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1Eyejaybee
Hello! It is great to see so much enthusiasm for a New year of reading. Good luck to everyone with their respective challenges.
I have made an early start with a novel that I began reading yesterday but finished earlier today.
1. The Middle Temple Murder by J. S. Fletcher (N.B - Not Jessica!!!)
A very enjoyable novel which I chose purely by chance from Amazon's range of free Kindle editions.
It is set in and around Middle Temple in 1912 and starts with the discovery of a recently-killed body in Middle Temple Lane. By chance journalist Frank Spargo, the novel's main protagonist, happens upon the scene almost immediately after the body is discovered, and accompanies Detective Sergeant Rathbury throughout his early investigations. There is no indication as to the idetity of the corpse, whose pockets are completely empty apart from a scrap of paper bearing the names and chambers address of an aspiring young barrister. An intriguing investigations ensues, embroiling a prominent M.P., two renowned philatelists and the leading burghers of a small West Country market town.
As might be expected of a novel written in 1919 there is very little emphasis on graphic violence, and everything is conducted with an almost eerie courtesy.
Similarly, although Spargo writes for a sensationalist newspaper, The Watchman, he is trusted without qualification by the police and allowed access to the mortuary and to every stage of the investigative process.
Very eloquently written and thoroughly engrossing - I am surprised that the name of Joseph Smith Fletcher has fallen into such obscurity.
I have made an early start with a novel that I began reading yesterday but finished earlier today.
1. The Middle Temple Murder by J. S. Fletcher (N.B - Not Jessica!!!)
A very enjoyable novel which I chose purely by chance from Amazon's range of free Kindle editions.
It is set in and around Middle Temple in 1912 and starts with the discovery of a recently-killed body in Middle Temple Lane. By chance journalist Frank Spargo, the novel's main protagonist, happens upon the scene almost immediately after the body is discovered, and accompanies Detective Sergeant Rathbury throughout his early investigations. There is no indication as to the idetity of the corpse, whose pockets are completely empty apart from a scrap of paper bearing the names and chambers address of an aspiring young barrister. An intriguing investigations ensues, embroiling a prominent M.P., two renowned philatelists and the leading burghers of a small West Country market town.
As might be expected of a novel written in 1919 there is very little emphasis on graphic violence, and everything is conducted with an almost eerie courtesy.
Similarly, although Spargo writes for a sensationalist newspaper, The Watchman, he is trusted without qualification by the police and allowed access to the mortuary and to every stage of the investigative process.
Very eloquently written and thoroughly engrossing - I am surprised that the name of Joseph Smith Fletcher has fallen into such obscurity.
2alcottacre
Glad to see you are back with us again, James! Happy New Year!
5Kittybee
I've had fun exploring the free books available for kindle and I'll have to check that one out. Happy reading this year!
7Eyejaybee
2. Borrowed Time by Roy Hattersley*
I met Roy (now Lord) Hattersley nearly twenty-five years ago in the marvellous old Hatchards bookshop on the Strand when both of us reached for the same copy of Julian Barnes's "A History of the World in Ten and a Half Chapters". Our subsequent conversation was bordered on the bland - I think that I said, "After you" and he muttered a brief "Thank you".
Despite this burgeoning friendship (reference to which was strangely omitted from his memoir "Who Goes Home) I had often felt that he tended to be unnecessarily long-winded when speaking on television or radio, even to the point of being a bit of a windbag.
However, there is son such problem when he puts pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). This book is remarkably lucid and gives a well-structured and surprisingly politically objective account of Britain during the years between the First and Second World Wars.
I found his chapter on the events leading up to the abdication of King Edward VIII particularly enlightening. it is difficult now to appreciate how alarming the constitutional crisis was at the time, and Hattersley captures the mood with great clarity. Similarly the economic crisis of 1931 is handled with great lucidity, rendering the detailed and convoluted transactions readily accessible to the non-specialist reader.
I particularly enjoyed his chapters on literary and culture developments during that period, including the explosion in numbers of people visiting the cinema (with over a billion cinema tickets being bought in Britain in 1938).
Hattersley has a particular ability to convey a lot of statistics unobtrusively and without causing the reader’s eyes to glaze over.
Although this book does not offer any startling new insights to the period I found it very enjoyable and informative.
I met Roy (now Lord) Hattersley nearly twenty-five years ago in the marvellous old Hatchards bookshop on the Strand when both of us reached for the same copy of Julian Barnes's "A History of the World in Ten and a Half Chapters". Our subsequent conversation was bordered on the bland - I think that I said, "After you" and he muttered a brief "Thank you".
Despite this burgeoning friendship (reference to which was strangely omitted from his memoir "Who Goes Home) I had often felt that he tended to be unnecessarily long-winded when speaking on television or radio, even to the point of being a bit of a windbag.
However, there is son such problem when he puts pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). This book is remarkably lucid and gives a well-structured and surprisingly politically objective account of Britain during the years between the First and Second World Wars.
I found his chapter on the events leading up to the abdication of King Edward VIII particularly enlightening. it is difficult now to appreciate how alarming the constitutional crisis was at the time, and Hattersley captures the mood with great clarity. Similarly the economic crisis of 1931 is handled with great lucidity, rendering the detailed and convoluted transactions readily accessible to the non-specialist reader.
I particularly enjoyed his chapters on literary and culture developments during that period, including the explosion in numbers of people visiting the cinema (with over a billion cinema tickets being bought in Britain in 1938).
Hattersley has a particular ability to convey a lot of statistics unobtrusively and without causing the reader’s eyes to glaze over.
Although this book does not offer any startling new insights to the period I found it very enjoyable and informative.
8alcottacre
It looks like both of your reads for the new year are pretty good ones, James. Congratulations on getting your reading year off to such a start!
10gennyt
I like your Hattersley anecdote, and the review - that sounds like a good one. Even if he did leave you out of his memoir!
12Eyejaybee
3. Mao's Great Famine by Frank Dikotter
I found this book fascinating though I was appalled by it contents. Hitherto my knowledge of China under Chairman Mao had been very sketchy, and references to the Great Leap Forward conveyed very little.
As a consequence of misguided policies, flawed implementation, endemic corruption and a hefty sprinkling of sheer evil maybe as many as 45 million people died in China between 1958 and 1962.. Frank Dikotter’s impressive book achieves the rare double of being incredibly informative (and clearly exhaustively researched) yet still very readable. Well, I say “readable” but perhaps that is not the correct term. I don’t mean any reflection on Dikotter’s prose – he is always lucid and compelling. However, I found much of his subject matter so ghastly that at times I felt I had to break off for a while. The catalogue of incompetence seems almost endless, and I felt myself moved to anger throughout the whole book. Not only did Mao’s regime do stupid things, they seemed impervious to precedent and would continually repeat the same errors, only to find the same dreadful results.
Colossal irrigations schemes were tried, but all failed owing to a lack of understand of basic hydrography. There were constant campaigns to boost steel production but these just fell apart, and export orders went unfulfilled. The collectivisation of farming failed completely, with grain yield figures being falsified at every level. There was the world’s greatest ever campaign of destruction of property as hundreds of thousands of rural houses were destroyed so that the mud bricks of which they were constructed could be used as fertiliser. Sadly no-one had stopped to consider where the people thus rendered homeless might subsequently live. Many now homeless peasants were reduced to eating the thatch of their former homes as all other food disappeared.
Another campaign was waged to deter sparrows and other birds who were thought of as endangering harvests because they might eat grain. Unfortunately the removal of the bird population led to swarms of the various insects that they did actually live off, with dire effects on the arable crops. Yet while millions starved at home, China continued to sell grain overseas or even, in many instances, to give it away as humanitarian aid.
Fascinating and enlightening, yet also wholly gruesome.
I found this book fascinating though I was appalled by it contents. Hitherto my knowledge of China under Chairman Mao had been very sketchy, and references to the Great Leap Forward conveyed very little.
As a consequence of misguided policies, flawed implementation, endemic corruption and a hefty sprinkling of sheer evil maybe as many as 45 million people died in China between 1958 and 1962.. Frank Dikotter’s impressive book achieves the rare double of being incredibly informative (and clearly exhaustively researched) yet still very readable. Well, I say “readable” but perhaps that is not the correct term. I don’t mean any reflection on Dikotter’s prose – he is always lucid and compelling. However, I found much of his subject matter so ghastly that at times I felt I had to break off for a while. The catalogue of incompetence seems almost endless, and I felt myself moved to anger throughout the whole book. Not only did Mao’s regime do stupid things, they seemed impervious to precedent and would continually repeat the same errors, only to find the same dreadful results.
Colossal irrigations schemes were tried, but all failed owing to a lack of understand of basic hydrography. There were constant campaigns to boost steel production but these just fell apart, and export orders went unfulfilled. The collectivisation of farming failed completely, with grain yield figures being falsified at every level. There was the world’s greatest ever campaign of destruction of property as hundreds of thousands of rural houses were destroyed so that the mud bricks of which they were constructed could be used as fertiliser. Sadly no-one had stopped to consider where the people thus rendered homeless might subsequently live. Many now homeless peasants were reduced to eating the thatch of their former homes as all other food disappeared.
Another campaign was waged to deter sparrows and other birds who were thought of as endangering harvests because they might eat grain. Unfortunately the removal of the bird population led to swarms of the various insects that they did actually live off, with dire effects on the arable crops. Yet while millions starved at home, China continued to sell grain overseas or even, in many instances, to give it away as humanitarian aid.
Fascinating and enlightening, yet also wholly gruesome.
13alcottacre
I wish my local library had that one! Thanks for the review and recommendation, James.
14Eyejaybee
4. Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Not one of Dickens's better known novels but seething with his customary descriptive powers, and even more social comment than usual.
The novel is set in Coketown, a fictional city in the North of England renowned for its mills and factories. The novel opens with headmaster Thomas Gradgrind introducing prospective new clients to his school with a speech reminiscent of current Minister of State for Schools Nick Gibb, and stressing the importance of facts over sentiment or imagination. Even his own children are subjected to an education in which curiosity is suppressed and learning facts by rote is the only permissible approach.
Gradgrind's closest companion is the odious Josiah Bounderby, a self-made man who is never happier than when extolling the poverty of his childhood and traducing the mother who abandoned him in a ditch when merely an infant. He revels in the poverty of his upbringing and the absence of his own education, and champion's Gradgrind's factual crusade. He also dotes in the most gruesome manner over Louisa, eldest daughter of Gradgrind, and subsequently, following discussions with Mr Gradgrind that more closely resembled a business negotiation than a lover's suit, marries her. Her brother, also called Thomas, comes to work for Bounderby, taking on a role in the bank, though he succumbs to a dangerous addiction to gambling and drinking.
Bounderby is owner of a bank and a mill in Coketown, and his employees are almost shackled, dependent upon the pittance he pays them. However, while most of the workers seem anonymous, one of them is Stephen Blackpool, who loves Rachael, but is married to an unnamed and itinerant alcoholic woman Blackpool refuses to join a trade union, and as a consequence he is sent to Coventry by his colleagues. However, rather than being supported by Bounderby he finds himself given notice to quit. Pledging always to stay true to Rachael he makes his arrangements to leave.
And then someone robs the bank ...
Like all of his more famous novels there is a heavy dose of almost cliched sentiment about this novel, but Dickens does bring his incisive social commentary into play. He attacks every aspect of the workers' thraldom - the paucity of their wages, the conditions in which they have to work, the rampant pollution of the mills, the desperate poverty of available accommodation. Yet despite all this, it is not just a political diatribe but remains enjoyable.
Not one of Dickens's better known novels but seething with his customary descriptive powers, and even more social comment than usual.
The novel is set in Coketown, a fictional city in the North of England renowned for its mills and factories. The novel opens with headmaster Thomas Gradgrind introducing prospective new clients to his school with a speech reminiscent of current Minister of State for Schools Nick Gibb, and stressing the importance of facts over sentiment or imagination. Even his own children are subjected to an education in which curiosity is suppressed and learning facts by rote is the only permissible approach.
Gradgrind's closest companion is the odious Josiah Bounderby, a self-made man who is never happier than when extolling the poverty of his childhood and traducing the mother who abandoned him in a ditch when merely an infant. He revels in the poverty of his upbringing and the absence of his own education, and champion's Gradgrind's factual crusade. He also dotes in the most gruesome manner over Louisa, eldest daughter of Gradgrind, and subsequently, following discussions with Mr Gradgrind that more closely resembled a business negotiation than a lover's suit, marries her. Her brother, also called Thomas, comes to work for Bounderby, taking on a role in the bank, though he succumbs to a dangerous addiction to gambling and drinking.
Bounderby is owner of a bank and a mill in Coketown, and his employees are almost shackled, dependent upon the pittance he pays them. However, while most of the workers seem anonymous, one of them is Stephen Blackpool, who loves Rachael, but is married to an unnamed and itinerant alcoholic woman Blackpool refuses to join a trade union, and as a consequence he is sent to Coventry by his colleagues. However, rather than being supported by Bounderby he finds himself given notice to quit. Pledging always to stay true to Rachael he makes his arrangements to leave.
And then someone robs the bank ...
Like all of his more famous novels there is a heavy dose of almost cliched sentiment about this novel, but Dickens does bring his incisive social commentary into play. He attacks every aspect of the workers' thraldom - the paucity of their wages, the conditions in which they have to work, the rampant pollution of the mills, the desperate poverty of available accommodation. Yet despite all this, it is not just a political diatribe but remains enjoyable.
15alcottacre
I need to read more Dickens - it has been a while since I read much of his work - and was hoping to get to him this year, but do not see it happening with school going on. Maybe over summer break. . .
16Eyejaybee
I know what you mean, Stasia.
I keep feeling that I should read more of his work, too, but I never seem to get around to it as readily as I should. I am hoping that the media coverage of the bicentenary of his birth might encourage me to read some more.
I keep feeling that I should read more of his work, too, but I never seem to get around to it as readily as I should. I am hoping that the media coverage of the bicentenary of his birth might encourage me to read some more.
17alcottacre
I read Bleak House in 2010 with a group here in the 75ers and read his American Notes as well, but I started Martin Chuzzlewit, which I have never read before, last year and did not get anywhere with it. Too many other tempting books!
18Eyejaybee
5. The Borough Treasurer by J. S. Fletcher
An enjoyable book, though far less engaging than Fletcher's "The Middle Temple Murder" which I read a little earlier this year.
Set in the northern town of Highmarket the novel opens in the offices of the building firm of Mallalieu & Cotherstone, a successful practice. The two partners are pillars of the local community and are both on the local council - indeed, Mallalieu is Mayor while Cotherstone is the Borough Treasurer.
However, a recent arrival to the area comes in to the office to pay Cotherstone his rent for the coming quarter, and, once that business is completed, identifies himself as a retired detective who had, thirty years ago, lived in Wilchester (a small borough at the other end of the country). This newcomer, Mr Kitely, goes on to say that he recognised Cotherstone and his partner, though in those days they had been known by different names under which they had defrauded a local building society and subsequently gone to prison.
Kitely clearly threatens Cotherstone that he could easily wreck his and Mallalieu's current high standing if he were to expose their past peccadilloes and arranges to meet the two of them the following morning. That meeting never happens because Kitely is found murdered later that very night.
When the news emerges both Cotherstone and Mallalieu are convinced that the other is to blame. As the police start their investigations another man is arrested for the murder, but did any of these men commit it?
Another death ensues and the investigations spreads more widely ...
I did enjoy this novel but felt that there was not one character for whom I felt even a shred of empathy.
An enjoyable book, though far less engaging than Fletcher's "The Middle Temple Murder" which I read a little earlier this year.
Set in the northern town of Highmarket the novel opens in the offices of the building firm of Mallalieu & Cotherstone, a successful practice. The two partners are pillars of the local community and are both on the local council - indeed, Mallalieu is Mayor while Cotherstone is the Borough Treasurer.
However, a recent arrival to the area comes in to the office to pay Cotherstone his rent for the coming quarter, and, once that business is completed, identifies himself as a retired detective who had, thirty years ago, lived in Wilchester (a small borough at the other end of the country). This newcomer, Mr Kitely, goes on to say that he recognised Cotherstone and his partner, though in those days they had been known by different names under which they had defrauded a local building society and subsequently gone to prison.
Kitely clearly threatens Cotherstone that he could easily wreck his and Mallalieu's current high standing if he were to expose their past peccadilloes and arranges to meet the two of them the following morning. That meeting never happens because Kitely is found murdered later that very night.
When the news emerges both Cotherstone and Mallalieu are convinced that the other is to blame. As the police start their investigations another man is arrested for the murder, but did any of these men commit it?
Another death ensues and the investigations spreads more widely ...
I did enjoy this novel but felt that there was not one character for whom I felt even a shred of empathy.
19alcottacre
#18: I think I will pass on that one and just stick with The Middle Temple Murder, which I was able to find free for my Nook.
20Eyejaybee
It's marvellous how many books are available for download for free. It certainly encourages experimenting with hitherto untried authors :)
21alcottacre
True. I have discovered a ton of hidden treasure that way! Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg are wonderful resources.
22Eyejaybee
6. Chill Factor by Stuart Pawson
Not as good as Pawson at his best but still very enjoyable. This particular chapter in the Charlie Priest sequence runs true to form with a well-structured plot and highly believable characters, but somehow something was missing, and I didn't feel the same sense of amusement and engagement that I normally experience when reading Pawson's boos.
However, I have been reading them out of sequence, and I know that I have enjoyed some of the books published after this one, so it may just have been a temporary blip. After all, I still enjoyed the book and am glad I read it; it was merely a little disappointing as I know that Pawson can (and, indeed, frequently has) write even better novels than this.
Not as good as Pawson at his best but still very enjoyable. This particular chapter in the Charlie Priest sequence runs true to form with a well-structured plot and highly believable characters, but somehow something was missing, and I didn't feel the same sense of amusement and engagement that I normally experience when reading Pawson's boos.
However, I have been reading them out of sequence, and I know that I have enjoyed some of the books published after this one, so it may just have been a temporary blip. After all, I still enjoyed the book and am glad I read it; it was merely a little disappointing as I know that Pawson can (and, indeed, frequently has) write even better novels than this.
23PaulCranswick
James - excellent start to the year with some varied and intriguing reads. Roy Hattersley has a nice way with him and I enjoyed your anecdote of your encounter with him (his choice in books not too shabby either). Hard Times is probably the most overtly political of Dickens' work but I agree with you that it still retains his distinctive voice. Not my favourite by a long chalk but not bad either.
24Eyejaybee
7. Borderlands by Brian McGilloway
Absolutely excellent, with that extra savour of serendipity! I knew nothing about this novel and picked it up entirely by chance.
Set in the grey area along the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, this novel starts with the seemingly inexplicable murder of Angela Cashell, eldest daughter of a local low-life. As the police of both jurisdictions work together to try to unravel the mystery another youngster is murdered, again without apparent motive.
Inspector Benedict Devlin, of the Garda, leads the investigation, coming up against a local traveller community as well as the shadows cast by "The Troubles" by which this area had been so dreadfully disfigured.
The novel is written with a great lucidity, and while there are numerous twists and complications, the plot is always utterly plausible.
Definitely a great find!
Absolutely excellent, with that extra savour of serendipity! I knew nothing about this novel and picked it up entirely by chance.
Set in the grey area along the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, this novel starts with the seemingly inexplicable murder of Angela Cashell, eldest daughter of a local low-life. As the police of both jurisdictions work together to try to unravel the mystery another youngster is murdered, again without apparent motive.
Inspector Benedict Devlin, of the Garda, leads the investigation, coming up against a local traveller community as well as the shadows cast by "The Troubles" by which this area had been so dreadfully disfigured.
The novel is written with a great lucidity, and while there are numerous twists and complications, the plot is always utterly plausible.
Definitely a great find!
25Eyejaybee
8. Byzantium: The Early Histories by John Julius Norwich*
An utterly fascinating and absorbing book. Norwich writes with a beautiful clarity and conveys his great enthusiasm for his subject with every word.
This history of Constantinople grips the reader from the start, and Norwich guides him through the labyrinthine complex of similar names with ease.
There are some sumptuous euphemisms - Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine I was "a humble innkeeper's daughter from Bithynia. Some historians have alleged that as a girl she had been one of the supplementary amenities of her father's establishment, regularly available to his clients..." - and pen portraits: Attila the Hun is described as "typical of his race: short, swarthy and snub-nosed, , with tiny beady eyes set in a head too big for his body, and a thin straggling beard".
It is a sad tale - the inexorable decline from greatness, through decadence, to ignominy is as compelling as it is heartbreaking.
This book is an overwhelming success: while perfectly accessible to a simple country boy such as myself, Norwich never leaves one in any doubt about the depth of his scholarliness, nor the extent of his research.
I am very eager to move on to Volume 2!
An utterly fascinating and absorbing book. Norwich writes with a beautiful clarity and conveys his great enthusiasm for his subject with every word.
This history of Constantinople grips the reader from the start, and Norwich guides him through the labyrinthine complex of similar names with ease.
There are some sumptuous euphemisms - Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine I was "a humble innkeeper's daughter from Bithynia. Some historians have alleged that as a girl she had been one of the supplementary amenities of her father's establishment, regularly available to his clients..." - and pen portraits: Attila the Hun is described as "typical of his race: short, swarthy and snub-nosed, , with tiny beady eyes set in a head too big for his body, and a thin straggling beard".
It is a sad tale - the inexorable decline from greatness, through decadence, to ignominy is as compelling as it is heartbreaking.
This book is an overwhelming success: while perfectly accessible to a simple country boy such as myself, Norwich never leaves one in any doubt about the depth of his scholarliness, nor the extent of his research.
I am very eager to move on to Volume 2!
26Eyejaybee
9. The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris
An interesting, though perhaps slightly over-long novel, once again featuring recently de-mobbed Major Douglas Brodie, who is now living in London and scratching a living as a crime reporter following his service in the Second World Ward as a major in the Seaforth Highlanders.
Before the war he had served as a Detective Sergeant in Glasgow's CID having chosen to stay on in the city after graduating from its university. He had, though, grown up in nearby Kilmarnock where his best friend from schooldays had been Hugh "Shug" Donovan. Donovan had been feared dead, lost in the wreckage of his R.A.F. bomber over the Channel. However, he had survived despite hideously disfiguring burns over most of his body, and he had ended up in Glasgow, wracked with nightmares and still suffering from his dreadful injuries.
Indeed, so extreme were the after effects of his wounds that he had been driven to seek pain-relief in heroin. Meanwhile a murderer is stalking the back streets of Glasgow, abducting, torturing and then murdering young boys. Four lads had already gone missing when young Rory Hutcheson goes missing, The local residents join the police searching high and low for the young boy, but tragically only recover his nearly-naked corpse ... and then his blood-stained clothes are found in Hugh Donovan's flat.
Having been tried, convicted and condemned to the death sentence Donovan contacts Brodie and asks him to help.
As with his novel "Truth, Dare, Kill" Ferris generally manages his material well, though I felt that the closing scenes were unnecessarily prolonged. I will, however, look forward to his next novel
An interesting, though perhaps slightly over-long novel, once again featuring recently de-mobbed Major Douglas Brodie, who is now living in London and scratching a living as a crime reporter following his service in the Second World Ward as a major in the Seaforth Highlanders.
Before the war he had served as a Detective Sergeant in Glasgow's CID having chosen to stay on in the city after graduating from its university. He had, though, grown up in nearby Kilmarnock where his best friend from schooldays had been Hugh "Shug" Donovan. Donovan had been feared dead, lost in the wreckage of his R.A.F. bomber over the Channel. However, he had survived despite hideously disfiguring burns over most of his body, and he had ended up in Glasgow, wracked with nightmares and still suffering from his dreadful injuries.
Indeed, so extreme were the after effects of his wounds that he had been driven to seek pain-relief in heroin. Meanwhile a murderer is stalking the back streets of Glasgow, abducting, torturing and then murdering young boys. Four lads had already gone missing when young Rory Hutcheson goes missing, The local residents join the police searching high and low for the young boy, but tragically only recover his nearly-naked corpse ... and then his blood-stained clothes are found in Hugh Donovan's flat.
Having been tried, convicted and condemned to the death sentence Donovan contacts Brodie and asks him to help.
As with his novel "Truth, Dare, Kill" Ferris generally manages his material well, though I felt that the closing scenes were unnecessarily prolonged. I will, however, look forward to his next novel
27Eyejaybee
10. The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth
Rather a fatuous book and I regret having wasted valuable time reading it.
The idea of a humorous yet also scholarly reflection on etymological themes was a clever one, but sadly Forsyth lacked the skill to take the task on. I never thought I might write the following words but I think that even Bruce Forsyth might have been more amusing.
Certainly the worst book I have had the misfortune to read this year and probably in my bottom twenty of the century so far.
Rather a fatuous book and I regret having wasted valuable time reading it.
The idea of a humorous yet also scholarly reflection on etymological themes was a clever one, but sadly Forsyth lacked the skill to take the task on. I never thought I might write the following words but I think that even Bruce Forsyth might have been more amusing.
Certainly the worst book I have had the misfortune to read this year and probably in my bottom twenty of the century so far.
28Eyejaybee
11. Deadly Friends by Stuart Pawson
A return to form from Pawson, and all the customary characteristics are here in abundance: well-structured plot, plausible and empathetic characters, enticing descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside, a handful of arty references and the usual sprinkling of dreadful jokes.
Set around Christmas and New Year from 1998/99 it starts off with the murder of a cosmetic surgeon in a luxurious apartment block in Heckley's more affluent quarter. Meanwhile a part-time barmaid claims that she had been raped on Christams Eve.
Detective Inspector Priest has his hands full over the holiday period, and to make things worse he is missing Annabelle, his partner of five years, who has stayed in Surrey with her sister. All in all he is not in a great mood ...
A return to form from Pawson, and all the customary characteristics are here in abundance: well-structured plot, plausible and empathetic characters, enticing descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside, a handful of arty references and the usual sprinkling of dreadful jokes.
Set around Christmas and New Year from 1998/99 it starts off with the murder of a cosmetic surgeon in a luxurious apartment block in Heckley's more affluent quarter. Meanwhile a part-time barmaid claims that she had been raped on Christams Eve.
Detective Inspector Priest has his hands full over the holiday period, and to make things worse he is missing Annabelle, his partner of five years, who has stayed in Surrey with her sister. All in all he is not in a great mood ...
29gennyt
#27 Oh dear, I saw that one on someone else's thread and the premise sounded interesting. Shame it does not live up to the potential.
30Eyejaybee
12. When God Spoke English by Adam Nicolson
Beautifully written and utterly absorbing!
This book tells of the commissioning, translation and publication of the landmark 1611 Authorised Version of the Bible (generally referred to as the King James Bible). This may sound a somewhat dry subject, unlikely to engage the general reader but that judgement couldn't be more wrong.
Arising out of the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 which attempted to achieve harmony between the variant forms of Protestantism then prevalent in the only-recently united realms of England and Scotland. As might have been readily predicted no such harmony emerged but King James was persuaded of the value of commissioning an official translation of the Bible, which would be accessible to as broad as possible a section of the population.
Teams of scholars from both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, augmented by ranks of academic clergymen, worked over the translation for seven years, producing what has since come to be immortalised as the King James Bible.
I had a particular interest in reading this book as the section of the Department for Education in England is currently engaged in a project to send a copy of the King James Bible to every state school in the country as part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of its publication. However, while I expected to find the book of vague work-related interest, I was amazed to find how gripping and enthralling the story was.
Nicolson gives a lucid and detailed account of the religious dissension holding sway across the country, and of the social and economic strife that was wreaking widespread havoc, yet he never loses the reader's interest.
This book achieved that rare treat of being both improving and entertaining.
Beautifully written and utterly absorbing!
This book tells of the commissioning, translation and publication of the landmark 1611 Authorised Version of the Bible (generally referred to as the King James Bible). This may sound a somewhat dry subject, unlikely to engage the general reader but that judgement couldn't be more wrong.
Arising out of the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 which attempted to achieve harmony between the variant forms of Protestantism then prevalent in the only-recently united realms of England and Scotland. As might have been readily predicted no such harmony emerged but King James was persuaded of the value of commissioning an official translation of the Bible, which would be accessible to as broad as possible a section of the population.
Teams of scholars from both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, augmented by ranks of academic clergymen, worked over the translation for seven years, producing what has since come to be immortalised as the King James Bible.
I had a particular interest in reading this book as the section of the Department for Education in England is currently engaged in a project to send a copy of the King James Bible to every state school in the country as part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of its publication. However, while I expected to find the book of vague work-related interest, I was amazed to find how gripping and enthralling the story was.
Nicolson gives a lucid and detailed account of the religious dissension holding sway across the country, and of the social and economic strife that was wreaking widespread havoc, yet he never loses the reader's interest.
This book achieved that rare treat of being both improving and entertaining.
32alcottacre
#30: I read Nicolson's book God's Secretaries and it sounds very much like When God Spoke English, so I am wondering if they are the same book with different titles? I thought God's Secretaries as excellent.
33Eyejaybee
#32. Hi Stasia. Yes - I believe that it is the same book. I believe that it was re-issued last year to tie in with the 400th anniversary of the publication of the Authorised Version. There was also a BBC documentary based upon the book which was equally intriguing and included some footage of beautiful old Bibles, including some marvellous illuminated manuscripts.
Although I have no particular religious inclination myself I have always been a great admirer of the resonances and cadences of the King James Bible..
Although I have no particular religious inclination myself I have always been a great admirer of the resonances and cadences of the King James Bible..
34Eyejaybee
13. Never Apologise, Never Explain by James Craig
Another very sound offering from James Craig, and a worthy successor to last year's "London Calling".
As with his previous novel there are several plot lines unwinding throughout the book, but Craig manages them very well, moving towards a highly plausible (if still unexpected) conclusion. Carlyle's principle case relates to the murder of Agatha Mills in her own flat in Great Russell Street in the early hours of the morning. The doors and windows are all locked leaving her confused husband a the only viable suspect ... or is he?
Meanwhile Carlyle becomes involved in a politically-motivated series of murders on a small political campaigning group called the Daughters of Dismas who are protesting against Western mercenary activity in Iraq.
And, to cap it all, a young boy has gone missing, resumed abducted by his drug-dealing father. Carlyle has a lot on his plate.
Another very sound offering from James Craig, and a worthy successor to last year's "London Calling".
As with his previous novel there are several plot lines unwinding throughout the book, but Craig manages them very well, moving towards a highly plausible (if still unexpected) conclusion. Carlyle's principle case relates to the murder of Agatha Mills in her own flat in Great Russell Street in the early hours of the morning. The doors and windows are all locked leaving her confused husband a the only viable suspect ... or is he?
Meanwhile Carlyle becomes involved in a politically-motivated series of murders on a small political campaigning group called the Daughters of Dismas who are protesting against Western mercenary activity in Iraq.
And, to cap it all, a young boy has gone missing, resumed abducted by his drug-dealing father. Carlyle has a lot on his plate.
35Eyejaybee
14 The Strangest Man by Graham Farmelo*
An absorbing biography of Paul Dirac, feted as Britain's finest physicist of the twentieth century. Dirac represented the epitome of the stereotypical dysfunctional scientist, generally only offering monosyllabic replies to any questions, and seldom if ever initiating a conversation himself. There is considerable evidence to suggest his inability to relate to companions may have arisen from the psychological abuse to which he was subjected by his equally dysfunctional father, a celebrated teacher of modern foreign languages in Edwardian Bristol.
However, there was never any doubting Dirac's fantastic ability as a theoretical physicist, and he was lucky to come into his own in what proved to be a golden age for theroretical physicists as the likes o Einstein, Heisenberg, Rutherford and Schroedinger were all falling over each other to post the latest discovery.
Dirac certainly reaped a fine crop of rewards, including appointment to the Lucasian Chair of Physics in the University of Cambridge (a post formerly held by Sir Isaac Newton) and a share in the 1933 Nobel Prize for Physics at the unprecedentedly young age of just 32.
Farmelo captures all this with admirable clarity, and is sufficiently comfortable with the science to be able to convey it in an accessible form for the lay reader (among whom i am definitely numbered!). I had worried that it might all quickly become rather too obscure for my feeble understanding of physics but I was reassured never to feel too woefully out of my depth. Quantum Physics without tears!
An absorbing biography of Paul Dirac, feted as Britain's finest physicist of the twentieth century. Dirac represented the epitome of the stereotypical dysfunctional scientist, generally only offering monosyllabic replies to any questions, and seldom if ever initiating a conversation himself. There is considerable evidence to suggest his inability to relate to companions may have arisen from the psychological abuse to which he was subjected by his equally dysfunctional father, a celebrated teacher of modern foreign languages in Edwardian Bristol.
However, there was never any doubting Dirac's fantastic ability as a theoretical physicist, and he was lucky to come into his own in what proved to be a golden age for theroretical physicists as the likes o Einstein, Heisenberg, Rutherford and Schroedinger were all falling over each other to post the latest discovery.
Dirac certainly reaped a fine crop of rewards, including appointment to the Lucasian Chair of Physics in the University of Cambridge (a post formerly held by Sir Isaac Newton) and a share in the 1933 Nobel Prize for Physics at the unprecedentedly young age of just 32.
Farmelo captures all this with admirable clarity, and is sufficiently comfortable with the science to be able to convey it in an accessible form for the lay reader (among whom i am definitely numbered!). I had worried that it might all quickly become rather too obscure for my feeble understanding of physics but I was reassured never to feel too woefully out of my depth. Quantum Physics without tears!
36Eyejaybee
15 The Cleansing by Bill Rogers
An interesting novel, and notably adept for a debut. The characterisation was a little on the wooden side, and Rogers' attempts to give his protagonist depth by referring to his book clubs, musical tastes and visits to the gym perversely served more to heighten his two dimensional aspects. He was more successful with the hints about Caton's personal tragedy in the past, with fleeting references to the loss of his parents, that did serve to render some depth to him.
The procedural aspects of the police operation were covered well and the plot, though strianing credibility in places, showed good planning. Not the most dynamic or gripping novel I have read this year, but I was sufficiently impressed to look for his other books,
An interesting novel, and notably adept for a debut. The characterisation was a little on the wooden side, and Rogers' attempts to give his protagonist depth by referring to his book clubs, musical tastes and visits to the gym perversely served more to heighten his two dimensional aspects. He was more successful with the hints about Caton's personal tragedy in the past, with fleeting references to the loss of his parents, that did serve to render some depth to him.
The procedural aspects of the police operation were covered well and the plot, though strianing credibility in places, showed good planning. Not the most dynamic or gripping novel I have read this year, but I was sufficiently impressed to look for his other books,
38Eyejaybee
17 Pure by Andrew Miller
This novel recently won the Costa Literary Prize, and it is easy to see why. Beautifully written, the novel tells of the commission given to Jean-Baptiste Barratte, a young engineer from Normandy, to supervise the demolition and deconsecration of the huge l'Eglise des Innocents in Paris in 1785, having first arranged for the mass disinterment of all the bodies in the cemetery grounds.
The local residents have mixed feelings - the church and cemetery dominate the area, casting a widespread pall of extreme melancholia, but they feel that it is THEIR church. However, Barratte is commissioned by the Minister who will brook no delay.
Barratte begins his task assisted by Lecoeur, a former colleague from mining work in Valenciennes, and a troupe of thirty barely literate Flemish miners. Miller marvellously conveys the squalor of their daily existence. The miners are encamped in the cemetery grounds, gradually surrounded by the wall of bones that they retrieve from the charnel pits. Not surprisingly in such circumstances, the veneer of civilised behaviour starts to wear thin...
This novel recently won the Costa Literary Prize, and it is easy to see why. Beautifully written, the novel tells of the commission given to Jean-Baptiste Barratte, a young engineer from Normandy, to supervise the demolition and deconsecration of the huge l'Eglise des Innocents in Paris in 1785, having first arranged for the mass disinterment of all the bodies in the cemetery grounds.
The local residents have mixed feelings - the church and cemetery dominate the area, casting a widespread pall of extreme melancholia, but they feel that it is THEIR church. However, Barratte is commissioned by the Minister who will brook no delay.
Barratte begins his task assisted by Lecoeur, a former colleague from mining work in Valenciennes, and a troupe of thirty barely literate Flemish miners. Miller marvellously conveys the squalor of their daily existence. The miners are encamped in the cemetery grounds, gradually surrounded by the wall of bones that they retrieve from the charnel pits. Not surprisingly in such circumstances, the veneer of civilised behaviour starts to wear thin...
39Eyejaybee
18 A Very Private Murder by Stuart Pawson
Another enjoyable novel from Stuart Pawson though I do feel that he is starting to lose momentum. His protagonist Detective Inspector Charlie priest must be nearing retirement now, and perhaps that would be no bad thing.
As always, the plot is well constructed, and the characters plausible but I am starting to wonder whether I really care any more. perhaps I have just read too many of his books within too short a period - if I had read them a year or so apart, as they were published, then perhaps I might have summoned more enthusiasm.
Another enjoyable novel from Stuart Pawson though I do feel that he is starting to lose momentum. His protagonist Detective Inspector Charlie priest must be nearing retirement now, and perhaps that would be no bad thing.
As always, the plot is well constructed, and the characters plausible but I am starting to wonder whether I really care any more. perhaps I have just read too many of his books within too short a period - if I had read them a year or so apart, as they were published, then perhaps I might have summoned more enthusiasm.
40Eyejaybee
19 The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman
An interesting idea through dragged out to almost painful lengths!
The basic plot revolves around a visit by Robert Dudley, "favourite" of Queen Elizabeth, and Dr John Dee, her astrological counsellor, to Glastonbury in search of any remnants of the former shrine to Arhtur, dismantled and dispersed during the reign of Henry VIII. After the religious upheavals following the break from Rome, the short Protestant-dominated reign of Edward VI and then the catholic backlash during the reign of Mary the inhabitants of Glastonbury are all wary of strangers, and reluctant to lay bare their actual beliefs. However, soon after Dudley and Dee arrive a spate of horrific murders begins, and the mysterious Nel Borrow (doctor or witch) plies her art before beignarrested and dragged off to face the Bristol Assizes. But not before she captures the heart of the previously cold John Dee.
The book seems to be backed by comprehensive research of the prevailing beliefs of the time, but it didn't half drag in parts! The plot and the characters were sounds, but not substantial enough to support this lengthy book. If it had been 100 pages shorter it might have been far stronger.
An interesting idea through dragged out to almost painful lengths!
The basic plot revolves around a visit by Robert Dudley, "favourite" of Queen Elizabeth, and Dr John Dee, her astrological counsellor, to Glastonbury in search of any remnants of the former shrine to Arhtur, dismantled and dispersed during the reign of Henry VIII. After the religious upheavals following the break from Rome, the short Protestant-dominated reign of Edward VI and then the catholic backlash during the reign of Mary the inhabitants of Glastonbury are all wary of strangers, and reluctant to lay bare their actual beliefs. However, soon after Dudley and Dee arrive a spate of horrific murders begins, and the mysterious Nel Borrow (doctor or witch) plies her art before beignarrested and dragged off to face the Bristol Assizes. But not before she captures the heart of the previously cold John Dee.
