TITLE: THERAPY

AUTHOR: David Lodge

DATE PUBLISHED: 1995

DATE READ: November 2007

NOTES: Laurence “Tubby” Passmore seems to have all the trappings of a successful life but knows that something is missing. He suffers from a variety of ailments and attends a range of therapy sessions on a weekly basis – physiotherapy, acupuncture, cognitive behavious therapy etc. As usual with David Lodge there is lots of male angst but gently blended with humour (some “laugh out loud moments). Passmore is so caught up in his own perceived problems that he fails to notice what is going on around him and his marriage and his career begin to fall apart.

The book becomes his quest to find contentment and meaning to his life. But it is all done with a lightness of touch and at the end comes to a very satisfying conclusion.

Lodge is particularly good when he writes as a female character (even if it is a male character pretending to be a female!) He does this even more successfully in Thinks – so if you liked Therapy you should read Thinks next.

A Christmas Carol is the classic Victorian Christmas story. Even though we know it well it continues to be a joy to read. Dickens creates some wonderful pictures of the bustling life in 19th century London. Some of the dialogue remains so fresh and still raises a smile in the reader no matter how many times you have read the book before. “You’ll want all day tomorrow, I suppose” says Scrooge to his clerk on Christmas Eve. And the conversation between Scrooge and the two gentlemen who are asking him for donations to help the poor and destitute at Christmas is as funny (and poignant) as anything in any Dickens novel.

TITLE: HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

AUTHOR: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

DATE PUBLISHED: 2006

DATE READ: November 2007

NOTES: What a wonderful book! The compelling story of the Biafran War is told through the intersecting lives of people in the country – Olanna and Kainene, feisty twin sisters from a privileged background, Richard, an Englishman who grows to love Africa (and Kainene) and Ugwu, the bright, vulnerable houseboy of Olanna. There are many other strong characters who make the sad story of civil conflict come alive.

The roots of the war are explained through the narrative. Adichie doesn’t lecture us but lets the history be explained via her characters which is much more effective. She brilliantly describes the excitement and optimism of the Biafrans as independence was declared and charts the inexorable decline into civil war, chaos and hunger. Much of the book is harrowing but the warmth and strength of the main characters and their will to survive shine through. A compassionate and humane book.

TITLE: DARKHOUSE

AUTHOR: Alex Barclay

DATE PUBLISHED: 2005

DATE READ: November 2007

NOTES: The reviews on the book said “Excellent” “A terrific debut by an exciting new writer” “A knockout”. It was none of these. A garbled plot, badly drawn characters and completely unbelievable. A sort of crime thriller written to order following a prescribed template.

And why do modern crime novels have to be so vile to women? Who gets off on this? Hero’s wife is attacked in a horrible manner – but wait, she had been unfaithful to him decades previously so perhaps she deserved it. And another victim is overweight so probably she deserved to die as well.

All very depressing.

TITLE: SPANISH STEPS

AUTHOR: Tim Moore

DATE PUBLISHED: 2004

DATE READ: October 2007

NOTES: Tim Moore set off from Valcarlos to Santiago accompanied by a donkey called Shinto. A very lighthearted look at the Pilgrims’ Way of Saint James – his battles with Shinto, the strange places he has to sleep in, the assorted villages and towns he trundles through and the wonderful mix of people he meets along the way. He treats the pilgrims he meets with warmth and humour even though he obviously finds many of them to be frankly batty. The travelogue is interspersed with historical facts – but even these are given a cynical 21st century treatment.

I liked the descriptions of the places he walked through – many just as I remembered them.

All great fun, but not to be taken too seriously.

TITLE: IMPERIUM

AUTHOR: Robert Harris

DATE PUBLISHED: 2006

DATE READ: October 2007

NOTES: Another great read from Robert Harris. Imperium is narrated by Tiro, secretary and slave who relates the rise to power and fame of his master Cicero. It is really two books in one: the first part deals with Cicero’s early political life and in particular the lengthy and dangerous court battle against Gaius Verres whose corruption as governor of Sicily is challenged.

The second part deals with Cicero’s complex path to become a consul. The machinations of the Roman republic make a gripping tale. And although we know in advance that Cicero succeeds in his rise to power this comes at a cost to his principles. Cicero himself is brilliant portrayed and really came to life in this book.

There are obvious analogies to the modern world: the war on terror, political spin, the assumption of moral superiority by the imperial state, but Harris does this in a subtle way without labouring the issues.

Having only recently finished reading Tom Holland’s Rubicon this book made an ideal follow-up by fleshing out many of the characters of the time: Crassus, Pompey, Metellus, Cato and Julius Caesar. (Julius Caesar intriguingly only plays a very minor role – is Robert Harris planning a sequel that deals with the fall of the Republic?)

TITLE: THE OBSERVATIONS

AUTHOR: Jane Harris

DATE PUBLISHED: 2006

DATE READ: October 2007

NOTES: The Observations is narrated by Bessy, an illegitimate ex-child prostitute who becomes (almost by accident) a maid to the beautiful but slightly unhinged Arabella Reid. The book recounts their life together and their changing relationship. Bessy is cynical, outrageous, funny and totally lacking in respect for her “betters”. Her tough narrative voice carries the book along effortlessly. There are some really sinister moments and the plot keeps you guessing until the end.

There is a wealth of weird and wonderful supporting characters and some good sub-plots (such as the erection and unveiling of the new town drinking water fountain). At one point Bessy sends a manuscript off to publishers but only receives in response a range of negative responses such as ‘sorry, not quite what we are looking for’. I can only assume that this is taken from Jane Harris’s earlier attempts at publication! Thank goodness someone had the good sense and foresight to publish The Observations.