Cerievans1's reading in 2011, Part one

Books read this year:
1) The House of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah. ****
2) Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. ****
3) The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. ***1/2
4) My kind of girl Buddhadeva Bose. **** 1/2
5) Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald. ***
6) An Off-Year by Claire Zulkey. ** 1/2
7) Hot Chocolate at Hanselmann's by Rosetta Loy. ****
8) Saints and Sinners by Edna O'Brien **** 1/2 Touchstone not working
9) Havana Gold by Leonardo Padura. ***
10) The Heavens May fall by Unity Dow. **1/2
11) The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. ***
12) Let the dead lie by Malla Nunn. *****
13) When red is black by Qiu Xiaolong. ***
14) Oil on water by Helon Habila ****
15) The Places in Between by Rory Stewart ***
16) The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt *** 1/2
17) Child of a rainless year by Jane Lindskold ***
18) The story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor ****
19) This will go down on your permanent record by Susannah Felts ***1/2
20) Nine parts of desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks. *****
21) Time for outrage by Stephane Hessel.
22) Back to the coast by Saskia Noort ****
23) Swahili for the broken hearted by Peter Moore ** 1/2
24) Touch by Adania Shibli ***1/2
25) Chasing the devil: On foot through Africa's killing fields by Tim Butcher *****
26) Peony in Love by Lisa See *
27) The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar ** 1/2
28) The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Guevara **1/2
29) Death on the Marais by Adrian Magson ****
30) Daniel Stein, Interpreter by Ludmila Ulitskaya ***1/2
31) Ashes to Dust by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. ****
32) Comedy in a minor key by Hans Keilson ****
33) Butterfly Burning by Yvonne Vera ***1/2

Glad you are back, Ceri!

Welcome back!

Thank you!

1. The House of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah. In the regional city of Senejan in Iran, stands the Friday Mosque and the house attached to the mosque, For generations, the Imam of the Mosque and his family, and also the caretaker of the mosque have lived together. The book opens in the mid twentieth century, when the local successful carpet salesman Aqa Jaan and his family caretake the mosque, and the Alsaberi family live alongside them. Kader Abdolah paints life at the mosque as unconcerned with the politics of the time, living life under the Shah without overt criticism for the progression of social values, quietly plodding on with everyday concerns, content, idyllic and free. The house is peopled by quirky characters; Imam Alsaberi suffers with a form of obsessive compulsion and cannot bear to be touched. He is washed everyday in his specially constructed bathroom by the 'the grandmothers' before he can preach. The Grandmothers have lived at the house of the mosque since they were very young, they are not actually related to the inhabitants of the house, they take care of everything quietly, invisibly. Muezzin is another quiet inhabitant of the house of the mosque, he spends his time shaping ceramic vases and plates in the basement, he is blind but he has a beautiful voice with with he calls the community to prayer, he hides his transistor radio under his clothes. There are other family members who visit occasionally like Nosrat, the modern photographer who brings his unveiled girlfriends to the house at the mosque, making love to them in sacred places, or Kazem Khan the elderly poet from the Jaan ancestral village who comes to seduce the Grandmothers and smoke opium.

When Imam Alsaberi dies, everything slowly unravels. Every new imam is unsatisfactory in some way, the politics of the country heats up, the mosque becomes a place where tradition and dissent clash, people are forced to change or be imprisoned. The events at the house of the mosque as observed by Aqa Jaan mirror the changing social and political events which ultimately lead to the overthrow of the Shah and the imposition of an ayatollah, Khomeini as the ruler of the country. Iran sees great upheaval but also previously unthinkable evils.

The House of the Mosque provides an insight into the impact of the significant political difficulties in the second half of the twentieth century upon ordinary Iranian people. The book took a hold over me as I followed the trials of the inhabitants of the House of the Mosque, so much so that I cared what happened to each character. Excellent characterisation, story and setting. 4 stars, an early reviewers copy.

#4: Yours is the second good review of that book I have seen. I need to get my hands a copy.

And unto Mt. Tbr it goes! Is this being published in the US? Where is the author from?

ETA Would you say the book falls under magical realism?

