failed rock musician and the troubled punk teenager. At times our credibility is stretched as to whether these people would really offer any meaningful support to each other. Three of them are quite likeable – but dare I say they may well have been tempted to push the appalling Jess off the roof!

On a more serious note – what would a family who had lost someone through suicide think of this book? A real would-be suicide inhabits a dark despairing world in which death seems to them to be the only option available.

The various plot threads are all tied up neatly at the end. There are no sweet and sentimental “happy” endings – Hornby did well to avoid this.

A light read – but a dark subject.

Stone's Fall by Iain Pears

2010-09-11T16:55:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: August 2010

NOTES: Stone’s Fall is a complex and multi-layered historical novel. The story begins in 1909 when a young and inexperienced journalist is engaged by Stone’s widow to find the daughter mentioned in his will. In order not to let anyone know about this illegitimate offspring Braddock assumes the role as Stone’s biographer as a cover story.

This could have been a fairly predictable story in which the child is sought while at the same time enquiring into how Stone came to die in such mysterious circumstances. But nothing is as it seems. Braddock soon realises that he is in a shadowy world in which no-one can be trusted.

The second part is narrated by Henry Cort – a shady character with vague links to the British security services – as well as an intriguing link to Stone. The third part is told by Stone himself wherein many things are explained and various ends tied up. This book is written like a 19th century novel – lots of detail but with some really vivid characters and strong plot-lines. Often two parallel stories are running together – for instance the race to avoid financial meltdown takes place alongside the search for Elizabeth’s diaries.

A massive amount of research has obviously gone into Stone’s Fall. The concept that international capital is more important than the nation state is clearly explained. When discussing the possibility of war in Europe Lefevre says “It will not be the armies fighting next time, but economies…….War and peace will be decided by the movement of capital.” And who would have thought that intelligence about coal stocks could be so crucial?

Stone is obviously a complex egocentric larger-than-life character but his wife Elizabeth is also a brilliant creation. She continually fools those around her (and the reader) as she lies, schemes and reinvents herself again and again. She is like a character from Zola.

There are enough plots in it to make up three or four books and although I felt a little overwhelmed by the mass of detail at times Stone’s Fall is a great read.

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

2010-08-23T17:31:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: August 2010

NOTES: Burnt Shadows is an ambitious book. The story moves from the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki in 1945 to India under colonial rule, to the birth of Pakistan and right up to the “war on terror” in the United States at the present time. The plotting is fairly complex – especially as it takes place over such a long time. However I thought it became a bit unwieldy and less credible towards the end……

Most of her characters are well rounded. Hiroko was a really interesting central character – a clever Japanese linguist who carries with her the emotional and physical scars of Nagasaki. She is perceptive and incisive in her judgements. Following the 9/11 attacks she reflects that the 3,000 Americans killed seemed to have so much more significance than other event.

Elizabeth Burton is a typical colonial wife but she gradually befriends Hiroko and eventually they become close. She is enigmatic and I feel Shamsie probably had ambivalent feelings about her.

A beautifully written moving book.

The Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry

2010-08-11T13:10:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1974

DATE READ: August 2010

NOTES: Paul Christopher is a somewhat disillusioned CIA operative who sets out without any official permission to find out who was actually behind the Kennedy assassination. His search takes him from Italy to Austria, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and North Africa. He has contacts in all these places and his ability to speak the local languages is very much a plus factor. It is a fast paced story – and Christopher is portrayed as a pretty heroic character (but he is not above getting others to do his dirty work).

Although first published in 1975 The Tears of Autumn remains fresh and relevant. An Italian colleague says: “You Americans kill whole countries and it doesn’t bother you…..but for America to be wounded – ah!”

The plotting was a bit overcomplicated and involved the Viet Cong, Viet Minh, the Mafia, horoscopes, dwarf Nazis, Cubans, African nationalists…… Even readers who were sympathetic to the view that Kennedy was killed as a result of an international conspiracy would have had their credibility stretched to breaking point!

However Charles McCarry’s writing style is excellent. “They ate a bad meal, cooked with contempt and served with scorn, in an expensive restaurant in Georgetown that was going out of fashion.”

In The Heart Of The Canyon by Elizabeth Hyde

2010-07-29T13:20:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: July 2010

NOTES: Anyone who has looked down into the Grand Canyon and watched the turquoise waters of the Colorado river snaking along must wonder what it is like to be down there in “the heart of the canyon”. Elizabeth Hyde’s novel recounts the story of a river trip led by JT Maroney – a veteran guide with 124 trips under his belt. There are twelve assorted guests ranging in age from 12 to 76. Some are already experienced in this type of adventure holiday, some are obviously unfit and ill-prepared.

Over the twelve days JT and the other leaders have to respond to a range of tantrums, bad behaviour, selfishness, accidents and ill-health. While all these problems are probable typical of most package activity trips the dangers of the river add another dimension. As expected there is some unexpected drama along the way….

From a literary point of view In The Heart Of The Canyon is a fairly unremarkable work but it is a very light and enjoyable read. Some writers would have made this book into an Arizona version of Deliverance – but this reads more like an advertisement for the rafting companies listed at the back of the book!

A feel-good summer read.

The Bed I Made by Lucie Whitehouse

2010-07-22T15:04:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: July 2010

NOTES: The Bed I Made is a very well written novel. It is intriguing from the outset – we want to know why Kate has come to the Isle of Wight in winter when she has no friends there. Her story gradually unfolds and we learn how the wonderful romantic relationship she was having with Richard has disintegrated leaving her fragile and vulnerable.

The atmosphere of the out-of-season island is beautifully crafted – as are her growing links with a few locals. She is very much an outside looking in. She is curious about the missing (believed drowned) Alice Frewin as well as the relationships between other residents.

The review on the cover said: “Gripping, believable and unnerving”. Well, it was certainly gripping and somewhat unnerving but I was not really convinced about it being believable. While it was made clear that Kate felt guilty about how the relationship with Richard had developed she was also too intelligent not to pass on her worries to another person. Why keep it secret? The threatening atmosphere was built up well but I thought the ending was a bit lame…. Certainly not as good as the ending I had planned in my imagination!

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

2010-07-16T10:17:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: July 2010

NOTES: Lacuna – an empty space or a missing piece

This is an ambitious and brilliantly constructed novel. Harrison Shepherd is the son of a Mexican mother and American father. Mother takes him off to Mexico as a young boy as she pursues various men in the hope that they will look after her. Young Harrison winds up working for flamboyant artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahla. He is part of their household when Trotsky comes to stay and the whole tragedy of revolutionary politics unfolds before him.

From the beginning Harrison instinctively writes and records all that is going on around him. But it is not until well through the book that we begin to know how his writing has reached the printed page. After his return to the United States he successfully publishes two novels – but there are darker forces lurking and he is soon caught up in the anti-communistic witch hunts of the late 1940s.

Kingsolver brilliantly evokes both the vibrant, colourful and dangerous atmosphere of Mexico and the prosperous, introverted and small-minded North Carolina. She has created some wonderful characters: the unpredictable Frida, the stalwart, loyal Violet Brown and the honest, formidable Arthur Gold. The only criticism I would make of this book is that the writer has done a vast amount of research and seems to have been reluctant to leave any of it out of the finished work……

The concept of a lacuna is well employed. Throughout the book there are empty spaces and missing parts. The significant opening scenes describe the frightening spaces in rocks under the sea; various parts of Harrison’s notebooks and diaries go missing; there is a father-sized hole in his life. Harrison Shepherd describes the people and events that surround him but gives surprisingly little away about his own real self – another lacuna?