The book seems to be backed by comprehensive research of the prevailing beliefs of the time, but it didn't half drag in parts! The plot and the characters were sounds, but not substantial enough to support this lengthy book. If it had been 100 pages shorter it might have been far stronger.
41Eyejaybee
20 The Chestermarke Instinct by J S Fletcher
An interesting idea though conveyed in a distinctly unengaging manner. I was actually a little disappointed with this book having previously enjoyed several of J S Fletcher's other novels. Stilted characters and a rather contrived plot detracted from my overall enjoyment.
An interesting idea though conveyed in a distinctly unengaging manner. I was actually a little disappointed with this book having previously enjoyed several of J S Fletcher's other novels. Stilted characters and a rather contrived plot detracted from my overall enjoyment.
42Eyejaybee
21 1Q84 by Haruki Marukami
An amazing novel. I started with some tretrepidation as i have occasionally struggled with Murakami in the past. However, I was completely captivated by this novel within a few pages, and certainly well before the end of the first chapter.
The novel is set in 1984 and focuses on two separate characters, both aged around thirty, living in Tokyo. We are first introduced to Aomame (pronounced Ah-oh-mah-may), a young woman travelling on an elevated freeway in the back of a luxurious taxi. Finding the traffic gridlocked she decided to leave the cab and descend to ground level by means of a conveniently-situated emergency staircase. From that point on everything in her slife seems to change.
Meanwhile Tengo, Aomame's contemporary, is excited by a manuscript he has just read. Although his principal occupation is as a maths teacher in a Tokyo cramming school, his great ambition is to be a writer. As the book opens he has had some minor success in having a few short stories published, and he also writes a fake astrology column for a magazine. He also works as a screener for a literary competition, sifting through manuscripts submitted for consideration for a literary prize, similar to our Costa Prize. One of these has been submitted by a seventeen year old girl and though haltingly written sets out a fascinating story involving life in a secret sect where strange, almost supernatural event seem to happen.
Murakami alternates between Aomame and Tengo, and with each new chapter pulls the reader deeper and deeper into an utterly absorbing story, and effortlessly ensures total suspension of disbelief.
By far the finest novel I have read this year.
An amazing novel. I started with some tretrepidation as i have occasionally struggled with Murakami in the past. However, I was completely captivated by this novel within a few pages, and certainly well before the end of the first chapter.
The novel is set in 1984 and focuses on two separate characters, both aged around thirty, living in Tokyo. We are first introduced to Aomame (pronounced Ah-oh-mah-may), a young woman travelling on an elevated freeway in the back of a luxurious taxi. Finding the traffic gridlocked she decided to leave the cab and descend to ground level by means of a conveniently-situated emergency staircase. From that point on everything in her slife seems to change.
Meanwhile Tengo, Aomame's contemporary, is excited by a manuscript he has just read. Although his principal occupation is as a maths teacher in a Tokyo cramming school, his great ambition is to be a writer. As the book opens he has had some minor success in having a few short stories published, and he also writes a fake astrology column for a magazine. He also works as a screener for a literary competition, sifting through manuscripts submitted for consideration for a literary prize, similar to our Costa Prize. One of these has been submitted by a seventeen year old girl and though haltingly written sets out a fascinating story involving life in a secret sect where strange, almost supernatural event seem to happen.
Murakami alternates between Aomame and Tengo, and with each new chapter pulls the reader deeper and deeper into an utterly absorbing story, and effortlessly ensures total suspension of disbelief.
By far the finest novel I have read this year.
43Eyejaybee
22. Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams
I found this book marvellous. Sadly my own knowledge of chemistry is virtually non-existent so I started this guided tour through the periodic table with more than a little trepidation. However, Aldersey-Williams has a happy knack of conveying chemical knowledge in a readily-accessible way.
His approach is very engaging - he starts by recounting how as a boy he strove to complete his own periodic table, complete with examples of each element. He gives a brief description of each of the chemicals, explaining how they were discovered (or isolated) and giving some of their history including some very humorous anecdotes. I just wish that chemistry had been this entertaining when I was at school!
I found this book marvellous. Sadly my own knowledge of chemistry is virtually non-existent so I started this guided tour through the periodic table with more than a little trepidation. However, Aldersey-Williams has a happy knack of conveying chemical knowledge in a readily-accessible way.
His approach is very engaging - he starts by recounting how as a boy he strove to complete his own periodic table, complete with examples of each element. He gives a brief description of each of the chemicals, explaining how they were discovered (or isolated) and giving some of their history including some very humorous anecdotes. I just wish that chemistry had been this entertaining when I was at school!
44carlym
Wow, lots of good books. I like your mix of fiction and non-fiction. Pure sounds very interesting--certainly an unusual premise.
45Eyejaybee
@44 Hi Carly. Yes, I have been very lucky this year and have been fortunate enough to read some great books so far. In fact, I think I have already read more non-fiction books this year than I did throughout the whole of 2011.
I am reading William Boyd's Waiting for Sunrise at the moment which I am thoroughly enjoying, too.
My big challenge for this year is to try to cut down the number of books that I re-read - I had reached a point where about one in six books that I read were books that I had read before. so far no re-reads at all this year, though I am sure that my resolve will crack soon!
I am reading William Boyd's Waiting for Sunrise at the moment which I am thoroughly enjoying, too.
My big challenge for this year is to try to cut down the number of books that I re-read - I had reached a point where about one in six books that I read were books that I had read before. so far no re-reads at all this year, though I am sure that my resolve will crack soon!
46Eyejaybee
23. Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd
What a fantastic year this is turning out to be, as far as books are concerned. This is certainly another winner from Boyd. It bears many of the characteristics of his most successful works - the use parallel texts to allow for different perspectives, the gradual uncovering of characters' secret histories and even (briefly) wrongful imprisonment vaguely reminiscent of "Any Human Heart".
The novel opens in 1913 with principal character Lysander Rief, a moderately successful actor who is just beginning to make a name for himself on the London stage, living in Vienna where he has travelled for the purpose of accessing psychoanalytical help with an embarrassing and difficult "condition". He is persuaded by his analyst, Dr Bensimon, to maintain a diary or commonplace book, as a means for cathartic chronicling of his progress. While attending one of his appointments with Dr Bensimon Rief encoutners Hester "Hettie" Bull with whom he promptly falls deeply in love, despite his hitherto plangent letters to his fiance Blanche who has remained in London. As luck would have it at Dr Bensimon's surgery he also encounters Alwyn Munro who is a special attache at the British Embassy in Vienna. This acquaintance will shortly prove very fortuitous as things are about to go very wrong.
After an unexpectedly adventurous departure from Vienna Rief finds himself back in London where he tries to resume his acting career, before becoming immersed in Britain's war effort. After having signed up to the East Sussex Light Infantry, and spent some time guarding an internment camp, his former acquaintances catch up with him, and he finds himself reassigned to very different activities, with wholly unexpected consequences.
As ever with William Boyd, the plot is entirely believable and the characters immensely plausible. He seems to go from strength to strength!
What a fantastic year this is turning out to be, as far as books are concerned. This is certainly another winner from Boyd. It bears many of the characteristics of his most successful works - the use parallel texts to allow for different perspectives, the gradual uncovering of characters' secret histories and even (briefly) wrongful imprisonment vaguely reminiscent of "Any Human Heart".
The novel opens in 1913 with principal character Lysander Rief, a moderately successful actor who is just beginning to make a name for himself on the London stage, living in Vienna where he has travelled for the purpose of accessing psychoanalytical help with an embarrassing and difficult "condition". He is persuaded by his analyst, Dr Bensimon, to maintain a diary or commonplace book, as a means for cathartic chronicling of his progress. While attending one of his appointments with Dr Bensimon Rief encoutners Hester "Hettie" Bull with whom he promptly falls deeply in love, despite his hitherto plangent letters to his fiance Blanche who has remained in London. As luck would have it at Dr Bensimon's surgery he also encounters Alwyn Munro who is a special attache at the British Embassy in Vienna. This acquaintance will shortly prove very fortuitous as things are about to go very wrong.
After an unexpectedly adventurous departure from Vienna Rief finds himself back in London where he tries to resume his acting career, before becoming immersed in Britain's war effort. After having signed up to the East Sussex Light Infantry, and spent some time guarding an internment camp, his former acquaintances catch up with him, and he finds himself reassigned to very different activities, with wholly unexpected consequences.
As ever with William Boyd, the plot is entirely believable and the characters immensely plausible. He seems to go from strength to strength!
47Eyejaybee
24. Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler
I had looked forward to reading this novel for quite some time, but found myself sadly disappointed. Unfortuantely some novels do not age well and this one seemed dreadfully dated. It was written in a rather detached and stilted manner and i found it difficult to find any shred of empathy for any of the characters at all. certainly the principal protagonist, Mr Graham, is conspicuous by his lack of any engaging characteristics at all, and Josette, the dancer and wannabe vamp, was one of the most plastic characters I have encountered for a long time.
The blurb on the cover, and the forewrod by Norman Stone tried to compare this book with the espionage-based works of Graham Greene, but that was a claim that proved to be stunning in its unsubstantiated bravado. Having enjoyed Ambler's "Intercom Conspiracy" (which struck me as representing the cutting edge of spy fiction back when I was a teenager), this more famous and more celebrated work was a crushing diapppointment. If I should fancy a future trip back to an older, more innocaent age of espionage, I will make do with excursions to Greeneland!
I had looked forward to reading this novel for quite some time, but found myself sadly disappointed. Unfortuantely some novels do not age well and this one seemed dreadfully dated. It was written in a rather detached and stilted manner and i found it difficult to find any shred of empathy for any of the characters at all. certainly the principal protagonist, Mr Graham, is conspicuous by his lack of any engaging characteristics at all, and Josette, the dancer and wannabe vamp, was one of the most plastic characters I have encountered for a long time.
The blurb on the cover, and the forewrod by Norman Stone tried to compare this book with the espionage-based works of Graham Greene, but that was a claim that proved to be stunning in its unsubstantiated bravado. Having enjoyed Ambler's "Intercom Conspiracy" (which struck me as representing the cutting edge of spy fiction back when I was a teenager), this more famous and more celebrated work was a crushing diapppointment. If I should fancy a future trip back to an older, more innocaent age of espionage, I will make do with excursions to Greeneland!
48Eyejaybee
25. Capital by John Lanchester
Another marvellous novel, just as one would expect from the author of "Fragrant Harbour" and "The Debt to Pleasure", and very reminiscent of both "A Week in December" by Sebastian Faulks and Tom Wolfe's "The Bonfire of the Vanities".
The novel starts in late 2007 and revolves around Pepys Street, a small road in south London where house prices, from a modest start over hundred years ago when they were first built, have rocketed to well over a million pounds. The residents are a mixed bunch and include Roger Yount, a merchant banker with Pinker Lloyd, one of the more successful trading houses in the City, his spendthrift wife Arabella, Freddy Kamo, a highly talented seventeen year old footballer who has just been brought over from his native Senegal to play for one of the London Premiership teams at £20,000 per week and Petunia Howe, an elderly widow who was born in the street nearly ninety years ago and has lived there ever since.
As the novel opens, Roger Yount is desperate to find out how large his bonus for that year will be - he is hoping for at least one million pounds and, in fact, can't imagine how he will manage to make ends meet with anything less. On his way to the office he finds a card has been puished through hsi letter box bearing a picture of his own pront door with the logo "We want what you have". It turns out that all of his neighbours have received similar cards, each of them bearing a picture of their respective houses. At first they all assume that this is a marketing gimmick by a local estate agency, but the cards keep coming, followed by DVDs showing footage of the street taken at differnet times of the day, but never with anyopne in shot. And then things start to get nasty...
In the meantime Zbigniew, a Polish builder, has been making a decent living from the street. His building work is excellent, and always completed on time to a high standard, and as soon as one job finishes he finds another one waiting for him.
In fact, everyone seems to be getting on with life very happily until Petunia collapses in the local newsagent's shop, and then everything seems to start to unravel.
There are some fantastic set pieces - the scene where Roger goes to hear about his bonus, and Freddy's first appearance in a Premiership match stand out particularly, though there are dozens of other beautifully crafted vignettes. Similarly the characters, including some of the less central figures, are beautifully drawn, including a shadowy anonymous street artist, clearly modelled on Banksy, and Quentina, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker who is illegally employed as a traffic warden.
There has been a huge amount of hype surrounding this novel, but to my mind it has fully lived up to expectations. I will definitely look forward to re-reading this book in the not-too-distant future.
Another marvellous novel, just as one would expect from the author of "Fragrant Harbour" and "The Debt to Pleasure", and very reminiscent of both "A Week in December" by Sebastian Faulks and Tom Wolfe's "The Bonfire of the Vanities".
The novel starts in late 2007 and revolves around Pepys Street, a small road in south London where house prices, from a modest start over hundred years ago when they were first built, have rocketed to well over a million pounds. The residents are a mixed bunch and include Roger Yount, a merchant banker with Pinker Lloyd, one of the more successful trading houses in the City, his spendthrift wife Arabella, Freddy Kamo, a highly talented seventeen year old footballer who has just been brought over from his native Senegal to play for one of the London Premiership teams at £20,000 per week and Petunia Howe, an elderly widow who was born in the street nearly ninety years ago and has lived there ever since.
As the novel opens, Roger Yount is desperate to find out how large his bonus for that year will be - he is hoping for at least one million pounds and, in fact, can't imagine how he will manage to make ends meet with anything less. On his way to the office he finds a card has been puished through hsi letter box bearing a picture of his own pront door with the logo "We want what you have". It turns out that all of his neighbours have received similar cards, each of them bearing a picture of their respective houses. At first they all assume that this is a marketing gimmick by a local estate agency, but the cards keep coming, followed by DVDs showing footage of the street taken at differnet times of the day, but never with anyopne in shot. And then things start to get nasty...
In the meantime Zbigniew, a Polish builder, has been making a decent living from the street. His building work is excellent, and always completed on time to a high standard, and as soon as one job finishes he finds another one waiting for him.
In fact, everyone seems to be getting on with life very happily until Petunia collapses in the local newsagent's shop, and then everything seems to start to unravel.
There are some fantastic set pieces - the scene where Roger goes to hear about his bonus, and Freddy's first appearance in a Premiership match stand out particularly, though there are dozens of other beautifully crafted vignettes. Similarly the characters, including some of the less central figures, are beautifully drawn, including a shadowy anonymous street artist, clearly modelled on Banksy, and Quentina, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker who is illegally employed as a traffic warden.
There has been a huge amount of hype surrounding this novel, but to my mind it has fully lived up to expectations. I will definitely look forward to re-reading this book in the not-too-distant future.
49Eyejaybee
26. Mercator* by Nicholas Crane
An interesting book though rather stilted in places. It seemed to me that the principal purpose of the book was more about showing us how clever Nicholas Crane is rather than how marvellous Mercator had been.
An interesting book though rather stilted in places. It seemed to me that the principal purpose of the book was more about showing us how clever Nicholas Crane is rather than how marvellous Mercator had been.
50Eyejaybee
27. The Untouchable by John Banville
A beautifully written thinly-disguised retelling of the story of Anthony Blunt. The principal character is Victor maskell and at the start of the novel we learn that he has just been identified in Parliament by a minister answering questions about the Cambridge spies. We gradually learn that Maskell had been knighted in recognition of his service as Master of the Queen's Art Collection (sound familiar?), but had been a long-serving Soviet spy.
Hounded by the press (and by the beguiling freelance journalist Ms Vandeleur in particular) he starts to write his own reminiscences in an attempt fully to understand how he had become caught up in the waves of history.
Hauntingly beautiful.
A beautifully written thinly-disguised retelling of the story of Anthony Blunt. The principal character is Victor maskell and at the start of the novel we learn that he has just been identified in Parliament by a minister answering questions about the Cambridge spies. We gradually learn that Maskell had been knighted in recognition of his service as Master of the Queen's Art Collection (sound familiar?), but had been a long-serving Soviet spy.
Hounded by the press (and by the beguiling freelance journalist Ms Vandeleur in particular) he starts to write his own reminiscences in an attempt fully to understand how he had become caught up in the waves of history.
Hauntingly beautiful.
51Eyejaybee
28. 1Q84 Book III by Haruki Murakami
Rather disappointing - I wish he had just stopped at the end of Book II.
Rather disappointing - I wish he had just stopped at the end of Book II.
52Eyejaybee
29. Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin
A very enjoyable and comprehensively-researched biography of the great novelist. While essentially favourably inclined, Tomalin's work is a not a hagiography, and she does not refrain from criticising some of Dickens's dreadful behaviour, especially his treatment of Catherine, his long-suffering wife. Still, she does put the novels in an interesting context.
I hadn't appreciated the extent to which, for the grater part of his life, he was so desperately driven by the need to keep earning. Of course, everyone knows of his poor upbringing, and his stint in the blacking family to help support the family while his father was incarcerated in Marshalsea Prison as a consequence of his debts, and one can perfectly understand how that would give Charles a terror of finding himself poor again. However, I was amazed to read of the constant and relentless financial demands he placed upon his publishers as she struggled to maintain not just the various spendthrift members of his family but also a selection of properties around London and the south east of England.
His father was a particularly dreadful character, continually running up debts and seemingly quite happy either to forge his son's name or just to have bills sent to his son's publisher. This profligacy was passed on to Charles's brothers, and seems also to have been inherited by a couple of his sons.
Still, essentially it is his writing that really counts and Claire Tomalin handles this very sympathetically and clearly. The novels are summarised with great simplicity and clarity, and their context within Dickens's life is comprehensively mapped.
As with her 2003 biography of Samuel Pepys Tomalin has taken someone about most people think that they know a fair amount, and managed to engae the reader's attention with a startling illumination of their life.
A very enjoyable and comprehensively-researched biography of the great novelist. While essentially favourably inclined, Tomalin's work is a not a hagiography, and she does not refrain from criticising some of Dickens's dreadful behaviour, especially his treatment of Catherine, his long-suffering wife. Still, she does put the novels in an interesting context.
I hadn't appreciated the extent to which, for the grater part of his life, he was so desperately driven by the need to keep earning. Of course, everyone knows of his poor upbringing, and his stint in the blacking family to help support the family while his father was incarcerated in Marshalsea Prison as a consequence of his debts, and one can perfectly understand how that would give Charles a terror of finding himself poor again. However, I was amazed to read of the constant and relentless financial demands he placed upon his publishers as she struggled to maintain not just the various spendthrift members of his family but also a selection of properties around London and the south east of England.
His father was a particularly dreadful character, continually running up debts and seemingly quite happy either to forge his son's name or just to have bills sent to his son's publisher. This profligacy was passed on to Charles's brothers, and seems also to have been inherited by a couple of his sons.
Still, essentially it is his writing that really counts and Claire Tomalin handles this very sympathetically and clearly. The novels are summarised with great simplicity and clarity, and their context within Dickens's life is comprehensively mapped.
As with her 2003 biography of Samuel Pepys Tomalin has taken someone about most people think that they know a fair amount, and managed to engae the reader's attention with a startling illumination of their life.
53Eyejaybee
30. The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher
Quite clearly, without let or hindrance, without mitigation or qualification, this was the worst novel I have read this year. Reading this book was like being water-boarded, just without the fun bits.
Quite clearly, without let or hindrance, without mitigation or qualification, this was the worst novel I have read this year. Reading this book was like being water-boarded, just without the fun bits.
54Eyejaybee
31. Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
Being a pretty rough and ready simple country boy my basic inclination would be to dismiss this dreadful book as "a crock of shite". However, as I recognise that I am not in the tap room of The Dog and Duck but in the more rarefied environment of LibraryThing I shall refrain from such coarseness and confine myself to remarking that I have seldom read such a farrago of self-satisfied, self-aggrandising pap.
I can't believe that i wasted money, time and precious shelf-space on such bilge.
Being a pretty rough and ready simple country boy my basic inclination would be to dismiss this dreadful book as "a crock of shite". However, as I recognise that I am not in the tap room of The Dog and Duck but in the more rarefied environment of LibraryThing I shall refrain from such coarseness and confine myself to remarking that I have seldom read such a farrago of self-satisfied, self-aggrandising pap.
I can't believe that i wasted money, time and precious shelf-space on such bilge.
55Eyejaybee
32. A Spy By Nature by Charles Cumming.
A very entertaining and utterly plausible novel.
The protagonist is Alec Milius, a recent graduate stuck in a job that he despises and suffering from a resentment that the world owes him rather more respect than he has been given so far..
Visiting his mother one weekend he is approached by a man whom he has never met before who had a vague connection of his late father. It transpires that this man acts as a "spotter" for MI6, looking for potential recruits for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). After attending an initial interview Milius is encouraged to apply for a special sitting of the Civil Service Selection Board (the dreaded CSSB - termed "Sisby" throughout the book). This is described in fascinating detail, and seems desperately gruelling, though his experiences there are as nothing to the trials he will subsequently undergo.
Milius is an intriguing character- not particularly likeable, but somehow one does end up on his side.
I look forward to reading the other books in the series.
A very entertaining and utterly plausible novel.
The protagonist is Alec Milius, a recent graduate stuck in a job that he despises and suffering from a resentment that the world owes him rather more respect than he has been given so far..
Visiting his mother one weekend he is approached by a man whom he has never met before who had a vague connection of his late father. It transpires that this man acts as a "spotter" for MI6, looking for potential recruits for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). After attending an initial interview Milius is encouraged to apply for a special sitting of the Civil Service Selection Board (the dreaded CSSB - termed "Sisby" throughout the book). This is described in fascinating detail, and seems desperately gruelling, though his experiences there are as nothing to the trials he will subsequently undergo.
Milius is an intriguing character- not particularly likeable, but somehow one does end up on his side.
I look forward to reading the other books in the series.
56Eyejaybee
33. These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach
Recently filmed under the title "The Best Exotic marigold Hotel" this utterly charming novel tells of the experience of a group of British pensioners who chose to move to a retirement home in Bangalore, lured by the promise of warmer weather and an economy in which their dwindling pensions would go much further than was happening back in Britain.
The characters are all marvellously drawn, especially the rakish Norman Purse, and their adventures (or misadventures) are most entertaining.
I am now looking forward to seeing the film.
Recently filmed under the title "The Best Exotic marigold Hotel" this utterly charming novel tells of the experience of a group of British pensioners who chose to move to a retirement home in Bangalore, lured by the promise of warmer weather and an economy in which their dwindling pensions would go much further than was happening back in Britain.
The characters are all marvellously drawn, especially the rakish Norman Purse, and their adventures (or misadventures) are most entertaining.
I am now looking forward to seeing the film.
57Eyejaybee
34. A Loyal Spy by Simon Conway
I thought that the basic idea behind this novel was very good, but unfortunately I felt that it was written in an almost impenetrable style that achieved the improbable by rendering a potentially enthralling plot simply turgid.
35. Kiss Me Quick by Danny Miller
Yet another example amongst the books that I have read recently of a potentially engaging plot let down by inadequate writing.
Set in Brighton during the 1960s, against a backdrop of violent skirmishes between Mods and Rockers along the seafront this tells of Detective Vincent Treadwell's investigation of Jack Regent, a Corsican-born gangster who is striving to takeover the lucrative local drug and protection rackets. I felt very disappointed because this could have been so good but in the end reading it became almost a chore.
I thought that the basic idea behind this novel was very good, but unfortunately I felt that it was written in an almost impenetrable style that achieved the improbable by rendering a potentially enthralling plot simply turgid.
35. Kiss Me Quick by Danny Miller
Yet another example amongst the books that I have read recently of a potentially engaging plot let down by inadequate writing.
Set in Brighton during the 1960s, against a backdrop of violent skirmishes between Mods and Rockers along the seafront this tells of Detective Vincent Treadwell's investigation of Jack Regent, a Corsican-born gangster who is striving to takeover the lucrative local drug and protection rackets. I felt very disappointed because this could have been so good but in the end reading it became almost a chore.
58Eyejaybee
36. The Spanish Game by Charles Cumming
An enjoyable and tightly-plotted espionage novel though not quite up its predecessor, "A Spy By Nature" in which Alec Milius maze his first appearance.
An enjoyable and tightly-plotted espionage novel though not quite up its predecessor, "A Spy By Nature" in which Alec Milius maze his first appearance.
59Eyejaybee
37. Whoops! by John Lanchester*
A fascinating analysis of how the recent economic downturn was allowed to happen, and how deregulation (to the point of willful negligence) made the crisis not merely possible but virtually inevitable. Lanchester writes with his customary clarity and offers a startlingly cogent yet comprehensive of all the factors that coincided so disastrously, and one finishes the book amazed that it hadn't all happened years before.
A fascinating analysis of how the recent economic downturn was allowed to happen, and how deregulation (to the point of willful negligence) made the crisis not merely possible but virtually inevitable. Lanchester writes with his customary clarity and offers a startlingly cogent yet comprehensive of all the factors that coincided so disastrously, and one finishes the book amazed that it hadn't all happened years before.
60Eyejaybee
38. A Man of Parts by David Lodge
An intriguing book - part novel, part biography of H. G. Wells. Lodge has clearly researched his subject in exhaustive (and exhausting) detail and gives what is essentially a particularly unedifying picture of Wells as a serial adulterer who treated his wives and long-term partners with little more than contempt and disdain.
An intriguing book - part novel, part biography of H. G. Wells. Lodge has clearly researched his subject in exhaustive (and exhausting) detail and gives what is essentially a particularly unedifying picture of Wells as a serial adulterer who treated his wives and long-term partners with little more than contempt and disdain.
61Eyejaybee
39. Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon
Not up to the standard of its predecessors - I wonder if Donna Leon might be running out of steam with this series.
Not up to the standard of its predecessors - I wonder if Donna Leon might be running out of steam with this series.
62Eyejaybee
40. Other People's Money by Justin Cartwright
A beautifully written and utterly enthalling novel.
Written from various characters' perspectives it tells of the struggles of Tubal and Co, a long-established private bank (perhaps loosely based upon Baring Brothers) to survive from a misguided venture into the world of hedge funds. As the novel opens the bank's chairman, Sir Harry Tubal-Trevelyan is living in the family's villa in Antibes, where he had moved after suffering a serious stroke. Now only his former personal Assistant, Estelle Katz (who has always been devoted to him) can understand what he attempts to say, and his family (inbcluding Fleur, his much younger trophy second wife) tend to stay away for as long as possible. However, his son, Julian, has to visit because he needs some important papers signed (including a Power of Attorney). Meanwhile, Fleur's first husband, a downtrodden thespian with grand designs, finds that the quarterely grant paid to him out of guilt by one of the bank's many private trusts, at the urging of Sir Harry, is late, and he happens to mention this fact to a local journalist who had called round to find out about the forthcoming children's pantomime.
Cartwright catches the feeling of entitlement to wealth, and the reverence that the Bank seems able to draw from all of its employees in an entirely plausible and credible way. He also achieves what, in the current climate, might seem almost impossible, in that the reader empathises very closely woth Julian's plight as he struggles to save the bank.
This book reminded me of John Lanchester's recent "Capital" and was, I believe, equally enjoyable and rewarding to read.
A beautifully written and utterly enthalling novel.
Written from various characters' perspectives it tells of the struggles of Tubal and Co, a long-established private bank (perhaps loosely based upon Baring Brothers) to survive from a misguided venture into the world of hedge funds. As the novel opens the bank's chairman, Sir Harry Tubal-Trevelyan is living in the family's villa in Antibes, where he had moved after suffering a serious stroke. Now only his former personal Assistant, Estelle Katz (who has always been devoted to him) can understand what he attempts to say, and his family (inbcluding Fleur, his much younger trophy second wife) tend to stay away for as long as possible. However, his son, Julian, has to visit because he needs some important papers signed (including a Power of Attorney). Meanwhile, Fleur's first husband, a downtrodden thespian with grand designs, finds that the quarterely grant paid to him out of guilt by one of the bank's many private trusts, at the urging of Sir Harry, is late, and he happens to mention this fact to a local journalist who had called round to find out about the forthcoming children's pantomime.
Cartwright catches the feeling of entitlement to wealth, and the reverence that the Bank seems able to draw from all of its employees in an entirely plausible and credible way. He also achieves what, in the current climate, might seem almost impossible, in that the reader empathises very closely woth Julian's plight as he struggles to save the bank.
This book reminded me of John Lanchester's recent "Capital" and was, I believe, equally enjoyable and rewarding to read.
63Eyejaybee
40. Wish You Were Here by Graham Swift
I think this was beautifully written, as always with Graham Swift, but I had to give up on it.. This is not a negative reflection on the book but a concession to my own tendency towards deep depression. I just couldn't risk going on any further with it. The despair just seemed too great.
I think this was beautifully written, as always with Graham Swift, but I had to give up on it.. This is not a negative reflection on the book but a concession to my own tendency towards deep depression. I just couldn't risk going on any further with it. The despair just seemed too great.
64Eyejaybee
41. Under the Same Stars by Tim Lott
A lovely book, as one has come to expect from Tim Lott. As usual there is a dysfunctional family at the heart of the story. In this instance the family issues revolve around sibling rivalry augmented by resentment towards an absent father. The principal character is Salinger Nash, so-named because his father loved American novelists. Still, it could have been worse - in fact it was for his elder brother Carson who was named for the female novelist Carson McCullers (though he had always convinced himself that he was named after Kit Carson).
The novel, which is set in the summer of 2008 just as the worldwide banking crisis is coming to its cataclysmic fruition. opens with Carson, who has lived in New Orleans for the last twenty years, phoning Salinger to tell him that their father is dying. Carson thinks that they should oth travel to New Mexico to see him. Salinger, who has had mental health issues for as long as he can remember, is at first unsure whether he wants to have any contact with either his father or his brother. However he is persuaded to go, and a couple of weeks later flies over to New Orleans where he is reunited with Carson who, it now transpires, is an ardent born-again Christian though not without a strong strain of bigotry.
The two brothers then set off on a road-trp across Texas with dire, and often hilarious consequences, encountering native American shamans, redneck cops and a succession of surly waitresses.
The description of the road trip is excellently done - very funny though always utterly plausible - and the emotional pitch remains taut.
Most enjoyable!
A lovely book, as one has come to expect from Tim Lott. As usual there is a dysfunctional family at the heart of the story. In this instance the family issues revolve around sibling rivalry augmented by resentment towards an absent father. The principal character is Salinger Nash, so-named because his father loved American novelists. Still, it could have been worse - in fact it was for his elder brother Carson who was named for the female novelist Carson McCullers (though he had always convinced himself that he was named after Kit Carson).
The novel, which is set in the summer of 2008 just as the worldwide banking crisis is coming to its cataclysmic fruition. opens with Carson, who has lived in New Orleans for the last twenty years, phoning Salinger to tell him that their father is dying. Carson thinks that they should oth travel to New Mexico to see him. Salinger, who has had mental health issues for as long as he can remember, is at first unsure whether he wants to have any contact with either his father or his brother. However he is persuaded to go, and a couple of weeks later flies over to New Orleans where he is reunited with Carson who, it now transpires, is an ardent born-again Christian though not without a strong strain of bigotry.
The two brothers then set off on a road-trp across Texas with dire, and often hilarious consequences, encountering native American shamans, redneck cops and a succession of surly waitresses.
The description of the road trip is excellently done - very funny though always utterly plausible - and the emotional pitch remains taut.
Most enjoyable!
65Eyejaybee
42. The Reluctant Detective by Sinclair Macleod
An interesting and engrossing debut novel introducing insurance investigator Craig Campbell who is asked to look into the death of Rory Kilpatrick whose alcohol-ridden body was found smashed almost beyond recognition on a railway line. The odd thing was that Kilpatrick didn't drink ... ever!
Closer investigation suggests that Kilpatrick's death might have arisen as a consequence of his work in the Council Office, reviewing tenders for private finance initiatives. Has corruption raised its guy head?
An interesting and engrossing debut novel introducing insurance investigator Craig Campbell who is asked to look into the death of Rory Kilpatrick whose alcohol-ridden body was found smashed almost beyond recognition on a railway line. The odd thing was that Kilpatrick didn't drink ... ever!
Closer investigation suggests that Kilpatrick's death might have arisen as a consequence of his work in the Council Office, reviewing tenders for private finance initiatives. Has corruption raised its guy head?
67Eyejaybee
@66
Hi Carlym. I have read a few books by Tim Lott and have enjoyed all of them. Rumours of a Hurricane and The Seymour Papers were especially good. He seems to have a great facility for creating immensely plausible characters and relationships.
Hi Carlym. I have read a few books by Tim Lott and have enjoyed all of them. Rumours of a Hurricane and The Seymour Papers were especially good. He seems to have a great facility for creating immensely plausible characters and relationships.
68Eyejaybee
43. On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks
A wholly enthralling love story, set in Washington DC in 1959-1960, against the backdrop of the Kennedy-Nixon election contest.
Charlie van der Linden is a British diplomat based at the embassy in Washington where he is viewed as a high flier because of the depth of his analysis of the prevailing political scene in America. he lives with his wife Mary and their two young children, though the children are about to depart for boarding school back home. As the novel opens they are holding a party to celebrate their wedding anniversary. One of the guests is a political journalist, Frank Renzo, whom Charlie had encountered fleetingly years before in Dien Bien Phu, in Vietnam,during the ill-fated siege of the town that led to the French withdrawal from Indochina. On the basis of this very slight acquaintance (that in fact the sozzled Charlie can scarcely recall) Frank is invited to come along to the party. There he immediately (and utterly irretrievably) falls in love with Mary, and it gradually becomes evident that she returns his passion.
The novel then details the progress of their affection for each other, while also chronicling the presidential election campaign. Charlie does not realise what is happening as he is becoming increasingly dependent upon the vast amounts of alcohol that he consumes, to such an extent that his career is threatened.
Faulks captures the depth of the respective characters' emotions faultlessly - this an yet another tour de force from him. He has a fantastic knack of pitching the emotional intensity just right.
A wholly enthralling love story, set in Washington DC in 1959-1960, against the backdrop of the Kennedy-Nixon election contest.
Charlie van der Linden is a British diplomat based at the embassy in Washington where he is viewed as a high flier because of the depth of his analysis of the prevailing political scene in America. he lives with his wife Mary and their two young children, though the children are about to depart for boarding school back home. As the novel opens they are holding a party to celebrate their wedding anniversary. One of the guests is a political journalist, Frank Renzo, whom Charlie had encountered fleetingly years before in Dien Bien Phu, in Vietnam,during the ill-fated siege of the town that led to the French withdrawal from Indochina. On the basis of this very slight acquaintance (that in fact the sozzled Charlie can scarcely recall) Frank is invited to come along to the party. There he immediately (and utterly irretrievably) falls in love with Mary, and it gradually becomes evident that she returns his passion.
The novel then details the progress of their affection for each other, while also chronicling the presidential election campaign. Charlie does not realise what is happening as he is becoming increasingly dependent upon the vast amounts of alcohol that he consumes, to such an extent that his career is threatened.
Faulks captures the depth of the respective characters' emotions faultlessly - this an yet another tour de force from him. He has a fantastic knack of pitching the emotional intensity just right.
69Eyejaybee
44. Good as Dead by Mark Billingham
Disappointingly predictable - perhaps Detective Inspector Thone should be pensioned off very soon.
Disappointingly predictable - perhaps Detective Inspector Thone should be pensioned off very soon.
70Eyejaybee
45. Broken Silence by Danielle Ramsay.
This novel promised so much only to disappoint on all scores
The novel is set around Whitley Bay and West Monkseaton, which sounded promising, but alarms beels started to ring almost immediately.
For a start, the principal character ticked too many cliche boxes, having a serious drinks problems and a broken marriage and an incompetent boss who resented him. I could probably have coped with all that - after all, these have become almost obligatory characteristics for recent British police procedural fiction. However,, this novel also fell into the trap of unnecessarily convoluted plotting, bolstered by one-dimensional characterisation.
All in all it probably justified the 49p that it cost me to buy it for my Kindle.
This novel promised so much only to disappoint on all scores
The novel is set around Whitley Bay and West Monkseaton, which sounded promising, but alarms beels started to ring almost immediately.
For a start, the principal character ticked too many cliche boxes, having a serious drinks problems and a broken marriage and an incompetent boss who resented him. I could probably have coped with all that - after all, these have become almost obligatory characteristics for recent British police procedural fiction. However,, this novel also fell into the trap of unnecessarily convoluted plotting, bolstered by one-dimensional characterisation.
All in all it probably justified the 49p that it cost me to buy it for my Kindle.
71Eyejaybee
46. Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
This book was so nearly great.. The idea was very strong, based around the story of an immensel talented African-German jazz musician who moved to Paris to escape the Nazis but was subsequently arrested following the German occupation, imprisoned and was believed yo have died shortly after his release.
Sadly the writing style, designed to replicate the jazz speak of the narrator, bass play Sidney Griffith, became merely exasperating. This book was short listed for the 2011 Booker Prize which suggests that last year must have been a rather thin time for literary fiction!
This book was so nearly great.. The idea was very strong, based around the story of an immensel talented African-German jazz musician who moved to Paris to escape the Nazis but was subsequently arrested following the German occupation, imprisoned and was believed yo have died shortly after his release.
Sadly the writing style, designed to replicate the jazz speak of the narrator, bass play Sidney Griffith, became merely exasperating. This book was short listed for the 2011 Booker Prize which suggests that last year must have been a rather thin time for literary fiction!
72carlym
On Green Dolphin Street looks good--I'm adding it to my wishlist. Too bad your last two were disappointing!
73Eyejaybee
47. A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming.
An excellent spy thriller from the author of "The Trinity Six".
The principal protagonist is Thomas Kell, a recently "retired" officer in MI6 who is currently awaiting subpoena as a witness in a prosecution arising from alleged incidents of "extraordinary rendition". He receives a call from one of his former colleagues asking for help tracing the the woman who has been chosen by the powers that be as the next head of MI6, who seems to have disappeared while on a holiday visit to the south of France.
Having nothing better to do, Kell decides to help, flying down to Nice to try to pick up her trail. Cumming gives a fascinating insight into low level spycraft, all of which will certainly lead me to change my own habits when staying in a hotel!
The novel has constant twists and turns, but never loses its basic plausibility. It did, however, keep taking me by surprise, and I found it an immensely enjoyable read.
An excellent spy thriller from the author of "The Trinity Six".
The principal protagonist is Thomas Kell, a recently "retired" officer in MI6 who is currently awaiting subpoena as a witness in a prosecution arising from alleged incidents of "extraordinary rendition". He receives a call from one of his former colleagues asking for help tracing the the woman who has been chosen by the powers that be as the next head of MI6, who seems to have disappeared while on a holiday visit to the south of France.
Having nothing better to do, Kell decides to help, flying down to Nice to try to pick up her trail. Cumming gives a fascinating insight into low level spycraft, all of which will certainly lead me to change my own habits when staying in a hotel!
The novel has constant twists and turns, but never loses its basic plausibility. It did, however, keep taking me by surprise, and I found it an immensely enjoyable read.
74Eyejaybee
48. The President by Georges Simenon
This was one of those rare examples of serendipity. I only bought this book because the battery on my Kindle had just died as I arrived at St Pancras Station and I couldn't face the long trek up the Northern line without something to read. Consequently I nipped into the new branch of Foyle's there and entirely by chance came across this book. And what a delight!
