bwl 104 - Spring 2022
Fiction
| John Boyne - The House of Special Purpose
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| Russia 1915: a sixteen-year old boy saves a member of the Imperial family from an assassin's bullet and becomes bodyguard to the Tzar's heir; now in his eighties, living in exile, he is recounting his story. The fate of the Romanovs and especially of Anastasia, the Tzar's youngest daughter, haunted the 20th C - never mind we now know their fate - Boyne, the master story-teller, unfolds, apart from a few caveats, a gripping saga of what-might-have-been. (Jenny Baker)
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| Daphne Du Maurier - The Scapegoat
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| Want something escapist? Look no further. This improbable tale of identity switching by two men, mirror-images of each other, who meet by chance in a French bar has everything: a luxurious chateau, a bed-ridden witch of a mother, a resentful brother and his sex-starved wife, a sister who won't talk to him, a put-down wife, a sweet child, a mistress in the village. Never mind it is only the dog who notices that John is not Jean, the pages just keep turning. (Jenny Baker)
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| Jonathan Franzen - Crossroads
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| Like his philosophical contemporary Marilynne Robinson with Gilead, but without being so doctrinaire, Franzen in Crossroads examines the dilemmas and relationships in one family, where the dichotomy is highlighted due to the head of the family being a suburban pastor. Often bitingly funny, and therefore a bit light-on when it comes to compassion and empathy, he still manages to make his characters relatable. Ever thought-provoking, Franzen has produced yet another engrossing read. (Margaret Teh)
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| Janice Hallet - The Appeal
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| I just saw this aptly described as fitting well into the cosy crime genre. It's a whodunnit or even, a what-did-they-do. Two junior lawyers are asked by the leading barrister to review a case file of emails and texts between a plethora of possible victims and suspects in an am-dram group and determine whether the convicted person is guilty. No police investigation but a series of red herrings and character assassinations - entertaining. (Rebecca Howell)
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| John le Carré - Silverview
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| Silverview published posthumously was, as le Carré's son explains in a postscript, complete but much revised and never signed off by his father. Some reviewers, de mortuis nil nisi bonum, have perhaps stayed their critical pens but I wonder if the great master would have approved of its release. There are flashes of le Carré's genius for dialogue but perhaps its biggest disappointment is the confined domestic canvas on which the story is painted.
(Jeremy Miller)
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| Yiyun Li - Where Reasons End
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| A 16-year-old boy takes his life. His mother - the author of this book - turns to writing pages of imagined conversations with her son as she struggles to understand his terrible choice. Brave and consoling, the novel captures the complexity of parent/child relationships in a form that is unsentimental and insightful. The delicate balance between intellect and emotion elevates this work to the realm of a masterpiece. (Sharron Calkins)
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| Graeme Macrae Burnett - The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau
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| Successfully paying homage to Simenon, characterisation takes precedence over plot in this psychological study of the awkward and repressed protagonist and the detective, haunted by past failures, who investigates the case. Because of his social ineptitude, Manfred becomes a suspect when a waitress he hardly knows disappears. Is he involved, and why does the suspicion torment him so much? I found the characters believable, the story compelling, and the writing masterful so thoroughly enjoyed it.
(Denise Lewis)
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| Lucy Mangan - Are We Having Fun Yet?
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| Mangan is a columnist, writer and TV critic for The Guardian, as well as an author. Often her writing relates to feminism, and this is no different. Written in diary form it takes you through the year, as a working mother searches for a moment to herself in the maelstrom that is family life. However, she uses a light touch and the book is genuinely funny and warm hearted. (Christine Miller)
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| Ingrid Persaud - Love After Love
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| Take a trip to Trinidad - you will not be disappointed. Here in her funny, tragic but ultimately satisfying tale of a friendship almost broken beyond repair Persaud introduces the reader to a great cast of characters - Miss Betty, Mr Chetan and Solo at the centre and others. She brings to life an environment familiar yet foreign. But it is the writing, the rhythm of a Trinidadan voice that captivates.
(Ferelith Hordon)
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| Elizabeth Strout - Oh William!