The House of the Mosque sounds excellent. I've added it to the TBR list! Great review.

The author is Iranian but he is in exile, I think. Some events in the book could be seen as being to far fetched to believe such as the grandmothers who never come back from Mecca having decided their ultimate pilgrimage will be to die in Mecca and are found dead in a cave that is a sacred shrine, so maybe there are elements of magic realism. In the context of very real political strife and human rights abuses this could explain some of the coincidences in the book. Thank you for making me think of the book in that way.
I don't know if it is being published in the US but it was available for download to a kindle on Amazon, if you read ebooks.

Hope you all enjoy the book.

2. Half broke horses by Jeannette Walls. I picked this book up for an easy read. Jeannette Walls has fictionalised the life story of her maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. Growing up on a parched patch of West Texas land, Lily is running the family ranch with her father before she is in her teens. Her dad breaks and trains horses to pull a carriage and Lily learns to ride and break the horses as a young child. We follow Lily's escapades through from West Texas, to Arizona, Chicago, Colorado and back again. Through floods, droughts, a sham marriage, unsuccessful bouts at a convent school from the first world war, through the great depression, second world war and into the 50s. Whoever has said this book is boring has clearly only skimmed the pages. Lily is feisty (a little too feisty), tough on her children, determined, can-do, practical and adventurous. For the first half of the book, Lily is also a likeable character. There is a darker side to Lily; whilst she has been through a lot of potentially traumatic experiences, her outlook on parenting is very tough. I know I am taking Lily's behaviour out of context. At times, Lily beat her children; she whipped Rosemary until she whimpered, she kicked a schoolboy she was teaching to the floor for misbehaving, Lily carried a gun into her school for protection, she never gave her children sympathy when they cried, she sent her children to boarding school on three separate occasions despite them hating it...... The real success her is how Jeannette Walls has created a voice for Lily which does not shy away from the imperfections in her character and is really gritty and at points, totally out of order. This book was gripping and a great family history. 4 stars.

#8: Yep, I need to read that Walls book soon.

At least 4 of us on this group received House of the Mosque as an ER book - I haven't read it yet as I have other more urgent review books to read and write about, but Justine and Heather have also written reviews as has Heaven-Ali whose posts I read on other LT groups. All of you have rated between 4 to 5 stars.

The Jeannette Walls book sounds good too.

3. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. I am a regular Radio 4 listener and listened to a recent reading of this book, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of its publication. Set in and around Alderley Edge in Cheshire, which is a patch I know very well, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is a playful, famous five-ish, apparently 'seminal' fantasy novel which set the way for classics such as His Dark Materials. Colin and Susan are sent to live with a family friend in Alderley Edge for six months as their parents are otherwise occupied. The family friend is a farmer's wife, Bess who lives next to 'the Edge' (not the bassist from U2) with her husband Gowther and their flock of various animals.

So, the Edge at Alderley is described by Wikipedia as "a steep and thickly wooded sandstone ridge... which is the area's chief topographical feature. Alderley Edge overlooks the Cheshire Plain". There are views for miles around "From its highest point, the Edge affords panoramic views across Cheshire and the Peak District and walking paths through the property, as well as one to nearby National Trust property Hare Hill. From the Edge, the Cheshire Plain, can be seen extending from the area of Macclesfield Forest on the south east side with its with undulating land and woods, towards the extreme easterly point of the Derbyshire peaks, and northerly to Manchester and Blackstone Edge in Yorkshire.

Until trees were planted at the Edge (1745–1755), visitors to the Edge could see a full 360° panorama of the country around; today the view from the Edge itself is limited to the northerly and easterly directions. Trees now obscure the views in other directions, including views of the Wrekin in Shropshire to the south; The Cloud near Bosley and Mow Cop (where the Cheshire Plain meets the Peckforton Hills, Beeston Castle, and the Delamere Forest) to the south west; and west to the mountains of North Wales".

Colin and Susan spend the days of the summer holidays exploring the edge and the surrounding parkland, under strict instructions from Gowther not to enter the abandoned mines (which actually exist). When one day, Colin and Susan encounter a white bearded man called Cadellin, their time at Alderley transforms beyond all recognition.