The book focuses on an aged, unnamed politician who is spending his retirement in a little village on the Normandy coast. Throughout his long and successful political career he had held various government offices, including several spells as Premier. Now he is gradually working his way through his unofficial memoirs, and looking back at various acquaintances from his long life.
One of his principal pleasures is listening to the radio news. (The novel was written in 1954 when was perhaps it would not have been remarkable for such a man not to have a television.) on the day when the book opens he is eager to hear whether there have been any developments in the highest offices of all - the country has been in a state of upheaval and the government has fallen. Now all the political cognoscenti are wondering whom the President might call upon to form a new coalition.
The former premier has had dealings with all of the major contenders, and the candidate who emerges as favourite was once his own private secretary. However, rather than feeling pride and joy at his protege's advancement he is thrown into rage and despair, and remembers earlier incidents when his secretary was cast in an altogether less favourable light.
He also becomes convinced that his protege will call on him for advice, and this thought becomes an obsession.
As a portrayal of the distortion of relationships that proximity to power can bring about this book is almost up there with C. P. Snow's "The Masters" (one of my all-time favourites!). Written with Simenon's customary conciseness this book was entirely engaging and gripping. A very fortuitous purchase!
This was one of those rare examples of serendipity. I only bought this book because the battery on my Kindle had just died as I arrived at St Pancras Station and I couldn't face the long trek up the Northern line without something to read. Consequently I nipped into the new branch of Foyle's there and entirely by chance came across this book. And what a delight!
The book focuses on an aged, unnamed politician who is spending his retirement in a little village on the Normandy coast. Throughout his long and successful political career he had held various government offices, including several spells as Premier. Now he is gradually working his way through his unofficial memoirs, and looking back at various acquaintances from his long life.
One of his principal pleasures is listening to the radio news. (The novel was written in 1954 when was perhaps it would not have been remarkable for such a man not to have a television.) on the day when the book opens he is eager to hear whether there have been any developments in the highest offices of all - the country has been in a state of upheaval and the government has fallen. Now all the political cognoscenti are wondering whom the President might call upon to form a new coalition.
The former premier has had dealings with all of the major contenders, and the candidate who emerges as favourite was once his own private secretary. However, rather than feeling pride and joy at his protege's advancement he is thrown into rage and despair, and remembers earlier incidents when his secretary was cast in an altogether less favourable light.
He also becomes convinced that his protege will call on him for advice, and this thought becomes an obsession.
As a portrayal of the distortion of relationships that proximity to power can bring about this book is almost up there with C. P. Snow's "The Masters" (one of my all-time favourites!). Written with Simenon's customary conciseness this book was entirely engaging and gripping. A very fortuitous purchase!
75Eyejaybee
49. Gallows Lane by Brian McGilloway
A very well written and tightly plotted novel set in the borderland area between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, with investigations led by Garda officer Benedict Devlin.
Devlin is an unusual protagonist for a series of police procedurals - he is simply too normal! No quirky tastes for Wagner or fine claret, no drink problem, no broken family! Eyt he is immensely plausible despite all that!
As with the first novel in this series, the murders come fairly fast and furiously, each with its own particular grimness, though the violence does not seem gratuitous, and Devlin's normality permits him to be as appalled as the relatives of the victims. Similarly, Devlin is not above personal fear, and succumbs to debilitating panic attacks when his own family is threatened.
All in all a marvellous successor to "Borderlands" and I look forward to reading the next instalment in this admirable series.
A very well written and tightly plotted novel set in the borderland area between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, with investigations led by Garda officer Benedict Devlin.
Devlin is an unusual protagonist for a series of police procedurals - he is simply too normal! No quirky tastes for Wagner or fine claret, no drink problem, no broken family! Eyt he is immensely plausible despite all that!
As with the first novel in this series, the murders come fairly fast and furiously, each with its own particular grimness, though the violence does not seem gratuitous, and Devlin's normality permits him to be as appalled as the relatives of the victims. Similarly, Devlin is not above personal fear, and succumbs to debilitating panic attacks when his own family is threatened.
All in all a marvellous successor to "Borderlands" and I look forward to reading the next instalment in this admirable series.
76Eyejaybee
50. Eleven Minutes Late by Matthew Engel*
A fascinating paean to Britain's railway network. Engel, better known to me from his former incarnation as the editor of Wisden, spent a fortnight doing nothing but travelling around the British railway network.
Armed with a two-week rover ticket which entitled him to travel by any train (first or standard class) on the whole network, he began by striving to travel as quickly as possible form one end to the other, and then made his return journey at a more leisurely pace, travelling as widely as possible Dundee, whence he changed for Inverness and then ultimately Thurso.
While describing his journey he throws in all sorts of fascinating detail about the history of the development of the network, and successive governments' failure (from 1830 on through to today) to understand the nature, purpose and potential of the rail network.
He gives an enthralling (though also infuriating) description of the various stages of nationalisation, privatisation and then partial re-nationalisation of the network, and a detailed dissection of Dr Beeching's infamous evisceration of the network in the 1960s.
He travels along some amazing routes and meets some marvellous people on the way. However, equally poignantly, he travels on some ghastly trains and meets some abysmal characters including the buffet steward, Umerji, whose opening attempt at customer service is, "What're you waiting for, you c**t?"
I confess to having certain anorakish tendencies with regard to trains so I was completely taken with this book.. However, it does not fall into the all-too-inviting trap of a rose-tinted spectacles view of the current or past systems. Realistic, lucid and entertaining!
A fascinating paean to Britain's railway network. Engel, better known to me from his former incarnation as the editor of Wisden, spent a fortnight doing nothing but travelling around the British railway network.
Armed with a two-week rover ticket which entitled him to travel by any train (first or standard class) on the whole network, he began by striving to travel as quickly as possible form one end to the other, and then made his return journey at a more leisurely pace, travelling as widely as possible Dundee, whence he changed for Inverness and then ultimately Thurso.
While describing his journey he throws in all sorts of fascinating detail about the history of the development of the network, and successive governments' failure (from 1830 on through to today) to understand the nature, purpose and potential of the rail network.
He gives an enthralling (though also infuriating) description of the various stages of nationalisation, privatisation and then partial re-nationalisation of the network, and a detailed dissection of Dr Beeching's infamous evisceration of the network in the 1960s.
He travels along some amazing routes and meets some marvellous people on the way. However, equally poignantly, he travels on some ghastly trains and meets some abysmal characters including the buffet steward, Umerji, whose opening attempt at customer service is, "What're you waiting for, you c**t?"
I confess to having certain anorakish tendencies with regard to trains so I was completely taken with this book.. However, it does not fall into the all-too-inviting trap of a rose-tinted spectacles view of the current or past systems. Realistic, lucid and entertaining!
77Eyejaybee
51. The Girl at the Lion d'Or by Sebastian Faulks
A beautifully written love story set in the small town of Jainvilliers in 1935-36 against a background of political upheaval as M Blum's government stumbles from crisis to crisis while Hitler's Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.
The principal characters are Anne, a beautiful young woman fleeing a tragic past and Charles Hartmann, a successful and married advocate and landowner. The novel opens with Anne arriving by train from Paris to take up a position as waitress at the Lion d'Or Inn in Jainvilliers. The bizarre and menacing concierge, Mme Bouin, tersely welcomes her and issues an extensive list of house rules and duties, and Anne is pitched in at the deep end.
She meets Charles Hartmann early on and is almost immediately besotted. He reciprocates her feelings, though perhaps less suddenly, and their tentative relationship commences.
Faulks captures the barrenness of a Anne's day to day routine marvellously, making the reader feel the tedium of her daily chores and the long periods of boredom attendant upon waiting tables in a small provincial inn. Hartmann takes her away from that, but only for brief periods - after all, he is married and anxious to avoid scandal within a small town.
However, Anne does come to trust Hartmann and reveals dreadful secrets from her past.
A thoroughly engrossing and engaging novel.
A beautifully written love story set in the small town of Jainvilliers in 1935-36 against a background of political upheaval as M Blum's government stumbles from crisis to crisis while Hitler's Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.
The principal characters are Anne, a beautiful young woman fleeing a tragic past and Charles Hartmann, a successful and married advocate and landowner. The novel opens with Anne arriving by train from Paris to take up a position as waitress at the Lion d'Or Inn in Jainvilliers. The bizarre and menacing concierge, Mme Bouin, tersely welcomes her and issues an extensive list of house rules and duties, and Anne is pitched in at the deep end.
She meets Charles Hartmann early on and is almost immediately besotted. He reciprocates her feelings, though perhaps less suddenly, and their tentative relationship commences.
Faulks captures the barrenness of a Anne's day to day routine marvellously, making the reader feel the tedium of her daily chores and the long periods of boredom attendant upon waiting tables in a small provincial inn. Hartmann takes her away from that, but only for brief periods - after all, he is married and anxious to avoid scandal within a small town.
However, Anne does come to trust Hartmann and reveals dreadful secrets from her past.
A thoroughly engrossing and engaging novel.
78Eyejaybee
52. Murder Club by Mark Pearson
A gritty novel set in and around the seamier side of London's West End, with occasional forays into Harrow on the Hill and Suffolk.
Detective Inspector Jack delaney, based at the White City nick has a reputation as a hard drinking and hard fighting cop, essentially on the side of the angels though not reluctant to cut corners to bring a known villain to book. As this novel opens, just a few days before Christmas, one of his more ghastly cases, the rape and mutilation of a businesswoman from Harrow, is about to come to trial. This process has been delayed because the defendant, one Michael Robinson, was attacked and given life-threatening injuries while he was in prison on demand. He is now claiming that Delaney had pulled strings through some of his contacts within the crimianl underclass to commission the attack.
Meanwhile, a body is found in the grounds (but not the burial ground) a recently de-consecrated church and some of the West End's homeless community have been attacked, viciously.
All in all there's a lot going on, but Pearson manages the interlacing plot strands very adeptly, never letting the reader's attention wander.
I did note, though, that the editing seemed almost non-existent. it is a long time since I read a novel with so many typos, missing words and general drafting errors. Still, I suppose I shouldn't complain as I did get this book as one of a "three for £5" offer!
A gritty novel set in and around the seamier side of London's West End, with occasional forays into Harrow on the Hill and Suffolk.
Detective Inspector Jack delaney, based at the White City nick has a reputation as a hard drinking and hard fighting cop, essentially on the side of the angels though not reluctant to cut corners to bring a known villain to book. As this novel opens, just a few days before Christmas, one of his more ghastly cases, the rape and mutilation of a businesswoman from Harrow, is about to come to trial. This process has been delayed because the defendant, one Michael Robinson, was attacked and given life-threatening injuries while he was in prison on demand. He is now claiming that Delaney had pulled strings through some of his contacts within the crimianl underclass to commission the attack.
Meanwhile, a body is found in the grounds (but not the burial ground) a recently de-consecrated church and some of the West End's homeless community have been attacked, viciously.
All in all there's a lot going on, but Pearson manages the interlacing plot strands very adeptly, never letting the reader's attention wander.
I did note, though, that the editing seemed almost non-existent. it is a long time since I read a novel with so many typos, missing words and general drafting errors. Still, I suppose I shouldn't complain as I did get this book as one of a "three for £5" offer!
79Eyejaybee
53, Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Over recent years Scandinavian crime novels have come into vogue, though I have struggled with this genre. Indeed, despite the great plaudits lauded on the likes of Steig Larsson and Jo Nesbo, I had never managed to summon the strength of spirit to finish one, and was starting to think that I could understand why Sweden has such a high suicide rate.
This book was something entirely different. Written in the 1960s this was the first in a series that husband and wife team Sjowall and Wahloo wrote, each featuring Inspector Martin Beck. Indeed, the series was very closely planned in advance - ten novels each of thirty chapters, which, when read in sequence, would constitute a single overarching novel. They stuck to that plan, with the final novel "The Terrorists" being published inj 1975 shortly before Per Wahloo's death from cancer.
Throughout the series the authors were eager to focus on the necessity of close teamwork within the police as they investigate any significant crime, and while the principal protagonist is Inspector Martin Beck he is dependent upon the extensive contributions of his colleagues. This is certainly the case in Roseanna, the first novel in the sequence.
The novel opens with a dredger at work on one of Sweden's principal canals. As the workman struggle to keep the waterway sufficiently clear they discover the body of a young woman. The pathologists' examination suggest that the body had been in the water for about a week, and that the victim was in her mid twenties. There are no other indications of her identity, and the police have to work entirely from scratch.
Sjowall and Wahloo give a fascinating insioght into the workings of the police system at a time before faxes, computers or mobile telephones, and while procedure is kept to the fore the novel never drags. I shall certainly be reading the rest of the series!
Over recent years Scandinavian crime novels have come into vogue, though I have struggled with this genre. Indeed, despite the great plaudits lauded on the likes of Steig Larsson and Jo Nesbo, I had never managed to summon the strength of spirit to finish one, and was starting to think that I could understand why Sweden has such a high suicide rate.
This book was something entirely different. Written in the 1960s this was the first in a series that husband and wife team Sjowall and Wahloo wrote, each featuring Inspector Martin Beck. Indeed, the series was very closely planned in advance - ten novels each of thirty chapters, which, when read in sequence, would constitute a single overarching novel. They stuck to that plan, with the final novel "The Terrorists" being published inj 1975 shortly before Per Wahloo's death from cancer.
Throughout the series the authors were eager to focus on the necessity of close teamwork within the police as they investigate any significant crime, and while the principal protagonist is Inspector Martin Beck he is dependent upon the extensive contributions of his colleagues. This is certainly the case in Roseanna, the first novel in the sequence.
The novel opens with a dredger at work on one of Sweden's principal canals. As the workman struggle to keep the waterway sufficiently clear they discover the body of a young woman. The pathologists' examination suggest that the body had been in the water for about a week, and that the victim was in her mid twenties. There are no other indications of her identity, and the police have to work entirely from scratch.
Sjowall and Wahloo give a fascinating insioght into the workings of the police system at a time before faxes, computers or mobile telephones, and while procedure is kept to the fore the novel never drags. I shall certainly be reading the rest of the series!
80Eyejaybee
54. A Fool's Alphabet by Sebastian Faulks
In his third novel Faulks set himself the task of completing twenty six chapters each taking the name of a place, in alphabetical order, that featured in the life of his protagonist Pietro Russell, stretching from Anzio to Zaconi.
I am generally wary of novels that use such gimmickry, fearing that considerations of format might be allowed to eclipse the plot and style. However, as one might expect from Faulks there is no such failing here. The novel is masterful, and the reader is immediately, and comprehensively, engaged in Russell's life. The story is beautifully told, despite running out of chronological order, and the picture one forms of Russell's life is immensely coherent and utterly compelling
In his third novel Faulks set himself the task of completing twenty six chapters each taking the name of a place, in alphabetical order, that featured in the life of his protagonist Pietro Russell, stretching from Anzio to Zaconi.
I am generally wary of novels that use such gimmickry, fearing that considerations of format might be allowed to eclipse the plot and style. However, as one might expect from Faulks there is no such failing here. The novel is masterful, and the reader is immediately, and comprehensively, engaged in Russell's life. The story is beautifully told, despite running out of chronological order, and the picture one forms of Russell's life is immensely coherent and utterly compelling
81Eyejaybee
55. Ragtime by E. L Doctorow
A very entertaining tale of life in three different families in early twentieth century New York, using fictional characters alongside figures such as Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan and Sigmund Freud.
The writing seemed rather stilted and cumbersome, and at times I had to wonder whether Al Alvarez, who wrote the introduction to this edition within the Penguin Modern Classic series, had read the same text as me. However, the story works well despite the stylistic inadequacies, and it certainly held my attention.
A very entertaining tale of life in three different families in early twentieth century New York, using fictional characters alongside figures such as Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan and Sigmund Freud.
The writing seemed rather stilted and cumbersome, and at times I had to wonder whether Al Alvarez, who wrote the introduction to this edition within the Penguin Modern Classic series, had read the same text as me. However, the story works well despite the stylistic inadequacies, and it certainly held my attention.
82Eyejaybee
56. After Dark by Haruki Murakami
An intriguing novel set during the hours of darkness of one night. While a beautiful young woman sleeps her sister stays up all night in the heart of the city and has some unexpected encounters.
It is tempting to say that not very much happens in this novel, and there are certainly several loose ends that Murakami makes no attempt to resolve. However, the book is no less satisfying for all that, and I certainly enjoyed reading it. Now I am just trying to determine what it was all about!
An intriguing novel set during the hours of darkness of one night. While a beautiful young woman sleeps her sister stays up all night in the heart of the city and has some unexpected encounters.
It is tempting to say that not very much happens in this novel, and there are certainly several loose ends that Murakami makes no attempt to resolve. However, the book is no less satisfying for all that, and I certainly enjoyed reading it. Now I am just trying to determine what it was all about!
83Eyejaybee
57. Going Out by Scarlett Thomas.
Considered entirely in its own right this novel is probably not too bad, if a little turgid in parts. However, my expectations were immensely high based upon my response Scarlett Thomas's marvellous later novels "PopCo", "The End of Mr Y" and especially "Our Tragic Universe" (one of my favourite novels of all time). When compared with those books this one was very disappointing, and I found it a struggle to summon any interest in any of the characters or their wholly implausible situations.
Considered entirely in its own right this novel is probably not too bad, if a little turgid in parts. However, my expectations were immensely high based upon my response Scarlett Thomas's marvellous later novels "PopCo", "The End of Mr Y" and especially "Our Tragic Universe" (one of my favourite novels of all time). When compared with those books this one was very disappointing, and I found it a struggle to summon any interest in any of the characters or their wholly implausible situations.
84Eyejaybee
58. The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey.
Rather a disappointment. I had looked forward to reading this book, remembering how much I enjoyed Tey's "The Daughter of Time" which I read as a teenager more than thirty years.
Sadly this book had noting of the sterling qualities of "The Daughter of Time", and subsided into mindless tweeness lacking any semblance of feasible plot or plausible characters.
Rather a disappointment. I had looked forward to reading this book, remembering how much I enjoyed Tey's "The Daughter of Time" which I read as a teenager more than thirty years.
Sadly this book had noting of the sterling qualities of "The Daughter of Time", and subsided into mindless tweeness lacking any semblance of feasible plot or plausible characters.
85Eyejaybee
59. Stonemouth by Iain Banks.
A return to form from Iain Banks with what is probably his finest novel since "The Crow Road".
Indeed, this book ploughs a similar furrow to "The Crow Road", featuring the return to his small town roots of a Scots exile who has now found refuge and a career down in London. Here the principal protagonist is Stewart Gilmour who is returning. As the novel opens Gilmour is waiting to meet the main enforcer for one of two gangs that, between them, effectively run the small town of Stonemouth (a fictional town which we infer is not far up the coast from Aberdeen), to check that he will have safe passage for the weekend.
As the novel progresses we gradually find out more - Gilmour, now in his mid twenties, has not been back for five years, and had only just managed to escape with his life.
More and more details emerge and it becomes clear that the network of relationships and affiliations within the town are complicated, and often counter-intuitive.
The plot goes through several sinuous turns, but never loses the reader's avid attention, and while Gilmour is far from perfect, and clearly not blameless, he is an engaging character who readily wins the reader's sympathy. I found that I couldn't put this book down, and now feel slightly bereft that I have finished it!
A return to form from Iain Banks with what is probably his finest novel since "The Crow Road".
Indeed, this book ploughs a similar furrow to "The Crow Road", featuring the return to his small town roots of a Scots exile who has now found refuge and a career down in London. Here the principal protagonist is Stewart Gilmour who is returning. As the novel opens Gilmour is waiting to meet the main enforcer for one of two gangs that, between them, effectively run the small town of Stonemouth (a fictional town which we infer is not far up the coast from Aberdeen), to check that he will have safe passage for the weekend.
As the novel progresses we gradually find out more - Gilmour, now in his mid twenties, has not been back for five years, and had only just managed to escape with his life.
More and more details emerge and it becomes clear that the network of relationships and affiliations within the town are complicated, and often counter-intuitive.
The plot goes through several sinuous turns, but never loses the reader's avid attention, and while Gilmour is far from perfect, and clearly not blameless, he is an engaging character who readily wins the reader's sympathy. I found that I couldn't put this book down, and now feel slightly bereft that I have finished it!
86Eyejaybee
60. Dial M for Murdoch by Tom Watson and Martin Hickman*.
A fascinating, and frankly frightening, account of the phone-hacking scandal that has dominated British politics for the last eighteen months or so. This book has been exhaustively researched by Tom Watson MP and Martin Hickman (an investigative journalist for "The Independent"), and puts forward the story of the demise of the News of the World following the squalid tactics employed by its journalists in their relentless search for celebrity gossip to satisfy the demands of a prurient readership.
All three leading political parties emerge as guilty of at best kowtowing to Murdoch, though it seems probable that senior Conservative and Labour figures over the last twenty years have been guilty of far worse collusion. The damning detail is appalling. Watson is to be commended for his doggedness, as are the various lawyers who have bravely represented claimants against News International as any such stand seemed to be an open invitation to the News Of the World Team to turn their investigative teams (including their phone and computer hackers) upon them.
I was rather surprised by the timing of publication, and might have expected that it would be more appropriate after the final reports of the Leveson Inquiry had been published. However, I also believe that it was important for the contents of this book to be available to as wide a readership as possible as soon as possible.
Utterly compelling.
A fascinating, and frankly frightening, account of the phone-hacking scandal that has dominated British politics for the last eighteen months or so. This book has been exhaustively researched by Tom Watson MP and Martin Hickman (an investigative journalist for "The Independent"), and puts forward the story of the demise of the News of the World following the squalid tactics employed by its journalists in their relentless search for celebrity gossip to satisfy the demands of a prurient readership.
All three leading political parties emerge as guilty of at best kowtowing to Murdoch, though it seems probable that senior Conservative and Labour figures over the last twenty years have been guilty of far worse collusion. The damning detail is appalling. Watson is to be commended for his doggedness, as are the various lawyers who have bravely represented claimants against News International as any such stand seemed to be an open invitation to the News Of the World Team to turn their investigative teams (including their phone and computer hackers) upon them.
I was rather surprised by the timing of publication, and might have expected that it would be more appropriate after the final reports of the Leveson Inquiry had been published. However, I also believe that it was important for the contents of this book to be available to as wide a readership as possible as soon as possible.
Utterly compelling.
87Eyejaybee
61. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
An immensely enjoyable novel featuring a great host of characters and several interlaced plotlines.
Set principally in British-occupied India in the 1830s it centres around the boat Ibis, owned by Benjamin Burnham, a British merchant based in Calcutta who has, hitherto, made the greater part of his fortune from trading in opium which he has exported to China. Now faced with a crackdown by the Chinese regime this lucrative line of business is under threat, and Burnham decides to diversify into trafficking labourers from India to Mauritius to work in plantations, to replace the slaves whose use has now been made illegal.
There are four principal characters:
Deeti is a young Indian woman who was married, against her will to an opium addict. When he eventually succumbs to his addiction and dies, Deeti is left penniless and with no feasible options in life after she has bestowed her young daughter with her brother's family, and resolves to commit suti, throwing herself on her dead husband's funeral pyre. However, at the last moment Kalua, a physically imposing but intellectually challenged labourer whom she once rescued from grotesque (though hilariously-described) ridicule, charges in and plucks her from the pyre, and sails off down the River Hoogly.
Paulette is the orphaned daughter of a celebrated but impecunious French naturalist who has been taken in by the Burnham family. However, despite the Burnhams' attempts to foster some gentility in the young Frnech girl, she remains a tomboy at heart, though completely innocent of many of the more unseemly aspects of life. Eventually the joint impact of the shock when Benjamin Burnham reveals some of his personal idiosyncrasies, coupled with his attempts to marry her off to an aging judge, drives her to run away, and, having disguised herself as an aged Indian widow, she boards the Ibis hoping to escaped undetected to Mauritius where her forebears had lived briefly.
Zachary Reid is an American of mixed race, and clearly the most decent male character in the book. Having gone on board in baltimore as a basic crew member he works his way up to second mate, largely because of the mutual respect he shared with Serang Ali, leader of the lascars who make up the crew. He meets, and is immediately smitten by Paulette at the home of her guardians (before her decision to flee).
Neel Rattan Halder is a rajah whose extensive estates have gradually become indebted to Burnham, who, suffering as a consequence of the reduced opium exports, now calls in the debt. Having refused to pay up, Halder finds himself in court being prosecuted on a casuistic charge of forgery. Having been convicted he is sentenced to transportation to Mauritius where he will have to undertake a period of hard labour. He is manacled and brought on to the Ibis...
Ghosh manages all of the separate plotlines with great deftness, and his characters are carefully drawn.
The story is vividly told, with great boisterousness, and i am very eager to read the next instalment (The River of Smoke).
All in all a very jolly read!
An immensely enjoyable novel featuring a great host of characters and several interlaced plotlines.
Set principally in British-occupied India in the 1830s it centres around the boat Ibis, owned by Benjamin Burnham, a British merchant based in Calcutta who has, hitherto, made the greater part of his fortune from trading in opium which he has exported to China. Now faced with a crackdown by the Chinese regime this lucrative line of business is under threat, and Burnham decides to diversify into trafficking labourers from India to Mauritius to work in plantations, to replace the slaves whose use has now been made illegal.
There are four principal characters:
Deeti is a young Indian woman who was married, against her will to an opium addict. When he eventually succumbs to his addiction and dies, Deeti is left penniless and with no feasible options in life after she has bestowed her young daughter with her brother's family, and resolves to commit suti, throwing herself on her dead husband's funeral pyre. However, at the last moment Kalua, a physically imposing but intellectually challenged labourer whom she once rescued from grotesque (though hilariously-described) ridicule, charges in and plucks her from the pyre, and sails off down the River Hoogly.
Paulette is the orphaned daughter of a celebrated but impecunious French naturalist who has been taken in by the Burnham family. However, despite the Burnhams' attempts to foster some gentility in the young Frnech girl, she remains a tomboy at heart, though completely innocent of many of the more unseemly aspects of life. Eventually the joint impact of the shock when Benjamin Burnham reveals some of his personal idiosyncrasies, coupled with his attempts to marry her off to an aging judge, drives her to run away, and, having disguised herself as an aged Indian widow, she boards the Ibis hoping to escaped undetected to Mauritius where her forebears had lived briefly.
Zachary Reid is an American of mixed race, and clearly the most decent male character in the book. Having gone on board in baltimore as a basic crew member he works his way up to second mate, largely because of the mutual respect he shared with Serang Ali, leader of the lascars who make up the crew. He meets, and is immediately smitten by Paulette at the home of her guardians (before her decision to flee).
Neel Rattan Halder is a rajah whose extensive estates have gradually become indebted to Burnham, who, suffering as a consequence of the reduced opium exports, now calls in the debt. Having refused to pay up, Halder finds himself in court being prosecuted on a casuistic charge of forgery. Having been convicted he is sentenced to transportation to Mauritius where he will have to undertake a period of hard labour. He is manacled and brought on to the Ibis...
Ghosh manages all of the separate plotlines with great deftness, and his characters are carefully drawn.
The story is vividly told, with great boisterousness, and i am very eager to read the next instalment (The River of Smoke).
All in all a very jolly read!
88Eyejaybee
62. When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
A beautiful story about memory, betrayal and childhood.
As the novel opens in 1923 Christopher Banks has just graduated from Cambridge and has moved to London where he hopes to establish himself as a private detective (which, we gradually learn, has been an obsession of his since childhood). We only gradually come to learn of Banks's unusual background. He had been born in Shanghai where his father worked for one of the leading British trading houses. Banks's mother is at odds with the trading house which she believes is making blood money from the promulgation of the opium trade. In this view she seems to be supported by a close family friend always referred to by Christopher as "Uncle Philip". We also soon learn that Banks had been brought back to Britain to live with his aunt following the disappearance first of his father and then, separately, his mother.
We also learn of his close friendship with Akira, a young Japanese boy who lived in the house next door. Christopher and Akira are close playmates and, following the disappearance of Christopher's father, they enter into various role-playing games in which they assist the famous Inspector Chung, head of the Shanghai Police, to discover and release Mr Banks.
The novel, which is recounted in the first person, move gradually forward with Christopher becoming ever more widely celebrated as his reputation as a detective develops.
By 1937 Banks's reputation is so high that he is invited to visit Shanghai to help solve a spate of so-called Yellow Snake murders in which Communist insurgents are killing people suspected of being "Yellow Snake", a supergrass informer. Banks is convinced that these murders are related to the disappearance of his parents, whom he believesa re both still alive and being held, decades on, by kidnappers.
Ishiguro spins an engrossing plot though, when compared with some of his greatest works such as "The Remains of the Day" his prose in uncharacteristically stilted. However, he retains his power to move his readers, and has them laughing out loud or suddenly stunned with overpowering sadness.
A beautiful story about memory, betrayal and childhood.
As the novel opens in 1923 Christopher Banks has just graduated from Cambridge and has moved to London where he hopes to establish himself as a private detective (which, we gradually learn, has been an obsession of his since childhood). We only gradually come to learn of Banks's unusual background. He had been born in Shanghai where his father worked for one of the leading British trading houses. Banks's mother is at odds with the trading house which she believes is making blood money from the promulgation of the opium trade. In this view she seems to be supported by a close family friend always referred to by Christopher as "Uncle Philip". We also soon learn that Banks had been brought back to Britain to live with his aunt following the disappearance first of his father and then, separately, his mother.
We also learn of his close friendship with Akira, a young Japanese boy who lived in the house next door. Christopher and Akira are close playmates and, following the disappearance of Christopher's father, they enter into various role-playing games in which they assist the famous Inspector Chung, head of the Shanghai Police, to discover and release Mr Banks.
The novel, which is recounted in the first person, move gradually forward with Christopher becoming ever more widely celebrated as his reputation as a detective develops.
By 1937 Banks's reputation is so high that he is invited to visit Shanghai to help solve a spate of so-called Yellow Snake murders in which Communist insurgents are killing people suspected of being "Yellow Snake", a supergrass informer. Banks is convinced that these murders are related to the disappearance of his parents, whom he believesa re both still alive and being held, decades on, by kidnappers.
Ishiguro spins an engrossing plot though, when compared with some of his greatest works such as "The Remains of the Day" his prose in uncharacteristically stilted. However, he retains his power to move his readers, and has them laughing out loud or suddenly stunned with overpowering sadness.
89Eyejaybee
63. Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami.
Another bizarre but enthralling book from Murakami.
The narrator finds himself impelled to return to the small, family-run Dolphin hotel in Sapporo in which he had stayed for a while four years ago. He had initially gone there with a woman with whom he had been living at the time. He had never actually known this woman's name - she had refused to tell him - and all he did know about her was that she had previously been a high class call girl. While they are staying at the hotel she suddenly leaves him without a word, and he doesn't see her again. He does, however, dream about her, and as a consequence of these dreams he decides to return to Sapporo to stay at the Dolphin Hotel.
When he returns he finds that the Dolphin Hotel is now a brash, modern building offering a vast array of services. No trace of the original hotel seems to remain. Perplexed, the narrator still enjoys his stay and becomes very friendly with a beautiful but reserved receptionist (though, again, he fails to discover her name until more than halfway through the book). However, after a couple of days he has a bizarre and alarming experience on the sixteenth floor of the hotel, and subsequently discovers that he is not the only person to have done so.
In the meantime, to pass a dreary afternoon, he goes to the cinema to watch a trashy "rom-com" film which features a former schoolmate who has become a successful film actor. He is stunned to see that his disappeared girlfriend features in one of the scenes and as a consequence he goes back to see the film several times.
When the time comes to leave Sapporo and return to Tokyo the beautiful receptionist asks him to accompany Yuki, a thirteen year old girl whose recklessly inattentive photographer mother has suddenly departed on a photo-shoot. This girl (whose estranged father is a failed novelist whose name is an anagram of Haruki Murakami) changes the narrator's perspective on life, and as a consequence he is determined to find the missing ex-girlfriend.
Upon his return to Tokyo the narrator gets in touch, and becomes very friendly, with the film actor, and from him finally learns the girlfriend's name. This actor has access to an immense support system in which any conceivable expenditure is written off against income tax. This includes the use of a high class call girl service. The two friends make use of this one night and hire two beautiful girls. The narrator gives one of them his business card.
When she is brutally murdered shortly afterwards in an anonymous Tokyo hotel room this card is almost the only item found in her handbag, where it has fallen through the lining, leading to the narrator being taken to the local police station and grilled for several days. Unwilling to cause his actor friend any embarrassment he is reluctant to explain how she came to have his card.
How will things be resolved?
Of course, with Murakami at the helm, everything is resolved but in the most unexpected (though wholly convincing) way.
Another bizarre but enthralling book from Murakami.
The narrator finds himself impelled to return to the small, family-run Dolphin hotel in Sapporo in which he had stayed for a while four years ago. He had initially gone there with a woman with whom he had been living at the time. He had never actually known this woman's name - she had refused to tell him - and all he did know about her was that she had previously been a high class call girl. While they are staying at the hotel she suddenly leaves him without a word, and he doesn't see her again. He does, however, dream about her, and as a consequence of these dreams he decides to return to Sapporo to stay at the Dolphin Hotel.
When he returns he finds that the Dolphin Hotel is now a brash, modern building offering a vast array of services. No trace of the original hotel seems to remain. Perplexed, the narrator still enjoys his stay and becomes very friendly with a beautiful but reserved receptionist (though, again, he fails to discover her name until more than halfway through the book). However, after a couple of days he has a bizarre and alarming experience on the sixteenth floor of the hotel, and subsequently discovers that he is not the only person to have done so.
In the meantime, to pass a dreary afternoon, he goes to the cinema to watch a trashy "rom-com" film which features a former schoolmate who has become a successful film actor. He is stunned to see that his disappeared girlfriend features in one of the scenes and as a consequence he goes back to see the film several times.
When the time comes to leave Sapporo and return to Tokyo the beautiful receptionist asks him to accompany Yuki, a thirteen year old girl whose recklessly inattentive photographer mother has suddenly departed on a photo-shoot. This girl (whose estranged father is a failed novelist whose name is an anagram of Haruki Murakami) changes the narrator's perspective on life, and as a consequence he is determined to find the missing ex-girlfriend.
Upon his return to Tokyo the narrator gets in touch, and becomes very friendly, with the film actor, and from him finally learns the girlfriend's name. This actor has access to an immense support system in which any conceivable expenditure is written off against income tax. This includes the use of a high class call girl service. The two friends make use of this one night and hire two beautiful girls. The narrator gives one of them his business card.
When she is brutally murdered shortly afterwards in an anonymous Tokyo hotel room this card is almost the only item found in her handbag, where it has fallen through the lining, leading to the narrator being taken to the local police station and grilled for several days. Unwilling to cause his actor friend any embarrassment he is reluctant to explain how she came to have his card.
How will things be resolved?
Of course, with Murakami at the helm, everything is resolved but in the most unexpected (though wholly convincing) way.
90Eyejaybee
64. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book after all of the hype about it and the subsequent film version, but it turned out to be a rollicking good read.
Set in a post-apocalyptic near future in which North America has evolved (or declined) into the state of Panem, run from the Capitol, and divided into twelve semi-autonomous Districts. Each year all twelve Districts have to offer up a teenage boy and girl as "tributes" to compete in the "Hunger Games", a gladiatorial contest in which the combatants have to fight each other to the death. The eventual victor is assured fame and fortune thereafter, but the others will all be killed. The citizens of the Capitol and all twelve Districts follow proceedings on live television, cheering on their own representatives and betting ferociously on the outcome.
The novel is narrated by Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who has been fending for her family, supporting her mother and young sister by hunting. By the time the novel starts Katniss is an accomplished archer, and frequently goes hunting with her friend Gale. As the novel starts the whole population of District 12 is waiting for the "Reaping" when the two representatives will be selected. Katniss is appalled when the first name drawn is that of her young sister Primrose. Katniss immediately steps forward and volunteers to take her sister's place. From that moment on she is condemned to fighting for her life once the Hunger Games begin.
The novel moves at a terrific pace, and grips the reader at all times. The fight scenes are utterly plausible, and Collins deftly keeps the tension at the highest level.
I look forward to reading the second and third volumes in this series.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book after all of the hype about it and the subsequent film version, but it turned out to be a rollicking good read.
Set in a post-apocalyptic near future in which North America has evolved (or declined) into the state of Panem, run from the Capitol, and divided into twelve semi-autonomous Districts. Each year all twelve Districts have to offer up a teenage boy and girl as "tributes" to compete in the "Hunger Games", a gladiatorial contest in which the combatants have to fight each other to the death. The eventual victor is assured fame and fortune thereafter, but the others will all be killed. The citizens of the Capitol and all twelve Districts follow proceedings on live television, cheering on their own representatives and betting ferociously on the outcome.
The novel is narrated by Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who has been fending for her family, supporting her mother and young sister by hunting. By the time the novel starts Katniss is an accomplished archer, and frequently goes hunting with her friend Gale. As the novel starts the whole population of District 12 is waiting for the "Reaping" when the two representatives will be selected. Katniss is appalled when the first name drawn is that of her young sister Primrose. Katniss immediately steps forward and volunteers to take her sister's place. From that moment on she is condemned to fighting for her life once the Hunger Games begin.
The novel moves at a terrific pace, and grips the reader at all times. The fight scenes are utterly plausible, and Collins deftly keeps the tension at the highest level.
I look forward to reading the second and third volumes in this series.
91feca67
Hi, great thread (starred), I've really enjoyed your reviews, especially the Murakami books, I think I might give Borderlands a go, or maybe Stonemouth, or a Sebastian Faulks, then again maybe Dance, Dance, Dance, hhmm you see the problem....
92Eyejaybee
@ Feca67 Hello, Thanks for your comments.
I seem to be having a very lucky year so far - a great harvest of marvellous books and not too many duds so far.
Happy reading :)
I seem to be having a very lucky year so far - a great harvest of marvellous books and not too many duds so far.
Happy reading :)
93Eyejaybee
65. The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Simon Mawer
A beautiful and enthralling novel that seems to defy categorisation. Is it a war story, a spy novel or a romance? Well, quite simply it is all three yet also succeeds as high quality literary fiction.
At the simplest level it tells the story of Marian Sutro, a young Anglo-Swiss woman who halfway through the Second World War finds herself summoned for interview by an unnamed organisation, which turns out to be an early incarnation of the Special Operations Executive. The SOE is interested in Marian because of her natural dexterity with French, and is interested to see if she could be trained for more challenging activities than her current role of cypher clerk in the RAF offers. She passes muster and is sent to train in the Scottish Highlands where she learns how to use (and, indeed, construct and maintain) a covert wireless set, how to encrypt securely, how to tail targets (and also how to spot anyone who might be trying to tail her), how to use a wide range of explosives and how to kill anyone who might pose a threat to her or her network.
Having amassed these heterodox skills she is prepared to be dropped by parachute into German-occupied France where she will have to liaise with a branch of the French Resistance.
However, as if all this were not enough, she also finds herself being competed over by different branches of the British military intelligence community once it emerges that she had previously known a prominent French physicist who has been identified as a potentially valuable resource in the chase to develop atomic weapons before the Germans.