Very impressive – highly recommended.

The Pattern in the Carpet by Margaret Drabble

2010-07-13T18:08:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: July 2010 (audiobook)

NOTES: This memoir is a real nostalgia fest! Although Margaret Drabble set out to write a brief history of the jigsaw puzzle she found herself shooting off at tangents into a series of random memories and reflections.

She uses memories of her beloved Aunt Phyllis as a starting point but in the course of the book she reflects on childhood, children’s games, art history, the value of puzzles, mosaics, literature and the problems of growing old. Quite a mix! I also remembered well many of things from her childhood. - evaporated milk and tinned fruit (yum, yum!), five stones, jigsaws, board games played by the whole family. And those magical embroidery transfers – blue designs on tissue paper – that my mother never allowed me to iron on to the fabric in case I spoiled it! And ric-rac tape! And, yes, I even remember sewing cards – in fact I used to give these to my infant class pupils. I used them to help develop coordination in tiny fingers but Margaret Drabble sees no purpose in them.

I found the parts explaining the history of the jigsaw puzzle fascinating – especially the references to it in literature. I would however have liked to hear more about the inspiration and development Drabble’s novels – even though I realise this is not the remit of this book.

This was a really interesting read. Now I’m off to do a jigsaw!

Red Dust Road by Jackie Kay

2010-07-06T17:36:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: July 2010

NOTES: I don’t often choose to read autobiographies but was lured to this by some positive reviews and after hearing Jackie Kay talk about her book on the radio. She was adopted as a baby and Red Dust Road is her story of her search for her birth parents.

In no way is this a “misery memoir” – her story is told with openness, honesty and humour. Like many adopted children she had built up pictures of what her birth parents would be like and (let’s face it) neither of them really came up to her expectations. But she shows no bitterness or resentment and tries hard to understand them.

There is a dramatic tension when she recounts her trips to Nigeria to locate her father – but when he turns out to be a “born again” Christian zealot she continues to treat him with courtesy and respect. Let us hope that her dream of being welcomed into her village with drums beating will one day come true!

The real hero and heroine of this memoir are John and Helen Kay, Jackie’s adoptive parents. They sound like wonderful people – strong, principled, funny, loving and generous.

Red Dust Road is a beautifully written book that quickly draws the reader in. Warm and life-affirming.

The Idea of Love by Louise Dean

2010-06-13T14:21:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: May 2010

NOTES: I very much enjoyed Louise Dean’s This Human Season so was looking forward to this book. The Idea of Love is a much more complex book and not at all what I expected. I thought it was going to be about prosperous Brits settling down to an idyllic life in the French countryside – a sort of Year in Provence (only better written!). But my preconceptions were quite wrong.

Richard has moved to the Var region with his French wife and their son. They make friends with the other local ex-pat crowd but have little contact with locals – except for Valerie’s parents who loom large throughout the narrative. The story has many dark undertones – everyone is seeking happiness and love but things go awry through jealousy, disloyalty or selfishness. Things are not helped by the challenging behaviour of their son Maxence who seems to be very disturbed.

Richard works for a large pharmaceuticals firm and he goes to Africa specifically to persuade doctors there to use anti-depressants. He gradually realises that these powerful and expensive drugs are not really necessary in African culture but are being pushed as a means of gaining profits for his company. Their neighbours also visit Africa to try to adopt a child but soon become disillusioned as they realise that the “orphanages” they visit are not what they seem. (I thought that the African sections of the book were the best parts.)

There is a lot packed into 300 pages – a compelling read.

Chosen by Lesley Glaister

2010-06-07T18:13:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: June 2010

NOTES: After Dodie finds her mother dead from suicide she seeks out her younger brother but is told he has gone to America to stay with relatives. As Dodie is unaware of any relatives she sets out to find him. She is led to a religious community in New York State but instead of finding Seth and bringing him home she is gradually drawn into the cult by a mixture of curiosity, persuasion and mind-altering drugs. This is possibly the best part of the book – very effectively written – as we feel Dodie being drawn more and more into a dangerous situation.

The second part of the book is written by Dodie’s aunt Melanie who is a long term resident of the Soul-Life Community. She is in complete thrall to the leader Adam and again and again finds herself being persuaded to make wrong choices against her better judgement. However I was not convinced by why anyone would really respond to Adam. He was rather a laughable and pathetic character but only Stella (seriously depressed and possibly mentally ill) sees through him. Though, having said that, I suppose most cults are filled with vulnerable or damaged people just waiting to be told “the truth”.

The writer evokes the atmosphere of a cult community brilliantly and it is a compelling read. But if you would like a story about happy family life this is not for you!

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

2010-06-07T17:09:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1973

DATE READ: May 2010

NOTES: Another classic ticked off….. but, oh dear, what a disappointment. I was fully expecting a satirical look at like in a totalitarian state and the effects of censorship on the lives of writers. What I got was a Faustian fantasy that left me bemused and confused. The opening chapter where Berlioz is killed is brilliant but then it all just became too crazy. The parts where the story of Pontius Pilate is told were much better – but again this never really went anywhere.

Sorry, I can’t take books seriously that have people flying on broomsticks and rushing into the street and tearing off their clothes.

Is this sacrilegious?

The Illusionist by Jennifer Johnston

2010-05-17T15:42:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1995

DATE READ: May 2010

NOTES: I read some interesting reviews of Jennifer Johnston’s books and thought I would give her a try. She really is very good! The Illusionist is the tale of the relationship between Stella and Martyn. Even though she knows so little about him, she quickly falls in love with him and agrees to marry him. But as time goes on he reveals no more about himself.

But as the story of the marriage unfolds the book takes an unexpected turn. What it reveals is a bullying and abusive relationship – one in which Martyn’s powerful personality seems to overwhelm Stella. Their daughter Robin is included in the psychological drama – she is very much her father’s daughter and Martyn ensures that he has first place in their child’s affection. The subsequent betrayal of Stella by Robin is very disturbing.

We know that Stella escapes as the book begins with her living alone and looking back on her life. Alternate chapters are in the present and the past – a device that works well. A very touching story written without a surplus word. And it even has a satisfying ending!

Solar by Ian McEwan

2010-05-14T16:51:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: May 2010 (audiobook)

NOTES: For this novel about climate change McEwan has opted for a darkly comic format. Nobel prize-winner Michael Beard works in the field of artificial photosynthesis. The aim is to provide the world with a cheap and clean source of fuel – but perhaps the main aim is to make the egotistical Beard rich and famous. Beard is McEwan’s most dislikeable protagonist so far – greedy, sexually predatory, amoral and self-centred.

There are numerous comical set pieces – such as the Arctic trip when Beard tries to answer a call of nature out of doors and the chaotic boot store in the ship in which Beard fails again and again to find his correct clothing. Then there are some very misjudged comments about the abilities of women in science that land our hero in a massive media storm. At one point on a train a young man sitting opposite him begins to take crisps out of Beard’s packet. Beard becomes quietly infuriated and begins to gobble them up himself before the interloper takes them all. But this is an old story, I thought to myself, although I remember it being a Kit Kat bar. But, of course, Ian McEwan is ahead of us and later introduces a University professor who deconstructs this urban myth.

McEwan is obviously serious about how we are causing damage to the environment. However a serious novel about climate change would probably be so depressing and worthy it would alienate many people. Solar makes us laugh – but also makes us think.