Cadellin is the several hundreds of years old guardian of Fundindelve, an underground sanctuary of dwarves and magicians, but his power to keep Fundindelve safe and to keep the world safe is limited by the absence of the Weirdstone of Brisingamen, a stone of great power. Unbeknownst to everyone, Susan is wearing the Weirdstone around her wrist.

Cadellin issues a warning for Susan and Colin to stay away from the Edge, that they may be in grave danger. But, after a few months of staying away, Colin and Susan are unable to resist exploring Stormy Point and the Edge. They are captured by the evil Svarts who steal the Weirdstone.

From this point onwards, Susan and Colin and a cast of helpers struggle to fight the evil forces of Grimmir and his associates.

Good points of this book include the brilliant sense of place and tense atmosphere that persists through the book. Alderley Edge is depicted accurately, I recognised lots of features described in the book including the steep climb towards the Edge, the Wizard pub, the houses scattered around the hillsides.

A fairly major lacking point however was the total absence of characterisation of Susan and Colin. There is nothing to distinguish them, they are never described in detail, they are truly a blank canvass. I felt this was a significant flaw in the book, especially when you compare it to later creations such as Lyra in His Dark Materials. For these reasons, I can't give the book more than 3 1/2 stars.

4) My kind of girl by Buddhadeva Bose. **** 1/2. Simple premise of four strangers delayed at a rural train station overnight who share a first class waiting room, Stuggling to sleep, they pass the time with stories of love, having encountered a young couple who remind them of their past loves. A lovely, simple story is sometimes the best.

#12: That one looks terrific! Thanks for the recommendation, Ceri.

Hi There

I'm compiling a list of birthdays of our group members. If you haven't done so already, would you mind stopping by this thread and posting yours.

Thanks.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105833

5. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, somewhat hard to get into, sprawling prose but at the heart of this novel is Austerlitz's quest to find his origins. Austerlitz doesn't find out until he is nearly an adult that his parents are not his birth parents, that he was fostered aged 5 from a Kindertransport to a vicarage in North Wales. Austerlitz tries to block out any reference to his past, then slowly realises he needs to reconcile himself to the fate of his parents. A haunting book, full of seemingly peripheral detail about architecture. I enjoyed it but it was not amazing - I can see why lots of people think WG Sebald is a genius but it is just not my cup of tea. 3 stars

6. An Off Year by Claire Zulkey. The novel opens with Cecily arriving at her new university, Kenyon. Cecily doesn't know why, but she cannot bear to stay at Kenyon, she has to go home with her Dad. We follow Cecily on her year at home, through daytime tv, proscastinating, whining, therapy and career counselling. It is quite clear that Cecily is privileged, her father is paying for her to stay at home and bearing the brunt of her university education, they have three bathrooms on one floor!!! Cecily doesn't grow up until the July before she is due to go back to university, her sister Germaine seems to be the only person who will tell her the truth, that she should grow up and stop seeing everything from her perspective. I think there has been an attempt to make Cecily vulnerable yet privileged, confused and bright, the girl in your class with the frizzy hair and no make up. I wanted to identify with Cecily and sympathise with her plight, but it wasn't a plight and I just think she was spoilt. This book really jarred with me. 2 1/2 stars

#15: I already have that one in the BlackHole. Thus far, my local library still only has one of Sebald's books and I have already read it.

#16: Sounds like I can miss that one with no problem.

I hope your next read is more to your taste, Ceri!

Me too!!

7. Hot Chocolate at Hanselmann's by Rosetta Foy. Four stars, quite impressed really, gripping story, really interesting structure. To be reviewed for Belletrista.

#19: I will be looking for your review in Belletrista, Ceri.

8. Saints and Sinners by Edna O'Brien. Annoyingly the touchstone won't link to the book. Excellent set of short stories set in and around Ireland. 4 1/2 stars. Am writing a review for Belletrista.