Mawer captures the tension of Marian's tale excellently, and I found myself unable to put the book down. The novel has that pleasing (but all too rare) mix of a tautly constructed plot, completely credible and empathetic characters and beautiful prose. I am looking forward to making my way through the rest of his works.
A beautiful and enthralling novel that seems to defy categorisation. Is it a war story, a spy novel or a romance? Well, quite simply it is all three yet also succeeds as high quality literary fiction.
At the simplest level it tells the story of Marian Sutro, a young Anglo-Swiss woman who halfway through the Second World War finds herself summoned for interview by an unnamed organisation, which turns out to be an early incarnation of the Special Operations Executive. The SOE is interested in Marian because of her natural dexterity with French, and is interested to see if she could be trained for more challenging activities than her current role of cypher clerk in the RAF offers. She passes muster and is sent to train in the Scottish Highlands where she learns how to use (and, indeed, construct and maintain) a covert wireless set, how to encrypt securely, how to tail targets (and also how to spot anyone who might be trying to tail her), how to use a wide range of explosives and how to kill anyone who might pose a threat to her or her network.
Having amassed these heterodox skills she is prepared to be dropped by parachute into German-occupied France where she will have to liaise with a branch of the French Resistance.
However, as if all this were not enough, she also finds herself being competed over by different branches of the British military intelligence community once it emerges that she had previously known a prominent French physicist who has been identified as a potentially valuable resource in the chase to develop atomic weapons before the Germans.
Mawer captures the tension of Marian's tale excellently, and I found myself unable to put the book down. The novel has that pleasing (but all too rare) mix of a tautly constructed plot, completely credible and empathetic characters and beautiful prose. I am looking forward to making my way through the rest of his works.
94Eyejaybee
66. The City and The City by China Mieville.
A dazzling and unusual story, memorable as much for its setting as for its intricate plotting. The book is set in the twinned cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma. These cities are merged - neither split artifically like East and West Berlin while The Wall still stood, nor divided by a river like Buda and Pest. Instead, both cities occupy the same physical space but, essentially but through the acquiescence of both populations (reinforced by the threat of severe compliance action at the hands of a clandestine force known as "Breach)", they are perceived as two different and separate cities.. Indeed, each city is its own, separate city state, each with its own government and foreign policy (Ul Qoma being the more prosperous), and passports and visas are required for legal movement between them. Consequently, although aspects of each city are constantly potentially visible to residents of either city, they all follow a policy of "unseeing", whereby they consciously fail to notice characteristics of the other city. For each set of citizens any street or building falls within one of three possible classes: total, alter or crosshatch. "Total" buildings or streets are wholly within their own city; "alter" ones are wholly within the other city, and consequently not to be recognised or acknowledged; "Crosshatch" areas lie within both cities and are accessible to the residents of both, though Besz citizens will deliberately "unsee" their Ul Qoman counterparts(and vice versa). "Unseeing" is relaxed to the extent that while driving through crosshatched streets the residents of both cities are capable of avoiding accidents with vehicles from the other city. But that i as far as it goes, legally.
While no physical barriers exist, few people from either city are tempted to cross from one domain to the other because of their fear of the punitive measures that might be taken by Breach, the secretive body that polices the borders.
This all sounds seriously complicated, but it is amazing how quickly the reader accepts this background, and gets sucked into the plot which revolves around the investigation into the murder of an American archeology student, Mahalia Geary, who had been researching some of the deep-rooted political sensitivities within both cities (each of which has its extreme nationalist tendencies but also committed movements seeking formal unification). Inspector Tyador Borlu leads the investigation within Borlu but soon runs into unexpected obstruction from senior local politicians from both the nationalist and unificationist camps..
This novel works very well both as a straight detective story and also as a dystopian exercise (I don't think that "science fiction" is an appropriate term as all the technology involved is entirely contemporary). It is a long time since I have read anything s imaginative as this!
A dazzling and unusual story, memorable as much for its setting as for its intricate plotting. The book is set in the twinned cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma. These cities are merged - neither split artifically like East and West Berlin while The Wall still stood, nor divided by a river like Buda and Pest. Instead, both cities occupy the same physical space but, essentially but through the acquiescence of both populations (reinforced by the threat of severe compliance action at the hands of a clandestine force known as "Breach)", they are perceived as two different and separate cities.. Indeed, each city is its own, separate city state, each with its own government and foreign policy (Ul Qoma being the more prosperous), and passports and visas are required for legal movement between them. Consequently, although aspects of each city are constantly potentially visible to residents of either city, they all follow a policy of "unseeing", whereby they consciously fail to notice characteristics of the other city. For each set of citizens any street or building falls within one of three possible classes: total, alter or crosshatch. "Total" buildings or streets are wholly within their own city; "alter" ones are wholly within the other city, and consequently not to be recognised or acknowledged; "Crosshatch" areas lie within both cities and are accessible to the residents of both, though Besz citizens will deliberately "unsee" their Ul Qoman counterparts(and vice versa). "Unseeing" is relaxed to the extent that while driving through crosshatched streets the residents of both cities are capable of avoiding accidents with vehicles from the other city. But that i as far as it goes, legally.
While no physical barriers exist, few people from either city are tempted to cross from one domain to the other because of their fear of the punitive measures that might be taken by Breach, the secretive body that polices the borders.
This all sounds seriously complicated, but it is amazing how quickly the reader accepts this background, and gets sucked into the plot which revolves around the investigation into the murder of an American archeology student, Mahalia Geary, who had been researching some of the deep-rooted political sensitivities within both cities (each of which has its extreme nationalist tendencies but also committed movements seeking formal unification). Inspector Tyador Borlu leads the investigation within Borlu but soon runs into unexpected obstruction from senior local politicians from both the nationalist and unificationist camps..
This novel works very well both as a straight detective story and also as a dystopian exercise (I don't think that "science fiction" is an appropriate term as all the technology involved is entirely contemporary). It is a long time since I have read anything s imaginative as this!
95Eyejaybee
67. Cop to Corpse by Peter Lovesey
A return to mid-season form for Peter Lovesey following last year's weak offering "Stagestruck".
The novel opens with uniformed constable Harry Tasker being shot dead as he completes his rounds in the early hours of Sunday morning. This is the third such killing of a policeman in the local area and passions are riding high. Lovesey's no-nonsense detective, Superintendent Peter Diamond, who heads the local Manvers Street nick (the station at which PC Tasker was based) takes over the investigation, only to ind himself fighting a turf war over jurisdiction with Superintendent Jack Gull from the Regional Serial Crimes Unit.
Lovesey weaves a tight and compelling plot and, as usual, takes the opportunity to impart much of his extensive local knowledge. diamond is as brash as ever, though such is the extent of Gull's gungho approach that Diamond appears almost a paragon of sensitivity.
A return to mid-season form for Peter Lovesey following last year's weak offering "Stagestruck".
The novel opens with uniformed constable Harry Tasker being shot dead as he completes his rounds in the early hours of Sunday morning. This is the third such killing of a policeman in the local area and passions are riding high. Lovesey's no-nonsense detective, Superintendent Peter Diamond, who heads the local Manvers Street nick (the station at which PC Tasker was based) takes over the investigation, only to ind himself fighting a turf war over jurisdiction with Superintendent Jack Gull from the Regional Serial Crimes Unit.
Lovesey weaves a tight and compelling plot and, as usual, takes the opportunity to impart much of his extensive local knowledge. diamond is as brash as ever, though such is the extent of Gull's gungho approach that Diamond appears almost a paragon of sensitivity.
96Eyejaybee
68. Pao by Kerry Young
This was another serendipitous find - having finished the book I was reading and not having my Kindle to hand I needed something to read on the journey home, and picked this up by chance as it was on special offer in Waterston'es at Trafalgar Square.
It proved to be an intriguing debut novel from Kerry Young following the life of Philip "Pao" Yang who at the age of 14 flees from China in 1938 following his father's death. He and his mother come to live with his "uncle" Zhang who has already established a robust protection network within the burgeoning Chinese community in Kingston, Jamaica. Zhang is a committed adherent of Mao Zedong, and brings the young Pao up to believe in the necessity to display social responsibility, though this guidance is bolstered with immersion in the teachings of Sun Tzu.
Pao grows up learning the ropes of protection, benefiting from the steady source of income but never forgetting the responsibility to help his "clients" when necessary. He falls in love with Gloria, a beautiful prostitute, though he marries Fay Wong, daughter of another senior figure within the Chinese community.
The novel gives an interesting insight into Jamaican history (a subject about which I knew precisely nothing). Pao, despite his criminal activities, is essentially a very sympathetic character, and he takes great care of all of the people with whom he has any extended dealings.
Very different to my normal reading material, but very enjoyable, too.
This was another serendipitous find - having finished the book I was reading and not having my Kindle to hand I needed something to read on the journey home, and picked this up by chance as it was on special offer in Waterston'es at Trafalgar Square.
It proved to be an intriguing debut novel from Kerry Young following the life of Philip "Pao" Yang who at the age of 14 flees from China in 1938 following his father's death. He and his mother come to live with his "uncle" Zhang who has already established a robust protection network within the burgeoning Chinese community in Kingston, Jamaica. Zhang is a committed adherent of Mao Zedong, and brings the young Pao up to believe in the necessity to display social responsibility, though this guidance is bolstered with immersion in the teachings of Sun Tzu.
Pao grows up learning the ropes of protection, benefiting from the steady source of income but never forgetting the responsibility to help his "clients" when necessary. He falls in love with Gloria, a beautiful prostitute, though he marries Fay Wong, daughter of another senior figure within the Chinese community.
The novel gives an interesting insight into Jamaican history (a subject about which I knew precisely nothing). Pao, despite his criminal activities, is essentially a very sympathetic character, and he takes great care of all of the people with whom he has any extended dealings.
Very different to my normal reading material, but very enjoyable, too.
97carlym
This thread deserves a lot more traffic--great reviews and an interesting selection of books. I just picked up When We Were Orphans at the store. I couldn't get into Remains of the Day but liked Never Let Me Go, and When We Were Orphans seemed like it might be similar.
98Eyejaybee
@97
Hi Carlym. I feel very fortunate - I seem to have had a particularly good reading year so far. I hope you enjoy When We Were Orphans.
:)
Hi Carlym. I feel very fortunate - I seem to have had a particularly good reading year so far. I hope you enjoy When We Were Orphans.
:)
99Eyejaybee
69. The Good Girl by Sinclair MacLeod.
I came across Sinclair MacLeod's first novel The Reluctant Detective entirely by chance and found it very enjoyable. As a consequence I was delighted to find its successor on offer very cheaply through the Kindle store, and looked forward very keenly to reading it. Sadly i was to find myself lamentably disappointed.
Unlike its predecessor, this novel had a very callow plot and the characterisation that had made the first novel so entertaining was wholly absent.
I came across Sinclair MacLeod's first novel The Reluctant Detective entirely by chance and found it very enjoyable. As a consequence I was delighted to find its successor on offer very cheaply through the Kindle store, and looked forward very keenly to reading it. Sadly i was to find myself lamentably disappointed.
Unlike its predecessor, this novel had a very callow plot and the characterisation that had made the first novel so entertaining was wholly absent.
100Eyejaybee
70. River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh.
I had such high hopes for this book that i suppose i was simply setting myself up for disappointment.
I had absolutely adored its predecessor, Sea of Poppies and had looked forward to savouring this continuation of the immensely complicated but utterly enchanting plot that had unwound so deliciously in the first book. My hopes for a fine and entertaining read were maintained throughout the first half of this volume which featured the same mix of humour, tragedy, history and all-round amusement. However, I suddenly encountered the reader's equivalent of the marathon runner's wall, and found that i could barely summon the mental energy to continue.
It's not that this is a bad novel - it is just that for reasons I can't quite identify i found myself suddenly suffering an inescapable bout of ennui. I suddenly just didn't care what befell those same characters whose exploits, merely a couple of chapters earlier, had kept me so enthralled.
It is a long time since I felt quite so badly let down by a book that had seemed so promising!
I had such high hopes for this book that i suppose i was simply setting myself up for disappointment.
I had absolutely adored its predecessor, Sea of Poppies and had looked forward to savouring this continuation of the immensely complicated but utterly enchanting plot that had unwound so deliciously in the first book. My hopes for a fine and entertaining read were maintained throughout the first half of this volume which featured the same mix of humour, tragedy, history and all-round amusement. However, I suddenly encountered the reader's equivalent of the marathon runner's wall, and found that i could barely summon the mental energy to continue.
It's not that this is a bad novel - it is just that for reasons I can't quite identify i found myself suddenly suffering an inescapable bout of ennui. I suddenly just didn't care what befell those same characters whose exploits, merely a couple of chapters earlier, had kept me so enthralled.
It is a long time since I felt quite so badly let down by a book that had seemed so promising!
101Eyejaybee
71. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami.
Another engaging novel from Haruki Murakami which, like so much of his work, revolves around loss and estrangement.
The story is mainly recounted by K, a 25 year old primary school teacher who has an unconsummated passion for Sumire, an unconventional woman whom he knew from university. Sumire is a couple of years younger than K and, as the novel opens, lacks direction in life. She aspires to be a writer but despite producing reams of work has yet to compose anything with which she is satisfied. K is in love with her, almost to the point of obsession but Sumire is unable to reciprocate. She likes K, and places greater trust in him than anyone else, but she is unable to cross the Rubicon and commit herself to him. And then at a family wedding that she reluctantly attends she meets Miu, a woman thirteen years older than herself with whom she falls completely and irreversibly in love.
Unaware of the depth of Sumire’s passion, Mui invites her to work in her wine importing business, and this proves to be a great success. Having previously meandered through life with no sense of direction or engagement with the rest of the world Sumire suddenly becomes focused. She starts to take care about her appearance , and applies herself to her work very conscientiously. Unfortunately the price of this reformation is that she finds herself unable to write.
Miu has to visit Europe to liaise with some of her wine producers and takes Sumire with her. Having had a great time exploring Rome and then Paris, they are invited to stay on a small Greek island for a few weeks, where things take a dramatic turn.
The novel stray into areas with which regular readers of Murakami will be familiar – relationships, loneliness and unconventional friendships – and he handles the various story strands with great facility.
Another engaging novel from Haruki Murakami which, like so much of his work, revolves around loss and estrangement.
The story is mainly recounted by K, a 25 year old primary school teacher who has an unconsummated passion for Sumire, an unconventional woman whom he knew from university. Sumire is a couple of years younger than K and, as the novel opens, lacks direction in life. She aspires to be a writer but despite producing reams of work has yet to compose anything with which she is satisfied. K is in love with her, almost to the point of obsession but Sumire is unable to reciprocate. She likes K, and places greater trust in him than anyone else, but she is unable to cross the Rubicon and commit herself to him. And then at a family wedding that she reluctantly attends she meets Miu, a woman thirteen years older than herself with whom she falls completely and irreversibly in love.
Unaware of the depth of Sumire’s passion, Mui invites her to work in her wine importing business, and this proves to be a great success. Having previously meandered through life with no sense of direction or engagement with the rest of the world Sumire suddenly becomes focused. She starts to take care about her appearance , and applies herself to her work very conscientiously. Unfortunately the price of this reformation is that she finds herself unable to write.
Miu has to visit Europe to liaise with some of her wine producers and takes Sumire with her. Having had a great time exploring Rome and then Paris, they are invited to stay on a small Greek island for a few weeks, where things take a dramatic turn.
The novel stray into areas with which regular readers of Murakami will be familiar – relationships, loneliness and unconventional friendships – and he handles the various story strands with great facility.
102Eyejaybee
72. One Night At The Call Centre by Chetan Bhagat.
Undoubtedly the most fatuous book that I have been foolish enough to read for quite some time!
Undoubtedly the most fatuous book that I have been foolish enough to read for quite some time!
103Eyejaybee
73. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.
I had followed the hype that accompanied the publication of this book, with all the stories about the massive advance for a debut novel and the seemingly extravagant reviews. I was interested by the idea of the book but wondered whether it would just be too deeply steeped in baseball (a sport about which I know next to nothing). However, i am delighted that I chose to give it a go!
Yes, it is about basbeall. The first half of the novel follows Henry, a naive young lad with a seemingly God-given talent for fielding at baseball. Mike Schwarz, captain of the baseball and football squads at Mid-Western college Westish spots him in an out-of-season match, and immediately realises that there is something rather special about the young man. Schwarz pulls some strings and is able to collate a scholarship package which brings Henry to Westish where he finds himself sharing a room with Owen Dunne. Owen is a bit of a renaissance man: an accomplished baseball player himself yet also a noted scholar and a debonair dresser. Owen is also extravagantly gay which acts as an intriguing counter to the "jock" stereotypes who abound in the baseball world.
Meanwhile we are introduced to Guert Affenlight, debonair and gifted President of the college, renowned for his masterful exegeses of nineteenth century American literature (and particularly Melville). His life is comfortable and safe, and seems set to become even brighter when Pella, his beautiful renegade daughter, chooses to return home, fleeing form her imprudent and now failed marriage.
As time moves on,Henry becomes ever more accomplished and seems set for a glittering career. However, suddenly in a low-key match the unprecedented occurs and Henry makes an error while fielding. For once his throw goes astray, with cataclysmic results.
I particularly enjoyed the manner in which this game portrayed baseball - hitherto a sport that i had dismissed as stultifyingly dull. This novel certainly lays that misperception to rest, and I would rate this as one of the most enjoyable novels I have read all year.
Go on - give it a go!
I had followed the hype that accompanied the publication of this book, with all the stories about the massive advance for a debut novel and the seemingly extravagant reviews. I was interested by the idea of the book but wondered whether it would just be too deeply steeped in baseball (a sport about which I know next to nothing). However, i am delighted that I chose to give it a go!
Yes, it is about basbeall. The first half of the novel follows Henry, a naive young lad with a seemingly God-given talent for fielding at baseball. Mike Schwarz, captain of the baseball and football squads at Mid-Western college Westish spots him in an out-of-season match, and immediately realises that there is something rather special about the young man. Schwarz pulls some strings and is able to collate a scholarship package which brings Henry to Westish where he finds himself sharing a room with Owen Dunne. Owen is a bit of a renaissance man: an accomplished baseball player himself yet also a noted scholar and a debonair dresser. Owen is also extravagantly gay which acts as an intriguing counter to the "jock" stereotypes who abound in the baseball world.
Meanwhile we are introduced to Guert Affenlight, debonair and gifted President of the college, renowned for his masterful exegeses of nineteenth century American literature (and particularly Melville). His life is comfortable and safe, and seems set to become even brighter when Pella, his beautiful renegade daughter, chooses to return home, fleeing form her imprudent and now failed marriage.
As time moves on,Henry becomes ever more accomplished and seems set for a glittering career. However, suddenly in a low-key match the unprecedented occurs and Henry makes an error while fielding. For once his throw goes astray, with cataclysmic results.
I particularly enjoyed the manner in which this game portrayed baseball - hitherto a sport that i had dismissed as stultifyingly dull. This novel certainly lays that misperception to rest, and I would rate this as one of the most enjoyable novels I have read all year.
Go on - give it a go!
104Eyejaybee
74. A Shakespeare Miscellany by Jane Armstrong.
What a disappointment! I have always been a great fan of the Arden editions of Shakespeare's plays, impressed by their scholarly introductions and the assiduity of their annotations and textual apparatus. I was, therefore, very enthusiastic when I discovered that they had produced this "Miscellany", and I looked forward to immersing myself in a deep treasure trove of amusing and well-informed articles about different aspects of Shakespeare's plays and poems. Unfortunately I found that I had landed in the wrong map square and fascination was conspicuous by its paucity. For example, the book offered a one-page synopsis of each of the plays but these were sadly deficient..
This book represents an unfortunate blot on the Arden escutcheon!
What a disappointment! I have always been a great fan of the Arden editions of Shakespeare's plays, impressed by their scholarly introductions and the assiduity of their annotations and textual apparatus. I was, therefore, very enthusiastic when I discovered that they had produced this "Miscellany", and I looked forward to immersing myself in a deep treasure trove of amusing and well-informed articles about different aspects of Shakespeare's plays and poems. Unfortunately I found that I had landed in the wrong map square and fascination was conspicuous by its paucity. For example, the book offered a one-page synopsis of each of the plays but these were sadly deficient..
This book represents an unfortunate blot on the Arden escutcheon!
105carlym
I read Sputnik Sweetheart recently, my first Murakami book. I also liked it--I thought it was inventive and creative without crossing too far over into weirdness.
106Eyejaybee
75. The Tenderloin by John Butler
An utterly dreadful book - so bad, in fact, that I can't bring myself to discuss it any further.
Rather a disappointing way to achieve the target of 75, especially after having read so many marvellous books earlier in the year.
As was are still just in june i might have a stab at completing a second lap, so have begun a new thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/138738
An utterly dreadful book - so bad, in fact, that I can't bring myself to discuss it any further.
Rather a disappointing way to achieve the target of 75, especially after having read so many marvellous books earlier in the year.
As was are still just in june i might have a stab at completing a second lap, so have begun a new thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/138738
107Eyejaybee
@105 Hi Carlym. I have read a few of Murakami's novels and have struggled with some of them that are just that little bit too weird or esoteric for my taste. However, I found Books 1 and 2 of 1Q84 absolutely marvellous.
108Eyejaybee
76. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
Suzanne Collins maintains the tension in this first sequel to "The Hunger Games". Having returned to District 12 Katniss Everdeen is living a life of relative luxury, but is also despondent as she realises that things will never return to how they were before she participated in The Hunger Games. During her participation in The Hunger Games she had had to pretend to be in love with Peeta, her fellow "tribute" from District 12. As a consequence of this her relationship with Gale, with whom she had previously gone hunting and who is deeply in love with her, has become immensely complicated and a source of isery and confusion. Her deeper presentiment proves justified when she is visited by President Snow, head of state of Panem, the dystopian land in which the novels are set.
Katniss has inadvertently provoked his wrath and hatred by her reactions to the conclusion of the Games in the first volume, and Snow fears that she might become the focus of rebellion. Collins balances the warring personalities very adeptly, and the reader is drawn into complete empathy with Katniss as she battles to keep herself and Peeta alive.
I enjoyed this novel, and the original, far more than I had expected, and am looking forward to the third volume.
Suzanne Collins maintains the tension in this first sequel to "The Hunger Games". Having returned to District 12 Katniss Everdeen is living a life of relative luxury, but is also despondent as she realises that things will never return to how they were before she participated in The Hunger Games. During her participation in The Hunger Games she had had to pretend to be in love with Peeta, her fellow "tribute" from District 12. As a consequence of this her relationship with Gale, with whom she had previously gone hunting and who is deeply in love with her, has become immensely complicated and a source of isery and confusion. Her deeper presentiment proves justified when she is visited by President Snow, head of state of Panem, the dystopian land in which the novels are set.
Katniss has inadvertently provoked his wrath and hatred by her reactions to the conclusion of the Games in the first volume, and Snow fears that she might become the focus of rebellion. Collins balances the warring personalities very adeptly, and the reader is drawn into complete empathy with Katniss as she battles to keep herself and Peeta alive.
I enjoyed this novel, and the original, far more than I had expected, and am looking forward to the third volume.
109Eyejaybee
77. Shakespeare: The World As A Stage by Bill Bryson.
A very entertaining and informative book.
I must admit that I have never quite managed to make the leap of faith about Bill Bryson. I did enjoy his early travel books (in particular The Lost Continent and Neither Here Nor There), though perhaps I read too many within too short a period because I very quickly came to find him merely irritating, and rather unwholesomely smug. It is also true that, in some of my more sclerotic moments, I might have been heard to remark that he has a face I could never tire of kicking. I apologise - we all have our lapses but that was uncalled for (even if, perhaps, true).
Anyway, all of my reservations about him have been completely swept away by this book. Here Bryson sticks to what he does so well - portraying facts in a lucid, engaging, immediately accessible and readily memorable manner.
His analysis of Shakespeare's plays and verse shows a deep affection and respect for the beauty of the words, and he sets about recapitulating Shakespeare's life in a concise but compelling manner.
I particularly enjoyed his final chapter which attempted to debunk some of the more outlandish theories about possible alternative authors of the plays. So much energy has been expended in this field (more than 5,000 books to date!) which seems ridiculous when it is unlikely that any definitive conclusion could ever be established. Just enjoy the works for what they are.
After all, "the play's the thing…"
A very entertaining and informative book.
I must admit that I have never quite managed to make the leap of faith about Bill Bryson. I did enjoy his early travel books (in particular The Lost Continent and Neither Here Nor There), though perhaps I read too many within too short a period because I very quickly came to find him merely irritating, and rather unwholesomely smug. It is also true that, in some of my more sclerotic moments, I might have been heard to remark that he has a face I could never tire of kicking. I apologise - we all have our lapses but that was uncalled for (even if, perhaps, true).
Anyway, all of my reservations about him have been completely swept away by this book. Here Bryson sticks to what he does so well - portraying facts in a lucid, engaging, immediately accessible and readily memorable manner.
His analysis of Shakespeare's plays and verse shows a deep affection and respect for the beauty of the words, and he sets about recapitulating Shakespeare's life in a concise but compelling manner.
I particularly enjoyed his final chapter which attempted to debunk some of the more outlandish theories about possible alternative authors of the plays. So much energy has been expended in this field (more than 5,000 books to date!) which seems ridiculous when it is unlikely that any definitive conclusion could ever be established. Just enjoy the works for what they are.
After all, "the play's the thing…"
110Eyejaybee
78. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.
This was a marvellous novel, combining some almost Dickensian social comment with human resilience in the face of seemingly insuperable adversity, and as so often i feel a certain serendipity about it as I came across it entirely by chance on a charity stall at Highgate Fair. Kismet, maybe!
The novel is set in an unspecified coastal city in India in 1975 and centres around the travails of four characters - Dina, a beautiful young widow struggling to keep her head about economic water and desperate to avoid becoming overly dependant upon her smug elder brother, Maleck, son of one of Dina's friends from school who has come to the city to study refrigeration at college and who moves out of his ghastly college hostel to lodge with Dina, and Ishvar and Om, two members of the lowest caste who have foresworn their scheduled careers as tanners to become tailors and who come to the city in response to Dina's advert to work as subcontracted labour in the rapidly burgeoning clothing market.
The four of them meet a rich cast of characters (again reminiscent of Dickens at his finest) including a legless and fingerless beggar called Shankar (but more generally referred to on the street as "Worm") who roams the city on a wooden platform fitted with castors, and Rajaram, who collects hair for sale.
The overriding ethos of the novel is summed up by Mr Valmik, sometime lawyer, proof-reader and sloganeer, who tells Dina, "There is always hope - hope enough to balance our despair. Or we would be lost." I am inclined to think that there is always despair, enough to balance our hope, but that's another story! That same Mr Valmik, essentially a peripheral character in this sweeping story, loves the work of W. B. Yeats whom he paraphrases throughout ... "I will arise and go now, and go to write this plea, and a convincing petition build, of words and passion made."
Awful things happen in this novel but the characters somehow just keep going, gaining the deeper admiration of the reader as they go.
This was a marvellous novel, combining some almost Dickensian social comment with human resilience in the face of seemingly insuperable adversity, and as so often i feel a certain serendipity about it as I came across it entirely by chance on a charity stall at Highgate Fair. Kismet, maybe!
The novel is set in an unspecified coastal city in India in 1975 and centres around the travails of four characters - Dina, a beautiful young widow struggling to keep her head about economic water and desperate to avoid becoming overly dependant upon her smug elder brother, Maleck, son of one of Dina's friends from school who has come to the city to study refrigeration at college and who moves out of his ghastly college hostel to lodge with Dina, and Ishvar and Om, two members of the lowest caste who have foresworn their scheduled careers as tanners to become tailors and who come to the city in response to Dina's advert to work as subcontracted labour in the rapidly burgeoning clothing market.
The four of them meet a rich cast of characters (again reminiscent of Dickens at his finest) including a legless and fingerless beggar called Shankar (but more generally referred to on the street as "Worm") who roams the city on a wooden platform fitted with castors, and Rajaram, who collects hair for sale.
The overriding ethos of the novel is summed up by Mr Valmik, sometime lawyer, proof-reader and sloganeer, who tells Dina, "There is always hope - hope enough to balance our despair. Or we would be lost." I am inclined to think that there is always despair, enough to balance our hope, but that's another story! That same Mr Valmik, essentially a peripheral character in this sweeping story, loves the work of W. B. Yeats whom he paraphrases throughout ... "I will arise and go now, and go to write this plea, and a convincing petition build, of words and passion made."
Awful things happen in this novel but the characters somehow just keep going, gaining the deeper admiration of the reader as they go.
111Eyejaybee
79. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
An interesting and enjoyable novel but it lacked the force and impact of "The Shadow of the Wind"
Once again the action is set in Barcelona though it is now the late 1950s. Daniel Sempere has been married to the lovely Beatriz for a couple of years and they have a baby son Julian, named for the elusive novelist Julian Carax whose story dominated "The Shadow of the Wind". Business at the Sempere bookshop has been slow when a strange man, with a painful limp and two fingers missing from his right hand. He buys an expensive edition of "The Count of Monte Cristo", though it becomes evident that this is merely a pretext for him to leave a message for Daniel's close friend and ally Fermin. This prompts Fermin to tell Daniel some of the blacker episodes of his own earlier life, and a new labyrinthine plot begins...
An interesting and enjoyable novel but it lacked the force and impact of "The Shadow of the Wind"
Once again the action is set in Barcelona though it is now the late 1950s. Daniel Sempere has been married to the lovely Beatriz for a couple of years and they have a baby son Julian, named for the elusive novelist Julian Carax whose story dominated "The Shadow of the Wind". Business at the Sempere bookshop has been slow when a strange man, with a painful limp and two fingers missing from his right hand. He buys an expensive edition of "The Count of Monte Cristo", though it becomes evident that this is merely a pretext for him to leave a message for Daniel's close friend and ally Fermin. This prompts Fermin to tell Daniel some of the blacker episodes of his own earlier life, and a new labyrinthine plot begins...
112Eyejaybee
80. Murder in Memoriam by Didier Daeninckx.
An interesting idea, though the prose seemed very stilted (I don't know whether this is merely a reflection on the translation or derives directly from the original French).
The novel concerns the investigation into the death of of a young aspiring academic who has been conducting a private research project. The police investigation uncovers the fact that the murdered man's father had himself been murdered during a riot in Paris in 1961 when passions about Algerian independence were at their peak. Surely this cannot be mere coincidence!
The investigation delves deeply into allegations of police brutality and bigotry, and the plot is tightly drawn. Sadly, though, the prose is often impenetrable and it was with a great feeling of relief that i finally reached the end.
An interesting idea, though the prose seemed very stilted (I don't know whether this is merely a reflection on the translation or derives directly from the original French).
The novel concerns the investigation into the death of of a young aspiring academic who has been conducting a private research project. The police investigation uncovers the fact that the murdered man's father had himself been murdered during a riot in Paris in 1961 when passions about Algerian independence were at their peak. Surely this cannot be mere coincidence!
The investigation delves deeply into allegations of police brutality and bigotry, and the plot is tightly drawn. Sadly, though, the prose is often impenetrable and it was with a great feeling of relief that i finally reached the end.
113Eyejaybee
81. The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill.
A great disappointment. I find it difficult to believe that this turgid, incoherent novel could have been written by the same author who gave us the immensely entertaining and often hilarious Dalziel and Pascoe series.
A great disappointment. I find it difficult to believe that this turgid, incoherent novel could have been written by the same author who gave us the immensely entertaining and often hilarious Dalziel and Pascoe series.
114Eyejaybee
82. The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris.
This novel could have been so good but unfortunately Harris doesn't quite pull it off. It certainly starts well, with Detective Constable Nick Belsey waking up face down on Hampstead Heath after a night of almost industrial-scale hedonism. He gradually staggers back to Hampstead police station where he is based, and tries to reconstruct the previous evening (including the loss of his phone, wallet, keys and memory. All that he can remember was the long trail of booze and gambling that had, over the last couple of years, brought him to the verge of bankruptcy (moral as well as financial).
In the midst of this he takes a call about a missing person. Ordinarily such a call would have little interest for Belsey but the missing person lives on The Bishop's Avenue, also known as Millionaires' Row. Belsey drags himself over there to find the cleaner on the premises (conservatively valued at about £15 million) but no sign of the owner apart from an inconclusive note left on the dining room table.
However, from such an engrossing start Harris lets the novel slip away from him, largely through his apparent determination to add as many twists and elaborations as possible, though this simply served to leave the novelo unnecessarily convoluted.
This is a shame because his descriptions of the various locales of Hampstead, Camden and East Finchley are very accurately drawn (I live in the close hinterland of Hampstead and recognised the accuracy of many of his scenes).
I would certainly read another novel by Harris, but I would hope for fewer twists that are there simply to show how clever the writer is.
This novel could have been so good but unfortunately Harris doesn't quite pull it off. It certainly starts well, with Detective Constable Nick Belsey waking up face down on Hampstead Heath after a night of almost industrial-scale hedonism. He gradually staggers back to Hampstead police station where he is based, and tries to reconstruct the previous evening (including the loss of his phone, wallet, keys and memory. All that he can remember was the long trail of booze and gambling that had, over the last couple of years, brought him to the verge of bankruptcy (moral as well as financial).
In the midst of this he takes a call about a missing person. Ordinarily such a call would have little interest for Belsey but the missing person lives on The Bishop's Avenue, also known as Millionaires' Row. Belsey drags himself over there to find the cleaner on the premises (conservatively valued at about £15 million) but no sign of the owner apart from an inconclusive note left on the dining room table.
However, from such an engrossing start Harris lets the novel slip away from him, largely through his apparent determination to add as many twists and elaborations as possible, though this simply served to leave the novelo unnecessarily convoluted.
This is a shame because his descriptions of the various locales of Hampstead, Camden and East Finchley are very accurately drawn (I live in the close hinterland of Hampstead and recognised the accuracy of many of his scenes).
I would certainly read another novel by Harris, but I would hope for fewer twists that are there simply to show how clever the writer is.
115Eyejaybee
83. The Hopeless Life of Charlie Summers by Paul Torday.
This is the third novel, and fourth book, that I have read this year dealing with the global financial crisis (the others being Capital and Whoops by John Lanchester and Other People's Money by Justin Cartwright), and they have all been immensely enjoyable.
Torday brings the light touch that rendered his debut novel Salmon Fishing In The Yemen so engaging, though he deals with serious, often tragic issues. The novel is narrated by Hector "Eck" Chetwode-Talbot, an ex-public schoolboy who had resigned his commission in one of the "better regiments" in the Army during the mid 2000s following an unfortunate incident in Afghanistan. Having dabbled briefly in the private security world he found himself being offered a position as a "greeter" for Mountwilliam and Partners, a private bank offering complex investment mechanisms for wealthy clients to generate huge income with limited exposure to tax. Although he knows very little about the details of these accounts Eck is very good at buttering up the right sort of client for Bilbo Mountwilliam to ply his wares to.
All goes well for two or three years and Eck finds his own fortunes waxing along with those of his firm. He decides to go for a golfing holiday in France with Lord Henry Newark, an old schoolfriend who might just be looking for the sort of investment opportunity that Mountwilliam and Partners might be able to offer.. While discussing some of the preliminaries over a couple of drinks in a village square they are accosted by Charlie Summers, a dissolute and downbeat English ex-pat who asks them for a light and joins in their conversation. This chance meeting will have significant repercussions throughout the rest of the novel.
The humour is dry and understated but very telling, and Torday's simple portrayal of the unfettered risks that such investment schemes offered makes one wonder how anyone, let alone the so-called experts, could ever have failed to see the inevitable consequences..
All in all it was very entertaining, despite the gravity of the basic subject matter.
This is the third novel, and fourth book, that I have read this year dealing with the global financial crisis (the others being Capital and Whoops by John Lanchester and Other People's Money by Justin Cartwright), and they have all been immensely enjoyable.
Torday brings the light touch that rendered his debut novel Salmon Fishing In The Yemen so engaging, though he deals with serious, often tragic issues. The novel is narrated by Hector "Eck" Chetwode-Talbot, an ex-public schoolboy who had resigned his commission in one of the "better regiments" in the Army during the mid 2000s following an unfortunate incident in Afghanistan. Having dabbled briefly in the private security world he found himself being offered a position as a "greeter" for Mountwilliam and Partners, a private bank offering complex investment mechanisms for wealthy clients to generate huge income with limited exposure to tax. Although he knows very little about the details of these accounts Eck is very good at buttering up the right sort of client for Bilbo Mountwilliam to ply his wares to.
All goes well for two or three years and Eck finds his own fortunes waxing along with those of his firm. He decides to go for a golfing holiday in France with Lord Henry Newark, an old schoolfriend who might just be looking for the sort of investment opportunity that Mountwilliam and Partners might be able to offer.. While discussing some of the preliminaries over a couple of drinks in a village square they are accosted by Charlie Summers, a dissolute and downbeat English ex-pat who asks them for a light and joins in their conversation. This chance meeting will have significant repercussions throughout the rest of the novel.
The humour is dry and understated but very telling, and Torday's simple portrayal of the unfettered risks that such investment schemes offered makes one wonder how anyone, let alone the so-called experts, could ever have failed to see the inevitable consequences..
All in all it was very entertaining, despite the gravity of the basic subject matter.
116Eyejaybee
84. The Lodger by Charles Nicholl
An interesting analysis of the locality in which Shakespeare probably passed some of the most productive years of his play-writing career, reconstructed from painstaking analysis of a variety of records.
Nicholl, perhaps best known for his previous work, "The Reckoning", an account of the events leading to the death of Christopher Marlowe, has an engaging writing style which quickly grabs and holds the reader's attention. I do think that he might be slightly guilty of leaping to conclusions for which there is not really enough supporting evidence, but his story never lacks for interest.
More than anything else, I think that this book serves to demonstrate the very delicate strands of luck on which hang our knowledge of Shakespeare's work and existence. We only have six examples of his signature (two of which are on depositions that he made in the case of Belott v Mountjoy, the civil case which is at the centre of Nicholl's book, and it is only because of the act of homage by some of his fellow playwrights that the Folio edition of his plays was published at all. As that edition contains the only surviving text of several of his plays we would otherwise have had no knowledge of the man, and scant evidence of his work.
An interesting analysis of the locality in which Shakespeare probably passed some of the most productive years of his play-writing career, reconstructed from painstaking analysis of a variety of records.
Nicholl, perhaps best known for his previous work, "The Reckoning", an account of the events leading to the death of Christopher Marlowe, has an engaging writing style which quickly grabs and holds the reader's attention. I do think that he might be slightly guilty of leaping to conclusions for which there is not really enough supporting evidence, but his story never lacks for interest.
More than anything else, I think that this book serves to demonstrate the very delicate strands of luck on which hang our knowledge of Shakespeare's work and existence. We only have six examples of his signature (two of which are on depositions that he made in the case of Belott v Mountjoy, the civil case which is at the centre of Nicholl's book, and it is only because of the act of homage by some of his fellow playwrights that the Folio edition of his plays was published at all. As that edition contains the only surviving text of several of his plays we would otherwise have had no knowledge of the man, and scant evidence of his work.