Highly recommended.

The Way Home by George Pelecanos

2010-05-14T16:50:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: May 2010

NOTES: Chris Flynn is a troubled teenager from a good home. As the book opens he is incarcerated in a facility for young offenders in Maryland. His parents’ disappointment in him is all too apparent and it is uncertain whether Chris will continue with his criminal behaviour or whether he will mature into a reasonable law-abiding adult.

The narrative moves on and Chris is now released and working in his father’s carpet-laying business. His partner is Ben – an old friend from the youth facility – who is also trying to get his life together. While laying a carpet in a house that is being refurbished they find a bag of cash. What to do? Chris persuades Ben to leave the cash where it is and say nothing about it. From this one incident a whole train of events occur…..

The Way Home is a cracking read. Although superficially this is a crime novel it has a very human heart. The characters struggle to do the right thing and it is acknowledged that while Chris has the advantage of caring parents many young men are not so lucky.

The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford

2010-05-08T14:06:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1927

DATE READ: March 2010

NOTES: I read this book as it is always mentioned in lists of “must reads” and is included in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

The Good Soldier turned out to be very much a case of style over substance. John Dowell, the narrator (usually referred to as unreliable) sets out to tell the story of his marriage. But as his knowledge of events changes he has to continually revise what he is revealing to us. Dowell’s wife Florence has been involved in a long affair with Edward Ashburnham (the good soldier of the title) and so his attitude to them both changes as the book proceeds. My problem was that all the characters were very unsympathetic and I simply didn’t care what happened to them and whether they were happy or sad (or even alive or dead).

I was puzzled by the opening sentence: “This is the saddest story I have ever heard.” This implies that the story was related to him when in fact he was personally involved in it from beginning to end. Very confusing.

So now I can tick this off as having been read – but wish I had spent the time elsewhere!

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

2010-04-30T15:31:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: April 2010

NOTES: This is a really difficult book to review! I found the opening premise brilliant. A group of friends and relatives gather for a barbecue in suburban Melbourne. All is fairly relaxed until a brat of a child disrupts everything with his appalling behaviour. One guest, who fears his own child is being physically threatened, extracts the awful Hugo from the dispute and slaps him. From this one event a whole stream of actions and recriminations unfold. Some are very certain of what should happen, others more ambivalent. But as the story progresses positions harden and loyalties between friends and family members become strained.

The Slap is told from the point of view of different characters. Everyone is well drawn and the writing is powerful and compelling. I found myself racing to the end because I wanted to know the final outcome. Tsiolkas focuses on the many rifts within modern Australian society. There is a beautifully written scene when the old Greek Manolis bumps into a young man and his girlfriend in the doorway of a café. He had assumed they would give way for him – but they didn’t and a collision takes place. Manolis is confused and embittered about the general lack of respect – money has become more important than manners.

My problem with the book is that I felt so alienated from most of the characters. He paints a very depressing picture of suburban life. Alcoholism, drug-taking and adultery all seem to be the norm. I found the overt racism and racist language very disturbing – do people really speak like this? Sexual obscenities occur on almost every page and nearly all the explicit sexual activity is verging on the violent. I would be interested to know how middle-class Australians relate to this book.

Some superb energetic writing and excellent plotting – but not a comfortable read!

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

2010-04-24T15:24:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: April 2010

NOTES: Mary Anning lived in Lyme Regis in the early 19th century. She had a good eye for finding fossils on the beach which she sold to visitors. When she located an ichthyosaur and a plesiosaur she attracted the attention of serious collectors and scientists.

From this simple story Tracy Chevalier has created an enthralling novel. Poor working-class Mary strikes up a friendship with impoverished middle-class Elizabeth Philpot. They are both obsessed with finding fossils – a hobby for Elizabeth but a financial necessity for Mary. Their unlikely friendship has its ups and downs because of class differences and petty jealousies. What Chevalier does brilliantly is create for the modern day reader an understanding of the restrictions placed on women at that time. Although Mary had a natural gift for finding fossils this was not acknowledged by the men who bought them from her and subsequently displayed them in museums or wrote research papers about them.

Also woven into the story is the growing understanding that the fossils they are finding could be of creatures that are now extinct. This idea was almost blasphemous as the Book of Genesis was considered to be the literal truth by most people.

The Remarkable Creatures of the title could be the pre-historic beasts unearthed by the fossil hunters. But I am sure that it is Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot who are the truly remarkable creatures – struggling against prejudice, envy and greed in a man’s world.

A lovely read.

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

2010-04-21T18:04:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: April 2010

NOTES: A Fraction of the Whole is a cleverly constructed novel that records the heartbreaking (but funny) story of the life of Jasper Dean. Jasper’s father Martin wrote copiously of his own life and his notebooks are included. Martin (and to a lesser extent Jasper) lives very much in the shadow of his dead brother Terry. Terry is a notorious criminal who becomes an Australian folk hero even though he is clearly a despicable character. Every time Martin seems on the verge of doing something the spectre of Terry seems to arise…..

Right from the very first page the book is brimful of quirky ideas and droll observations. Although more than 700 pages long the narrative seldom lags and the reader is swept along in a tide of ideas, coincidences and outlandish incidents. On nearly every page there is a witty, wise or just plain silly saying. For instance Martin (in Paris) observes: “No wonder key existentialists were French. It’s natural to be horrified at existence when you have to pay 4 dollars for coffee.” Later Jasper is scorned by the love of his life – “To this day the memory of that look still visits me like a Jehovah’s Witness, uninvited and tireless.”

Apart from Anouk, the hippy housekeeper, I didn’t really like the main characters – but was intrigued enough to keep on reading. A Fraction of the Whole is an amazing debut novel written with great energy and exuberance. Very impressive.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson

2010-04-11T17:36:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: April 2010

NOTES: The final part in the great Millennium Trilogy. Lisbeth Sander is in hospital with bullets embedded in strategic parts of her body and is under arrest for murder and attempted murder. Malign forces continue to plot against her (because of what she knows) and this time they feel increasingly confident that she will be declared insane and returned to a secure psychiatric unit.

But campaigning journalist Mikael Blomkvist is on her side and is determined to help Lisbeth and reveal the illegal and murderous machinations of rogue agents within the Swedish state security police. Once again there is the heady mix of journalism, computer hacking, violence and sex. There are also several sub-stories such as Erika Berger’s move to edit a daily newspaper and her subsequent problems with a stalker. And Blomkvist finds a new love in a tough security operative Monika Figuerola.

The final part of the book details a riveting courtroom scene – a film script already written. Found myself cheering on Lisbeth’s defence lawyer Giannini.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest is probably overcomplicated and has too many characters. The Swedish names are not easy for the English speaking reader – so easy to get confused between Erlander, Edklinth, Eriksson, Ekström, Endrin and Estholm! But it is such a cracking read that all imperfections are forgiven.

A stunning finale.

If It Bleeds by Duncan Campbell

2010-04-03T13:22:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: March 2010

NOTES: Laurie Lane is a crime reporter for a national newspaper. An ageing gangster, Charlie Hook, gets in touch with him and says he wants Laurie to help him write his life story. But before Laurie is able to make a decision Hook is found murdered.

Laurie’s post with him newspaper is precarious and the editor is threatening to move him to the motoring department…. But if he can come up with a scoop about Hook’s murder then his job might be secure. As the plot unfolds more and more complications arise. The dialogue is hilarious and much of the banter between the characters rings true. The pub quiz team (made up of Laurie and some ex-criminals) is particularly entertaining.