9. Havana Gold by Leonardo Padura. Quite an underwhelming and disappointing end to the Havana Quartet. Inspector Mario Conde this time investigates the murder of a high school teacher, Lissette. He returns to the "pre-uni of La Vibora" high school where he attended as a teenager, which brings memories of his schooling flooding back. Throughout Havana Gold, Conde continues to consume vast quantities of rum, cigarettes and Josefina's cooking. Conde also falls in love within three days of meeting a woman. The reason the book is underwhelming is because Conde cannot change, he continues to smoke and drink to excess, to moan about his life but then to do nothing about it. I had hoped he would get a break.... three stars.

10. The heavens may fall by Unity Dow. I really wanted to like this book. Naledi Chaba is a lawyer in Botswana working for a 'children's agency' providing advice to abused children and their families, prosecuting cases and generally doing her bit to protect women. Unfortunately, the book is almost without a central plotline. Whilst I have no objection to reading a set of character studies, perhaps structured as a book of short stories, this was not the end product. Naledi comes across as almost too angry and the rest of the characters without exception are cardboard cutouts. I am willing Dow to write better books, I am her perfect target audience! Disappointed. 2 1/2 stars.

11. The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. A cast of eccentric pre-war aristocrats addicted to hunting and everything English. Fanny, a cousin comes to stay every holiday and recounts the lives of the Radlett siblings as they grow up on their estate, at Alconleigh in the Cotswolds. The Radlett children are home schooled, self-involved and obsessed with hunting, as they grow up the girls become obsessed with finding love and romance. We follow Linda Radlett's eventful love life through Fanny's eyes. This book is fine, it is only 200 pages long and interesting enough to hold my interest for a few days. It isn't anything more than this. Three stars.

12. Let the dead lie by Malla Nunn. I haven't stopped reading this for the last 36 hours, excellent second book in the Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper Series. Loved it. Five stars.

13. When red is black by Qiu Xiaolong, third in the Chief Inspector Chen Cao series set in Shanghai. Yin Lige, a former red guard is found dead in her minutely small room in Shanghai having been smothered. Chen Cao is taking his first holiday for three years and is undertaking a lucrative translation assignment for a dodgy friend. Detective Yu is therefore tasked with taking over the investigation which has a literary twist, but not without the out of hours help of Chen Cao. I am afraid this book left me cold, Chen Cao came across as a colder, more cynical character and some things just seemed too predictable. Not great. I shall be reading the rest in the series as I have already bought them all! Three stars.

14. Oil on Water by Helon Habila. An eye opening novel regarding the conflict in Nigeria surrounding oil. Rufus is a newly qualified journalist on the Port Harcourt paper, The Reporter. He agrees to go on a trip with notorious alcoholic journalist Zaq, in search of the wife of a british chemical engineer who has been abducted. The narrative chops back and forward over the weeks that Zaq and Rufus spend looking for Isabel Floode, the horrors they encounter and the brief moments of peace and happiness. Four stars.

I just finished reading Tides by Isidore Okpewho, which was also about the conflicts in Nigeria regarding oil--and its protagonists were two reporters. It was very informative, and now I want to read Oil on Water to see how the two books compare.

Tides was published in 1993, so I'm sure it has a somewhat different perspective. It relates to the ecological damage and effects on the local fishing industry caused by oil drilling.

#28 That sounds really interesting, I will try to find it to read!

I'm a little late with this (read: nearly 2 months!), so forgive me for back-tracking so much (I'm trying to get caught up with all the threads): Is the Kenyon you mention in your description of An Off Year the Kenyon College in Ohio? If so, I think I'll need to pick this one up, just for the heck of it (I teach at Kenyon)!

#30 Hi Scaifea, I think it is the same college. Just a warning, on the whole the book was not great for me, but is worth a shot if you like coming of age novels.

15) The Places in Between by Rory Stewart. Only a matter of months after September 11th 2001, Rory Stewart decided to complete his walking tour of Asia by crossing Afghanistan from Herat on the border with Iran to Kabul. Rory Stewart speaks Dari and insists on travelling the whole way by foot, spending each night in villages along the way. What emerges is an account of village life in Afghanistan, where most people are aware of the arrival of American and British troops but know little or nothing about the bombing of the World Trade Centre. Interesting but the book is very much a country-wide survey of poverty, attitudes to travellers and snippits of Afghan history. Good but did not live up to my expectations.