117Eyejaybee
85. The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell
By some margin this is the worst book that I have read this year. I have seldom encountered such a woeful combination of weak plotting, implausible characterisation and a fatuous sense of context. I don’t really understand why a respectable publishing house of the stature of Penguin should choose to take this lamentable book on to their list.
I was also surprised to read such effusive encomia from the likes of Mark Billingham and Reginald Hill heralding the debut of a great new star in the crime fiction firmament and can’t believe that they could actually have read it. Ah! Here’s a cynical thought – perhaps they didn’t. I certainly wish that I hadn’t!
By some margin this is the worst book that I have read this year. I have seldom encountered such a woeful combination of weak plotting, implausible characterisation and a fatuous sense of context. I don’t really understand why a respectable publishing house of the stature of Penguin should choose to take this lamentable book on to their list.
I was also surprised to read such effusive encomia from the likes of Mark Billingham and Reginald Hill heralding the debut of a great new star in the crime fiction firmament and can’t believe that they could actually have read it. Ah! Here’s a cynical thought – perhaps they didn’t. I certainly wish that I hadn’t!
118Eyejaybee
86. Caesar by Allan Massie.
An intriguing, exhaustively-researched account of the latter years of Julius Caesar's life, steeped in internecine plots and labyrinthine conspiracies. Somehow it all left me rather cold. Although on the face of it Massie's prose is beautifully formed, somehow he seemed incapable of making the reader have any feelings at all about the characters.
An intriguing, exhaustively-researched account of the latter years of Julius Caesar's life, steeped in internecine plots and labyrinthine conspiracies. Somehow it all left me rather cold. Although on the face of it Massie's prose is beautifully formed, somehow he seemed incapable of making the reader have any feelings at all about the characters.
119Eyejaybee
87. The Master of Bruges by Terence Morgan.
A fascinating, engrossing and beautifully written book!
This novel takes the form of a series of memoirs by the now aged master porait artist Hans Memling who had passed most of his life in Bruges though he also had the opportunity to be present at some of the most significant moments of English history.
It begins with Memling working as an apprentice in the workshop of Rogier van der Weyden. By chance he gets to accompany his master who is summoned to the court of the noted warrior Charles the Bold, subsequently Duke of Burgundy, to start work on a portrait. While there Hans chances to sketch Charles's daughter, demonstrating his own skill which, it rapidly emerges, is great er than that of his master. Following various adventures he again encounters Charles the Bold following in alarming circumstances - following on from a sordid and catastrophic military action Hans is accused of looting a church. Recognising the artist Charles intervenes to prevent what would surely have developed into a wrongful execution, and has Hans established in Bruges where he has to keep in readiness for official portrait commission.
Memling rapidly establishes himself as a successful artist in Bruges and builds up a burgeoning nework of patrons. Morgan gives us a detailed, though never overpowering, insight into the artist's world, explaining how he composes his portraits, and what tactics he used to extend his patronage. One popular "trick" that he perfected was to include images of his patron in religious tableaux. Marie, Duchess of Burgundy, was frequently painted by Memling, with her features often seen on the face of the Madonna and, in his "Last Judgment" she also appears as St Agnes.
Morgan is adept at keeping the reader's attention, and one of his tricks to do this is his use of deliberate anachronisms. For example, one of his characters (as it happens, the future King Richard III of England) refers to the ordinances relating to the cleanliness of the Thames by quoting Shakespeare 100 years before the playwright's birth, saying that they are honoured "more in the breach than the observance"!.
As I have already mentioned, the novel is people by a wide range of historical figures, and there are amusing portrayals of William Caxton, Richard III and Edward IV.
Memling comes over to England in 1483 and is on hand to see the various machinations that led to Richard III succeeding to the throne. Memling's account is very favourable to Richard III, and the novel offers an intriguing expalantion to the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, with an amusing cameo appearance of a young Perkin Warbeck.
Overall I found this an entertaining and enlightening novel. It was Morgan's first novel, and I am looking forward to its successors.
A fascinating, engrossing and beautifully written book!
This novel takes the form of a series of memoirs by the now aged master porait artist Hans Memling who had passed most of his life in Bruges though he also had the opportunity to be present at some of the most significant moments of English history.
It begins with Memling working as an apprentice in the workshop of Rogier van der Weyden. By chance he gets to accompany his master who is summoned to the court of the noted warrior Charles the Bold, subsequently Duke of Burgundy, to start work on a portrait. While there Hans chances to sketch Charles's daughter, demonstrating his own skill which, it rapidly emerges, is great er than that of his master. Following various adventures he again encounters Charles the Bold following in alarming circumstances - following on from a sordid and catastrophic military action Hans is accused of looting a church. Recognising the artist Charles intervenes to prevent what would surely have developed into a wrongful execution, and has Hans established in Bruges where he has to keep in readiness for official portrait commission.
Memling rapidly establishes himself as a successful artist in Bruges and builds up a burgeoning nework of patrons. Morgan gives us a detailed, though never overpowering, insight into the artist's world, explaining how he composes his portraits, and what tactics he used to extend his patronage. One popular "trick" that he perfected was to include images of his patron in religious tableaux. Marie, Duchess of Burgundy, was frequently painted by Memling, with her features often seen on the face of the Madonna and, in his "Last Judgment" she also appears as St Agnes.
Morgan is adept at keeping the reader's attention, and one of his tricks to do this is his use of deliberate anachronisms. For example, one of his characters (as it happens, the future King Richard III of England) refers to the ordinances relating to the cleanliness of the Thames by quoting Shakespeare 100 years before the playwright's birth, saying that they are honoured "more in the breach than the observance"!.
As I have already mentioned, the novel is people by a wide range of historical figures, and there are amusing portrayals of William Caxton, Richard III and Edward IV.
Memling comes over to England in 1483 and is on hand to see the various machinations that led to Richard III succeeding to the throne. Memling's account is very favourable to Richard III, and the novel offers an intriguing expalantion to the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, with an amusing cameo appearance of a young Perkin Warbeck.
Overall I found this an entertaining and enlightening novel. It was Morgan's first novel, and I am looking forward to its successors.
120Eyejaybee
88. A Question of Loyalties by Allan Massie.
A compelling novel about the choices people make and the reverberations that they can send down the generations. In this case the narrator lives his life in the shadow of his father's "collaboration" with the Germans, and subsequent execution.
As always, Massie'scharacterisation is sound, and he controls the narrative to ensure that he always retains the reader's interest.
I am not sure that I would say that I enjoyed this book - it dealt with difficult and uncomfortable themes - but I think it was very good and I am glad that I read it.
A compelling novel about the choices people make and the reverberations that they can send down the generations. In this case the narrator lives his life in the shadow of his father's "collaboration" with the Germans, and subsequent execution.
As always, Massie'scharacterisation is sound, and he controls the narrative to ensure that he always retains the reader's interest.
I am not sure that I would say that I enjoyed this book - it dealt with difficult and uncomfortable themes - but I think it was very good and I am glad that I read it.
121Eyejaybee
89. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday.
A very enjoyable satire, and particularly adeptly written considering that this was Torday's first novel
The book tells of the heroic efforts to bring one man's dream to fruition. Sheikh Muhammad has a vision of importing the noble sport of salmon fishing to his native Yemen, and decides to throw some of his considerable fortune towards bringing it about.
The novel is told from a variety of viewpoints including the journals of Dr Alfred Jones,a scientific officer working for the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence, an Executive Agency of DEFRA, a series of email exchanges between the Prime Minister and various senior officials, and terrorists' emails intercepted by the security services. Interspersed among these are the harrowing letters from Harriet Chetwode-Talbot to her fiance Robert Marshall, who has gone missing while on a mission with the Royal marines in Iraq ... or was it Iran? We also read questions in the House over that specific issue. Torday captures the different voices very accurately, even that of Mary Jones, Alfred's ambitious but frequently absent wife.
He gives us sharp satire on the nature of modern government, and the peculiarities of special advisers, and the constant yearning to manage the news. Sheikh Muhammad's dream is viewed alternately as a heroic struggle to achieve a lasting testament to the peaceful exchange of cultural heritage between the east and the west, or as the feeble publicity stunt of a cruel oppressor of the rural Yemeni population by a heartless dictator with more money than sense.
What comes through most clearly is the Sheikh's and Dr Jones's (and presumably Paul Torday's) love of fishing, and the sense of peace and fulfilment that can be found on the banks of a salmon river when the fish are running.
A very enjoyable satire, and particularly adeptly written considering that this was Torday's first novel
The book tells of the heroic efforts to bring one man's dream to fruition. Sheikh Muhammad has a vision of importing the noble sport of salmon fishing to his native Yemen, and decides to throw some of his considerable fortune towards bringing it about.
The novel is told from a variety of viewpoints including the journals of Dr Alfred Jones,a scientific officer working for the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence, an Executive Agency of DEFRA, a series of email exchanges between the Prime Minister and various senior officials, and terrorists' emails intercepted by the security services. Interspersed among these are the harrowing letters from Harriet Chetwode-Talbot to her fiance Robert Marshall, who has gone missing while on a mission with the Royal marines in Iraq ... or was it Iran? We also read questions in the House over that specific issue. Torday captures the different voices very accurately, even that of Mary Jones, Alfred's ambitious but frequently absent wife.
He gives us sharp satire on the nature of modern government, and the peculiarities of special advisers, and the constant yearning to manage the news. Sheikh Muhammad's dream is viewed alternately as a heroic struggle to achieve a lasting testament to the peaceful exchange of cultural heritage between the east and the west, or as the feeble publicity stunt of a cruel oppressor of the rural Yemeni population by a heartless dictator with more money than sense.
What comes through most clearly is the Sheikh's and Dr Jones's (and presumably Paul Torday's) love of fishing, and the sense of peace and fulfilment that can be found on the banks of a salmon river when the fish are running.
122Eyejaybee
90. Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry.
Another beautiful novel from Rohinton Mistry.
"Such a Long Journey" does not quite match the sheer scale and awesome majesty of his subsequent novel "A Fine Balance", but that is the only even vaguely negative comment that I can bring myself to offer about it.
The main protagonist is Gustad Noble, a devout Parsi living in early 1970s Bombay (long before the West had learned to call it Mumbai) with his wife Dilnavaz, his two sons Sohrab and Darius, and his nine year old daughter Roshan. Gustad work as a senior clerk in a large bank where he is respected for his piety and application. As the novel opens Gustad is delighted to learn that Sohrab has earned a place at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), and he and his wife almost literally can't stop talking about it, blissfully telling all of their friends and neighbours.
Meanwhile Gustad receives a letter from Major Bilimoria, until recently a neighbour and very close friend, who had suddenly moved away to live in Dehli. This letter asks Gustad for a favour. Gustad, initially angry that his friend could leave without a word and then, out of the blue, ask him to undertake strange errands on his behalf. After some deliberation Gustad decides to help, and complies with the Major's requests. At this point Gustad's hitherto ordered and fairly comfortable life starts to fall apart. Sohrab, grappling with customary teenage angst, becomes annoyed with all of the fuss and starts to argue, interminably, and increasingly bitterly with Gustad. This culminates with him foreswearing his place at ITT and then moving out of the family home, much to his parents' distress (though Gustad is too stubborn to admit this, even to himself).
Even more distressingly, Roshan falls prey to a mysterious illness, leading Gustad to try a variety of medical treatments while Dilnavaz resorts to more mystical remedies.
The novel is set in the early 1970s against the backdrop of Mrs Indira Gandhi's premiership as India inches towards war with Pakistan. Bombay is in a constant state of unrest, with police brutality, rampant political corruption and religious tensions evident all around. Mistry weaves a vivid tapestry, merging numerous threads to deliver a pellucid account of how all these worries combine to beset a good man, and how he battles to overcome them.
Gustad is a heroic figure - he has moments of doubt and weakness, but he remains true to his family and friends, and struggles always to do the right thing. Despite the multiplicity of plots and sub-plots, Mistry never loses track of them, and never relaxes his control. In addition to a marvellous plot peopled by colourful and extremely credible characters, Mistry gives a fascinating insight into this period of Indian history. He also sprinkles the book with scenes of complete humour that enliven, but never compromise the novel.
Read it!
Another beautiful novel from Rohinton Mistry.
"Such a Long Journey" does not quite match the sheer scale and awesome majesty of his subsequent novel "A Fine Balance", but that is the only even vaguely negative comment that I can bring myself to offer about it.
The main protagonist is Gustad Noble, a devout Parsi living in early 1970s Bombay (long before the West had learned to call it Mumbai) with his wife Dilnavaz, his two sons Sohrab and Darius, and his nine year old daughter Roshan. Gustad work as a senior clerk in a large bank where he is respected for his piety and application. As the novel opens Gustad is delighted to learn that Sohrab has earned a place at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), and he and his wife almost literally can't stop talking about it, blissfully telling all of their friends and neighbours.
Meanwhile Gustad receives a letter from Major Bilimoria, until recently a neighbour and very close friend, who had suddenly moved away to live in Dehli. This letter asks Gustad for a favour. Gustad, initially angry that his friend could leave without a word and then, out of the blue, ask him to undertake strange errands on his behalf. After some deliberation Gustad decides to help, and complies with the Major's requests. At this point Gustad's hitherto ordered and fairly comfortable life starts to fall apart. Sohrab, grappling with customary teenage angst, becomes annoyed with all of the fuss and starts to argue, interminably, and increasingly bitterly with Gustad. This culminates with him foreswearing his place at ITT and then moving out of the family home, much to his parents' distress (though Gustad is too stubborn to admit this, even to himself).
Even more distressingly, Roshan falls prey to a mysterious illness, leading Gustad to try a variety of medical treatments while Dilnavaz resorts to more mystical remedies.
The novel is set in the early 1970s against the backdrop of Mrs Indira Gandhi's premiership as India inches towards war with Pakistan. Bombay is in a constant state of unrest, with police brutality, rampant political corruption and religious tensions evident all around. Mistry weaves a vivid tapestry, merging numerous threads to deliver a pellucid account of how all these worries combine to beset a good man, and how he battles to overcome them.
Gustad is a heroic figure - he has moments of doubt and weakness, but he remains true to his family and friends, and struggles always to do the right thing. Despite the multiplicity of plots and sub-plots, Mistry never loses track of them, and never relaxes his control. In addition to a marvellous plot peopled by colourful and extremely credible characters, Mistry gives a fascinating insight into this period of Indian history. He also sprinkles the book with scenes of complete humour that enliven, but never compromise the novel.
Read it!
123Eyejaybee
91. The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje.
My only previous experience of Ondaatje's work was his Booker Prize winner, "The English Patient", and my principal response to the title character had been, "Please just die!"Consequently I was unsure what to expect with this book. I very quickly realised that I had nothing to worry about. This is a fascinating story about the adventures that three boys experienced travelling from their native Sri Lanka (though it was still called Ceylon then) to England in 1954.
The "cat's table" was name given to the table furthest from the Captain's Table to which the three unaccompanied boys were assigned for their meals, along with various "socially challenged" adyults. Michael, the narrator, is eleven years old and is travelling to England to stay with his mother (divorced from his father three or fours years earlier) and then to undergo an English education. He becomes friendly with two other boys in a similar position: Cassius, aged twelve, who is almost feral and has already been suspended from his Sri Lankan school a few times, and Ramadhin, an asthmatic Moslem boy whose frail health curtails his capacity to join in with all the others' exploits.
Ondaatje captures the sense of adventure and mischief perfectly (despite his disclaimer in the "Author's Note" at the end of the book it is difficult wholly to believe that this is not at least partially autobiographical). The personalities of the adult characters are revelaed gradually, and the readers sees things that the young Michael doesn't, though this only adds to the savour.
Among other sources of wonder that the boys quickly discover are a prisoner, who is kept manacled all of the time and whose only exercise come from being allowed to walk around the decks at night, under armed supervision, and a circus troupe who revel in bizarre entertainments.
All in all this was one of the finest rites of passage novels I have read.
My only previous experience of Ondaatje's work was his Booker Prize winner, "The English Patient", and my principal response to the title character had been, "Please just die!"Consequently I was unsure what to expect with this book. I very quickly realised that I had nothing to worry about. This is a fascinating story about the adventures that three boys experienced travelling from their native Sri Lanka (though it was still called Ceylon then) to England in 1954.
The "cat's table" was name given to the table furthest from the Captain's Table to which the three unaccompanied boys were assigned for their meals, along with various "socially challenged" adyults. Michael, the narrator, is eleven years old and is travelling to England to stay with his mother (divorced from his father three or fours years earlier) and then to undergo an English education. He becomes friendly with two other boys in a similar position: Cassius, aged twelve, who is almost feral and has already been suspended from his Sri Lankan school a few times, and Ramadhin, an asthmatic Moslem boy whose frail health curtails his capacity to join in with all the others' exploits.
Ondaatje captures the sense of adventure and mischief perfectly (despite his disclaimer in the "Author's Note" at the end of the book it is difficult wholly to believe that this is not at least partially autobiographical). The personalities of the adult characters are revelaed gradually, and the readers sees things that the young Michael doesn't, though this only adds to the savour.
Among other sources of wonder that the boys quickly discover are a prisoner, who is kept manacled all of the time and whose only exercise come from being allowed to walk around the decks at night, under armed supervision, and a circus troupe who revel in bizarre entertainments.
All in all this was one of the finest rites of passage novels I have read.
124carlym
The Cat's Table sounds great. I had also read and not liked The English Patient, so I had stayed away from other Ondaatje novels, but I'll look for this one.
125Eyejaybee
92. On His Majesty's Service by Allan Mallinson.
After the feast, the reckoning.
I had been fortunate enough to read three or four exceptionally good books in a row and then I stumbled upon this one which brought the lucky streak to an abrupt end.
To be fair, this novel is the eleventh in a sequence and i haven't read any of its predecessors, so I acknowledge that I may not be particularly qualified to judge this instalment. Sadly, based upon my experience with this episode I doubt whether I shall be making any efforts to bring myself up to speed with the earlier volumes.
After the feast, the reckoning.
I had been fortunate enough to read three or four exceptionally good books in a row and then I stumbled upon this one which brought the lucky streak to an abrupt end.
To be fair, this novel is the eleventh in a sequence and i haven't read any of its predecessors, so I acknowledge that I may not be particularly qualified to judge this instalment. Sadly, based upon my experience with this episode I doubt whether I shall be making any efforts to bring myself up to speed with the earlier volumes.
126Eyejaybee
93. Interior by Justin Cartwright.
An interesting investigation of loss and grief. In the late 1980s the narrator visits the fictional African country of Banguniland where, thirty years earlier, his father has disappeared (believed drowned following a bizarre accident involving a LandRover on a river ferry). However, some of the locals suggest that he missing man is still alive, in the dark hinterland of the country, where he has assumed mystical or shamanic status.
I thought that the idea underlying the book was especially interesting but found it almost impossible to summon up any empathy for the protagonist. Indeed, when, about halfway through, his ex-wife punches him in the face breaking two of his teeth I found myself wishing that he had done this both earlier and much harder.
An interesting investigation of loss and grief. In the late 1980s the narrator visits the fictional African country of Banguniland where, thirty years earlier, his father has disappeared (believed drowned following a bizarre accident involving a LandRover on a river ferry). However, some of the locals suggest that he missing man is still alive, in the dark hinterland of the country, where he has assumed mystical or shamanic status.
I thought that the idea underlying the book was especially interesting but found it almost impossible to summon up any empathy for the protagonist. Indeed, when, about halfway through, his ex-wife punches him in the face breaking two of his teeth I found myself wishing that he had done this both earlier and much harder.
128Eyejaybee
95. 1Q84 Book 3 by Haruki Murakami.
I read this book earlier in the year and, for reasons that I now completely fail to understand I was not impressed - in fact I remember saying that I found this final volume disappointing and had wished that Murakami had left the story at the end of Volume 2.
I don't know what sort of mid-life crisis I was experiencing then but I could not have misjudged this marvellous book more egregiously. This third volume is simply fantastic, in all senses if that so heavily overused word.
The characters of both Aomame and Tengo ae simply charming, and the plot that Murakami weaves is utterly enchanting. I am so glad that I read his lovely book again, and am now worried about what other misjudgements I might have made.
I see that Penguin's paperback edition now groups all three books in one volume, which probably makes more sense.
I read this book earlier in the year and, for reasons that I now completely fail to understand I was not impressed - in fact I remember saying that I found this final volume disappointing and had wished that Murakami had left the story at the end of Volume 2.
I don't know what sort of mid-life crisis I was experiencing then but I could not have misjudged this marvellous book more egregiously. This third volume is simply fantastic, in all senses if that so heavily overused word.
The characters of both Aomame and Tengo ae simply charming, and the plot that Murakami weaves is utterly enchanting. I am so glad that I read his lovely book again, and am now worried about what other misjudgements I might have made.
I see that Penguin's paperback edition now groups all three books in one volume, which probably makes more sense.
129Eyejaybee
96. The World According to Garp by John Irving.
This was the first of John Irving's books that I read, shortly after its publication in the late 1970s. At that time I found it amazing: scurrilous, hilarious, anarchic yest also very moving. Thirty-two years later my verdict remains unchanged - it IS an excellent book, and it deserved the hearty encomia heaped upon it by the literati.
What strikes me as even more amazing is that Irving would surpass it by such a margin with some of his subsequent books (I am thinking particularly of "The Hotel New Hampshire" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany").
This was the first of John Irving's books that I read, shortly after its publication in the late 1970s. At that time I found it amazing: scurrilous, hilarious, anarchic yest also very moving. Thirty-two years later my verdict remains unchanged - it IS an excellent book, and it deserved the hearty encomia heaped upon it by the literati.
What strikes me as even more amazing is that Irving would surpass it by such a margin with some of his subsequent books (I am thinking particularly of "The Hotel New Hampshire" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany").
130Eyejaybee
97. Tales from Firozsha Baag by Rohinton Mistry.
I was very disappointed with this collection of short stories. To be fair, I am seldom as keen on short stories as on a novel, but even allowing for that basic prejudice I felt let down by this collection. after having so greatly enjoyed Mistry's novels "Such a Long Journey" and "A Fine Balance". I am glad that i had read them first - if I had read "Tales from Firozsha Baag" first i would never have bothered to try the novels, and I would have missed out on two absolute gems.
There are glimpses of Mistry's skill at story telling in some of these tales but overall I felt that there was just too much emphasis on the setting (and particularly the squalor) and not enough of his perceptive characterisation.
I was very disappointed with this collection of short stories. To be fair, I am seldom as keen on short stories as on a novel, but even allowing for that basic prejudice I felt let down by this collection. after having so greatly enjoyed Mistry's novels "Such a Long Journey" and "A Fine Balance". I am glad that i had read them first - if I had read "Tales from Firozsha Baag" first i would never have bothered to try the novels, and I would have missed out on two absolute gems.
There are glimpses of Mistry's skill at story telling in some of these tales but overall I felt that there was just too much emphasis on the setting (and particularly the squalor) and not enough of his perceptive characterisation.
131Eyejaybee
98. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer.
A lovely book based around the experiences of the Landauer family as first the Nazis and then the Communists overrun Czechoslovakia. While on honeymoon in Venice in 1928, Viktor and Liesel Landauer met Rainer von Abt, an aspiring architect who is obsessed by the burgeoning modernist movement. The Landauers are very wealyth (Viktor owns the prestigious Czech-based Landauer Motor Company), and they decide to commission their marital home from von Abt. He proceeds to design and then build a marvellous, unique house, set into the side of a hill in which the walls of the lower storey are made of glass. The description of the building is precise but never laboured, and the reader is wholly convinced of the startling and enticing house that von Abt has created.
For the next ten years the Landauers live there, seeming ly content, though the transparency of their living arrangements is not sufficient to prevent them from keeping their dark secrets. Meanwhile events in Europe gradually conspire to render their own menace, especially as Viktor Landauer is Jewish, and the menace of the Nazis moves ever closer. there is a marvellous scene in which Viktor, Liesel and their friend Hana listen to a radio broadcast of Neville Chamberlain speaking after his now infamous meeting with Hitler in Munich in 1938. Appeasing Britons may have allowed themselves to be swayed by Chamberlain's platitudinous rambling but the three Czechs immediately recognise the truth of their situation.
The Germans duly annex the Sudetenland and beyond, and the Landauers decide that their best policy might be flight, though their circumstances have already become additionally complicated by the presence in their lives of Katalin, with whom Viktor has had a few adulterous encounters, and her daughter Marika.
Beautifully written and meticulously plotted, this novel is one of the most enjoyable, but also moving, books I have read all year.
A lovely book based around the experiences of the Landauer family as first the Nazis and then the Communists overrun Czechoslovakia. While on honeymoon in Venice in 1928, Viktor and Liesel Landauer met Rainer von Abt, an aspiring architect who is obsessed by the burgeoning modernist movement. The Landauers are very wealyth (Viktor owns the prestigious Czech-based Landauer Motor Company), and they decide to commission their marital home from von Abt. He proceeds to design and then build a marvellous, unique house, set into the side of a hill in which the walls of the lower storey are made of glass. The description of the building is precise but never laboured, and the reader is wholly convinced of the startling and enticing house that von Abt has created.
For the next ten years the Landauers live there, seeming ly content, though the transparency of their living arrangements is not sufficient to prevent them from keeping their dark secrets. Meanwhile events in Europe gradually conspire to render their own menace, especially as Viktor Landauer is Jewish, and the menace of the Nazis moves ever closer. there is a marvellous scene in which Viktor, Liesel and their friend Hana listen to a radio broadcast of Neville Chamberlain speaking after his now infamous meeting with Hitler in Munich in 1938. Appeasing Britons may have allowed themselves to be swayed by Chamberlain's platitudinous rambling but the three Czechs immediately recognise the truth of their situation.
The Germans duly annex the Sudetenland and beyond, and the Landauers decide that their best policy might be flight, though their circumstances have already become additionally complicated by the presence in their lives of Katalin, with whom Viktor has had a few adulterous encounters, and her daughter Marika.
Beautifully written and meticulously plotted, this novel is one of the most enjoyable, but also moving, books I have read all year.
132Eyejaybee
99. The irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce by Paul Torday.
An amusing, though also rather alarming investigation of addiction. Told in four sections, each set slightly earlier in time than the preceding one, this story catalogues the decline into rampant alcoholism of Wilberforce, former proprietor of a successful software company who acquires a detailed knowledge of fine wines and an extensive cellar from which to indulge himself.
The novel begins with Wilberforce arriving at a West End restaurant which, his research tells him, has a particularly fine wine on offer at a mere £3,000 for the bottle. My own experience of £3,000 bottles of wine is limited ... well, let's be honest, entirely non-existent, so I can't judge how accurately Torday portrays the experience of consuming such an opulent drink. However, it certainly convinced me and I almost felt I was drinking it too!
It is only as Wilberforce's behaviour becomes more erratic that we come to realise that he has already consumed three bottle of cheaper (though still expensive enough) wine earlier in the day. As we grow more familiar with Wilberforce we find ourselves dragged into the utter confusion that bedevils much of his current,tortured life.
The subsequent sections give us further insight into how he came to be in that situation. We also meet Hector "Eck" Chetwode Talbot who features more prominently in "The Hopeless Life of Charlie Summers".
Very amusing, though also very sensitive. Torday manages his plot and characters very adeptly.
An amusing, though also rather alarming investigation of addiction. Told in four sections, each set slightly earlier in time than the preceding one, this story catalogues the decline into rampant alcoholism of Wilberforce, former proprietor of a successful software company who acquires a detailed knowledge of fine wines and an extensive cellar from which to indulge himself.
The novel begins with Wilberforce arriving at a West End restaurant which, his research tells him, has a particularly fine wine on offer at a mere £3,000 for the bottle. My own experience of £3,000 bottles of wine is limited ... well, let's be honest, entirely non-existent, so I can't judge how accurately Torday portrays the experience of consuming such an opulent drink. However, it certainly convinced me and I almost felt I was drinking it too!
It is only as Wilberforce's behaviour becomes more erratic that we come to realise that he has already consumed three bottle of cheaper (though still expensive enough) wine earlier in the day. As we grow more familiar with Wilberforce we find ourselves dragged into the utter confusion that bedevils much of his current,tortured life.
The subsequent sections give us further insight into how he came to be in that situation. We also meet Hector "Eck" Chetwode Talbot who features more prominently in "The Hopeless Life of Charlie Summers".
Very amusing, though also very sensitive. Torday manages his plot and characters very adeptly.
133Eyejaybee
100. Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry.
As ever with Mistry this book was beautifully written though it also contrived to be rather heavy going. I found the descriptions of Nariman's gradual decline from Parkinson's Disease, and the various travails that he, his daughter and his step children face as a consequence, to be very moving but also rather depressing.
All in all I felt that there was just rather too much rage, distress and squalor, and I get more than enough of all that at home!
As ever with Mistry this book was beautifully written though it also contrived to be rather heavy going. I found the descriptions of Nariman's gradual decline from Parkinson's Disease, and the various travails that he, his daughter and his step children face as a consequence, to be very moving but also rather depressing.
All in all I felt that there was just rather too much rage, distress and squalor, and I get more than enough of all that at home!
135Eyejaybee
102. Breakfast at the Hotel Deja vu by Paul Torday.
An enjoyable novella about Robert "Bobby" Wansbeck, former Conservative MP for a constituency in the north of England who, in a bid to get away from it all for a little while, checks into an old fashioned hotel, presumably near the coast of France.
It emerges that he has recently undergone significant surgery, as a consequence of which he is very weary. Relaxing in his hotel room he decides to make preparations for his memoirs, detailing his life as an MP. As the story progresses we find out more about Wansbeck who, it transpires, was one of the MPs shamed by the Daily Telgraph's expose of expenses claim malfeasance.
Torday handles this quirky story adeptly, keeping the reader's attention by switching between episodes from Wansbeck's past and his experiences in the hotel where he seems to be caught in some sort of time warp.
An enjoyable novella about Robert "Bobby" Wansbeck, former Conservative MP for a constituency in the north of England who, in a bid to get away from it all for a little while, checks into an old fashioned hotel, presumably near the coast of France.
It emerges that he has recently undergone significant surgery, as a consequence of which he is very weary. Relaxing in his hotel room he decides to make preparations for his memoirs, detailing his life as an MP. As the story progresses we find out more about Wansbeck who, it transpires, was one of the MPs shamed by the Daily Telgraph's expose of expenses claim malfeasance.
Torday handles this quirky story adeptly, keeping the reader's attention by switching between episodes from Wansbeck's past and his experiences in the hotel where he seems to be caught in some sort of time warp.
136Eyejaybee
103. To Heaven by Water by Justin Cartwright.
Another superb offering from Cartwright. This novel centres around the Cross family - father David, recently retired from his position as anchor man on a leading television news bulletin, and his children Ed, 32, who is establishing a career as a lawyer, and Lucy, 26, who is a senior researcher for a prestigious auction house.
As the novel opens David's wife Nancy has been dead for a couple of months, and the family are struggling to adapt. Ed and Lucy are especially concerned that their father is demonstrating some unexpected traits, including an obsession with physical exercise. Indeed, as a consequence of this fitness drive he has lost a considerable amount of weight which leads his friends and family to fear that he is succumbing to cancer.. He is, however, perfectly fit.
Ed and his wife Rosalie are desperate to start a family but the pressure of this yearning is beginning to impose strains on their relationship. Meanwhile Lucy has recently split up from her boyfriend Josh, though he has not taken this development well.
This all makes it sound desperately serious. However, Cartwright manages to manipulate the different strands of the plot and the various relationship crises with great dexterity, and some hilarious episodes. All this is wrapped up in his beautiful prose - simple, clear yet also compelling.
Another superb offering from Cartwright. This novel centres around the Cross family - father David, recently retired from his position as anchor man on a leading television news bulletin, and his children Ed, 32, who is establishing a career as a lawyer, and Lucy, 26, who is a senior researcher for a prestigious auction house.
As the novel opens David's wife Nancy has been dead for a couple of months, and the family are struggling to adapt. Ed and Lucy are especially concerned that their father is demonstrating some unexpected traits, including an obsession with physical exercise. Indeed, as a consequence of this fitness drive he has lost a considerable amount of weight which leads his friends and family to fear that he is succumbing to cancer.. He is, however, perfectly fit.
Ed and his wife Rosalie are desperate to start a family but the pressure of this yearning is beginning to impose strains on their relationship. Meanwhile Lucy has recently split up from her boyfriend Josh, though he has not taken this development well.
This all makes it sound desperately serious. However, Cartwright manages to manipulate the different strands of the plot and the various relationship crises with great dexterity, and some hilarious episodes. All this is wrapped up in his beautiful prose - simple, clear yet also compelling.
137Eyejaybee
104. The Music of Chance by Paul Auster.
An intriguing story about resilience and endeavour.
The principal character is Jim Nashe, a Boston firefighter who unexpectedly inherits a minor fortune from his hitherto absent father. After making provision for his young daughter Juliette, who is being brought up by his sister, Jim leaves his job and decides to go driving around the country, with no particular plan or itinerary in mind. He has several one night stands on the way, and even starts an "occasional" relationship with a former acquaintance whom he meets by chance in a bookstore.
Then, after several months, he chances up Jack Pozzi (known as "Jackpot") who is virtually crawling up the road after a brutal beating. Jim picks him up and is fascinated by his story. It turns out that Jack is a wannabe professional poker player who is hoping to participate in a game with two bizarre multi-millionaires. As the reader has always known he would, Jim offers to stake Jack in the game.
The description of the game is brisk and avoids any technicalities (which is fortunate as they would have meant nothing whatsoever to me), but keeps the reader's attention at full tension. And that is when the fun starts!
There is always a great economy about Auster's writing, with no hint of frill or embellishment (- as you have probably guessed I was trying to avoid the obvious pun of "austerity", though that is perhaps "le mot juste"), and this novel shows no departure from that. As usual, at the most basic level the events depicted are scarcely credible. However, as one reads it one's disbelief is entirely suspended, and the book is utterly beguiling and engrossing - I virtually read it at a single sitting.
An intriguing story about resilience and endeavour.
The principal character is Jim Nashe, a Boston firefighter who unexpectedly inherits a minor fortune from his hitherto absent father. After making provision for his young daughter Juliette, who is being brought up by his sister, Jim leaves his job and decides to go driving around the country, with no particular plan or itinerary in mind. He has several one night stands on the way, and even starts an "occasional" relationship with a former acquaintance whom he meets by chance in a bookstore.
Then, after several months, he chances up Jack Pozzi (known as "Jackpot") who is virtually crawling up the road after a brutal beating. Jim picks him up and is fascinated by his story. It turns out that Jack is a wannabe professional poker player who is hoping to participate in a game with two bizarre multi-millionaires. As the reader has always known he would, Jim offers to stake Jack in the game.
The description of the game is brisk and avoids any technicalities (which is fortunate as they would have meant nothing whatsoever to me), but keeps the reader's attention at full tension. And that is when the fun starts!
There is always a great economy about Auster's writing, with no hint of frill or embellishment (- as you have probably guessed I was trying to avoid the obvious pun of "austerity", though that is perhaps "le mot juste"), and this novel shows no departure from that. As usual, at the most basic level the events depicted are scarcely credible. However, as one reads it one's disbelief is entirely suspended, and the book is utterly beguiling and engrossing - I virtually read it at a single sitting.
138Eyejaybee
105. Derby Day by D. J. Taylor.
Rather a tedious book. Clearly meticulously researched, but very laboured and desperately heavy going.
Reading this book was a little like watching grass grow in real time, but maybe not quite as exciting.
Rather a tedious book. Clearly meticulously researched, but very laboured and desperately heavy going.
Reading this book was a little like watching grass grow in real time, but maybe not quite as exciting.
139Eyejaybee
106. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.
I really do not understand what all the fuss was about. There was a terrific amount of hype around the publication of this novel, including a staged release in the UK of the wrong text, and then the apparent theft from a taxi of Franzen's manuscript. However, i found it very disappointing, particularly as I had such fond memories of his previous novel "The Corrections".
That's eight quid and several hours that I shall never get back!
I really do not understand what all the fuss was about. There was a terrific amount of hype around the publication of this novel, including a staged release in the UK of the wrong text, and then the apparent theft from a taxi of Franzen's manuscript. However, i found it very disappointing, particularly as I had such fond memories of his previous novel "The Corrections".
That's eight quid and several hours that I shall never get back!
140Eyejaybee
107. 22 11 63 by Stephen King
What a disappointment! This novel seemed to offer so much but it subsided into turgidity, and towards the end it became almost a burden to have to continue reading it.
The basic premise is that in 2011 middle-aged teacher Jake Epping is introduced to a time portal that can transport those who dare to cross through it back to September 1958. Once there, life seems to continue in real time, but however long one has spent in the past, when one returns to 2011 only two minutes have gone by. With each new return to the past, any changes that one caused the last time are reset.
Epping is shown the portal by Al Templeton who owns a retro diner in Lisbon Falls, Maine. Once he has convinced Jake of the existence and simplicity of using the portal, he explains how he had gone back and spent almost four years in the past, basically trying to prevent the assassination of President Kennedy. He would have stayed there right through to November 1963 but unfortunately he had been ill before going through the portal, and while he had been literally “living in the past” the course of his illness had accelerated. Naturally, as he was in the world of the early 1960s the capacity for medical science to treat him had been far lower, and he had had to return to the present day. Epping is finally convinced to go back, knowing that he can return at any time and fuind that just two minutes had gone by.
King handles the differences in everyday life from fifty years earlier very deftly – after all, he has always been adept at portraying the normal aspects of life with superb clarity and credibility. It seemed as if it was going to be a great novel.
However, as so often with King, he just tries too much. The novel is far longer than it needed to be, and after a stunning start is seemed to become bogged down. Having enjoyed the first half I found it very difficult to summon the energy to carry on with it, and the feeling of relief when I finally completed it was almost palpable. Of course, travelling back in time more than fifty years isn’t that beguiling a thought for me – if I want that sensation I just have to drive seventy miles up the motorway to Northampton!
What a disappointment! This novel seemed to offer so much but it subsided into turgidity, and towards the end it became almost a burden to have to continue reading it.
The basic premise is that in 2011 middle-aged teacher Jake Epping is introduced to a time portal that can transport those who dare to cross through it back to September 1958. Once there, life seems to continue in real time, but however long one has spent in the past, when one returns to 2011 only two minutes have gone by. With each new return to the past, any changes that one caused the last time are reset.
Epping is shown the portal by Al Templeton who owns a retro diner in Lisbon Falls, Maine. Once he has convinced Jake of the existence and simplicity of using the portal, he explains how he had gone back and spent almost four years in the past, basically trying to prevent the assassination of President Kennedy. He would have stayed there right through to November 1963 but unfortunately he had been ill before going through the portal, and while he had been literally “living in the past” the course of his illness had accelerated. Naturally, as he was in the world of the early 1960s the capacity for medical science to treat him had been far lower, and he had had to return to the present day. Epping is finally convinced to go back, knowing that he can return at any time and fuind that just two minutes had gone by.