A great fun read – but Campbell isn’t afraid to take the reader to some dark places.

The Long Song by Andrea Levy

2010-04-03T13:09:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: March 2010 (audiobook)

NOTES: Andrea Levy’s latest book is a joy! An old Jamaican woman, July, recounts her life at the behest of her son. She tells of her childhood on the Amity plantation, of slave uprisings and how slavery ended. We learn about how she was conceived, how she became separated from her mother and about her life as a house slave. We are not spared the cruelties of the slave-owners and their disregard for the people in their possession. There are some truly horrific episodes described in a direct and matter-of-fact way. But what makes the narrative so impressive is how the character of July shines through. She often addresses the reader directly and tells us that she thinks we now know enough about what happened. She also complains constantly about her son (who she obviously adores) – she says that he forgets to bring her new writing supplies and sometimes criticises what she has produced. In this way the reader learns that July sometimes embroiders her story and tells it as she would have liked it to happen.

It goes without saying that the whole slavery industry in the West Indies was cruel in the extreme and the ill effects of it remain to this day. But this is no “misery memoir”. The slaves themselves learn to be overtly submissive but all the time they are scoring small victories….. bottles of rum are stolen, buttons from the mistress’s blouse are pocketed and instructions to use the best Irish linen tablecloth are ignored (and a stained bed-sheet is used instead!) Levy doesn’t shirk from some of the unpleasant truths. Lighter skinned slaves (usually occurring following a rape) feel superior to their dark skinned fellows. (“Me no n*****, me a mulatto!”)

The audiobook was lovely to listen to. Adrian Lester (as her son) reads the first and last chapter and the rest is narrated by Andrea Levy. Quite unusual for an author to read their own book but she is magnificent – and made me wonder if she had done any acting.

A humane and uplifting book - highly recommended.

Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth

2010-03-25T20:45:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: March 2010

NOTES: Barry Unsworth never lets me down – Land of Marvels is a lovely read and a cracking good story. Somerville, an English archaeologist, is directing an excavation in Mesopotamia. It is 1914 and hostilities are already looming and encroaching on his work. He has invested him own money in the project and is desperately hoping that something of real value and interest will be found – thus ensuring his acceptance by the academic community. His wife is with him but she has little interest in his work – even though it was his enthusiasm and ambition that first attracted her.

The Germans are financing a railway line which Somerville suspects will be routed right through where he is excavating so he feels he must proceed with all due haste. He is persuaded by a somewhat shady British businessman and the ambassador in Constantinople to take on an American called Elliott. He is asks to pretend that Elliott is a fellow historian when in fact he is a geologist looking for oil deposits. But Elliott’s loyalties do not lie with the British.

Land of Marvels is superbly researched. Knowing very little about Assyrian or Babylonian history I found myself checking to see whether the facts given were correct. (Yes, they were!) The characterisations were all very believable – from the wily Jehar to the practical Patricia. Somerville can be viewed as someone of the “old world” interested in academic pursuit and learning. Elliott is very “new world” – dynamic, ambitious and skilled.

There are some interesting imperialist attitudes. When some interesting things are found in the dig Somerville assumes confidently that they should all be transported to England. The German engineers are granted ownership of the land surrounding the railway. Elliott knows that any oil he finds will profit an American company.

Churchill prophesied: “He who owns the oil will own the world…” How true.

The Children's Book by A S Byatt

2010-03-22T15:23:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009

DATE READ: February 2010

NOTES: The Children’s Book is a very ambitious work. The story begins in 1895 and the narrative carries us forward to 1919.

It is a vast book in every way – lots of characters are introduced, events twist and turn and many dark secrets are revealed. Olive Wellwood is a writer of children’s stories and she lives in a rambling house with her husband Humphrey (banker turned writer/lecturer) and numerous children. They are a Fabians with many liberal ideas in how society and families should function. But although Olive obviously loves her family her writing comes first and there is a general air of benign neglect. At the V & A Museum she meets Phillip, a young boy who has run away from the Potteries. He “wants to make something” and proves to be artistic and talented. Olive links him up with the Flood family who live some miles away. Benedict Fludd is an eccentric (but brilliant) potter with an alcoholic wife and rather odd children. Other important characters are Humphrey’s brother Basil and his half-German wife Katrina and their children and Major Prosper Cain who runs a department in the V & A.

Although in many ways this is a complex work it is probably one of Byatt’s most accessible novels. There is a weaving of history and fairy stories and she offers us a magical exploration of childhood. But this is far from being picture of idyllic family life – the book is suffused with adultery, child abuse, incest and neglect.

The research has been meticulous and many real people are either referred to or included in the narrative: the Pankhursts, Emily Davis, Marx, Kenneth Grahame, Dreyfus…. The Great War is graphically portrayed – but so depressing when characters you have come to feel affection for are killed.

The Children’s Book is a compelling multi-layered read crammed with incidents and ideas. Would have been a worthy Booker Prize winner!

Blacklands by Belinda Bauer

2010-03-18T12:32:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: March 2010

NOTES: Steven is a troubled young boy – he feels unloved, he is bullied by “hoodies” in his community and he is very conscious that his family is still grieving over his uncle (Billy) who disappeared some nineteen years previously. Billy’s body has never been found but it is generally believed that he was murdered by a serial killer now in prison. Steven feels that if only Billy’s body could be found then his grandmother and his mother could turn their attention away from their grief and towards him.

From this beginning Belinda Bauer has produced a cleverly plotted, intense thriller. The story moves at a brisk pace and she keeps the suspense going right to the end. She invokes the sense of place of Exmoor – we can well believe its dark secrets. Steven is a good central character and the reader is drawn to support him in his plan. Arnold Avery, the serial killer, is suitably devious and evil – a psychopath who can only view the world from his own distorted viewpoint.

I like crime thrillers and “police procedurials” but am never really happy with plots involving paedophilia and child murder….and Blacklands was in parts a very uncomfortable and creepy read.

The actual ending (and I don’t want to give anything away) was just a bit too unbelievable – and based on all the information given earlier in the book – physically impossible.

A very good first novel – a name to remember.

Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry

2010-03-06T14:18:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1991

DATE READ: February 2010

NOTES: Gustad Noble lives a frugal life as a bank worker in Bombay. It is the 1970s and India is ruled by Indira Ghandi and the Congress Party. He has a wife Dilnavaz, sons Sohrab and Darius and daughter Roshan. They are a loving Parsee family but from the outset his precarious life seems to be on the verge of collapse. His young daughter is ill and his son Sohrab is refusing to go to college. They live in a crowded apartment block with fractious neighbours and every day they face powers cuts, food rationing, a shortage of medicines and low level corruption.

Then an old friend begs a favour from him. He claims to be involved in secret government work and claims to want to help the oppressed Bengalis. Gustad (who is naïve and trusting) picks up a parcel with a large amount of money to be deposited in a bank account. This is an illegal act but once Gustad is involved he sees no way out.

The bitter-sweet struggle of life in Bombay is well portrayed and despite all the setbacks and disappointments it is ultimately an uplifting story of good people in a harsh world. Such a Long Journey does not have the great sweep of time and place of A Fine Balance but in its own way is just as good.

A great read from a great writer.

The True History of the Kelly Gang

2010-03-06T13:45:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2001

DATE READ: February 2010

NOTES: Because Peter Carey is such a good writer we approach his work with high expectations. The True History of the Kelly Gang does not disappoint. Carey allows Ned Kelly to tell his own story. The book reads as if it is a direct transcript of handwritten documents with each chapter beginning with a description of the pages.