27: Just received Oil on water as an ARC, and am enjoying it so far (maybe 1/4 of the way through).

31: I read The places in between a year or two ago, and found it interesting, but I found it uneven & wished the author had spent some time stepping back to look at a bigger picture. It was anecdotal, but not enough reflection for me.

# 32 I totally agree, I don't feel I came away from The Places in Between with a clear sense of Afghanistan and its history.

16) The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt. There are plenty of reviews already of this book. Set in New Jersey Holling Hoodhood is struggling to grow up with an indifferent father, distracted mother and cooler older sister, when he is left alone in class every Wednesday with his teacher Mrs Baker he is sure she has got it in for him. Things are never quite that simple! A sweet but implausible account of how Holling finds the confidence to be who he wants to be, it is fun to follow his journey. 3 1/2 stars

17) Child of a rainless year by Jane Lindskold. Beautifully written and captivating story, of Mira retracing her childhood in New Mexico and trying to find her mother who disappeared when she was nine. Why three stars? It got totally off the wall for me in the last 100 pages or so, which kind of ruined it. Great if you are a big fan of fantasy/magic realism.

18) The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor. Lucy lives an idyllic childhood with her parents in rural Ireland in the early 1920s. As social, religious and political unrest increase, life for the Gaults becomes more difficult. Attempts are made to burn down their home and their dogs are poisoned. Lucy's parents reluctantly decide to leave Ireland, but Lucy rebels against their decision and goes missing. Her choice to run off into the woods has huge repercussions for generations to come. A very sad and poignant book, at points almost too sad. Nevertheless, four stars.

19) This will go down on your permanent record by Susannah Felts. To be reviewed in Belletrista, a good teenage angst novel set over a Summer and Autumn in Nashville. Three 1/2 stars.

20) Nine parts of desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks. An excellent account of the lives of women in Muslim countries, their hardships, suppression and their joys. I was disappointed and dismayed by the treatment of some women by their families, condoned by the state. A strong argument for change. This book also challenged me to see the difference between the life that the Koran encourages people to live and the 'add-ons' to that religion made up or adopted by religious leaders and goverments. A must read for anyone interested in culture, society and the lives of women. Five starts, now one of my favourites.

21) Time for outrage by Stéphane Hessel. This tiny pamphlet, a bestseller in France, is a call to arms to everyone to protest against unfairness and injustice, and to take sides instead of feigning indifference. A timely message. Definitely worth reading ****

22) Back to the coast by Saskia Noort. A chilling thriller about a Dutch woman who starts to receive threatening messages after she has an abortion and leaves her boyfriend. Fast paced, great plotline. ****

23) Swahili for the broken hearted by Peter Moore. Quite pointless really. Following Peter Moore's drink addled travels from South Africa to Cairo I felt like he treats his reader like his sweaty backpack on one long bus ride thrown in the cargo hold in the dark. Learnt next to nothing about Africa. Sorry! Not worth bothering with. 2 1/2 stars

24) Touch by Adania ShibliAn unnamed little girl moving towards marriage, isolated from her sisters, observing the passage of time, of lives with silence. A quiet novella, but beautiful and bold, very descriptive but clipped writing. *** 1/2

I've been enjoying catching up with your reading. I had very similar feelings to you about the Unity Dow book. It sounded like absolutely my sort of thing and I have lived in Botswana which added to the interest. But I, too, found it rather disappointing. Interesting in it's way but not nearly as good as it could have been!

I have been wondering whether to start the Qiu Xiaolong series. Still wondering after your review of the third one!

I really liked the first two Inspector Chen books, starting with Death of a Red Heroine, Dee, I'd give the first one a try. I haven't got to the rest yet.

>41 elkiedee:: Thanks, Luci. I think my local library has a copy so I might give it a try soon.

Definitely worth trying Inspector Chen series, Death of a Red Heroine was good, the subsequent books have not been as good but I plan to read them all having bought the whole series following reading the first. Hope you enjoy them!

#36: I have had Nine Parts of Desire in the BlackHole far too long! I really must get to it!