King handles the differences in everyday life from fifty years earlier very deftly – after all, he has always been adept at portraying the normal aspects of life with superb clarity and credibility. It seemed as if it was going to be a great novel.
However, as so often with King, he just tries too much. The novel is far longer than it needed to be, and after a stunning start is seemed to become bogged down. Having enjoyed the first half I found it very difficult to summon the energy to carry on with it, and the feeling of relief when I finally completed it was almost palpable. Of course, travelling back in time more than fifty years isn’t that beguiling a thought for me – if I want that sensation I just have to drive seventy miles up the motorway to Northampton!
141Eyejaybee
108. A Life of Sir Walter Scott by A. N. Wilson
I remember being taken around Abbotsford as a very young boy, maybe forty years ago now, during a family holiday in Scotland. With the exception of the gun room, which naturally had delicious appeal to a nine year old lad, I remember finding it a very gloomy place (despite its glorious setting) and I felt some relief when we left and headed on up towards Edinburgh.
Apart fom looking at some of his poetry, reading Ivanhoe as a student and dabbling (without much application) in the Waverley sequence, I haven't had much to do with Scott since. Indeed, I picked up this biography on holiday in Scotland more from a lack of alternative reading material on offer than from a desire to learn more about Scott..
However, learn I certainly did. Wilson's book is immensely informative but he maintains a light and engaging touch, giving the reader a sense of his own enthusiasm for Scott and his works, and I shall definitely be revisiting Waverley very shortly.
What struck me most vividly about Scott (and this would be equally true of Dickens later in the nineteenth century) was his sheer productivity. Scott didn't publish anything until he was thirty-one, and heathen went on to produce reams and reams of verse (lyric and epic) and some thirty novels, while not neglecting his professional legal duties form his "main" career. Wilson pays due homage to all this while never falling prey to the turgidity so often (unfairly) ascribed to Scott himself.
I finished reading this book with that particular sense of pleasure that comes from having embarked on a venture with low expectations but finding them hugely surpassed!
I remember being taken around Abbotsford as a very young boy, maybe forty years ago now, during a family holiday in Scotland. With the exception of the gun room, which naturally had delicious appeal to a nine year old lad, I remember finding it a very gloomy place (despite its glorious setting) and I felt some relief when we left and headed on up towards Edinburgh.
Apart fom looking at some of his poetry, reading Ivanhoe as a student and dabbling (without much application) in the Waverley sequence, I haven't had much to do with Scott since. Indeed, I picked up this biography on holiday in Scotland more from a lack of alternative reading material on offer than from a desire to learn more about Scott..
However, learn I certainly did. Wilson's book is immensely informative but he maintains a light and engaging touch, giving the reader a sense of his own enthusiasm for Scott and his works, and I shall definitely be revisiting Waverley very shortly.
What struck me most vividly about Scott (and this would be equally true of Dickens later in the nineteenth century) was his sheer productivity. Scott didn't publish anything until he was thirty-one, and heathen went on to produce reams and reams of verse (lyric and epic) and some thirty novels, while not neglecting his professional legal duties form his "main" career. Wilson pays due homage to all this while never falling prey to the turgidity so often (unfairly) ascribed to Scott himself.
I finished reading this book with that particular sense of pleasure that comes from having embarked on a venture with low expectations but finding them hugely surpassed!
142Eyejaybee
109. Adrift in Caledonia by Nick Thorpe.
Thorpe has hit upon an interesting take on the travel book. "Adrift in Caledonia" recounts his exploits hitching lifts on different types of boats all around Scotland, through both her inland waterways and her coastal routes. Thorpe's enthusiasm shines through, even when he is exhausted, helping to row a curragh (modelled on that used by Saint Columba on his historic voyage from Ireland to Iona) or beset by plagues of midges near Fort William.
My slight misgivings (and I concede that they are slight) revolve around his writing style which veers too often towards the over-simplistic, and the lack of description of the landscapes or seascapes through which he passes. Even his trip to the outer reaches of Corryvreckan, Britain's only naturally occurring whirlpool, seems curiously tame given the wondrous nature of his subject matter.
Still, I am now eager to investigate many of the waterways that he has described, and I am glad that I read this charming book.
Thorpe has hit upon an interesting take on the travel book. "Adrift in Caledonia" recounts his exploits hitching lifts on different types of boats all around Scotland, through both her inland waterways and her coastal routes. Thorpe's enthusiasm shines through, even when he is exhausted, helping to row a curragh (modelled on that used by Saint Columba on his historic voyage from Ireland to Iona) or beset by plagues of midges near Fort William.
My slight misgivings (and I concede that they are slight) revolve around his writing style which veers too often towards the over-simplistic, and the lack of description of the landscapes or seascapes through which he passes. Even his trip to the outer reaches of Corryvreckan, Britain's only naturally occurring whirlpool, seems curiously tame given the wondrous nature of his subject matter.
Still, I am now eager to investigate many of the waterways that he has described, and I am glad that I read this charming book.
143Eyejaybee
110. Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan.
Another absolute gem from McEwan!
The novel is narrated by Serena Frome (to rhyme with tomb rather than comb), a Cambridge maths graduate. During her final year (1972) she had had an affair with Tony, a middle-aged tutor (in fact, the tutor of her ex-boyfriend) from one of the other colleges, who recommended that she should try for selection for MI5. She is indeed successful, though her relationship with Tony was brought to an abrupt end just before her interview.
Having been accepted into the Service she finds the work rather tedious and resents the fact that she is not only paid significantly less than her male counterparts but as a woman she has far fewer opportunities for career progression.
McEwan, through Serena, paints a wonderfully vivid picture of early 1970s austerity as the economy fails and industrial disputes become endemic. Meanwhile MI5 is investigating the possibility of anonymously supporting novelists whose work portrays a subtly anti-Soviet message. This is managed through an intricate network of fake charitable foundations, and the writers in question know nothing about the genuine source of their funding.
Throughout her school and university days Serena had been an avid reader of contemporary fiction, which gives her additional insight into the prospective recipients of the secret largesse. She is assigned to recruit and then run on Tom Haley, an aspiring don at Sussex University whose forays into journalism and short story writing have already sparked some interest. Serena duly grooms him for selection and, almost predictably, falls in love with him.
McEwan gives us frequent examples of Haley's writing (and they are quite superb - I could happily read a volume of Haley's short stories!), and Serena gives her own exegesis of several of these. Atone point Tom asks her to tell him something interesting of a mathematical nature so she gives a brief (yet commendably clear) summation of the Monty Hall conundrum to do with weighted probabilities. Tom then tries to incorporate this into a short story called "Probable Adultery" in which the protagonist has to guess which door conceals his estranged and adulterous wife.
As always with McEwan, the plot immediately engages the reader - I read this virtually at a single sitting, reading late into the night in my eagerness to finish. Now I just have to be patient while I wait for his next offering!
Another absolute gem from McEwan!
The novel is narrated by Serena Frome (to rhyme with tomb rather than comb), a Cambridge maths graduate. During her final year (1972) she had had an affair with Tony, a middle-aged tutor (in fact, the tutor of her ex-boyfriend) from one of the other colleges, who recommended that she should try for selection for MI5. She is indeed successful, though her relationship with Tony was brought to an abrupt end just before her interview.
Having been accepted into the Service she finds the work rather tedious and resents the fact that she is not only paid significantly less than her male counterparts but as a woman she has far fewer opportunities for career progression.
McEwan, through Serena, paints a wonderfully vivid picture of early 1970s austerity as the economy fails and industrial disputes become endemic. Meanwhile MI5 is investigating the possibility of anonymously supporting novelists whose work portrays a subtly anti-Soviet message. This is managed through an intricate network of fake charitable foundations, and the writers in question know nothing about the genuine source of their funding.
Throughout her school and university days Serena had been an avid reader of contemporary fiction, which gives her additional insight into the prospective recipients of the secret largesse. She is assigned to recruit and then run on Tom Haley, an aspiring don at Sussex University whose forays into journalism and short story writing have already sparked some interest. Serena duly grooms him for selection and, almost predictably, falls in love with him.
McEwan gives us frequent examples of Haley's writing (and they are quite superb - I could happily read a volume of Haley's short stories!), and Serena gives her own exegesis of several of these. Atone point Tom asks her to tell him something interesting of a mathematical nature so she gives a brief (yet commendably clear) summation of the Monty Hall conundrum to do with weighted probabilities. Tom then tries to incorporate this into a short story called "Probable Adultery" in which the protagonist has to guess which door conceals his estranged and adulterous wife.
As always with McEwan, the plot immediately engages the reader - I read this virtually at a single sitting, reading late into the night in my eagerness to finish. Now I just have to be patient while I wait for his next offering!
144Eyejaybee
111. A Very British Coup by Chris Mullin.
I found this a very enjoyable and engaging novel. I was also intrigued to see how prophetic it was in many ways. It was written in 1982, some three years into Mrs Thatcher’s first term in office, and is set in the year or so following a general election in 1989 at which the Labour party secured an unexpected landslide victory.
As the novel opens we are given the reactions of various Establishment stalwarts, including press barons, bankers, industrialists and several Civil Service mandarins, all of whom are appalled at the prospect of a genuinely socialist government assuming power. While they seethe with rage and fear we learn something of Perkins’s background.
As a young man Harry Perkins had followed his father into employment in a Sheffield steel mill. Once there he became involved in the trade union movement and quickly rose through the local ranks. Spotted as a potential high flier he was awarded a union scholarship to Ruskin College in Oxford, and continued his rapid progress through the part machinery until he was selected as an MP for his home town. Following a spell as an energetic and diligent back bencher he enters what is clearly the Wilson/Callaghan Government of 1974 to 1979 (though neither of those two leaders is specifically named), eventually rising to Cabinet level with responsibility for maintaining the national grid. In this capacity, despite obstructions posed by officials in his own department, he awards a contract for a nuclear power station to British Industrial Fuels, and they duly build an installation by.
When the Conservatives return to power under Mrs Thatcher following ntheir own landslide victory in 1979 Perkins surprises everyone (perhaps including himself) by eventually becoming leader of the Labour Party. An election is called in 1989.
Perkins certainly has a radical suite of policies and is eager to commence the withdrawal of the UK from NATO and the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal. He also threatens to dissolve the prevailing newspaper monopolies. As we have already read, the Establishment is appalled, and starts to fight back using its own range of weapons. Sir George Fison owns many of the most popular press titles and uses his papers to mount a concerted effort to undermine the new administration. Meanwhile the military Chiefs of Staff mobilise their own machinery, undertaking almost treasonous activities with Western Allies to circumvent the Government’s planned reductions. The various Whitehall Permanent Secretaries work together to confound the administrative process wherever possible. These mandarins are steely, ruthless characters – very far from the popular perception of Sir Humphrey, but with all of his determination to have their own way.
The author, Chris Mullin, would subsequently become a Labour MP and would even serve in Government himself, though at the time that he wrote this novel he was an investigative journalist fighting high profile alleged miscarriages of justice. However, his understanding of the Whitehall machinery is very clear, and he paints a very plausible picture of the relationship between Ministers and senior officials. The novel is always entirely credible, and often very humorous.
The novel is also rather alarming as it displays the relative ease with which the combined forces of the banks, the press and senior officialdom can confound the aims of government, regardless of the size of the electoral mandate. One thinks of the persistent rumours, fuelled by memoirs from the likes of Peter Wright, of concerted campaigns by the intelligence community to undermine the Wilson government in the 1970s.
I found this a very enjoyable and engaging novel. I was also intrigued to see how prophetic it was in many ways. It was written in 1982, some three years into Mrs Thatcher’s first term in office, and is set in the year or so following a general election in 1989 at which the Labour party secured an unexpected landslide victory.
As the novel opens we are given the reactions of various Establishment stalwarts, including press barons, bankers, industrialists and several Civil Service mandarins, all of whom are appalled at the prospect of a genuinely socialist government assuming power. While they seethe with rage and fear we learn something of Perkins’s background.
As a young man Harry Perkins had followed his father into employment in a Sheffield steel mill. Once there he became involved in the trade union movement and quickly rose through the local ranks. Spotted as a potential high flier he was awarded a union scholarship to Ruskin College in Oxford, and continued his rapid progress through the part machinery until he was selected as an MP for his home town. Following a spell as an energetic and diligent back bencher he enters what is clearly the Wilson/Callaghan Government of 1974 to 1979 (though neither of those two leaders is specifically named), eventually rising to Cabinet level with responsibility for maintaining the national grid. In this capacity, despite obstructions posed by officials in his own department, he awards a contract for a nuclear power station to British Industrial Fuels, and they duly build an installation by.
When the Conservatives return to power under Mrs Thatcher following ntheir own landslide victory in 1979 Perkins surprises everyone (perhaps including himself) by eventually becoming leader of the Labour Party. An election is called in 1989.
Perkins certainly has a radical suite of policies and is eager to commence the withdrawal of the UK from NATO and the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal. He also threatens to dissolve the prevailing newspaper monopolies. As we have already read, the Establishment is appalled, and starts to fight back using its own range of weapons. Sir George Fison owns many of the most popular press titles and uses his papers to mount a concerted effort to undermine the new administration. Meanwhile the military Chiefs of Staff mobilise their own machinery, undertaking almost treasonous activities with Western Allies to circumvent the Government’s planned reductions. The various Whitehall Permanent Secretaries work together to confound the administrative process wherever possible. These mandarins are steely, ruthless characters – very far from the popular perception of Sir Humphrey, but with all of his determination to have their own way.
The author, Chris Mullin, would subsequently become a Labour MP and would even serve in Government himself, though at the time that he wrote this novel he was an investigative journalist fighting high profile alleged miscarriages of justice. However, his understanding of the Whitehall machinery is very clear, and he paints a very plausible picture of the relationship between Ministers and senior officials. The novel is always entirely credible, and often very humorous.
The novel is also rather alarming as it displays the relative ease with which the combined forces of the banks, the press and senior officialdom can confound the aims of government, regardless of the size of the electoral mandate. One thinks of the persistent rumours, fuelled by memoirs from the likes of Peter Wright, of concerted campaigns by the intelligence community to undermine the Wilson government in the 1970s.
145Eyejaybee
112.Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart by Tim Butcher.
Even before he was posted to Africa by the Daily Telegraph Tim Butcher had dreamt of travelling along the Congo, sub-Saharan Africa's grandest, if darkest, river. His mother had travelled across the greater part of Congo in 1958 when it was still a Belgian dependency, and Butcher's own imagination had been fired by Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and tales of Stanley's late nineteenth century expedition.
Butcher's book paints a fascinating picture of his journey in 2004, setting off from Lake Tanganyika at the eastern extremity of the Congo and then following the course of the river for 1,734 kilometres until it enters the Atlantic at Boma. Congo in the early twenty-first century is a completely broken country. After having been ravaged by a cruel colonial regime under the Belgians until 1960 (indeed, for most of the period from Belgian colonisation until 1960 the country was actually considered as the personal property of the Belgian crown), the battered remains were then ripped apart by brutal tribal differences actively encouraged by the inhuman dictatorships of Mobutu and then Kabila. As if those problems weren't enough, much of the eastern half of this vast country has suffered ceaseless bloody figting between Tutsis and Hutus as the genocide in Rwanda spilled over the border.
Butcher demonstrates the irony that in the fifty years following Independence the country has collapsed from a potentially rich source of copper,cobalt, tin, rubber and a range of other mineral (even after the Belgians had relaxed their vice-like grasp) to being one of the poorest countries on the planet. There is no infrastructure left - the roads and railway coneections that the Belgians formed have just been left to be reclaimed by the rain forest. At one point he arrived in a village rifing pillion on a small motorbike to the amazement of the local children - they had heard tales of motor vehicles from their grandparents, but had never witnessed on themselves. For so much of the Congo's population any contact with what might even vaguely represent the modern world is by word of mouth from their elders, and consequently imbued with the characteristics of legend.
Butcher travels light, and covers his route in an intriguing section of modes of transport - motorbike, pirogues (dug-out canoes), UN Jeep, barge and helicopter, as well as walking a fair part of the way. En route he encounters great kindness and honesty from those who help him, but he also runs into more than his fair share of ignorance, violence and, it seems, non-stop terror. In one of the saddest episodes a man whom he had only met an hour before pleads with Butcher to take his young son with him - the father knows that his son faces a life of unremitting tragedy and strife in Congo, and he would rather trust him to a stranger than watch his fall prey to illness and the slow death through poverty that would inevitably befall him if he stays.
There may be no infrastructure but it seems clear that there is a mindless, burgeoning bureaucracy - whenever Butcher makes it to a new town, he has to see the local self-appointed governor, or one of his apparatchiks, in order to get a new pass entitling him to travel on to the next zone.
Butcher has clearly researched the history of the Congo in great detail, and he strives to emulate the historic trek undertaken by Stanley, as commissioned by Leopold of Belgium. However, he never loses sight of the abject cruelty with which Stanley pursued his quest. From Stanley's expedition onwards, the history of the Congo has been written in blood, and Butcher illuminates it with his text. This was a subject about which I knew I was lamentably ignorant, and Butcher has certainly gone some way to redressing that.
However, I wouldn't want anyone to imagine that this is a dry history book - throughout his story Butcher keeps the reader engaged in his own adventure, fretting over his setbacks and joining in with his successes.
This was one of the finest travel books I have read for a long time.
Even before he was posted to Africa by the Daily Telegraph Tim Butcher had dreamt of travelling along the Congo, sub-Saharan Africa's grandest, if darkest, river. His mother had travelled across the greater part of Congo in 1958 when it was still a Belgian dependency, and Butcher's own imagination had been fired by Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and tales of Stanley's late nineteenth century expedition.
Butcher's book paints a fascinating picture of his journey in 2004, setting off from Lake Tanganyika at the eastern extremity of the Congo and then following the course of the river for 1,734 kilometres until it enters the Atlantic at Boma. Congo in the early twenty-first century is a completely broken country. After having been ravaged by a cruel colonial regime under the Belgians until 1960 (indeed, for most of the period from Belgian colonisation until 1960 the country was actually considered as the personal property of the Belgian crown), the battered remains were then ripped apart by brutal tribal differences actively encouraged by the inhuman dictatorships of Mobutu and then Kabila. As if those problems weren't enough, much of the eastern half of this vast country has suffered ceaseless bloody figting between Tutsis and Hutus as the genocide in Rwanda spilled over the border.
Butcher demonstrates the irony that in the fifty years following Independence the country has collapsed from a potentially rich source of copper,cobalt, tin, rubber and a range of other mineral (even after the Belgians had relaxed their vice-like grasp) to being one of the poorest countries on the planet. There is no infrastructure left - the roads and railway coneections that the Belgians formed have just been left to be reclaimed by the rain forest. At one point he arrived in a village rifing pillion on a small motorbike to the amazement of the local children - they had heard tales of motor vehicles from their grandparents, but had never witnessed on themselves. For so much of the Congo's population any contact with what might even vaguely represent the modern world is by word of mouth from their elders, and consequently imbued with the characteristics of legend.
Butcher travels light, and covers his route in an intriguing section of modes of transport - motorbike, pirogues (dug-out canoes), UN Jeep, barge and helicopter, as well as walking a fair part of the way. En route he encounters great kindness and honesty from those who help him, but he also runs into more than his fair share of ignorance, violence and, it seems, non-stop terror. In one of the saddest episodes a man whom he had only met an hour before pleads with Butcher to take his young son with him - the father knows that his son faces a life of unremitting tragedy and strife in Congo, and he would rather trust him to a stranger than watch his fall prey to illness and the slow death through poverty that would inevitably befall him if he stays.
There may be no infrastructure but it seems clear that there is a mindless, burgeoning bureaucracy - whenever Butcher makes it to a new town, he has to see the local self-appointed governor, or one of his apparatchiks, in order to get a new pass entitling him to travel on to the next zone.
Butcher has clearly researched the history of the Congo in great detail, and he strives to emulate the historic trek undertaken by Stanley, as commissioned by Leopold of Belgium. However, he never loses sight of the abject cruelty with which Stanley pursued his quest. From Stanley's expedition onwards, the history of the Congo has been written in blood, and Butcher illuminates it with his text. This was a subject about which I knew I was lamentably ignorant, and Butcher has certainly gone some way to redressing that.
However, I wouldn't want anyone to imagine that this is a dry history book - throughout his story Butcher keeps the reader engaged in his own adventure, fretting over his setbacks and joining in with his successes.
This was one of the finest travel books I have read for a long time.
146Eyejaybee
113. Bringing the House Down: A Family Memoir* by David Profumo.
In this family memoir David Profumo describes his childhood growing up as the son of disgraced Minister John Profumo and renowned stage and screen actress Valerie Hobson. Obviously the focus of the book is the infamous scandal from the early 1960s, which David recounts surprisingly dispassionately, though the book also manages to give a fascinating insight into the political machinations that preceded Profumo pere's downfall.
One certainly feels for Valerie Hobson. Profumo was her second husband, and his predecessor had been equally unfaithful, dallying with a series of young starlets who were acting in the second rate films that he produced.
I was a little disappointed with this book, though. I had previously read a couple of novels by David Profumo and had been very impressed, but here, despite a potentially enthralling story to tell, he constantly fails fully to engage the reader's attention.
Still, I was glad that I read it.
In this family memoir David Profumo describes his childhood growing up as the son of disgraced Minister John Profumo and renowned stage and screen actress Valerie Hobson. Obviously the focus of the book is the infamous scandal from the early 1960s, which David recounts surprisingly dispassionately, though the book also manages to give a fascinating insight into the political machinations that preceded Profumo pere's downfall.
One certainly feels for Valerie Hobson. Profumo was her second husband, and his predecessor had been equally unfaithful, dallying with a series of young starlets who were acting in the second rate films that he produced.
I was a little disappointed with this book, though. I had previously read a couple of novels by David Profumo and had been very impressed, but here, despite a potentially enthralling story to tell, he constantly fails fully to engage the reader's attention.
Still, I was glad that I read it.
147Eyejaybee
114. The Promise of Happiness by Justin Cartwright.
Another saga of dysfunctional families from Cartwright. In this novel the Judds (Charlie and Daphne) await the release of their daughter Juliet who has been in prison in America following her conviction for art theft. Charles has not coped well - Juliet was always the favourite of his three children, and since her arrest and subsequent incarceration he has succumbed to depression, becoming increasingly acerbic and isolated.
Cartwright gives an excellent portrayal of Juliet's return to freedom and the difficulties she experiences as she tries to shed the institutionalisation she has recently undergone.
As always with Cartwright, the writing is beautiful. However, I just felt that for too much of the story too little happened.
Another saga of dysfunctional families from Cartwright. In this novel the Judds (Charlie and Daphne) await the release of their daughter Juliet who has been in prison in America following her conviction for art theft. Charles has not coped well - Juliet was always the favourite of his three children, and since her arrest and subsequent incarceration he has succumbed to depression, becoming increasingly acerbic and isolated.
Cartwright gives an excellent portrayal of Juliet's return to freedom and the difficulties she experiences as she tries to shed the institutionalisation she has recently undergone.
As always with Cartwright, the writing is beautiful. However, I just felt that for too much of the story too little happened.
148Eyejaybee
115. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.
I know that this series of books has proved immensely popular, and it clearly represents a terrific feat of imagination. However, i just couldn't summon the mental energy to give a toss!
I know that this series of books has proved immensely popular, and it clearly represents a terrific feat of imagination. However, i just couldn't summon the mental energy to give a toss!
149Eyejaybee
116. The Hill of the Red Fox by Allan Campbell McLean.
I was delighted to re-discover this book which I first read some forty years ago, and I was most impressed to find it as gripping as I had when I was a mere nine years old.
The book recounts the adventures of Alasdair Cameron, a thirteen year old lad living in London with his mother and aunt in about 1955. Alasdair's father had been killed when his battleship sank during World War II. Having had a bad bout of bronchitis Alasdair is packed off to Skye to recuperate, and it is arranged that he will stay in his father's old croft in the village of Achmore. Indeed, unbeknown to him, the coft actually now belongs to Alasdair, though it is currently occupied by the dubious Murdo Beaton, a lugubrious widower who keeps himself very much to himself.
On his journey to Skye ( which McLean descibes with loving care) Alasdait encounters two strange men and gradually realises that one is pursuing the other. The man being pursued manages briefly to shake off his pursuer and clandestinely passes a note to Alasdair, but doesn't have time to offer any explanation before jumping fom the making train. His pursuer goes after him, leaving Alasdair o grapple with the riddle that has suddenly come his way.
The descriptions of Skye are gorgeous, and McLean makes the hillsides come alive, though he never lets the pace of his novel falter. Re-reading this book, and revisiting pat of my own past, was a huge pleasure!
I was delighted to re-discover this book which I first read some forty years ago, and I was most impressed to find it as gripping as I had when I was a mere nine years old.
The book recounts the adventures of Alasdair Cameron, a thirteen year old lad living in London with his mother and aunt in about 1955. Alasdair's father had been killed when his battleship sank during World War II. Having had a bad bout of bronchitis Alasdair is packed off to Skye to recuperate, and it is arranged that he will stay in his father's old croft in the village of Achmore. Indeed, unbeknown to him, the coft actually now belongs to Alasdair, though it is currently occupied by the dubious Murdo Beaton, a lugubrious widower who keeps himself very much to himself.
On his journey to Skye ( which McLean descibes with loving care) Alasdait encounters two strange men and gradually realises that one is pursuing the other. The man being pursued manages briefly to shake off his pursuer and clandestinely passes a note to Alasdair, but doesn't have time to offer any explanation before jumping fom the making train. His pursuer goes after him, leaving Alasdair o grapple with the riddle that has suddenly come his way.
The descriptions of Skye are gorgeous, and McLean makes the hillsides come alive, though he never lets the pace of his novel falter. Re-reading this book, and revisiting pat of my own past, was a huge pleasure!
150Eyejaybee
117. Birthdays for the Dead by Stuart MacBride.
What a falling off was there ...
An utterly dreadful novel. I found it difficult to believe that the author of the Logan MacRae novels could lose his way so badly as to produce this rubbish.
What a falling off was there ...
An utterly dreadful novel. I found it difficult to believe that the author of the Logan MacRae novels could lose his way so badly as to produce this rubbish.
151Eyejaybee
118. Market Forces by Richard Morgan.
Morgan came so close to pulling this off, but fell at the final hurdle.
Set in the 2050s this book tells of the rise of globalisation to such an extent that individual companies pout in rival bids to control politically or militarily sensitive areas in the world. The senior executives of these companies gain advancement by duelling with their colleagues, usually through the medium of car-borne dogfights.
However, the characterisation was very weak - in fact, there wasn't one character for whom I felt any empathy - and stretched credibility beyond breaking point.
Morgan came so close to pulling this off, but fell at the final hurdle.
Set in the 2050s this book tells of the rise of globalisation to such an extent that individual companies pout in rival bids to control politically or militarily sensitive areas in the world. The senior executives of these companies gain advancement by duelling with their colleagues, usually through the medium of car-borne dogfights.
However, the characterisation was very weak - in fact, there wasn't one character for whom I felt any empathy - and stretched credibility beyond breaking point.
152Eyejaybee
119. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
I enjoyed this final volume of the "Hunger Games" trilogy though I felt that it was the weakest of the three books. Katniss remains an excellently drawn and generally very believable character.
The novel starts with Katniss recovering from injuries sustained during her exploits in the Quarter Quell, her second foray into the Hunger Games arena, and struggling to decide whether or not she wants to become the figurehead of the rebellion being staged from District 13 against the Panem Government based in the Capitol.
Hitherto Collins has handled her plots carefully though i felt that "Mockingjay" had quite a few loose ends that weren't resolved - has she left the way open for additional "Hunger Games" books?
Despite my doubts about some aspects of this final volume I think that Collins has produced a great trilogy - far better than I expected when I was persuaded to try the first volume.
I enjoyed this final volume of the "Hunger Games" trilogy though I felt that it was the weakest of the three books. Katniss remains an excellently drawn and generally very believable character.
The novel starts with Katniss recovering from injuries sustained during her exploits in the Quarter Quell, her second foray into the Hunger Games arena, and struggling to decide whether or not she wants to become the figurehead of the rebellion being staged from District 13 against the Panem Government based in the Capitol.
Hitherto Collins has handled her plots carefully though i felt that "Mockingjay" had quite a few loose ends that weren't resolved - has she left the way open for additional "Hunger Games" books?
Despite my doubts about some aspects of this final volume I think that Collins has produced a great trilogy - far better than I expected when I was persuaded to try the first volume.
153Eyejaybee
120. Living Proof by John Harvey
This is John Harvey and Resnick at their best!
As usual the action takes place in Nottingham (and I particularly enjoyed the occasional references to Loughborough!), and the beleaguered Resnick is up against it once again. A local festival is celebrating crime fiction and some classic noir films, and popular American author Cathy Jordan, responsible for the immensley successful series of garish and violent thrillers featuring feisty PI Annie Q Jones is the star attraction. However, she has been receiving threatening letters, and the police are approached to render additional security.
Meanwhile a prostitute is attacking her male clients at various venues around the city. Eventually, as the police feared would be the case, a punter is murdered.
As always with Harvey's masterful series of Resnick novels, the plot is entirely plausible and the characters perfectly credible. The readers shares Resnick's weariness and the sheer despair of Lynn Kellog, his long-suffering DC. And, as usual, we are treated to sumptuous descriptions of the marvellous sandwiches that Resnick somehow always finds time to construct!
This is John Harvey and Resnick at their best!
As usual the action takes place in Nottingham (and I particularly enjoyed the occasional references to Loughborough!), and the beleaguered Resnick is up against it once again. A local festival is celebrating crime fiction and some classic noir films, and popular American author Cathy Jordan, responsible for the immensley successful series of garish and violent thrillers featuring feisty PI Annie Q Jones is the star attraction. However, she has been receiving threatening letters, and the police are approached to render additional security.
Meanwhile a prostitute is attacking her male clients at various venues around the city. Eventually, as the police feared would be the case, a punter is murdered.
As always with Harvey's masterful series of Resnick novels, the plot is entirely plausible and the characters perfectly credible. The readers shares Resnick's weariness and the sheer despair of Lynn Kellog, his long-suffering DC. And, as usual, we are treated to sumptuous descriptions of the marvellous sandwiches that Resnick somehow always finds time to construct!
154Eyejaybee
121. A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks.
Probably my biggest literary disappointment this year! I expected so much from this novel and at first it seemed as if Faulks had delivered with his customary elegance.
The book is broken down into five parts and the first, detailing Geoffrey Talbot's gruesome experiences during the Second World War was reminiscent of Faulks at his best: beautiful writing, enthralling plot and characters so real that one almost felt one knew them. The second part, chronicling the life, loves and exploits of Billy Webb in Victorian London, was a little weaker but still close to majestic.
However, when the third part took us to Mantua in the near future (2029) I found myself simply incapable of summoning any interest in the story of Elena and Bruno. I never expected that I would feel that way about a Sebastian Faulks novel - his most recent offering, "A Week in December" is one if my favourite novels of the twenty-first century!
Probably my biggest literary disappointment this year! I expected so much from this novel and at first it seemed as if Faulks had delivered with his customary elegance.
The book is broken down into five parts and the first, detailing Geoffrey Talbot's gruesome experiences during the Second World War was reminiscent of Faulks at his best: beautiful writing, enthralling plot and characters so real that one almost felt one knew them. The second part, chronicling the life, loves and exploits of Billy Webb in Victorian London, was a little weaker but still close to majestic.
However, when the third part took us to Mantua in the near future (2029) I found myself simply incapable of summoning any interest in the story of Elena and Bruno. I never expected that I would feel that way about a Sebastian Faulks novel - his most recent offering, "A Week in December" is one if my favourite novels of the twenty-first century!
155Eyejaybee
122. A Breed of Heroes by Alan Judd.
Rather a stilted tale set against the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland and following Charles Thoroughgood, a reluctant officer who had stumbled into Sandhurst after graduating from Oxford without really knowing why he was joining the army.
The plot was good, and I presume that the insight into military procedure and the conditions encountered by the soldiers was realistic. However, sadly the book was written in a style that left the reader struggling to engage with it at all
Rather a stilted tale set against the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland and following Charles Thoroughgood, a reluctant officer who had stumbled into Sandhurst after graduating from Oxford without really knowing why he was joining the army.
The plot was good, and I presume that the insight into military procedure and the conditions encountered by the soldiers was realistic. However, sadly the book was written in a style that left the reader struggling to engage with it at all
156Eyejaybee
123. Capital by John Lanchester.
I read this novel as soon as it was published earlier this year, and when I reviewed it then I forecast that I would re-read it fairly soon, though I didn't expect to do so quite so soon - in fact, I can't remember ever re-reading a book so quickly.
However, this fine book stood up to such close scrutiny without let or hindrance, and I am reinforced in my earlier judgement of it as one of my favourite novels.
The novel starts in late 2007 and revolves around Pepys Street, a small road in south London where house prices, from a modest start over hundred years ago when they were first built, have rocketed to well over a million pounds. The residents are a mixed bunch and include Roger Yount, a merchant banker with Pinker Lloyd, one of the more successful trading houses in the City, his spendthrift wife Arabella, Freddy Kamo, a highly talented seventeen year old footballer who has just been brought over from his native Senegal to play for one of the London Premiership teams at £20,000 per week and Petunia Howe, an elderly widow who was born in the street nearly ninety years ago and has lived there ever since.
As the novel opens, Roger Yount is desperate to find out how large his bonus for that year will be - he is hoping for at least one million pounds and, in fact, can't imagine how he will manage to make ends meet with anything less. On his way to the office he finds a card has been puished through hsi letter box bearing a picture of his own pront door with the logo "We want what you have". It turns out that all of his neighbours have received similar cards, each of them bearing a picture of their respective houses. At first they all assume that this is a marketing gimmick by a local estate agency, but the cards keep coming, followed by DVDs showing footage of the street taken at differnet times of the day, but never with anyopne in shot. And then things start to get nasty...
In the meantime Zbigniew, a Polish builder, has been making a decent living from the street. His building work is excellent, and always completed on time to a high standard, and as soon as one job finishes he finds another one waiting for him.
In fact, everyone seems to be getting on with life very happily until Petunia collapses in the local newsagent's shop, and then everything seems to start to unravel.
There are some fantastic set pieces - the scene where Roger goes to hear about his bonus, and Freddy's first appearance in a Premiership match stand out particularly, though there are dozens of other beautifully crafted vignettes. Similarly the characters, including some of the less central figures, are beautifully drawn, including a shadowy anonymous street artist, clearly modelled on Banksy, and Quentina, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker who is illegally employed as a traffic warden.
There has been a huge amount of hype surrounding this novel, but to my mind it has fully lived up to expectations. I will definitely look forward to re-reading this book in the not-too-distant future.
I read this novel as soon as it was published earlier this year, and when I reviewed it then I forecast that I would re-read it fairly soon, though I didn't expect to do so quite so soon - in fact, I can't remember ever re-reading a book so quickly.
However, this fine book stood up to such close scrutiny without let or hindrance, and I am reinforced in my earlier judgement of it as one of my favourite novels.
The novel starts in late 2007 and revolves around Pepys Street, a small road in south London where house prices, from a modest start over hundred years ago when they were first built, have rocketed to well over a million pounds. The residents are a mixed bunch and include Roger Yount, a merchant banker with Pinker Lloyd, one of the more successful trading houses in the City, his spendthrift wife Arabella, Freddy Kamo, a highly talented seventeen year old footballer who has just been brought over from his native Senegal to play for one of the London Premiership teams at £20,000 per week and Petunia Howe, an elderly widow who was born in the street nearly ninety years ago and has lived there ever since.
As the novel opens, Roger Yount is desperate to find out how large his bonus for that year will be - he is hoping for at least one million pounds and, in fact, can't imagine how he will manage to make ends meet with anything less. On his way to the office he finds a card has been puished through hsi letter box bearing a picture of his own pront door with the logo "We want what you have". It turns out that all of his neighbours have received similar cards, each of them bearing a picture of their respective houses. At first they all assume that this is a marketing gimmick by a local estate agency, but the cards keep coming, followed by DVDs showing footage of the street taken at differnet times of the day, but never with anyopne in shot. And then things start to get nasty...
In the meantime Zbigniew, a Polish builder, has been making a decent living from the street. His building work is excellent, and always completed on time to a high standard, and as soon as one job finishes he finds another one waiting for him.
In fact, everyone seems to be getting on with life very happily until Petunia collapses in the local newsagent's shop, and then everything seems to start to unravel.
There are some fantastic set pieces - the scene where Roger goes to hear about his bonus, and Freddy's first appearance in a Premiership match stand out particularly, though there are dozens of other beautifully crafted vignettes. Similarly the characters, including some of the less central figures, are beautifully drawn, including a shadowy anonymous street artist, clearly modelled on Banksy, and Quentina, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker who is illegally employed as a traffic warden.
There has been a huge amount of hype surrounding this novel, but to my mind it has fully lived up to expectations. I will definitely look forward to re-reading this book in the not-too-distant future.
157Eyejaybee
124. The Lewis Man by Peter May.
A dreadfully turgid and depressing sequel to his earlier novel "The Blackhouse".
Very powerful, atmospheric descriptions of life in the Hebrides, but all too lugubrious for my taste.
A dreadfully turgid and depressing sequel to his earlier novel "The Blackhouse".
Very powerful, atmospheric descriptions of life in the Hebrides, but all too lugubrious for my taste.
158Eyejaybee
125. Coffin and the Paper Man by Gwendoline Butler.
Many writers revel in producing immensely convoluted plots that go through intricate hoops and twsits before offering a pleasing denouement. However, to do so and retain the reader's attention and interest requires a level of skill that Ms Butler seems to lack. I found this book simply annoying and utterly unenjoyable.
Many writers revel in producing immensely convoluted plots that go through intricate hoops and twsits before offering a pleasing denouement. However, to do so and retain the reader's attention and interest requires a level of skill that Ms Butler seems to lack. I found this book simply annoying and utterly unenjoyable.
159Eyejaybee
126. Room at the Top by John Briane.
This novel has become celebrated as a tale of ambition and drive, and the manner in which obsession can be deleterious to the enjoyment of the very goals that drives its subject on.
The story is narrated by Joe Lampton, and starts with his arrival in Warley where he takes up a job as accounts clerk on the Town Council. These circumstances have led to him being determined to better himself. The greater part of the book centres on Joe's efforts to secure a future he can take pride in.
In Warley, he takes lodgings with the Thompsons, a middle-class couple living in the better part of town, known locally as "T'top". Lampton is delighted to find himself already socially advantaged by taking, quite literally, a "Room at the top", and this serves as a metaphor for his ambition to better himself and to leave behind any vestige of his former life and acquaintances, many of whom he characterises as "zombies", lacking any trace of genuine life and character.
He is introduced to the local amateur dramatic society (always desperate for new cast members). There he encounters, and is smitten by, Susan Brown, the only daughter of a very successful local businessman. However, he also meets the apparently cold and standoffish Alice Aisgill, who plays many of the leading lady parts. Alice and Joe are drawn together and soon start a passionate though clandestine affair..