It is a somewhat depressing tale of the inexorable descent into lawlessness for someone who had all the cards stacked against him. The writing is very atmospheric and shows the harshness of 19th century Australia where the forces of law and order are themselves beyond the law.

I enjoyed this book immensely – but did feel that some of the episodes in the middle of the book were a bit repetitive. However the fine writing and sympathetic portrayal of a folk hero overcame this.

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

2010-03-06T13:13:00.003Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: February 2010

NOTES: Jack Reacher spots a potential suicide bomber in a late night train in New York’s metro. She shows all the right “symptoms” but when he approaches her something completely unexpected happens….. After that a whole train of events unfolds.

Who are the mysterious Ukranians (?), a mother and daughter (or are they?) who have their own security crew. How does senatorial candidate John sansom fit in? He seems to have been involved in secret ops while in the army in 1980s. Why are the Feds bent on silencing Reacher?

Gone Tomorrow gives us lots of action, umpteen fights and Reacher avoids capture over and over. And in the end he wreaks vengeance on all the bad guys. Lots of blood, gore and pain! I liked the way Jack Reacher has no home and no possessions and lives “on the move”. I also liked the fact that he was not au fait with modern technology.

Let’s face it – it does what it says on the label. Gone Tomorrow has no intellectual pretensions but is a good fast (but forgettable) beach read.

Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson

2010-03-04T18:59:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1997

DATE READ: February 2010

NOTES: Human Croquet offers the reader Atkinson’s usual quirkiness. She is so fond of people “disappearing” – sometimes to pop up again but perhaps they are gone for ever. The happy family remains elusive…. The Fairfax parents disappear and Isabel and Charles are left with acidic Vinny. Next door Audrey is the troubled child of Headmaster Baxter and his abused wife who is always “bumping into doors” or “falling down stairs”.

But the missing father reappears after a long absence with Debbie his new wife. A baby is left on their doorstep….

There are lots of timeshifts so we don’t really know what is really happening. Of course, there is in the end a (more or less) rational explanation for everything. Her omniscient narrator allows us to know the truth in certain circumstances although the characters do not necessarily know.

Kate Atkinson writes with such energy making it hard to resist this funny but dark story.

Snow Hill by Mark Sanderson

2010-03-03T19:19:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2010

DATE READ: March 2010

NOTES: This book had a great opening: “I went to my funeral this morning. I expected more people to be there….”. John Steadman is a London newspaper crime reporter and is drawn into a mystery involving a missing (or dead) policeman, police corruption, male prostitution, pornography and blackmail. London of the 1930s is well portrayed and impressively researched. But after a very promising start Snow Hill soon deteriorated.

Unfortunately much of the dialogue was very clunky and the plot is really creaky in places. The professed love of one policeman for another was, quite frankly, ludicrous. And towards the end the criminals freely admit their guilt and their motives – something that simply does not happen in real life.

The advance publicity for this book compares him to Jake Arnott – a very unjust comparison!

Theo and Matilda by Rachel Billington

2010-03-03T13:09:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1990

DATE READ: January 2010

NOTES: The book is made up of four different Theos and Mathildas across the years. The first part is in the late 8th century – a monk and abbess build a church for a monastery6 in the West Country. But their love is never consummated. Then the Vikings arrive….

Then in the 16th century Matilda is a widow of a brutish nobleman and Theo is a monk. The abbey is taken over by Henry VIII and many of its artefacts and books are destroyed. After the dissolution of the monastery Theo and Matilda marry and live together in the adjoining manor house.

In the same manor house in the late 19th century Theo is a Darwinian keeper of snakes and Matilda a mother of seven. (A not very credible section) As the family fortunes decline the house is handed over to a local doctor to use an as asylum – Abbeyfields. Then later another two patients fall in love in the mental hospital…. No prizes for guessing their names.

The book ends with a young couple moving into a new housing estate built in the hospital grounds. They find some Anglo-Saxon documents thus linking them with the past.

A pleasant enough read but nothing special.

Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge

2010-03-01T17:05:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1999

DATE READ: February 2010

NOTES: George Hardy, surgeon and photographer, travels from 19th century Liverpool to the Bosphorus at the start of the Crimean War. Chapters are narrated by different characters. These are Myrtle (his adoptive sister taken in as an orphan), Pompey Jones (a former street urchin turned photographer’s assistant and sometime fire-eater) and Doctor Potter (his geologist friend).

Beryl Bainbridge writes superbly and both time and place are brilliantly captured. We are not spared the horrors of war but her approach is subtle. The disastrous charge of the Light Brigade is conveyed by the description of the many riderless horses appearing in their camp.

She cleverly uses the new technology of photography to help with the structure of the book and each chapter title describes a photographic scene – like a series of wonderful tableaux.

I was however less convinced by some of the characterisations. Georgie never really came alive for me and I remained unconvinced as to why Myrtle and Pompey should have been so devoted to him.

The Sound of Laughter by Peter Kay

2010-02-28T16:23:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2006

DATE READ: January 2010

NOTES: Although I am not especially a fan of Peter Kay this book was recommended to me as a great “aeroplane read”. So with a long flight ahead of me I packed it in my hand luggage. It did not disappoint. It is jokey throughout – this is a bit wearing at times but there were some genuinely funny lines. There is probably a layer of truth among the outlandish tales. I loved his names for the nuns: Sister Matic, Sister Act II, Sister Sledge, etc.

He tells of his many rubbish jobs – in a loo roll factory, bingo hall, cinema usher, garage hand. He was obviously far from being an ideal employee! His affection for his family shines through – good to hear from someone with a happy childhood!

An unchallenging fun read. I left it on my travels and hope that someone else picked it up and enjoyed it…..

The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carré

2010-01-18T18:20:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1977

DATE READ: January 2010

NOTES: This book follows Tinker, Tailor Soldier Spy. George Smiley is in charge of a demoralised secret service. Karla from Moscow Central sent Bill Haydon as a mole and caused serious damage to the British organisation. The main area of activity is now the Far East – Smiley is convinced that Karla has something serious going on and sends The Honourable Gerald Westerby to Hong Kong to work ostensibly as a newspaper reporter but at the same time to find out what Chinese businessman Drake Ho is up to.

Le Carré lets the plot unfold in its own time and gives us insights into the workings of the organisation, the difficult relations with the Americans and the general air of unease and betrayal that hangs over everyone. When he describes interrogations he gives these time to develop and may write pages of questions and answers before the interrogator gradually gets hold of the information desired. A lesser writer would probable feel the needed to speed up the process for fear of the reader losing interest.

Westerby, a romantic and somewhat naïve hero, moves from Hong Kong to Thailand to Cambodia and to Laos – always using his wits and charm to bluff his way into the confidence of others. Along the way he falls in love……which could be his undoing.

As you would expect the plotting is complex and there are many characters introduced but it is an excellent read about a hard and cynical world.

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connolly

2010-01-08T18:09:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

DATE READ: January 2010

NOTES: The Brass Verdict heralds the return of Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer, as he takes up the caseload of a murdered attorney, Jerry Vincent. He takes over the imminent case of a film producer (Walter Elliot) accused of murdering his wife and her lover. There is lots of evidence against him but Haller is perturbed by the casual and unworried attitude shown by the defendant. Haller is convinced that Elliot has some sort of “get out of jail free” card up his sleeve and sets about investigating this.