25) Chasing the devil: On foot through Africa's killing fields by Tim Butcher. Five stars, occasionally I come across a non-fiction book so well written, informative, fascinating but also challenging that I want to persuade everyone I know to read it. This book is all of those things, an excellent account of Tim Butcher's walk across Sierra Leone and Liberia, the people he meets, the landscape, the history all in the footsteps of Graham Greene. Superlative. One of my favourites.

#45: Into the BlackHole it goes!

Congratulations on hitting 25 books for the year, Ceri!

Sounds like a must-read to me!

Chasing the Devil sounds interesting; I'll look for it once it becomes available in the US.

#46, 47,48: Stasia, Mamzel, Kidzdoc: It is well worth the read! I am planning to read the inspiration for Chasing the Devil which was Journey without maps by Graham Greene next after some light (and insipid!) relief from Peony in Love by Lisa See.

26. Peony in Love by Lisa See. I chose to read this as I wanted some light relief after my last book, but I have really regretted that choice. The tale of Peony, a young girl in 16th century China who lives a life segregated from society and all non-related males. When Peony is watching an opera her father has staged, called the Peony Pavilion, she wanders off into the grounds of her parents garden and bumps into a romantic young man. Peony falls in love, but she is engaged to be married and so is the unnamed young man. so, Peony starves herself to death. Then we have 150-200 pages of Peony as a ghost.
Hopefully no spoilers there. The most insipid, monotonous drivel I have ever read. 1 star.

Oh dear! My worst reads always seem to be the ones I've chosen for light relief too!

Hi Soupdragon, reading it back maybe I was a bit dramatic in my use of the word insipid, but it was really disappointing!

I am way behind with my reviews and have no excuse as I have had two weeks off from work. Since I am back at work tomorrow morning (In 10 hours time and counting) I will post my thoughts now...
The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar. Thinking back on this one I may have been a bit tough with the rating, it was actually pretty good and the characters were memorable. The book is probably a three star novel rather than 2 1/2 the difference being this was not really a 'bad' read. So, two Scottish fairies (Heather and Morag) lose their way after a night out on the tiles and end up in New York on the window sill of the worst violin player in the city, Dinnie, who just happens to be one of the few people who can see fairies. Heather and Morag have been banished from Scotland for some unspeakable act including playing renditions of the New York Dolls on their violins. Heather and Morag have a volatile relationship and soon enough they have fallen out, one of them leaves Dinnie's flat and moves in with a local girl, the ethereal and very ill Kerry. What follows is a silly build up towards all out fairy gang warfare in New york and the attempts of Heather and Morag to retrieve various precious fairy items and return to Scotland. Silly, fun nothing amazing though.

The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Guevara. Overrated, really not that good, very short.

Death on the Marais by Adrian Magson. A very good thriller/detective novel set in Picardy. Enjoyable and engaging. I won't spoil the plot, first in the series definitely worth considering reading the sequel. 4 stars.

Daniel Stein, Interpreter by Ludmila Ulitskaya. To be reviewed for Belletrista.

Ashes to Dust by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Another good book from this Icelandic writer, third in the series - atmospheric, gruesome in parts but very good. Four stars.

Hugely behind on my books list and starting to forget what I have read!!
34) The Waitress was new by Dominique Fabre. Very good ****
35) Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson. Short, poignant, quite good, ***
36) The Fear: The Last years of Robert Mugabe by Robert Godwin. Excellent analysis of the decline of Zimbabwe, sometimes very shocking. **** 1/2
37) The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna. Not as good as I thought it would be, but still good, just not great. Can't put my finger on why..... ***

I am going to be reading The Memory of Love soon. I think yours is the first 'bad' review I have seen of it. Sorry to hear that the book was not better for you, Ceri. Maybe the next one will be great!

The next one is detective/forensic archaeologist fiction which is great, it is The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. thanks for stopping by Stasia.