The novel is strangely dispassionate, even when some pretty awful things happen. Lampton's ambition is finely drawn, but the female characters all stretch credibility beyond comfortable limits.
This novel has become celebrated as a tale of ambition and drive, and the manner in which obsession can be deleterious to the enjoyment of the very goals that drives its subject on.
The story is narrated by Joe Lampton, and starts with his arrival in Warley where he takes up a job as accounts clerk on the Town Council. These circumstances have led to him being determined to better himself. The greater part of the book centres on Joe's efforts to secure a future he can take pride in.
In Warley, he takes lodgings with the Thompsons, a middle-class couple living in the better part of town, known locally as "T'top". Lampton is delighted to find himself already socially advantaged by taking, quite literally, a "Room at the top", and this serves as a metaphor for his ambition to better himself and to leave behind any vestige of his former life and acquaintances, many of whom he characterises as "zombies", lacking any trace of genuine life and character.
He is introduced to the local amateur dramatic society (always desperate for new cast members). There he encounters, and is smitten by, Susan Brown, the only daughter of a very successful local businessman. However, he also meets the apparently cold and standoffish Alice Aisgill, who plays many of the leading lady parts. Alice and Joe are drawn together and soon start a passionate though clandestine affair..
The novel is strangely dispassionate, even when some pretty awful things happen. Lampton's ambition is finely drawn, but the female characters all stretch credibility beyond comfortable limits.
160Eyejaybee
127. Monsignor Quixote by Grahame Greene.
I first read this novel several years ago, shortly after its first publication in paperback - indeed, I note from the flyleaf that I actually bought it on my twenty-first birthday. My recollection was that it was a humorous novel, charmingly reminiscent of Giovanni Guareschi's "Don Camillo" stories. I can only assume that I was very easily amused back then.
There are certainly amusing passages, but I now find these to be woefully outnumbered by tedious and contrived references to Cervantes's classic.
Greene could certainly write with great humour when the context required it (as is all too evident in "Travels With My Aunt", perhaps my favourite of all his novels).
The resemblance to the world of Don Camillo is certainly marked, and cannot have been inadvertent. In Greene's novel, as with Guareschi's stories, the dynamic of the novel revolves around a wise but lightly unworldly village priest and his protracted disagreements itch the local Communist mayor. However, I now rather suspect that I might find Guareschi's stories somewhat trite these days, too.
I first read this novel several years ago, shortly after its first publication in paperback - indeed, I note from the flyleaf that I actually bought it on my twenty-first birthday. My recollection was that it was a humorous novel, charmingly reminiscent of Giovanni Guareschi's "Don Camillo" stories. I can only assume that I was very easily amused back then.
There are certainly amusing passages, but I now find these to be woefully outnumbered by tedious and contrived references to Cervantes's classic.
Greene could certainly write with great humour when the context required it (as is all too evident in "Travels With My Aunt", perhaps my favourite of all his novels).
The resemblance to the world of Don Camillo is certainly marked, and cannot have been inadvertent. In Greene's novel, as with Guareschi's stories, the dynamic of the novel revolves around a wise but lightly unworldly village priest and his protracted disagreements itch the local Communist mayor. However, I now rather suspect that I might find Guareschi's stories somewhat trite these days, too.
161Eyejaybee
128. Over the Edge by Stuart Pawson.
A welcome return to top form here for Stuart Pawson. After the previous novel in this series I had wondered whether it was about time for his Detective Inpsector Priest to think about retiring. However, here Pawson is back at his impressive best.
The plot has several well-developed themes which Pawson controls deftly, keeping the tension without ever compromising the story's plausibility. And he covers a lot of ground - gang warfare, sex-trafficking, illegal car racing, shahtoosh smuggling and mountaineering rivalries.
It helps that Charlie Priest is an immensely believable detective - empathetic and flawed - and his team at Heckley CID are equally realistic.
A welcome return to top form here for Stuart Pawson. After the previous novel in this series I had wondered whether it was about time for his Detective Inpsector Priest to think about retiring. However, here Pawson is back at his impressive best.
The plot has several well-developed themes which Pawson controls deftly, keeping the tension without ever compromising the story's plausibility. And he covers a lot of ground - gang warfare, sex-trafficking, illegal car racing, shahtoosh smuggling and mountaineering rivalries.
It helps that Charlie Priest is an immensely believable detective - empathetic and flawed - and his team at Heckley CID are equally realistic.
162Eyejaybee
129. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford.
Ford Madox Ford originally intended to call this beautiful but tragic novella "The Saddest Story", based upon the opening sentence, "This is the saddest story I have ever heard"> His publisher objected, suggesting that such a title would have a disastrous impact upon sales. Ford was not convinced, responding angrily that the publisher should do whatever he thought fit, adding that one might as well just call it "The Good Soldier".
"The Saddest Story" might have spelt disaster on the booksellers' shelves but it would certainly have satisfied those who lean towards the "It does what it says on the tin" approach to titles. It is an immensely sad story - the tale of two self-destructive couple touring Europe in the early years of the twentieth century.
However, it is also a beautifully written story, to such an extent that one suffers all the pain of the narrator as he recounts his tragic story.
Ford was a master of literary criticism and brought all his stylistic knowledge to bear here giving a series of different literary devices (flashback, impressionism, florid conjecture). It is a short book but infinitely rewarding .. yet also heartbreaking.
Ford Madox Ford originally intended to call this beautiful but tragic novella "The Saddest Story", based upon the opening sentence, "This is the saddest story I have ever heard"> His publisher objected, suggesting that such a title would have a disastrous impact upon sales. Ford was not convinced, responding angrily that the publisher should do whatever he thought fit, adding that one might as well just call it "The Good Soldier".
"The Saddest Story" might have spelt disaster on the booksellers' shelves but it would certainly have satisfied those who lean towards the "It does what it says on the tin" approach to titles. It is an immensely sad story - the tale of two self-destructive couple touring Europe in the early years of the twentieth century.
However, it is also a beautifully written story, to such an extent that one suffers all the pain of the narrator as he recounts his tragic story.
Ford was a master of literary criticism and brought all his stylistic knowledge to bear here giving a series of different literary devices (flashback, impressionism, florid conjecture). It is a short book but infinitely rewarding .. yet also heartbreaking.
163Eyejaybee
130. More Than You Can Say by Paul Torday.
This was an intriguing story, written with Torday's customary verve. The main protagonist is Richard Gaunt, a disillusined and vaguely dysfuntional ex-soldier who had left the Army after a tour in Baghdad. As the book progresses it emerges that while in Iraq he had been involved with unsavoury and inappropriate operations run in conjuction with the SAS, American special Forces and some sinister civilian organisations. His return to civilian life had not been easy, and as the story opens we learn that he had broiken his engagement with Emma, a lovely girl with whom he had had a long relationship, and with whom he had also been in business.
The book starts with Gaunt deciding to vist his Mayfair gambling club, worrying whwether he will be accepted there agin in view of his extensive debts to various other members. However, for once he has a very successful evening and ends up with a pocketful of cash and other debts owed. One of his debtors is lord hartlepool who offers a quirky "double or quits" wager that gaunt can walk from the clkub to oxford in time for lunch at the Randolph Hotel at 1.00 p.m. the next day. Gaunt, still heady from the evenng's drink and his unaccustomed winnings, accepts the bet and duly sets off.
All goes well until the midway through the following morning when he encounters a black Range Rover, and everthing seems to fall apart.
Torday has a great knack of making even the most outlandish characters seem realistic. As usual, we also meet various characters who have appeared in his other books, often merely peripherally. For instance, hector Chetwynde-Talbot and Nick Davies, both of whome featured in "The Hopeless life of Charlie Summers" reappear here.
Overall, not a huge amount of substance but a healthy dose of style.
This was an intriguing story, written with Torday's customary verve. The main protagonist is Richard Gaunt, a disillusined and vaguely dysfuntional ex-soldier who had left the Army after a tour in Baghdad. As the book progresses it emerges that while in Iraq he had been involved with unsavoury and inappropriate operations run in conjuction with the SAS, American special Forces and some sinister civilian organisations. His return to civilian life had not been easy, and as the story opens we learn that he had broiken his engagement with Emma, a lovely girl with whom he had had a long relationship, and with whom he had also been in business.
The book starts with Gaunt deciding to vist his Mayfair gambling club, worrying whwether he will be accepted there agin in view of his extensive debts to various other members. However, for once he has a very successful evening and ends up with a pocketful of cash and other debts owed. One of his debtors is lord hartlepool who offers a quirky "double or quits" wager that gaunt can walk from the clkub to oxford in time for lunch at the Randolph Hotel at 1.00 p.m. the next day. Gaunt, still heady from the evenng's drink and his unaccustomed winnings, accepts the bet and duly sets off.
All goes well until the midway through the following morning when he encounters a black Range Rover, and everthing seems to fall apart.
Torday has a great knack of making even the most outlandish characters seem realistic. As usual, we also meet various characters who have appeared in his other books, often merely peripherally. For instance, hector Chetwynde-Talbot and Nick Davies, both of whome featured in "The Hopeless life of Charlie Summers" reappear here.
Overall, not a huge amount of substance but a healthy dose of style.
164Eyejaybee
131. Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall by Spike Milligan.
I remember watching Spike Milligan's television programmes (Q6, Q7, Q8 etc) as a teenager during the late 1970s. Even then, although there were moments in every programme that were absolutely hilarious, most of it struck me as really rather silly and anything but amusing. My father, generally hard to please in matters of comedy, would be convulsed while I sat watching and wondering how someone so intelligent could be so easily amused. I have always had the same reaction to The Goons - occasional brilliance largely submerged by fatuous drivel.
It was, therefore, with some hesitation that I picked up this slim volume of Milligan's recollections of his experiencse during the Second World War. I wish now that I had waited a bit longer. As with his television programmes and The Goons there were some absolute gems in this book. However, these were the exceptions cast among long periods of utter inanity. Sadly, the book wasn't even particularly well written, and I think that penguin Books would have been wiser to apply far stricter editorial scrutiny to this work.
I bought all seven volumes of Milligan's memoirs together on a special offer but now I just feel that, rather than waste valuable shelf space, I need to palm them off on the local hospice charity shop.
I remember watching Spike Milligan's television programmes (Q6, Q7, Q8 etc) as a teenager during the late 1970s. Even then, although there were moments in every programme that were absolutely hilarious, most of it struck me as really rather silly and anything but amusing. My father, generally hard to please in matters of comedy, would be convulsed while I sat watching and wondering how someone so intelligent could be so easily amused. I have always had the same reaction to The Goons - occasional brilliance largely submerged by fatuous drivel.
It was, therefore, with some hesitation that I picked up this slim volume of Milligan's recollections of his experiencse during the Second World War. I wish now that I had waited a bit longer. As with his television programmes and The Goons there were some absolute gems in this book. However, these were the exceptions cast among long periods of utter inanity. Sadly, the book wasn't even particularly well written, and I think that penguin Books would have been wiser to apply far stricter editorial scrutiny to this work.
I bought all seven volumes of Milligan's memoirs together on a special offer but now I just feel that, rather than waste valuable shelf space, I need to palm them off on the local hospice charity shop.
165Eyejaybee
132. A Philosophical Investigation by Philip Kerr.
Back in the 1990s Philip Kerr was often heralded as "the British Michael Crichton" because of his chilling portrayals of the near future. I can't see this myself. His foray in to the past with the series of books featuring Bernie Gunther and set during, during and slightly after the Second World War has been very successful, as was his novel set in President Kennedy's America. his futuristic books just don't work - for some reason his normally sound plotting just falls apart, as does his capacity to conjure empathetic characters.
This book could have been so good - the setting is certainly well captured, and his descriptions of the conflicts between senior police and government ministers seemed vary plausible. Unfortunately the story became too dependent upon squalor and faux psychology.
Stick to the past, Philip - it's more forgiving!
Back in the 1990s Philip Kerr was often heralded as "the British Michael Crichton" because of his chilling portrayals of the near future. I can't see this myself. His foray in to the past with the series of books featuring Bernie Gunther and set during, during and slightly after the Second World War has been very successful, as was his novel set in President Kennedy's America. his futuristic books just don't work - for some reason his normally sound plotting just falls apart, as does his capacity to conjure empathetic characters.
This book could have been so good - the setting is certainly well captured, and his descriptions of the conflicts between senior police and government ministers seemed vary plausible. Unfortunately the story became too dependent upon squalor and faux psychology.
Stick to the past, Philip - it's more forgiving!
166Eyejaybee
133. A Room With a View by E. M. Forster.
My favourite of Forster's novels, centred around the gradual (and perhaps rather belated) coming of age of the beautiful and determined Lucy Hornchurch as she travels with her over-powering and intransigent aunt, Charlotte Bartlett to visit Florence. While staying at their pension (run by a "Cockney signora") they encounter the Emersons, a father and son of socialist and humanist bent, who have also been taking in the cultural fare of the Grand Tour. The Emersons are clearly well meaning but seem to have no sense of how to behave in "decent" company. Having resolved that she will try to avoid further acquaintance with them it is almost inevitable that Lucy will be thrown upon their good offices, especially those of the enigmatic George, the younger Emerson who "works on the railway".
Forster handles all the interactions very adroitly, always aware of the prickly social frictions, and while the eventual denouement leaves no surprises the route by which he takes us there is pleasantly convoluted but never implausible.
I must admit that I now can't consider this book other than through the filter of the lovely Merchant Ivory film in which Helena Bonham Carter played Lucy, Simon Callow was charmings as the Reverend Beebe and Denholm Elliott excelled as Mr Emerson.
My favourite of Forster's novels, centred around the gradual (and perhaps rather belated) coming of age of the beautiful and determined Lucy Hornchurch as she travels with her over-powering and intransigent aunt, Charlotte Bartlett to visit Florence. While staying at their pension (run by a "Cockney signora") they encounter the Emersons, a father and son of socialist and humanist bent, who have also been taking in the cultural fare of the Grand Tour. The Emersons are clearly well meaning but seem to have no sense of how to behave in "decent" company. Having resolved that she will try to avoid further acquaintance with them it is almost inevitable that Lucy will be thrown upon their good offices, especially those of the enigmatic George, the younger Emerson who "works on the railway".
Forster handles all the interactions very adroitly, always aware of the prickly social frictions, and while the eventual denouement leaves no surprises the route by which he takes us there is pleasantly convoluted but never implausible.
I must admit that I now can't consider this book other than through the filter of the lovely Merchant Ivory film in which Helena Bonham Carter played Lucy, Simon Callow was charmings as the Reverend Beebe and Denholm Elliott excelled as Mr Emerson.
167Eyejaybee
134 Smallcreep's Day by Peter Currell Brown.
I was delighted to come across a copy of this little known book because in a previous incarnation I used to be rather a fan of prog rock and ...
... Oops, let me start again ...
... I was delighted to come across a copy of this little known book because I have a friend who used to like prog rock and had, as a teenager in the very early 1980s, bought a copy of Mike Rutherford's first solo album which had been inspired by, and took its title from, this novel.
Sadly the book did not live up to my (or, rather, my friend's) expectations: words that leap to mind include facile, naive, stilted. In fact, the connection with the Mike Rutherford album is not merely the most, but possibly the only, interesting thing about this. To be honest, even the album sounds rather dated and stilted now, too!
I was delighted to come across a copy of this little known book because in a previous incarnation I used to be rather a fan of prog rock and ...
... Oops, let me start again ...
... I was delighted to come across a copy of this little known book because I have a friend who used to like prog rock and had, as a teenager in the very early 1980s, bought a copy of Mike Rutherford's first solo album which had been inspired by, and took its title from, this novel.
Sadly the book did not live up to my (or, rather, my friend's) expectations: words that leap to mind include facile, naive, stilted. In fact, the connection with the Mike Rutherford album is not merely the most, but possibly the only, interesting thing about this. To be honest, even the album sounds rather dated and stilted now, too!
168Eyejaybee
135. The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall by Paul Torday.
An enchanting and unusual novel. At the simplest level this is a tale about Ed, Lord Hartlepool, who is summoned back from his tax exile in the south of France to cope with a series of crises after the Trustees of the various family settlements that have hitherto supported his affluent lifestyle are forced to agree a crippling settlement with H M Revenue and Customs.
As is so often the case with Torday's novels, the principal protagonist here has been a peripheral character in various other novels. In those previous appearances there seemed very little that was likeable about Ed Hartlepool. However, the portrayal of him here as he faces up to the prospect of genuine and permanent ruin leaves one surprisingly sympathetic
Meanwhile, in a deftly intertwined subplot, Ed's lifelong friend Annabel Gazebee is struggling to escape a life of abject misery, looking after her aged, domineering and utterly graceless father. She senses the possibility of escape when she is courted by Geoff Tarset, a wealthy property developer who has his own eyes of Ed's family home, Hartlepool Hall.
Torday is as masterful as ever in manipulating plot twists and developing his characters, and as a consequence delivers another very enjoyable novel.
An enchanting and unusual novel. At the simplest level this is a tale about Ed, Lord Hartlepool, who is summoned back from his tax exile in the south of France to cope with a series of crises after the Trustees of the various family settlements that have hitherto supported his affluent lifestyle are forced to agree a crippling settlement with H M Revenue and Customs.
As is so often the case with Torday's novels, the principal protagonist here has been a peripheral character in various other novels. In those previous appearances there seemed very little that was likeable about Ed Hartlepool. However, the portrayal of him here as he faces up to the prospect of genuine and permanent ruin leaves one surprisingly sympathetic
Meanwhile, in a deftly intertwined subplot, Ed's lifelong friend Annabel Gazebee is struggling to escape a life of abject misery, looking after her aged, domineering and utterly graceless father. She senses the possibility of escape when she is courted by Geoff Tarset, a wealthy property developer who has his own eyes of Ed's family home, Hartlepool Hall.
Torday is as masterful as ever in manipulating plot twists and developing his characters, and as a consequence delivers another very enjoyable novel.
169Eyejaybee
136. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood.
A marvellous novel by Margaret Atwood - in fact, almost three super stories for the price of one. It gets off to a flying start with one of the principal characters driving off a bridge to her death in the very first sentence.
The main narrative takes the form of the memories of Iris Chase Griffen as she recounts her experiences growing up in Canada between the wars. She and her younger sister Laura were born into the affluent Chase family which owned various formerly thriving business. After losing their mother at a young age they are largely brought up by Reenie, the housemaid, as their father became increasingly distracted by business matters. However, Canada was no more immune to the sufferings brought by the Depression than the rest of the world, and the Chase businesses gradually decline. Ultimately they are bought out by their arch rival, Richard Griffen, at the price of Iris's hand in marriage.
Meanwhile, two other narratives are unfolding - one of them takes the form of a novel by Laura called "The Blind Assassin" in which a refined woman conducts a clandestine relationship with a man who is on the run from some unspecified enemy. This novel in turn contains yet another nested story, also called "The Blind Assassin", which the fugitive recounts episodically during each of his trysts with his lover. Atwood handles the emerging of these narratives with considerable deftness, and all the way through the reader is eager to get to the next instalment of each separate thread.
The book also offers a lucid insight into prevailing social mores in Canada in the first half of the last century, and interesting snapshots of world history.
One of the finest novels that have read this year, and I am confident that I shall be re-reading it soon!
A marvellous novel by Margaret Atwood - in fact, almost three super stories for the price of one. It gets off to a flying start with one of the principal characters driving off a bridge to her death in the very first sentence.
The main narrative takes the form of the memories of Iris Chase Griffen as she recounts her experiences growing up in Canada between the wars. She and her younger sister Laura were born into the affluent Chase family which owned various formerly thriving business. After losing their mother at a young age they are largely brought up by Reenie, the housemaid, as their father became increasingly distracted by business matters. However, Canada was no more immune to the sufferings brought by the Depression than the rest of the world, and the Chase businesses gradually decline. Ultimately they are bought out by their arch rival, Richard Griffen, at the price of Iris's hand in marriage.
Meanwhile, two other narratives are unfolding - one of them takes the form of a novel by Laura called "The Blind Assassin" in which a refined woman conducts a clandestine relationship with a man who is on the run from some unspecified enemy. This novel in turn contains yet another nested story, also called "The Blind Assassin", which the fugitive recounts episodically during each of his trysts with his lover. Atwood handles the emerging of these narratives with considerable deftness, and all the way through the reader is eager to get to the next instalment of each separate thread.
The book also offers a lucid insight into prevailing social mores in Canada in the first half of the last century, and interesting snapshots of world history.
One of the finest novels that have read this year, and I am confident that I shall be re-reading it soon!
170Eyejaybee
137. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson.
A rather disjointed account of the murder of Carl Heine, a fisherman from the island of San Piedro in 1954. When the body is initially discovered everyone assumes that the death was accidental, but gradually suspicions centre on Kabuo Miyamoto, a leading member of the local Japanese American community. He is subsequently arrested and prosecuted for murder.
So soon after the end of the Second world war emotions and prejudices run high, and most of the community turns out to watch the trial.
The plot is complex but immensely plausible. However, Guterson drip feeds information in the most cumbersome manner, and I frequently found my interest flagging. At the time of its publication this novel proved to be a major commercial success, and swept up a raft of literary awards. Reading it fifteen years on I now wonder whether this was more from a wave of politically correct assent at the debunking of prejudice rather than a genuine appraisal of the book's actual merits.
A rather disjointed account of the murder of Carl Heine, a fisherman from the island of San Piedro in 1954. When the body is initially discovered everyone assumes that the death was accidental, but gradually suspicions centre on Kabuo Miyamoto, a leading member of the local Japanese American community. He is subsequently arrested and prosecuted for murder.
So soon after the end of the Second world war emotions and prejudices run high, and most of the community turns out to watch the trial.
The plot is complex but immensely plausible. However, Guterson drip feeds information in the most cumbersome manner, and I frequently found my interest flagging. At the time of its publication this novel proved to be a major commercial success, and swept up a raft of literary awards. Reading it fifteen years on I now wonder whether this was more from a wave of politically correct assent at the debunking of prejudice rather than a genuine appraisal of the book's actual merits.
171Eyejaybee
138. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie.
I saw from my inscription on the flyleaf of this book that I bought it back home in Loughborough in the spring of 1975, during my first year at grammar school, and I presume that I read it shortly afterwards. I certainly remember that I enjoyed it then, and I was surprised to find how much i enjoyed re-reading it now.
I am sure that the first time around I was oblivious to the social comment and Miss Marple's wry observations of life (though I do recall thinking that her descriptions of St Mary Mead sounded very similar to the village in which I grew up.
As always with Agatha Christie the plot is deftly constructed and the characters generally believable. This is far from her finest moment, but even here she keeps the reader hanging on and I have to confess to having been completely fooled as to the identity of the murderer.
Definitely an enjoyable venture into nostalgia.
I saw from my inscription on the flyleaf of this book that I bought it back home in Loughborough in the spring of 1975, during my first year at grammar school, and I presume that I read it shortly afterwards. I certainly remember that I enjoyed it then, and I was surprised to find how much i enjoyed re-reading it now.
I am sure that the first time around I was oblivious to the social comment and Miss Marple's wry observations of life (though I do recall thinking that her descriptions of St Mary Mead sounded very similar to the village in which I grew up.
As always with Agatha Christie the plot is deftly constructed and the characters generally believable. This is far from her finest moment, but even here she keeps the reader hanging on and I have to confess to having been completely fooled as to the identity of the murderer.
Definitely an enjoyable venture into nostalgia.
172Eyejaybee
139. On the Map by Simon Garfield.
This is a marvellous book. Basically a history of map-making it also includes a fascinating perspective on both the classical and renaissance ages. Garfield clearly loves maps himself and the clarity of his prose helps to impart that zest to his reader.
He starts by recounting the Greeks' theories of geography, astonomy and cosmosgraphy, and rapidly convinces us of the sheer genius that they brought to their field. For example, in the third century BC Erastosthenes of Alexandria, renowned mathematician, geographer, philosopher, athlete, poet, musician and general polymath about town, compared his observations of the elevation of the solstice sun at noon in his home town with what he found in Swenet (modern-day Aswan), and was not merely able to confirm that the Earth is a sphere, but to calculate the size of it. His calculations suggested that the circumference of the Earth is 25,000 miles. As we now know, the circumference is actually 24,901 miles, so his calculations were impressive to say the least.
From Erastosthemes Garfield takes us through Ptolemy (whose concentric sphere model of cosmology would remain dominant throughout the civilised world for fifteen hundred year before being debunked by Copernicus) to the Renaissance manificence of Mercator and Moll.
He recounts the history of the Ordnance Survey (though I would recommend that readers with a particular interest in this might prefer Rachel Hewitt's marvellous "Map of a Nation"), and dwells with affection on the spate of satirical maps that became popular in the nineteenth century, showing John Bull or menacing Russian octopuses (octopi?) looming over the rest of Europe. I particularly enjoyed his chapter on the development of the London A-Z. In his later chapters he explains the methodology (and some of the pitfalls) of the modern obsession with sat-nav technology, though he is confident that, regardless of their convenience, they will never supplant the traditional map. In between most of the chapters Garfield offers smaller sections addressing a particularly quirky aspect of map history.
I found the later chapters slightly less engrossing than those covering the early centuries but all in all this was a fascinating, lucid and immensely enjoyable book.
This is a marvellous book. Basically a history of map-making it also includes a fascinating perspective on both the classical and renaissance ages. Garfield clearly loves maps himself and the clarity of his prose helps to impart that zest to his reader.
He starts by recounting the Greeks' theories of geography, astonomy and cosmosgraphy, and rapidly convinces us of the sheer genius that they brought to their field. For example, in the third century BC Erastosthenes of Alexandria, renowned mathematician, geographer, philosopher, athlete, poet, musician and general polymath about town, compared his observations of the elevation of the solstice sun at noon in his home town with what he found in Swenet (modern-day Aswan), and was not merely able to confirm that the Earth is a sphere, but to calculate the size of it. His calculations suggested that the circumference of the Earth is 25,000 miles. As we now know, the circumference is actually 24,901 miles, so his calculations were impressive to say the least.
From Erastosthemes Garfield takes us through Ptolemy (whose concentric sphere model of cosmology would remain dominant throughout the civilised world for fifteen hundred year before being debunked by Copernicus) to the Renaissance manificence of Mercator and Moll.
He recounts the history of the Ordnance Survey (though I would recommend that readers with a particular interest in this might prefer Rachel Hewitt's marvellous "Map of a Nation"), and dwells with affection on the spate of satirical maps that became popular in the nineteenth century, showing John Bull or menacing Russian octopuses (octopi?) looming over the rest of Europe. I particularly enjoyed his chapter on the development of the London A-Z. In his later chapters he explains the methodology (and some of the pitfalls) of the modern obsession with sat-nav technology, though he is confident that, regardless of their convenience, they will never supplant the traditional map. In between most of the chapters Garfield offers smaller sections addressing a particularly quirky aspect of map history.
I found the later chapters slightly less engrossing than those covering the early centuries but all in all this was a fascinating, lucid and immensely enjoyable book.
173Eyejaybee
140. Switch by Charlie Brooks.
Charlie Brooks has probably been better known recently as the husband of News International femme fatale Rebekah. However, he is clearly a more than competent writer in his own right.
This is an intriguing spy novel though I did feel that Brooks seemed to go out of his way to add unnecessary discontinuity by introducing brief flashbacks that do little to advance the plot. Brooks' protagonist, Max Ward, is certainly a likeable character, even if his story is different from most of his readers (expelled from Eton, barred from most of the leading casinos throughout Europe and with a liking for wine in the £700 per bottle bracket), and one is rooting for him from the start..
The novel moves around Europe as Ward struggles to unmask an MI6 colleague who has certainly strayed from the paths of righteousness, and we meet a fascinating cast of art forgers, Russian mafia oligarchs and enforcers, whip-wielding prostitutes and Oxbridge dons. The one slight failing was that Brooks failed to impart any sense of urgency to the novel.
Charlie Brooks has probably been better known recently as the husband of News International femme fatale Rebekah. However, he is clearly a more than competent writer in his own right.
This is an intriguing spy novel though I did feel that Brooks seemed to go out of his way to add unnecessary discontinuity by introducing brief flashbacks that do little to advance the plot. Brooks' protagonist, Max Ward, is certainly a likeable character, even if his story is different from most of his readers (expelled from Eton, barred from most of the leading casinos throughout Europe and with a liking for wine in the £700 per bottle bracket), and one is rooting for him from the start..
The novel moves around Europe as Ward struggles to unmask an MI6 colleague who has certainly strayed from the paths of righteousness, and we meet a fascinating cast of art forgers, Russian mafia oligarchs and enforcers, whip-wielding prostitutes and Oxbridge dons. The one slight failing was that Brooks failed to impart any sense of urgency to the novel.
174Eyejaybee
141. The Secret of Spandau by Peter Lovesey.
A very entertaining novel, based around the incarceration of Rudolf Hess in Spandau Prison in Berlin following his conviction in the Nuremburg Trials after the end of the Second World War.
The novel opens with the flight of Rudolf Hess, then second in command within German's Third Reich, to Scotland in a bid to meet the Duke of Hamilton. However, the main part of the story takes place in 1984. Berlin is still divided by the Wall, and Hess remains in Spandau, guarded by a combination of British, American, French and Russian warders. By that time he is the sole inmate in Spandau, and is referred to solely as "Prisoner No. 7". However, in London three journalists are pulled off their customary duties to investigate rumours that Hess had smuggled out an illicit memoir, and that it might contain revelations of the most damaging type, with drastic implications for all four of the Allied Powers.
Lovesey has obviously conducted extensive research and he succeeds in building up great tension as the action moves between London, Berlin and St Malo.
The denouement stretched plausibility rather too far, perhaps, but the book was immensely;y entertaining.
A very entertaining novel, based around the incarceration of Rudolf Hess in Spandau Prison in Berlin following his conviction in the Nuremburg Trials after the end of the Second World War.
The novel opens with the flight of Rudolf Hess, then second in command within German's Third Reich, to Scotland in a bid to meet the Duke of Hamilton. However, the main part of the story takes place in 1984. Berlin is still divided by the Wall, and Hess remains in Spandau, guarded by a combination of British, American, French and Russian warders. By that time he is the sole inmate in Spandau, and is referred to solely as "Prisoner No. 7". However, in London three journalists are pulled off their customary duties to investigate rumours that Hess had smuggled out an illicit memoir, and that it might contain revelations of the most damaging type, with drastic implications for all four of the Allied Powers.
Lovesey has obviously conducted extensive research and he succeeds in building up great tension as the action moves between London, Berlin and St Malo.
The denouement stretched plausibility rather too far, perhaps, but the book was immensely;y entertaining.
175Eyejaybee
142. A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins.*
An excellent brief history of England. Jenkins does not offer any startlingly new interpretation of English history but he does write with his customary lucidity, and uses his journalistic experience to ensure that his story is always engaging.
I was particularly impressed with his concise and clear recounting of both the Wars of the Roses and then the English Civil War - he recounts both these campaigns with great clarity, explaining the respective interests and motivations with great verve. He is also very strong on the political vacillations of Churchill's career, and on the whole pantheon of nineteenth century political history.
All in all a verye njoyable and informative book.
An excellent brief history of England. Jenkins does not offer any startlingly new interpretation of English history but he does write with his customary lucidity, and uses his journalistic experience to ensure that his story is always engaging.
I was particularly impressed with his concise and clear recounting of both the Wars of the Roses and then the English Civil War - he recounts both these campaigns with great clarity, explaining the respective interests and motivations with great verve. He is also very strong on the political vacillations of Churchill's career, and on the whole pantheon of nineteenth century political history.
All in all a verye njoyable and informative book.
177Eyejaybee
144. A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle.
A few days ago I was faced with a choice. I could leave this book on the shelf in Waterstone's or I could buy it, take it home and read it.
I chose poorly!
A few days ago I was faced with a choice. I could leave this book on the shelf in Waterstone's or I could buy it, take it home and read it.
I chose poorly!
178Eyejaybee
145. The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz.
I picked this novel up more or less by chance - I found myself faced with the journey home from work with nothing to read (the last novel that i had started had proved to be too dreadful to persist with), and more or less grabbed the first book I saw in Waterstones just before it closed for the night. What a serendipitous choice!
I always enjoyed Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories - superior teen fiction from before the term was coined - and this novel captures the tone of the originals quite marvellously. The book purports to be a manuscript by Dr Watson for which he had placed the embargo that it should not be published until one hundred years after his death. The reasons for this becomes apparent as the plot infolds. It features all of the regular characteristics that peppered the original stories - the Baker Street Irregulars have a major role to play, Mrs Hudson is as indignant and Inspector Lestrade as initially misguided as ever, and there is even a cameo appearance from Moriarty. Holmes is as relentless as ever in his meticulous cold-reading of everyone whom he meets, and the portrayal of Victorian London is as simultaneously enticing and repulsive as ever.
The plot is as intricately constructed as one would hope, and the denouement enthralls the reader.
Most enjoyable.
I picked this novel up more or less by chance - I found myself faced with the journey home from work with nothing to read (the last novel that i had started had proved to be too dreadful to persist with), and more or less grabbed the first book I saw in Waterstones just before it closed for the night. What a serendipitous choice!
I always enjoyed Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories - superior teen fiction from before the term was coined - and this novel captures the tone of the originals quite marvellously. The book purports to be a manuscript by Dr Watson for which he had placed the embargo that it should not be published until one hundred years after his death. The reasons for this becomes apparent as the plot infolds. It features all of the regular characteristics that peppered the original stories - the Baker Street Irregulars have a major role to play, Mrs Hudson is as indignant and Inspector Lestrade as initially misguided as ever, and there is even a cameo appearance from Moriarty. Holmes is as relentless as ever in his meticulous cold-reading of everyone whom he meets, and the portrayal of Victorian London is as simultaneously enticing and repulsive as ever.
The plot is as intricately constructed as one would hope, and the denouement enthralls the reader.
Most enjoyable.
179Eyejaybee
146. A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks.
Powerful contemporary novel set in London from a master of literary fiction.
Structured like a thriller, A Week in December takes place over the course of a single week at the end of 2008. Set in London, it brings together an intriguing cast of characters whose lives apparently run on parallel lines but — as it gradually becomes clear — are intricately related. The central anti-hero, John Veals, is a shadily successful and boundlessly ambitious Dickensian character who is trading billions. The tentacles of Veals’ influence encompass newspaper columnists, MPs, businessmen, footballers, a female tube driver, a Scottish convert to Islam, a disaffected teenager, and a care worker, whose different perspectives build up a tale of love, family and money as the story builds to its powerful climax. All of the characters are utterly believable, and finely drawn, and Faulks displays complete mastery in the manner in which he interleaves their stories.
At times hilarious, yet also steeped at times in melancholic resignation, this novel also offers some poignant insights. The most striking of these was Gabriel Northwood's passionate lament over the failure of the education system, and the sad descent from a halcyon age when children were taught for the sheer sake of learning rather than to equip them to take on jobs that might no longer be there.
Powerful contemporary novel set in London from a master of literary fiction.
Structured like a thriller, A Week in December takes place over the course of a single week at the end of 2008. Set in London, it brings together an intriguing cast of characters whose lives apparently run on parallel lines but — as it gradually becomes clear — are intricately related. The central anti-hero, John Veals, is a shadily successful and boundlessly ambitious Dickensian character who is trading billions. The tentacles of Veals’ influence encompass newspaper columnists, MPs, businessmen, footballers, a female tube driver, a Scottish convert to Islam, a disaffected teenager, and a care worker, whose different perspectives build up a tale of love, family and money as the story builds to its powerful climax. All of the characters are utterly believable, and finely drawn, and Faulks displays complete mastery in the manner in which he interleaves their stories.
At times hilarious, yet also steeped at times in melancholic resignation, this novel also offers some poignant insights. The most striking of these was Gabriel Northwood's passionate lament over the failure of the education system, and the sad descent from a halcyon age when children were taught for the sheer sake of learning rather than to equip them to take on jobs that might no longer be there.
180Eyejaybee
147. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.
For a long time this tale of Toru Okada, his missing cat, his missing wife, his evil brother-in-law and the various people whom Okada encounters is fascinating and intriguing. You keep wanting to know why things have happened - why did Kumiko leave Toru? What is the secret power that Okada's brother-in-law seems to have? Why does May, Okada's teenage neighbour keep appearing? All this and a haunted house, the "wind-up bird", and two mystical Kano sisters! Where is it all going?
The trouble is, the answer to that question is "nowhere really!". There are just too many loose ends.. Kumiko eventually explains why she left, but later partially denies it, and she never physically reappears. We never get to discover why Noburu Wataya has mysterious powers. We just about accept Malta Kano, but is her sister Creta real? Or is she a sort of fantasy conflation of Kumiko and Malta Kano?
The visit of Lieutenant Mamiya, with the empty box, and his subsequent letters seem to have nothing to do with the rest of the story (though in themselves they provide some of the most readable sections of the book). I was expecting some further revelations regarding Mr Honda, but was disappointed.
Toru is one of those ordinary people to whom extraordinary things happen-like Voltaire's Candide, or Waugh's Paul Pennyfeather in Decline and Fall. He's quite likeable in a way, though some of his behaviour is puzzling. His cultural interests seem to be entirely western - music especially, but food as well. In fact, that is a feature of the book as a whole. If you read a British or American novel in which the main characters were interested only in oriental culture, you'd think it a bit strange, wouldn't you? Perhaps even rather pretentious.
Dreams. Almost every novel I read nowadays has dreams in it. Enough already.
The incident relating to the killing of the zoo animals is well-written and engaging, but (like Lt Mamiya's reminiscences) seems to belong to another novel. We westerners know little of the war in the Far East (except for the bits involving the UK and the USA), so the unspeakable brutality and mercilessness of the Russians and Japanese is harrowing. Perhaps Murakami should use his undoubted talents to tell a story set entirely in this context.
As for May, she's like the sort of precocious teenage girl who featured in certain French films of the 1960s. The word which was used to describe such females was "kookie". May is charming and likeable, but why do we see all her letters when Toru (apparently) doesn't? After all, we know that he receives Lt Mamiya's letters, because he comments on the old-fashioned handwriting.
The book is a sort of confidence trick - the reader is drawn in by a series of mysterious events, and we keep reading in order to find out the hows and the whys...... and that's it. It's all about the creation of wonder and suspense, but the author can't come up with a satisfactory way of resolving the conundrums he has presented us with.
I think that the book would have benefited from rigorous editing.
For a long time this tale of Toru Okada, his missing cat, his missing wife, his evil brother-in-law and the various people whom Okada encounters is fascinating and intriguing. You keep wanting to know why things have happened - why did Kumiko leave Toru? What is the secret power that Okada's brother-in-law seems to have? Why does May, Okada's teenage neighbour keep appearing? All this and a haunted house, the "wind-up bird", and two mystical Kano sisters! Where is it all going?
The trouble is, the answer to that question is "nowhere really!". There are just too many loose ends.. Kumiko eventually explains why she left, but later partially denies it, and she never physically reappears. We never get to discover why Noburu Wataya has mysterious powers. We just about accept Malta Kano, but is her sister Creta real? Or is she a sort of fantasy conflation of Kumiko and Malta Kano?