Harry Bosch is part of the police investigation into Jerry Vincent’s death and he passes some information about what may be going on to Mickey. Mickey soon realises that some serious jury manipulation is going on and that his own life is in danger.

This book is typical Michael Connolly – a fast paced plot, some good characterisation, believable police work and credible court drama. I do feel it dragged a little at times – some of the court scenes could well have been shortened. However it is a good fun read.

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

2010-01-08T14:10:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1952

DATE READ: January 2010

NOTES: Barbara Pym is one of the undiscovered treasures of fiction. She writes with a gentleness and wry humour (usually) about the lives of women who are not the most beautiful or talented or desirable. But nonetheless these women have charms of their own – especially in their observation of the behaviour and dalliances of others.

Mildred is an unmarried woman in her thirties who thinks that the chances of marriage are slipping away from her. Things are not helped by the fact that all the men in her life are such clots! There are some nice observations of the male “helpers” at the church jumble sale who leave all the work to the women but are first in line for tea and cakes…. She is also puzzled by the fact that the married women she comes across are physically attractive but hopeless at most everyday skills.

Excellent Women was published in 1952 and very much reflects Britain of the time – such as the need to share a bathroom with fellow tenants.

Barbara Pym became rather unfashionable in the 1960s but it is good to see all her books reissued.

Resolution failed - and it is only first week of new year!

2010-01-06T16:19:00.002Z

Yes, I know one of my New Year reading resolutions was to only buy one book for every three read from my shelves...... But I noticed that Barry Unsworth's latest Land of Marvels was out in paperback and so was A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book. Both are on my wish list and before I knew it I had bought them both. But the resolution still stands!

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

2010-01-03T14:42:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009 DATE READ: January 2010 NOTES: Good to begin off the New Year with a really good book! I heard Black Water Rising reviewed on Radio 5 and was eager to read it. I was not disappointed. Set in Houston, Texas in 1981 it tells of struggling lawyer Jay Porter as he grapples with problems – both personal and professional – in a USA that is still coming to terms with the Civil Rights struggle. Attica Locke creates a wonderful picture of the steamy city which is beset by political corruption, union strife and corporate greed. She makes it very clear to the reader that although many of the demands of black citizens had been met by 1981 there still remained covert racism and many black people still felt they had to be careful in their actions and mistrustful of those in authority. It is a complex and gripping story. All the characters are well portrayed – from the ambitious manipulative white mayor to Jay’s heavily pregnant, highly principled and somewhat neglected wife. If you like James Lee Burke, Walter Mosley, the TV series The Wire or the film Chinatown then you will love this book. TITLE:

My Reading Resolutions for 2010

2010-01-03T11:34:00.002Z

Well, the pile of "to be read" books doesn't seem to have got any smaller...or any tidier! First of all, did I succeed in any of my resolutions for last year? I think I bought fewer books but I daren't check this on my Amazon account. I said I would finish the Frederica Quartet by A.S. Byatt - which I did (and enjoyed very much). I also listed four books I vowed to read: A Prayer for Owen Meany - read it! loved it! The Golden Notebook - read it! loathed it! I didn't read Sacred Games - was put off by the 950 pages and I started to read The Master and Margarita but decided to put it forward as a book for our Reading Group and would read it then. So for 2010 my resolutions are: READ THREE BOOKS FROM MY SHELVES FOR EVERY NEW BOOK I BUY!!! Tackle Robert Bolano's 2666. This is massive but I must take up the challenge. It was originally written as five books to be published separately so I will take it on one book at a time. Also to be read: Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carre

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

2009-12-30T19:41:00.002Z

DATE READ: December 2009 NOTES: The second part of Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy in which the intriguing story of Lisbeth Salander is continued. An ambitious young journalist approaches Mikael Blomkvist to ask for his help in publishing his revelations into criminal sexual activities that involve “respectable” members of society as well as vicious criminals. It soon becomes clear that too many people have something to lose if this research is published and soon a trail of murder ensues. Lisbeth, an anti-social and asocial young woman seems to be linked to three murders and a nation-wide search for her ensues. In the course of the story her background is revealed – we knew from the first book that something traumatic must have happened to her as a child but in this book it all becomes clear. It all moves along at a rattling pace. Lots of new characters are introduced and I found I had to back track a few times to remind myself who people were – Hedström, Holmberg, Ekström, Svensson and Johansson all took a bit of sorting out! The plotting is intricate and all the pieces seem to fit. I don’t know if Lisbeth’s amazing computer skills are actually possible but I’m prepared to go along with them….. The character of Lisbeth has definitely softened ….. she now shows concern for the feelings of others – I wonder if she will evolve even further in the third book? She is certainly one of the most interesting of modern heroines. This is a crime thriller written with passion and a social conscience. Highly recommended. Does IKEA pay royalties to the publisher for the product placement? I even recognised some furniture that I own!

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

2009-12-30T19:04:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1912 DATE READ: December 2009 NOTES: On the surface nothing much really happens in Death in Venice – man travels to Venice, sees a beautiful boy, pursues him but does not speak to him, then dies. But behind all that is much more. From the start Aschenbach is all too aware of his own mortality. He observes the characters around him and is often very denigrating about them. When he gradually comes to realise there is a cholera outbreak he tries to leave but is willingly drawn back when his travel arrangements go awry. At the beginning of the story from his gondola he sees and older man who has made conscious efforts to try to look more youthful and be part of a group of young men. Aschenbach is disgusted by his behaviour – but later on a visit to the barber he succumbs to being “improved” with cosmetics without being aware of how ridiculous he looks. Within Aschenbach there seems to be a constant struggle between the ascetic and publicly respected artist and the lustful fantasising alter ego. An amazing amount is packed into under 100 pages.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

2009-12-20T15:30:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1932 DATE READ: December 2009 NOTES: A classic science fiction novel recording the events of a utopia/dystopia of the future. Humans are now reproduced in laboratory conditions and carefully developed to produce differing castes which will be suited to specific tasks. “Happiness” is an imperative and everyone is issued with drugs to keep them docile and content. Individualism is frowned on. Lenina is shocked when Bernard said that he would like to be walking somewhere remote and solitary. Religion has been replaced by “Fordism” and industry produces an abundance of consumer goods. Although Bernard Marx belongs to the highest caste something seems to have gone amiss in his production which makes him a little different. He begins to feel dissatisfied and to question the prevailing orthodoxy – but this doesn’t last for the whole book. Instead Huxley turns his attention to John the Savage – a young man brought up in a reservation for native Indians. Brave New World was obviously influenced by other writing of the 1920s and early 1930s such as H G Wells and also by political movements such as communism. Although only short it is packed full of ideas and discussion points. Certainly deserves the label of “classic”.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

2009-12-15T15:34:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2004 DATE READ: December 2009 NOTES: Theo Wyre asks Jackson Brodie to find the man “in a yellow golfing sweater” who murdered his daughter. The Land sisters ask him to find their little sister who disappeared as a toddler from a tent in the garden. Something was found among their father’s effects that troubles them. Binkey Rain says that her cats are being stolen and asks Jackson for help….. From all these loose ends a fascinating story unfolds. As usual Kate Atkinson writes in an easy lighthearted and chatty style – and then suddenly socks the reader with violent acts. A toddler disappears, a young mother wields an axe and a man with a machete invades a solicitor’s office. Two of the cases involve parents who appear to love one child over another. A beggar girl “motif” runs through the story – though anyone who knows Atkinson’s work soon realise that her appearance is by no means accidental. Great fun and a very entertaining read.