38) The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths Excellent whodunnit type novel with a forensic archaeologist as the lead character. Very interesting and gripping. Set in Norfolk, first in the series, good characters and plotting. 4 stars.
39) The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths Not so memorable second in the series re. Dr Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist extraordinaire. Kind of Bones crossed with the Archers. Three stars.
40 The Messenger of Athens by Anna Zouroudi Enjoyable debut novel set on a Greek island of Thiminos with an engaging range of characters, many totally unlikeable and a persistent personal investigator, Hermes Diaktoros, employed by persons unknown to find the murderer of a young woman who fell to her death on the island. Atmospheric, quite dark and another page turner. Four stars.
41) The Death of Lomond Friel by Sue Peebles Review to follow for Belletrista. 3 1/2 stars.

#57: I wish my local library had Griffiths' books. Unfortunately, it does not carry them.

Adding The Messenger of Athens to the BlackHole.

Stasia - I have them on Kindle. The first is about $5 on Amazon. About to start the third soon! Ceri

Congratulations on reading 41 books thus far

#59: I do not have a Kindle unfortunately, I have a Nook, although they may be available for the Nook, I do not know. It is a moot point since I am on a book buying ban this year.

Thanks Linda
Stasia I am meant to be on a 'year off books' as I have taken up one spare bedroom with my unread books, but I think it is an impossible task!

42) Empire of the mind by Iqbal Ahmed. Brief travelogue around UK visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, London.... Hmmm not really very good or interesting. The writer just seems to visit each UK city and have a coffee. Some insights, well written but that's the only good point. Two stars.

43) An accident in August by Laurence Cosse to be reviewed for Belletrista. Suspenseful if implausible. Three stars.

44) The House at Seas's End by Elly Griffiths. Third in the series of murder mysteries involving forensic archaeologist, Dr Ruth Galloway and Detective Harry Nelson. The dynamics between the characters seemed to take over the plot and so, whilst this was another enjoyable instalment in the series, the conclusion of the storyline was actually quite poor. I will continue reading the series though. 3 stars.

>63 cerievans1:: I am following that series too. I am fascinated by Ruth and Harry's relationship, tend to find the other characters interesting too but found definite weaknesses in the plots of the first and third books.

Thanks soup dragon I agree totally with you

45) Joss and gold by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim. Interesting debut novel set in Malaysia, Singapore and the USA between the late sixties and early eighties. The backdrop is the political turbulence in
Malaysia but the novel is really about the relationship between English literature academic, Li An, her new husband Henry and Li An's new close friend Chester. This book was okay, the information on Malaysia and Singapore interests me as my mother lived there in the fifties and early sixties but ultimately I fe.t this book could have been better. Three stars.

46) Ink in the blood by Hilary Mantel. A very brief but engaging account of a recent spell spent by Hilary Mantel in hospital. She writes so fluidly/lucidly about almost anything. Four stars.

47) The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I don't care how many millions of books this has sold, it is a cracking story. Loved it. 4 stars.

48) Granta 115: The F Word Compilation of women's writing. Some excellent, some not so good at all. Three stars.

49) Death on the Rive Nord by Adrian Magson. Second in the Inspector Lucas Rosso series set in the Marais in France. Okay plotting, certainly gripping. Not as good as the last one though. Three stars.

50) Throwaway by Heather Huffman. I only picked this up because it was free to download to my ipad and it looked mildly interesting without being a romantic novel (a category I hate!). Surprisingly good plot though maybe with a few too many 'inconvenient' twists and turns, but on the whole, a good read. Three stars.

51) Before I go to sleep by SJ Watson. Thriller about a woman who wakes up every morning without any memories. Readable and chilling. I hate the movie Groundhog Day and I was worried this would be similarly repetitive, but it wasn't. three stars.

52) The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark.A slender novel, somewhat farcical, set in London in the last few days of the second world war. Introduced to a cast of female lodgers who live in a boarding house club and their intertwining lives. Pretty good, Muriel Spark is comic and witty. Three stars.
53) Idaho Winter by Tony Burgess. The opening chapters of this novel are heartbreaking and despite having a reasonably thick skin, I cried. Idaho is a young boy persecuted and abused by everyone who knows him, except one little girl called Madison who wants to be his friend. I know it is a cruel hard world, but this is an extremely cruel world in which Idaho has to live. It is too bad to be true, skewed, and inhabited by a cast of villains and village idiots. Idaho discovers he may be able to destroy his world and we follow at a distance from there.
Possibly one of the most original books I have read, a mix of fantasy and novel about growing up. Really hard to describe. If you are able to stomach some early distressing chapters and open minded about plotting, implausibility and structure this is definitely worth a read. Four stars.