The visit of Lieutenant Mamiya, with the empty box, and his subsequent letters seem to have nothing to do with the rest of the story (though in themselves they provide some of the most readable sections of the book). I was expecting some further revelations regarding Mr Honda, but was disappointed.
Toru is one of those ordinary people to whom extraordinary things happen-like Voltaire's Candide, or Waugh's Paul Pennyfeather in Decline and Fall. He's quite likeable in a way, though some of his behaviour is puzzling. His cultural interests seem to be entirely western - music especially, but food as well. In fact, that is a feature of the book as a whole. If you read a British or American novel in which the main characters were interested only in oriental culture, you'd think it a bit strange, wouldn't you? Perhaps even rather pretentious.
Dreams. Almost every novel I read nowadays has dreams in it. Enough already.
The incident relating to the killing of the zoo animals is well-written and engaging, but (like Lt Mamiya's reminiscences) seems to belong to another novel. We westerners know little of the war in the Far East (except for the bits involving the UK and the USA), so the unspeakable brutality and mercilessness of the Russians and Japanese is harrowing. Perhaps Murakami should use his undoubted talents to tell a story set entirely in this context.
As for May, she's like the sort of precocious teenage girl who featured in certain French films of the 1960s. The word which was used to describe such females was "kookie". May is charming and likeable, but why do we see all her letters when Toru (apparently) doesn't? After all, we know that he receives Lt Mamiya's letters, because he comments on the old-fashioned handwriting.
The book is a sort of confidence trick - the reader is drawn in by a series of mysterious events, and we keep reading in order to find out the hows and the whys...... and that's it. It's all about the creation of wonder and suspense, but the author can't come up with a satisfactory way of resolving the conundrums he has presented us with.
I think that the book would have benefited from rigorous editing.
181Eyejaybee
148. The Spoiler by Annalena McAfee.
This is an amusing novel which satirises the different aspects of the world of journalsim through the scenario of a young, ambitious but essentially shallow gossip columnist interviewing an aging foreign correspondent whose career started during the Spanish Civil War and included coverage of the liberation of Buchenwald, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as meetings with Castro, Che Guavara, George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway.
Though it was slightly longer than was really necessary this is a very enjoyable book. The characters of Honor Tait, the elderly and accomplished correspondent, and Tamara Sim, who thrives in coverage of vacuous celebrities but barely knows which party is in government, are very finely drawn and skilfully contrasted.
This is an amusing novel which satirises the different aspects of the world of journalsim through the scenario of a young, ambitious but essentially shallow gossip columnist interviewing an aging foreign correspondent whose career started during the Spanish Civil War and included coverage of the liberation of Buchenwald, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as meetings with Castro, Che Guavara, George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway.
Though it was slightly longer than was really necessary this is a very enjoyable book. The characters of Honor Tait, the elderly and accomplished correspondent, and Tamara Sim, who thrives in coverage of vacuous celebrities but barely knows which party is in government, are very finely drawn and skilfully contrasted.
182Eyejaybee
149. Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin.
Detective Inspector John Rebus, protagonist of nearly twenty novels by Ian Rankin, was a marvellous character - jaundiced, cynical, tough, ill-disciplined, maverick yet essentially a force for good. Own of Rebus's colleagues called him "thrawn" in an early novel - a good Scots word, almost onomatopoeically conveying the sense of deliberate awkwardness or cussedness. When he retired from Lothioan Borders CID at the end of the novel "Exit Music" there was great sadness among the loyal followers of Rankin's Edinburgh-based crime novels (which had virtually created the Scots Noir genre), and a lot of us wondered whether he would return, though as Rankin had always been scrupulous in having his character age in real time, it was difficult to see how this might happen.
However, here he is, working as a civilian in a small group reviewing cold cases, and as thrawn as ever.. Through this work he becomes involved with a review of a series of disappearances of young women, all of whom had last been seen on or near the A9 as it threads its way through northern Scotland. His old investigative antenna tell him that these disappearances are connected to each other, and, as it gradually emerges, to a mcurrent disappearance.
All of the old characters are there - his former sidekick Siobhan Clarke (now a DI herself), his personal bete boire, gangster Maurice Gerald ("Big Ger") Cafferty, and even Malcolm Fox, former colleague and now leading light in the Police Complaints.
The plot is as sturdy and robust as ever, and it never lacks plausibility.
All in all a very welcome and accomplished return
Detective Inspector John Rebus, protagonist of nearly twenty novels by Ian Rankin, was a marvellous character - jaundiced, cynical, tough, ill-disciplined, maverick yet essentially a force for good. Own of Rebus's colleagues called him "thrawn" in an early novel - a good Scots word, almost onomatopoeically conveying the sense of deliberate awkwardness or cussedness. When he retired from Lothioan Borders CID at the end of the novel "Exit Music" there was great sadness among the loyal followers of Rankin's Edinburgh-based crime novels (which had virtually created the Scots Noir genre), and a lot of us wondered whether he would return, though as Rankin had always been scrupulous in having his character age in real time, it was difficult to see how this might happen.
However, here he is, working as a civilian in a small group reviewing cold cases, and as thrawn as ever.. Through this work he becomes involved with a review of a series of disappearances of young women, all of whom had last been seen on or near the A9 as it threads its way through northern Scotland. His old investigative antenna tell him that these disappearances are connected to each other, and, as it gradually emerges, to a mcurrent disappearance.
All of the old characters are there - his former sidekick Siobhan Clarke (now a DI herself), his personal bete boire, gangster Maurice Gerald ("Big Ger") Cafferty, and even Malcolm Fox, former colleague and now leading light in the Police Complaints.
The plot is as sturdy and robust as ever, and it never lacks plausibility.
All in all a very welcome and accomplished return
183Eyejaybee
150. Virtual Light by William Gibson.
A gripping thriller, set in the near future following a partial collapse of authority in America following the combined impacts of earthquakes and plague. The novel is set mainly in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco where a huge community now lives on the Golden Gate Bridge which has become a sort of sanctuary beyond the reach of mainstream law and order.
Chevette Washington, a bicycle courier Inadvertently finds herself on the fringe of a high society party. Having been hassled by one of the guests she wanders off to explore. When she returns to the main party room she sees that the man who had hassled her is now asleep with something sticking out of his pocket. Uncharacteristically Chevette steals this and then leaves the party. When she emerges into the street she looks to see what she has pinched and finds a pair of very dark, and very heavy, sunglasses. However, these are not ordinary glasses but, instead, are Virtual Light (VL) glasses, which when switched on are a new means of conveying data about the things their wearer looks at. This paid also holds top secret information about plans to rebuild the recently earthquake-devastated San Francisco. This information is immensely valuable and the owner (not the man from whom Chevette stole them - he was a mere intermediary) will stop at nothing to retrieve them.
Meanwhile former cop Berry Rydell, having recently lost his post with IntenSecure, a shady independent "rentacop" conglomerate with contacts everywhere, has been recruited by the sinister Mr Warbaby who has himself been commissioned to retrieve the missing glasses.
The synopsis above may make the novel sound unduly fraught but Gibson manages it all very deftly and the story flows seamlessly.
All in all a very rewarding read.
A gripping thriller, set in the near future following a partial collapse of authority in America following the combined impacts of earthquakes and plague. The novel is set mainly in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco where a huge community now lives on the Golden Gate Bridge which has become a sort of sanctuary beyond the reach of mainstream law and order.
Chevette Washington, a bicycle courier Inadvertently finds herself on the fringe of a high society party. Having been hassled by one of the guests she wanders off to explore. When she returns to the main party room she sees that the man who had hassled her is now asleep with something sticking out of his pocket. Uncharacteristically Chevette steals this and then leaves the party. When she emerges into the street she looks to see what she has pinched and finds a pair of very dark, and very heavy, sunglasses. However, these are not ordinary glasses but, instead, are Virtual Light (VL) glasses, which when switched on are a new means of conveying data about the things their wearer looks at. This paid also holds top secret information about plans to rebuild the recently earthquake-devastated San Francisco. This information is immensely valuable and the owner (not the man from whom Chevette stole them - he was a mere intermediary) will stop at nothing to retrieve them.
Meanwhile former cop Berry Rydell, having recently lost his post with IntenSecure, a shady independent "rentacop" conglomerate with contacts everywhere, has been recruited by the sinister Mr Warbaby who has himself been commissioned to retrieve the missing glasses.
The synopsis above may make the novel sound unduly fraught but Gibson manages it all very deftly and the story flows seamlessly.
All in all a very rewarding read.
184Eyejaybee
151. The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks.
Iain Banks seems always to be at his best when dealing with dysfunctional families, and he certainly returns to form here. The main protagonist is Alban McGill, part of the Wopuld family which owns the rights to "Empire!", an extremely successful game (fairly loosely based upon "Risk", I think). A few years before the novel starts the family had sold a significant portion to the American conglomerate Spraint who now wants to buy out the rest of the family holding. Alban had become dissatisfied with corporate life and had left the firm to work as a logger working on conifer plantations all over Wales and Scotland. As the novel opens his more commercially savvy cousin Fielding has tracked him down to a squat in Perth, and persuades him to come back into the family fold, at least temporarily, to try to lead the opposition to the sale.
Another aspect of the novel at which Banks has always excelled is the use of flashback, often nested within other flashbacks. This can be disconcerting, but it does offer a useful means of conveying a lot of necessary background material without requiring tedious explanatory sections. Through the dextrous application of flashbacks we learn that Alban had been (and possibly still is) madly in love with his cousin Sophie, through he has only seen her two or three times over the last twenty years. He does, however, also have a long-term occasional relationship with Verushka Graef, an academic mathematician based at Glasgow University.
All of the characters are eminently credible, and while the plot unwinds in Banks's characteristically chaotic manner it is never less than engrossing.
He completely sold me the dummy over the ending, too.
All in all a very enjoyable book.
Iain Banks seems always to be at his best when dealing with dysfunctional families, and he certainly returns to form here. The main protagonist is Alban McGill, part of the Wopuld family which owns the rights to "Empire!", an extremely successful game (fairly loosely based upon "Risk", I think). A few years before the novel starts the family had sold a significant portion to the American conglomerate Spraint who now wants to buy out the rest of the family holding. Alban had become dissatisfied with corporate life and had left the firm to work as a logger working on conifer plantations all over Wales and Scotland. As the novel opens his more commercially savvy cousin Fielding has tracked him down to a squat in Perth, and persuades him to come back into the family fold, at least temporarily, to try to lead the opposition to the sale.
Another aspect of the novel at which Banks has always excelled is the use of flashback, often nested within other flashbacks. This can be disconcerting, but it does offer a useful means of conveying a lot of necessary background material without requiring tedious explanatory sections. Through the dextrous application of flashbacks we learn that Alban had been (and possibly still is) madly in love with his cousin Sophie, through he has only seen her two or three times over the last twenty years. He does, however, also have a long-term occasional relationship with Verushka Graef, an academic mathematician based at Glasgow University.
All of the characters are eminently credible, and while the plot unwinds in Banks's characteristically chaotic manner it is never less than engrossing.
He completely sold me the dummy over the ending, too.
All in all a very enjoyable book.
185Eyejaybee
152. Platform by Michel Houellebecq.
Rather feeble. Not much more than cheap porn unsuccessfully dressed up as literature.
Fifty shades of tat.
Rather feeble. Not much more than cheap porn unsuccessfully dressed up as literature.
Fifty shades of tat.
186Eyejaybee
153. Idoru by William Gibson.
This is the second volume of Gibson's "Bridge Trilogy" and takes place in a dystopian near future in which Tokyo had recently suffered a huge earthquake but has been largely rebuilt using a new nanotechnology that few people seem properly to understand. Against this background thousands of adoring fans are amazed to hear that aging rock star Rez, Sino-Celtic leader of the stellar act Lo/Rez, announces that he is going to marry Rei Toei. All very well, until one realises that Rei Toei is an "idoru" - a hologram, or data-construct.
Appalled by this news, Chia Mackenzie, and avid fan from Seattle, is sent by her fellow groupies to investigate. While checking in to her flight she meets Maryalice, a slightly mentally dislocated fading beauty who is travelling back to her wannabe gangster boyfriend Edie, who is striving to become "a face" in the post-'quake Tokyo underworld. Unbeknownst to Chia, Maryalice conceals something in her luggage.
Meanwhile Laney, an internet researcher with almost mystical abilities to sniff out obscure data connections, has been hired by the Lo/Rez organisation to manage press coverage of Rez's bizarre announcement. As the novel progresses we start to learn more about Laney's previous employment with the sinister Slitscan media corporation.
The novel proceeds with the two subplots unfolding in alternating chapters, before the two threads are drawn together in a dazzling climax.
All of the usual Gibson characteristics are there - complex internet architecture, alarmingly accurate prescience about technological developments, and a complex mixture of sympathetic and repulsive characters.
Frighteningly plausible!
This is the second volume of Gibson's "Bridge Trilogy" and takes place in a dystopian near future in which Tokyo had recently suffered a huge earthquake but has been largely rebuilt using a new nanotechnology that few people seem properly to understand. Against this background thousands of adoring fans are amazed to hear that aging rock star Rez, Sino-Celtic leader of the stellar act Lo/Rez, announces that he is going to marry Rei Toei. All very well, until one realises that Rei Toei is an "idoru" - a hologram, or data-construct.
Appalled by this news, Chia Mackenzie, and avid fan from Seattle, is sent by her fellow groupies to investigate. While checking in to her flight she meets Maryalice, a slightly mentally dislocated fading beauty who is travelling back to her wannabe gangster boyfriend Edie, who is striving to become "a face" in the post-'quake Tokyo underworld. Unbeknownst to Chia, Maryalice conceals something in her luggage.
Meanwhile Laney, an internet researcher with almost mystical abilities to sniff out obscure data connections, has been hired by the Lo/Rez organisation to manage press coverage of Rez's bizarre announcement. As the novel progresses we start to learn more about Laney's previous employment with the sinister Slitscan media corporation.
The novel proceeds with the two subplots unfolding in alternating chapters, before the two threads are drawn together in a dazzling climax.
All of the usual Gibson characteristics are there - complex internet architecture, alarmingly accurate prescience about technological developments, and a complex mixture of sympathetic and repulsive characters.
Frighteningly plausible!
187Eyejaybee
154. Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution by Lisa Jardine.*
This interesting book from Lisa Jardine is almost a history of the early years of the Royal Society. Jardine fixes on the latter half of the seventeenth century where scientists were either competing on collaborating to drive forward a host of new technological developments that led to many of the devices that we take for granted today. For instance, the clock, telescope and microscope all leapt forward during that period, largely as a consequence of the exertions of the various polymaths who gathered to share and discuss their respective discoveries at the regular meetings of the Royal Society.
This is an accessible book - one of Professor Jardine's strengths is her ability to explain scientific theories in a concise, clear and readily understood manner.
This interesting book from Lisa Jardine is almost a history of the early years of the Royal Society. Jardine fixes on the latter half of the seventeenth century where scientists were either competing on collaborating to drive forward a host of new technological developments that led to many of the devices that we take for granted today. For instance, the clock, telescope and microscope all leapt forward during that period, largely as a consequence of the exertions of the various polymaths who gathered to share and discuss their respective discoveries at the regular meetings of the Royal Society.
This is an accessible book - one of Professor Jardine's strengths is her ability to explain scientific theories in a concise, clear and readily understood manner.
188Eyejaybee
155. The Crow Road by Iain Banks.
This is, in my opinion, Iain Banks's finest novels, and one of my all time favourites. It manages to mix the comic (from the grand opening line, "It was the day my grandmother exploded") and the tragic, with the customary dysfunctional family that banks seems always to portray so deftly.
Essentially the novel spans a little more than a year in the life of Prentice McHoan, a student from the imaginary village of Gallanach in Argyll, though is is permeated throughout with flashbacks, and even occasionally flashbacks within other flashbacks.
Some eight years before the novel opens Prentice's Uncle Rory (briefly famous following the publication some years earlier of his hippy-trail notes about travelling around India) had disappeared, though Prentice's father (Kenneth - a successful author of children's books) is convinced that he is still alive. Meanwhile Ashley Watt, a friend of Prentice from their schooldays) has met a journalist who drunkenly reveals that he may know something odd about the McHoan family. Prentice starts to gather the various notes and papers that Rory had left behind, which suggest that he was engaged on a new work called "The Crow Road". This is, of course, a metaphor for death.
The story goes through a huge numbers of twists and turns, though never straining plausibility or losing the reader's engagement, during which there are a number of other deaths among the McHoan family. Banks is superb at mixing the contemporary (the rock, fashion and TV references are spot on throughout) with Celtic mysticism, all underpinned with a healthily scathing cynicism.
It was a great joy to re-read this book - it seemed even better this time around.
This is, in my opinion, Iain Banks's finest novels, and one of my all time favourites. It manages to mix the comic (from the grand opening line, "It was the day my grandmother exploded") and the tragic, with the customary dysfunctional family that banks seems always to portray so deftly.
Essentially the novel spans a little more than a year in the life of Prentice McHoan, a student from the imaginary village of Gallanach in Argyll, though is is permeated throughout with flashbacks, and even occasionally flashbacks within other flashbacks.
Some eight years before the novel opens Prentice's Uncle Rory (briefly famous following the publication some years earlier of his hippy-trail notes about travelling around India) had disappeared, though Prentice's father (Kenneth - a successful author of children's books) is convinced that he is still alive. Meanwhile Ashley Watt, a friend of Prentice from their schooldays) has met a journalist who drunkenly reveals that he may know something odd about the McHoan family. Prentice starts to gather the various notes and papers that Rory had left behind, which suggest that he was engaged on a new work called "The Crow Road". This is, of course, a metaphor for death.
The story goes through a huge numbers of twists and turns, though never straining plausibility or losing the reader's engagement, during which there are a number of other deaths among the McHoan family. Banks is superb at mixing the contemporary (the rock, fashion and TV references are spot on throughout) with Celtic mysticism, all underpinned with a healthily scathing cynicism.
It was a great joy to re-read this book - it seemed even better this time around.
189Eyejaybee
156. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
I suspect I am in a minority of one as this novel has sold in tens of millions around the world and been hailed as an inspiring work.
However, I found it rather tedious and too self-congratulatory. The only positive quality i could identify was that it was short and quickly over.
I suspect I am in a minority of one as this novel has sold in tens of millions around the world and been hailed as an inspiring work.
However, I found it rather tedious and too self-congratulatory. The only positive quality i could identify was that it was short and quickly over.
190Eyejaybee
157. Winter King by Thomas Penn.*
An intriguing biography of a relatively little-known king who has been somewhat overshadowed by his son Henry VIII and granddaughter Elizabeth I in the popular reckoning of history.
Thomas Penn has certainly been comprehensive in his research, and goes to considerable lengths to capture and convey the enduringly cautious and suspicious nature of Henry's reign. And he had much to be cautious and suspicious about! His title to the crown was tenuous at best - while he could claim descent from Edward III, there were plenty of others who had a stronger claim. Politically astute, he made some adept moves, including the dating of his reign from 21 August 1485. That was the day before the Battle of Bosworth in which he, narrowly, defeated Richard III; by backdating his ascension to the throne, everyone who actually fought against him at Bosworth was guilty of treason and consequently liable to execution if they failed to toe Henry's line.
However, this did not prevent the proliferation of rival claims, including campaigns in support of two "pretenders": Lambert Simnel, a young and innocent puppet who was heralded as the Earl of Warwick, nephew of Edward IV, and, more threateningly, Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York (the younger of the two Princes in the Tower). Even after Warbeck's campaign was finally quashed, Henry remained convinced of a plethora of conspiracies against him.
Generally viewed as an ascetic man, he did, through dexterous taxation policies (including "Morton's Fork", the campaign of his Chancellor Morton which served to wring out every last penny from the beleaguered nobility) establish a phenomenal wealth, and became the last monarch to die leaving a crown surplus.
The book covers Henry's management of foreign and domestic policy in intricate, perhaps even over-elaborate, detail - indeed, I felt rather overburdened by much of it, and could have coped quite easily with a more cursory treatment in many areas.
Still, overall this was an enjoyable and informative addition to the Tudor history canon,and I can see why it won so many critical plaudits .
An intriguing biography of a relatively little-known king who has been somewhat overshadowed by his son Henry VIII and granddaughter Elizabeth I in the popular reckoning of history.
Thomas Penn has certainly been comprehensive in his research, and goes to considerable lengths to capture and convey the enduringly cautious and suspicious nature of Henry's reign. And he had much to be cautious and suspicious about! His title to the crown was tenuous at best - while he could claim descent from Edward III, there were plenty of others who had a stronger claim. Politically astute, he made some adept moves, including the dating of his reign from 21 August 1485. That was the day before the Battle of Bosworth in which he, narrowly, defeated Richard III; by backdating his ascension to the throne, everyone who actually fought against him at Bosworth was guilty of treason and consequently liable to execution if they failed to toe Henry's line.
However, this did not prevent the proliferation of rival claims, including campaigns in support of two "pretenders": Lambert Simnel, a young and innocent puppet who was heralded as the Earl of Warwick, nephew of Edward IV, and, more threateningly, Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York (the younger of the two Princes in the Tower). Even after Warbeck's campaign was finally quashed, Henry remained convinced of a plethora of conspiracies against him.
Generally viewed as an ascetic man, he did, through dexterous taxation policies (including "Morton's Fork", the campaign of his Chancellor Morton which served to wring out every last penny from the beleaguered nobility) establish a phenomenal wealth, and became the last monarch to die leaving a crown surplus.
The book covers Henry's management of foreign and domestic policy in intricate, perhaps even over-elaborate, detail - indeed, I felt rather overburdened by much of it, and could have coped quite easily with a more cursory treatment in many areas.
Still, overall this was an enjoyable and informative addition to the Tudor history canon,and I can see why it won so many critical plaudits .
191Eyejaybee
158. Complicity by Iain Banks.
It would be difficult to characterise this as anything other than a particularly unpleasant book, revolving around graphic descriptions of especially brutal murders interspersed with detailed accounts of drug-driven sadomasochistic sex. However, as all of this is packaged with Banks's characteristic verve the effect is hypnotic rather than repellent.
As usual with Banks there are frequent flashbacks mingled with the usual dysfunctional families.
The principal protagonist is journalist Cameron Colley, an aficionado of Thompsonesque gonzo journalism, who is concurrently working on a large expose of potential cataclysmic proportions centred around different aspects of the defence industry fuelled by anonymous informants' telephone calls while also investigating inappropriate industrial strong-arm tactics in the world of single malt distilleries.
Meanwhile a series of horrific, and apparently unconnected murders, have been occurring all across the country. Initially baffled, the police eventually see a connection - all of the victims were named in an article that Colley had written some months previously: asked to fill in on the media column he had indulged in a raging polemic in the guise of a review of the previous night's television fare.
Banks manages the plot deftly, and also plays with the reader's views of Colley. All in all an unseemly book but very enjoyable.
It would be difficult to characterise this as anything other than a particularly unpleasant book, revolving around graphic descriptions of especially brutal murders interspersed with detailed accounts of drug-driven sadomasochistic sex. However, as all of this is packaged with Banks's characteristic verve the effect is hypnotic rather than repellent.
As usual with Banks there are frequent flashbacks mingled with the usual dysfunctional families.
The principal protagonist is journalist Cameron Colley, an aficionado of Thompsonesque gonzo journalism, who is concurrently working on a large expose of potential cataclysmic proportions centred around different aspects of the defence industry fuelled by anonymous informants' telephone calls while also investigating inappropriate industrial strong-arm tactics in the world of single malt distilleries.
Meanwhile a series of horrific, and apparently unconnected murders, have been occurring all across the country. Initially baffled, the police eventually see a connection - all of the victims were named in an article that Colley had written some months previously: asked to fill in on the media column he had indulged in a raging polemic in the guise of a review of the previous night's television fare.
Banks manages the plot deftly, and also plays with the reader's views of Colley. All in all an unseemly book but very enjoyable.
192Eyejaybee
159. Fielding Gray by Simon Raven.
Though not the first to be published this is, in effect, the opening novel in Raven's deliciously scurrilous "Alms For Oblivion" sequence.
The novel opens in May 194 with Fielding Gray (a scarcely disguised avatar for Raven himself) nearing the end of his first year as a sixth former at a prominent public School (clearly meant to be Charterhouse, Raven's own alma mater). Various notable old boys have come back to attend the School's memorial service to mark the end of hostilities in Europe, and Gray and his contemporaries start to look to the future.
Gray has set his heart upon pursuing a Classics degree at Cambridge and has already secured a partial scholarship, which he hopes to consolidate with a further year at school. In the meantime he looks forward to being Head Boy in his house, and possibly even of the whole school, and in the closer future, some high quality cricket matches.
He also wants to spend more time with Christopher Roland, a younger boy for whom he has developed a passionate crush. Unfortunately Christopher is not mentally stable, and the relationship goes sadly awry.
Gray's plans for his future are further obstructed by his own father who despises Fielding's academic aspirations. Just when all seems lost, Gray's father, who has bullied his wife and son for years, dies in farcical circumstances. Suddenly everything seems to be back on track, until Fielding's mother throws her own spanners into the works.
Fielding Gray is a very selfish, self-indulgent and, despite his father's oddities and vindictive parsimony, largely spoilt character, but the reader can't help sharing his mounting frustrations as obstacle after obstacle is thrown in his path. Raven himself lived what many might deem a somewhat dissolute life, and his autobiographical novel sequence beautifully captures some of his finest (lowest?) moments.
His prose sparkles throughout, and it is a joy to read.
Though not the first to be published this is, in effect, the opening novel in Raven's deliciously scurrilous "Alms For Oblivion" sequence.
The novel opens in May 194 with Fielding Gray (a scarcely disguised avatar for Raven himself) nearing the end of his first year as a sixth former at a prominent public School (clearly meant to be Charterhouse, Raven's own alma mater). Various notable old boys have come back to attend the School's memorial service to mark the end of hostilities in Europe, and Gray and his contemporaries start to look to the future.
Gray has set his heart upon pursuing a Classics degree at Cambridge and has already secured a partial scholarship, which he hopes to consolidate with a further year at school. In the meantime he looks forward to being Head Boy in his house, and possibly even of the whole school, and in the closer future, some high quality cricket matches.
He also wants to spend more time with Christopher Roland, a younger boy for whom he has developed a passionate crush. Unfortunately Christopher is not mentally stable, and the relationship goes sadly awry.
Gray's plans for his future are further obstructed by his own father who despises Fielding's academic aspirations. Just when all seems lost, Gray's father, who has bullied his wife and son for years, dies in farcical circumstances. Suddenly everything seems to be back on track, until Fielding's mother throws her own spanners into the works.
Fielding Gray is a very selfish, self-indulgent and, despite his father's oddities and vindictive parsimony, largely spoilt character, but the reader can't help sharing his mounting frustrations as obstacle after obstacle is thrown in his path. Raven himself lived what many might deem a somewhat dissolute life, and his autobiographical novel sequence beautifully captures some of his finest (lowest?) moments.
His prose sparkles throughout, and it is a joy to read.
193Eyejaybee
160. Last Call for the Dining Car by Michael Kerr.
An interesting collection of articles about rail travel from the Daily Telegraph over the years.
An interesting collection of articles about rail travel from the Daily Telegraph over the years.
194Eyejaybee
161. Leading the Cheers by Justin Cartwright.
An intriguing novel that explores the nature of memory and the mind's facility for reconfiguring or even completely reinventing our past. The central figure is Dan Silas who had lived for some years during his adolescence in America where his father worked as an executive for General Motors. Now, twenty-five years later, Silas has been invited back to deliver the keynote speech at a school reunion. Having an empty diary following his recent early retirement from the successful advertising agency that he and a friend had managed (until their recent sell-out to a Japanese conglomerate) Silas accepts, and decides to journey back into his past.
He gradually recognises that his own recollections might not be as pellucid as he had imagined, and encounters with former schoolfriends cause him to reassess his teenage years. He also faces a series of shocks at the varied fates of his friends with whom, despite yearbook promises to the contrary, he had completely lost touch. Foremost among these is Gary, now living in an asylum where he is convinced that he is actually Tecumseh, an orphan brought up by native American tribesmen.
As always, Cartwright writes with great clarity, even when tackling uncomfortable subject matter. This didn't have the immediacy of "Other people's Money" or "To Heaven by Water", but it still gripped the reader's imagination, and admirably repaid their attention.
An intriguing novel that explores the nature of memory and the mind's facility for reconfiguring or even completely reinventing our past. The central figure is Dan Silas who had lived for some years during his adolescence in America where his father worked as an executive for General Motors. Now, twenty-five years later, Silas has been invited back to deliver the keynote speech at a school reunion. Having an empty diary following his recent early retirement from the successful advertising agency that he and a friend had managed (until their recent sell-out to a Japanese conglomerate) Silas accepts, and decides to journey back into his past.
He gradually recognises that his own recollections might not be as pellucid as he had imagined, and encounters with former schoolfriends cause him to reassess his teenage years. He also faces a series of shocks at the varied fates of his friends with whom, despite yearbook promises to the contrary, he had completely lost touch. Foremost among these is Gary, now living in an asylum where he is convinced that he is actually Tecumseh, an orphan brought up by native American tribesmen.
As always, Cartwright writes with great clarity, even when tackling uncomfortable subject matter. This didn't have the immediacy of "Other people's Money" or "To Heaven by Water", but it still gripped the reader's imagination, and admirably repaid their attention.
195Eyejaybee
162. Death Wore White by Jim Kelly.
This is a clever murder mystery, set in bleak midwinter conditions on the Norfolk coast, and introducing a new investigative partnership of DI Shaw and DS Valentine. These two do not get on particularly well, and there is an intriguing additional factor in their collaborative dynamic in that valentine had previously been a DI himself, before being demoted after a scandalously mismanaged investigation some years earlier into the murder of a young boy in King's Lynn. Further poignancy is added by the fact that Valentine had been close confidant (almost "bagman") to Shaw's estranged father, a DCI who had been renowned for his dodginess evince in his propensity to cut corners and willingness to accept bribes.
On a bleak February afternoon Shaw and Valentine have been dispatched to a beach near Hunstanton where they have been told to anticipate the beaching of some radioactive waste. While there they see an inflatable dinghy drift into shore carrying a recently killed corpse. Meanwhile, just inland, eight cars have been diverted off the main road in the midst of a serious blizzard on to a narrow, treacherous lane where they grind to a halt because a tree is blocking the road. Owing to the combination of awful weather and atrocious road they are unable to back up and have to wait for rescue. While they are stranded the driver of the front car is stabbed, but no-one sees anything, and no footprints are left in the snow.
The scenario is certainly gripping and the dynamic between the two detectives is cleverly managed, but somehow the novel failed to ignite my attention, and I won't be looking for any more in this series.
This is a clever murder mystery, set in bleak midwinter conditions on the Norfolk coast, and introducing a new investigative partnership of DI Shaw and DS Valentine. These two do not get on particularly well, and there is an intriguing additional factor in their collaborative dynamic in that valentine had previously been a DI himself, before being demoted after a scandalously mismanaged investigation some years earlier into the murder of a young boy in King's Lynn. Further poignancy is added by the fact that Valentine had been close confidant (almost "bagman") to Shaw's estranged father, a DCI who had been renowned for his dodginess evince in his propensity to cut corners and willingness to accept bribes.
On a bleak February afternoon Shaw and Valentine have been dispatched to a beach near Hunstanton where they have been told to anticipate the beaching of some radioactive waste. While there they see an inflatable dinghy drift into shore carrying a recently killed corpse. Meanwhile, just inland, eight cars have been diverted off the main road in the midst of a serious blizzard on to a narrow, treacherous lane where they grind to a halt because a tree is blocking the road. Owing to the combination of awful weather and atrocious road they are unable to back up and have to wait for rescue. While they are stranded the driver of the front car is stabbed, but no-one sees anything, and no footprints are left in the snow.
The scenario is certainly gripping and the dynamic between the two detectives is cleverly managed, but somehow the novel failed to ignite my attention, and I won't be looking for any more in this series.
196Eyejaybee
163. Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday.
If anything, this book contrived to be even worse than the title would suggest. It cost me 20p from the Kindle store, but I still think that they saw me coming!
If anything, this book contrived to be even worse than the title would suggest. It cost me 20p from the Kindle store, but I still think that they saw me coming!
197Eyejaybee
164. The Enemy Within by James Craig.
This novella represents a prequel to the John Carlyle series and details an epiode during the Miners' Strike, very early in Carlyle's police career.
Fans of the series will be particularly interested by the portrayal of Carlyle's friehisnd Dominic Silver who was already subsiding into a life of crime by 1984 when he was principal recreational pharmacist for the Met officers despatched to help police the picket lines.
This story is rather predictable but no less enjoyable for that, and forms a valuable addition to the oeuvre
This novella represents a prequel to the John Carlyle series and details an epiode during the Miners' Strike, very early in Carlyle's police career.
Fans of the series will be particularly interested by the portrayal of Carlyle's friehisnd Dominic Silver who was already subsiding into a life of crime by 1984 when he was principal recreational pharmacist for the Met officers despatched to help police the picket lines.
This story is rather predictable but no less enjoyable for that, and forms a valuable addition to the oeuvre
198Eyejaybee
165. Sound the Retreat by Simon Raven.
This is the second volume in Raven's enthralling "Alms for Oblivion" sequence, and is one of the few not to focus on Fielding Gray (Raven's own alter ego). Instead the main character is the correct but incurably pompous Peter Morrison who, along with his schoolmates or close contemporaries Alister Mortleman, Barry Strange and the Earl of Muscateer, is sent off to India to complete his National Service. There they meet with the brutal realities of service life abroad, but are fortunate enough to come under the tutelage of Gilzai Khan, a Muslim Captain within the army, who supervises their training.
Raven conjures some amazing episodes, including a hilarious challenge between Captain Khan and the obstreperous Mortleman, but also captures the post-war stress in India that preceded Independence and partition.
Scurrilous as ever, and constantly entertaining.
This is the second volume in Raven's enthralling "Alms for Oblivion" sequence, and is one of the few not to focus on Fielding Gray (Raven's own alter ego). Instead the main character is the correct but incurably pompous Peter Morrison who, along with his schoolmates or close contemporaries Alister Mortleman, Barry Strange and the Earl of Muscateer, is sent off to India to complete his National Service. There they meet with the brutal realities of service life abroad, but are fortunate enough to come under the tutelage of Gilzai Khan, a Muslim Captain within the army, who supervises their training.
Raven conjures some amazing episodes, including a hilarious challenge between Captain Khan and the obstreperous Mortleman, but also captures the post-war stress in India that preceded Independence and partition.
Scurrilous as ever, and constantly entertaining.
199Eyejaybee
166. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.
One of the great adventure stories!
John Buchan seems to epitomise the great Victorian work ethic - now best known as a writer of cracking adventure stories featuring upright, "decent" heroes, he was a prolific worker. In addition to his thirty novels and various volumes of short stories he also produced a multi-volume history of India and biographies of Sir Walter Scott and the Earl of Montrose. However, his writing was more by way of a second career - his first vocation was the law as a tax barrister, though from the Bar he progressed to politics (as a Unionist though one espousing both free trade and women's suffrage), eventually entering Parliament as a Unionist in 1927. He was subsequently appointed Governor-General of Canada shortly after his elevation to the House of Lords as Baron Tweedsmuir. Where did he find the time?
While the plots and subject matter of his novels have recently fallen prey to satire for their idealised evocationof a Corinthian age that probably never really existed, his prose is always beautifully constructed and flows with inner cadences.
This short novel introduces Richard Hannay, recently returned to Britain from Rhodesia where he has secured his fortune as a mining engineer. Bored out of his skull by the trivial interests of the other members of his social circle he is on the brink of returning to South Africa when he encounters Franklin Scudder, a frightened man with a scary secret. Scudder starts to give Hannay all sorts of frightening insights to the prevailing European political situation and the inevitability of war against an over-powerful Germany, the catalyst for which will be the imminent assassination of Karolides, the last hope for sustained stability in the Balkans. However, Scudder is murdered and Hannay is put in the frame as his killer. He decides to flee to South West Scotland where he hopes to be able to lie low until he can muster sufficient evidence of the plot against Karolides.
Buchan is always at his finest when describing Scottish landscapes, and the Galloway wilderness almost becomes a character in its own right. Hannay is hunted relentlessly through the varied galloway terrain, both by the police and by pursuers of an altogether more deadly provenance.
What has always amazed me most about "the Thirty Nine Steps" is the recurrent failure of film makers to bring it to the screen with any success, given that its plot-driven nature would seem to lend itself so readily to cinematic treatment.. Hitchcock completely eviscerated the plot in his 1935 film, introducing a bizarre music-hall scene which was retained in the 1959 version directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Kenneth More. Meanwhile the 1970s version had Robert Powell hanging off the hands of Big Ben. Even the recent BBC version, though truer to the book than all of the others, felt the need to introduce a spurious romance element.
One of the great adventure stories!
John Buchan seems to epitomise the great Victorian work ethic - now best known as a writer of cracking adventure stories featuring upright, "decent" heroes, he was a prolific worker. In addition to his thirty novels and various volumes of short stories he also produced a multi-volume history of India and biographies of Sir Walter Scott and the Earl of Montrose. However, his writing was more by way of a second career - his first vocation was the law as a tax barrister, though from the Bar he progressed to politics (as a Unionist though one espousing both free trade and women's suffrage), eventually entering Parliament as a Unionist in 1927. He was subsequently appointed Governor-General of Canada shortly after his elevation to the House of Lords as Baron Tweedsmuir. Where did he find the time?
While the plots and subject matter of his novels have recently fallen prey to satire for their idealised evocationof a Corinthian age that probably never really existed, his prose is always beautifully constructed and flows with inner cadences.
This short novel introduces Richard Hannay, recently returned to Britain from Rhodesia where he has secured his fortune as a mining engineer. Bored out of his skull by the trivial interests of the other members of his social circle he is on the brink of returning to South Africa when he encounters Franklin Scudder, a frightened man with a scary secret. Scudder starts to give Hannay all sorts of frightening insights to the prevailing European political situation and the inevitability of war against an over-powerful Germany, the catalyst for which will be the imminent assassination of Karolides, the last hope for sustained stability in the Balkans. However, Scudder is murdered and Hannay is put in the frame as his killer. He decides to flee to South West Scotland where he hopes to be able to lie low until he can muster sufficient evidence of the plot against Karolides.
Buchan is always at his finest when describing Scottish landscapes, and the Galloway wilderness almost becomes a character in its own right. Hannay is hunted relentlessly through the varied galloway terrain, both by the police and by pursuers of an altogether more deadly provenance.
What has always amazed me most about "the Thirty Nine Steps" is the recurrent failure of film makers to bring it to the screen with any success, given that its plot-driven nature would seem to lend itself so readily to cinematic treatment.. Hitchcock completely eviscerated the plot in his 1935 film, introducing a bizarre music-hall scene which was retained in the 1959 version directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Kenneth More. Meanwhile the 1970s version had Robert Powell hanging off the hands of Big Ben. Even the recent BBC version, though truer to the book than all of the others, felt the need to introduce a spurious romance element.