Winterland by Alan Glynn

2009-12-07T18:49:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009 DATE READ: December 2009 NOTES: Within a space of twenty-four hours two men die in Dublin. One, a known criminal, is gunned down. The other, a respected building engineer is found dead in his crashed car. They are uncle and nephew and have the same name. The family is overwhelmed with grief and confusion but the youngest sister Gina refuses to believe that the two deaths are just an unhappy coincidence and sets about asking questions and probing into what may have happened. She soon finds herself in a murky world of crooked politics, bribery, corruption and murder. But she is tenacious in her search for the truth and refuses to give in to the threats she receives. Winterland is a splendid piece of crime writing. Glynn give us a great sense of place and the characters are alive on the page. The first part of the book requires a lot of concentration as numerous characters are introduced but their role not entirely explained until later. One character pops us several times and seems to be unrelated to the plot until about page 179. The plotting is logical and gripping – you will find yourself making excuses to neglect other calls on your time in order to reach the last page! And it was great to have a young woman as the lead character!

Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Roberts

2009-12-02T10:50:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009 DATE READ: November 2009 NOTES: Heard this book referred to as “the best Science Fiction book of the year and worthy of the Booker Prize” – or words to that effect. Although no sci-fi aficionado I was intrigued…. Yellow Blue Tibia only loosely falls into the science fiction genre. It is in essence an alternative history of the Soviet Union. Konstantin Skvorecky and a group of fellow writers are brought together by Stalin and tasked with constructing a convincing alien plot. It had to be a serious threat that could be told to the people. After working cooperatively on this they were then told to forget all they had done there on pain of death and were sent on their different ways. Years later when Skvorecky is working as a translator strange things begin to happen – and it seems that the story concocted by sci-fi writers appears to be coming true. The strength of the book lies in its humour and quirky dialogue while at the same time raising questions of truth, belief and and reality. He raises the need for an enemy or a serious threat in order to galvanise the population – very prescient in a world of dodgy dossiers and alleged weapons of mass destructions. My favourite scene was when Konstantin is confronted in a Moscow street by two KGB men threatening to kill him. Passers-by think that something is about to be sold and begin to form a queue hoping that there may be oranges or vodka on offer!

The Bone Garden by Kate Ellis

2009-11-26T14:16:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2001 DATE READ: November 2009 NOTES: Wesley Peterson is an Afro-Caribbean police detective who also has a first class degree in archaeology – a great combination! He based in Devon and becomes involved in the murder of a young unidentified man in a caravan park. A local solicitor gets in touch with Peterson to say he has something to tell him – but is found dead before the meeting takes place. At the same time excavations are going on in the garden of a nearby manor house. When skeletons are unearthed there the coroner has to be informed and the mystery deepens. A team of archaeologists is based there including Peterson’s old friend Neil and they share information about the history of Earlsacre Hall gardens. All the plotting is well worked out and there are some really interesting parallels between the late 17th century/early 18th century events and the present day crimes. All in all a fun read.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

2009-11-25T12:42:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008 DATE READ: November 2009 NOTES: This is a wonderful book that in lyrical prose unfolds the story of Roseanne who has been incarcerated in a mental hospital for most of her life. When the book begins she is an old lady of nearly a hundred looking back on her past in a quizzical way as she secretly writes down her memories. At the same time her psychiatrist Dr Grene is making notes of his assessment of her as he tries to decide where she should go when the institution closes. He is intrigued by her calm demeanour and by her apparent lack of interest in communicating with him. Many of her records have disappeared and he is increasingly drawn into trying to find out who she really is and how she came to be in the hospital. Through Rose’s testimony we learn how her own mother was insane, that she adored her father and was later rejected by the family she married into. Her family’s Presbyterianism in a Catholic society is a constant source of trouble. But Rose is never strident or outraged by what has happened to her – all her troubles are seen with a half sad, half amused view. (Her way of speaking reminded me very much of the unfortunate Grace in Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace) Rose is very much a commentator and spectator of the world around her. When Dr Grene confronts her with some recorded facts about her past she rejects them – Rose’s writings have become her own truth. Dr Grene is a kindly though far from being faultless. He is slow to respond to obvious abuses and problems within the hospital and is also infuriatingly slow in getting to grips with Rose’s history. But he has no illusions about his own capabilities: “It would be a very good thing if occasionally I thought I knew what I was doing.” A lovely book, well deserving all the critical acclaim. Barry writes of bitterness, memory and loss in an Ireland of sectarianism, hatred and betrayal. But in spite of everything the spirit of Rose survives. My only real problem with The Secret Scripture was the rather clumsy and coincidental plot device at the end – this was a pity and spoiled the end for me. The Secret Scripture is a book that draws you in and you want to race through it to find out what happens. But now I feel I need to go back and read it again in order to savour the wonderful language.

Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig

2009-11-20T19:56:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009 DATE READ: November 2009 NOTES: This is my third “Londoncentric” novel in as many months – the others being William Boyd’s Ordinary Thunderstorms and Sebastian Faulks’ A Week in December. Hearts and Minds actually has a similar structure to the Faulks book – a group of disparate characters from different social strata whose lives collide and overlap. The story begins with a murder when a girl’s body is found in the water on Hampstead Heath and from the beginning the reader (well, this one) is hooked. We are soon deep into the contrasting worlds of human traffickers, illegal immigrants, struggling professionals, disappointed lovers and the chattering classes of North London. The plotting is brilliant. I can imagine the writer beginning with a large wall-chart and lots of Post-It notes! As the story unfolds some very pertinent social comments are made – such as Polly suddenly realising how little she actually knew about the young woman who lived in her home and looked after her children. The lives of people living precariously in our society were dealt with poignantly and sympathetically. I have one slight criticism inasmuch as I found some of the characters a bit unsubtle. Job was a bit too angelic and Anna a bit too innocent. But, hey, we can’t have everything. I have been recommending Hearts and Minds to all my friends – a really good read.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

2009-11-14T11:13:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008 DATE READ: November 2009 NOTES: As a thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has it all. There is an intricate plot based on nefarious financial deals, a big industrial family with secrets to hide, a left-wing magazine with sharks circling around it and sexual politics of power and exploitation. Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative writer, is asked by the head of the Vanger family to try to find out what happened to his grand-daughter some forty years earlier when she disappeared without trace. There follows a long complex and exacting search. In his work he is aided by the eccentric and socially inept Lisbeth Salander, the girl of the title. Lisbeth’s skills in research and computer hacking are a key to the solving of the case but Lisbeth herself remains largely a mystery. We are given only fleeting glimpses of her background and of damage done to her. But the narrative makes quite clear that she is not a girl to be messed with – and punishment will be meted out by her if and when she deems this necessary. It is all brilliantly plotted – especially the way in which the two main characters come to be working together. Yes, it all gets a bit far-fetched in places but it is an exciting and intriguing read from beginning to end. A cracking read. Can’t wait to read more about Lisbeth Salander in the next two of the trilogy.

Testimony by Anita Shreve

2009-11-09T13:44:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008 DATE READ: November 2009 NOTES: Anita Shreve is a consummate story –teller and, once again, she comes up trumps with Testimony. It is a fairly straightforward story of a sex scandal in a private school in Vermont. It is told mainly from the points of view of numerous characters in the process of offering information to a university researcher some time after the event. Needless to say the reader is left uncertain as to which of the testimonies tell the whole truth and who chooses to embellish the facts to make themselves look better. She gets the tone of the differing statements just right. There are no amazing revelations but what we are left with is the disaster caused to so many lives by young people who were foolish rather than wicked. All very believable. A very quick and enjoyable read.