54) Into the Amazon by John Harrison. Touchstone not working. A book I won from Wanderlust magazine. An account of a journey up a tributary of the Amazon through to French Guiana by John Harris and his wife. Very interesting if a little repetitive. 3 stars.

55) The Magnetic North by Sarah Wheeler. An account of Sara Wheeler's travels around the inhabited areas of the Artic. Fantastic, lyrical writing and really interesting. A good companion to Frozen Planet (the documentary on BBC at the moment) as it gives a great perspective about Artic people. 5 stars

56) The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace. Described as like a fairytale by the New York Times, this debut novel traces the deteriorating sight of an Italian Contessa and her relationships. Very enjoyable and not too long. 3 1/2 stars

I loved The Magnetic North too.

57) Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. This is one pretty amazing man, he has achieved a considerable amount in the promotion of education especially for girls in Pakistan and latterly, Afghanistan. Nothing bad to say about this book, an example of how well a life can be lived. 4 stars

58) Three cups of deceit by Jon Krakauer. Following on swiftly from number 57, I was reading a thread by ElliePotten who has read Jon Krakauer's account of how much of the detail in Three cups of tea appears to be fabricated. Take 'one pretty amazing man' back from review for No 57 above! Not sure what or who to believe!

59) Next World Novella by Matthias Politycki. I won this fab Peirene title as part of a set of three from Lizzy's Literary Life in her German Literature Month. I am still reading Effi Briest but in the meantime have finished this little, quirky gem. Schepp wakes up one morning to find his wife has passed away in the night. What follows is an exploration of their relationship through a manuscript written by Schepp. Something I have found hard to read about is the loss of close family but this novella is strangely disassociated from the love and cosy relationships we mostly experience. Enjoyable, eccentric. 4 stars

60) Missing Matisse by Jan Rehner Excellent art theft thriller, to be reviewed for January's Belletrista! Four stars
61) Portrait of the mother as a young woman by Friedrich Christian Delius, interesting stream of consciousness novella set in Rome during the 2nd world war. We follow a heavily pregnant German wife on a walk around her adopted city. Interesting but not entirely my cup of tea. Three stars. A Peirene book.

62) In red by Magdalena Tulli Another quirky little novella, set in the imagined town of Stitchings in what I assume is the early twentieth century. The novel does not have a plot as such but we follow closely the fantastical events in the lives of the towns inhabitants. Very engaging and probably a book I would consider re-reading (which I never do). 4 stars

2011 was not a great reading year for me. Reviewing my favourite reads for 2011 has revealed that excellent fiction books have been pretty thin on the ground, but I have had a great year for non-fiction reads and out of only four 5 star books three were non-fiction.
My favourites were
1) The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle by Sarah Wheeler. Excellent, five stars.
2) Let the dead lie by Malla Nunn. Wonderful, gritty follow up thriller/detective fiction set in South Africa. 5stars
3) Chasing the devil: the search for Africa's fighting spirit by Tim Butcher. Another five star travelogue set in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
4) Nine Parts of desire: the hidden world of Islamic women by Geraldine Brooks. Fascinating essay style writing about the women of the Islamic world. Five stars

Also very good (4 stars)...
1) My kind of girl by Buddhadeva Bose. It feels like more than a year since I read this one!
2) Saints and sinners by Edna O'Brien. Great set of short stories, the first of Edna O'Brien's works that I have read.
3) The waitress was new by Dominique Fabre
4) The house of the mosque by Kader Abdolah

Some more good crime fiction...
1) The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
2) Death on the Marais by Adrian Magson
3) The messenger of Athens by Anne Zoroudi

Most disappointing or just boring
1) Peony in love by Lisa See. Boring.....
2) Empire of the mind by Iqbal Ahmed, extremely boring travelogue set in the UK.

Onwards!

I love Elly Griffiths' books. That's one of my favorite newer series.