Millennium by Tom Holland

2009-11-08T11:14:00.002Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008 DATE READ: November 2009 NOTES: This is a scholarly look at the so-called Dark Ages around the 10th century. As he was covering the known Christian world (from Britain to Palestine) he had quite a task as so many differing events were taking place. But he manages to bring clarity to a complex subject. He gives us a great sweep of history which includes Christians, Vikings, Saxons, Normans, Franks, Jews and Saracens and they manoeuvre for land, money and power. One of the enduring features of the time was the vying for supremacy between Rome and Constantinople and the continual battle between lay rulers and the Pope. He points out the somewhat ignoble beginnings of the concept of knighthood and later how pilgrimages turned into crusades. The rise of the Cluny monastic order is also well covered. Nor does he neglect to mention the very lowliest of society and the woeful lives of the peasant class even though little has been recorded of their lives – “for the silence of the poor is almost total”. Holland has a deft touch with language. In recounting how William Longsword, a Norseman converted to Christianity, had gone to parley with the Count of Flanders “he had done so unarmed, as befitted a Christian lord meeting with a fellow prince; and the Count of Flanders, as befitted a Christian lord meeting with a dangerous pirate, had ordered him hacked to death.” But suffused through these tumultuous times is the widespread belief that the world was about to end and that the Antichrist would arrive and the effect this has on the actions of many. (Spoiler alert – the world doesn’t end!”)

the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

2009-10-28T15:58:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 1963 DATE READ: October 2009 NOTES: This is a sympathetic and moving story of a young girl’s disintegration into depression and mental illness. The writing is beautifully precise and lucid as we are taken into the mind of Esther Greenwood as she tentatively tries to move to adulthood. Much of the language is vivid. In referring to a German book she says “…the very sight of those dense, black, barbed-wire letters made my mind shut like a clam.” Although quite believable, it is not especially depressing – much of the writing is quite funny as Esther views the world in a quirky way. She finds many of the customs in New York confusing. For example she always seems to get tipping wrong – and we can all sympathise with her there! In spite of being a straight A student she has continual feelings of inadequacy and lists all the things she can’t do while dismissing her own talents. As her breakdown occurs we are taken into the world of 1960s mental health treatment – a very uncomfortable experience even for a private patient. She perceptively compares her electric shock treatment with the execution of the Rosenbergs. How sad that this is the only novel by Sylvia Plath – what a loss to literature.

The Dig by John Preston

2009-10-26T19:04:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2007 DATE READ: October 2009 NOTES: At one level this is a very slight story: Landowner asks archaeologists to investigate the mounds on her land. They dig and find Anglo-Saxon treasure. But in fact The Dig is much more than a deceptively simple story. The book is a fictionalised account of how the Sutton Hoo treasure ship came to be excavated in 1939. The story is told from the point of view of different participants. There is the widowed landowner Edith Pretty, not in the best of health and still mourning the loss of her husband. Basil Brown is the first to start digging the site and is a self-taught archaeologist – an honest and simple soul. Peggy Piggot is the new wife of an archaeologist brought in for his expertise. She is also keenly interested in the excavations while at the same time aware that her marriage is not what she thought it would be. The touching epilogue is by Robert Pretty who eagerly watched the dig as a nine year old. This is a subtle and compelling read. Class conflict and professional jealousies abound in a gentle and understated way. The coming war looms large in the narrative – barrage balloons are sighted overhead and the air-raid shelter is dug. The reader gets the clear impression that the world is about to change…… A tender and entertaining book. Highly recommended.

A Gate At The Stairs by Lorrie Moore

2009-10-26T17:22:00.000Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2009 DATE READ: October 2009 NOTES: I had read many good reviews of Lorrie Moore’s work so I had very high hopes of A Gate At The Stairs. The story is of a young college student, Tassie, who leaves her family farm in the Midwest to find an exciting new life in the provincial town of Troy. She is bemused and bewildered by many of the people she meets and the new things she encounters. Her very quirky and eccentric use of language suffuses the whole book – much of it very witty. Her college classes merge in her mind as she contemplates Intro to Sufism, Soundtracks to War Movies and Pilates/the Neutral Pelvis. She seems to have a bright enquiring mind – but many of her relationships end disastrously. She manages to get a childcare job helping out a professional couple who are in the process of adopting a little girl of mixed race origin. This leads to some interesting reflections of attitudes to race. We could only cheer on Tassie when approached by a woman requesting a play date so that her toddler could have experience of being with a mixed race child. Her quick response was: “I’m sorry, but Mary-Emma already has a lot of white friends.” But in the course of the narrative some seriously sad things happen…. But Tassie seemed hardly moved at all and her quirky language just carried on relentlessly – almost to the point of being annoying. Although the book had so many funny moments it was also bleak and melancholy. The writing is fine – I understand what reviewers rave about. However Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar gives a better picture of a young girl finding her way at college and Ann Tyler’s Digging to America is more perceptive about adoption.

The Standing Pool by Adam Thorpe

2009-10-25T17:42:00.001Z

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008 DATE READ: October 2009 NOTES: Dissatisfied academics Nick and Sarah Mallinson decide to take a sabbatical in France and agree to rent the house of Lucy and Alan Sandler. As they set off with their three young daughters they anticipate an exciting time for all the family during which they will both pick up the threads of their academic work. But life in France turns out to be less than idyllic and the house seems to have a dark shadow looming over it. The characterisations of the British folk were all good. The monstrous Sandlers were brilliantly portrayed and the Mallinson family seemed very believable. The appearance of Nick’s feckless son from his first marriage probably struck a chord with many parents! Unfortunately the local French were all portrayed as slightly batty or sinister. The plot was all a bit thin and not very credible and the tone of the writing veered from farce to serious sexual violence. It was as if the writer was unsure of which direction he was headed. Also I do wonder for how much longer novels set in the present can still hark back to wartime. And why would apparently intelligent people rent a house with a swimming pool when they have very young children who can’t swim??? Obviously educated but with no common sense! But nonetheless this was an entertaining read.

Nella Last's Peace by Nella Last

2009-10-19T16:13:00.002Z

(edited by Patricia & Robert Malcolmson) DATE PUBLISHED: 2008 DATE READ: October 2009 NOTES: This is an edited version of Nella’s diary entries submitted to the Mass Observation organisation from 1945 to 1948. They recount her time spent as a housewife in Barrow. Although some major world or national events are mentioned her writing is more focussed on her family, her neighbours and her friends. She writes honestly and openly and is very critical of lots of people. Her husband was obviously an extremely difficult man to live with and she certainly lets rip about him in her diary (and sometimes in real life). The book is quite repetitive – a reflection of her life which was (to us) rather tedious – a constant round of shopping, cooking and household duties with very little social life. I must take issue with the cover of this book. It shows and street of small terraced houses, a woman scrubbing the pavement and another with a babe in arms. It very much evokes the “grimness” of the lives of the Northern working class. But Nella was in no way “typical”. Her husband ran his own business and she had a small private income from her parents. They had a modern semi-detached house in a good area with a garage and a car. And they even had central heating! She also sent all her washing to the laundry each week and had a woman come in to clean. But she nonetheless gives us a good picture of life at the time – the rationing, the uncertainty about the future and the general greyness that pervaded most people’s lives. Few of us today would choose to swap places!