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| How on earth to encapsulate this subtle novel in 75 words? For Strout fans here's Lucy Barton again, now 63 and recently widowed. When her ex-husband William asks her to help him solve a family mystery, they set off together on a journey of discovery - of their present selves as well as the past. Evolution of human relationships? Yes. Coming to terms with unexpected truths? Yes. And much more, Strout as always unerringly, delightfully, perceptive. (Annabel Bedini)
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| Elizabeth Strout - Oh William!
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| This is a lovely, gentle yet thought-provoking book. The third in the Lucy Barton trilogy, it looks at Lucy's life after the death of her second husband: in particular, her relationship with her first husband and their daughters. It's about ordinary people facing changes and challenges, it examines grief, and it explores how we are shaped by our childhood experiences. It is so engaging and just a wonderful read. (Annie Noble)
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| Amor Towles - The Lincoln Highway
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| Remember A Gentleman in Moscow (bwl 92)? - this is another engaging read, which in a way mirrors the eponymous highway across America. A very different Coming of Age tale, following the experiences of a handful of finely drawn characters with wry humour and compassion. With many surprising twists and turns, this is exceptional story-telling! (Margaret Teh)
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| Rose Tremain - Lily - A Tale of Revenge
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| Thumbs down warning! Maybe I am being crabby. Despite the positive review last time, I found this tale of Victorian orphan Lily strangely unconvincing. From her over-idyllic time fostered in Suffolk to the over-appalling orphanage and her guilt for a murder committed, I could never quite believe in her. Quasi-Gothic melodrama or sob story? Whichever (or both?) Tremain unfortunately seems to me to be dealing in trite stereotypes. Very disappointing compared with her past output.
(Annabel Bedini)
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| Andy Weir - Project Hail Mary
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| Mixing hard science with speculation is a favourite genre for authors who have the requisite technical knowledge. Gregory Benford and Weir are the masters. On a desperate quest to save mankind from annihilation, the protagonist meets an alien on the same mission for his planet. It's a combination of technique, fantasy, drama, and yes, heart tugs. Oh, and spectacular imagination. (Herb Roselle)
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Non-Fiction
| Margaret Atwood - Burning Questions
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| These essays and pieces were written between 2004 and 2021. I am a fan of Atwood as a writer and a person, having heard her 'in conversation' occasionally over the years. Her interests and curiosity are boundless, and she is self-deprecating and quite droll. She does consider the big issues of the day: climate change, wealth inequality and the perilous state of democracy but also fellow writers and her own writing. The book remains at my bedside. (Christine Miller)
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| Craig Bromfield - Be Good, Love Brian: Growing Up with Brian Clough
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| The loudmouth football manager might not be everyone's idea of an interesting subject, but this is a remarkable story. Eleven years old, the author encountered the famous Clough by chance on a beach. Clough recognised that this undernourished kid from a dysfunctional, criminal family needed setting on a better path and responded with unsuspected depths of kindness and humanity, displayed in his unique style. What followed was extraordinary, moving, sad and, in total, uplifting. (Tony Pratt)
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| Tristam Hunt - The Radical Potter: Josiah Wedgwood and the Transformation of Britain
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| This is not just another biography. As V&A Director and former Stoke-on-Trent MP, nobody perhaps is more qualified to address the context in which this enlightened potter made such a mark on his profession and became a beacon that inspired the industrial revolution. How sad then that the company's fortunes subsequently declined, no more so than in this century. A visit to the wonderful Barlaston's museum, now saved for posterity, provides a glimmer of enlightenment. (Jeremy Miller)
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| Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris - The Lost Spells
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| Following on from the iconic Lost Words which saw the first pairing of Macfarlane's poems with Jackie Morris's paintings, we have The Lost Spells. Much smaller in format that the first book it is still as entrancing. Macfarlane's words capture the essence of the wild life he spotlights - take Red Fox , or Silver Birches, - while the illustrations leap off the page. A treasure box indeed. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Caroline Moorhead - A House in the Mountains: The Women who liberated Italy from Fascism
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| When Mussolini fell from power Italy changed sides and joined the Allies making Germany [who then reinstated Mussolini] now its enemy and its occupier. Women became the back bone of the Italian Resistance and their submissive role (homemakers and child bearers) became their cover as they carried messages and weapons, organised safe houses etc. There were still many Italians who remained Fascists and supported Hitler so it was hard to know who to trust. Superbly written, complex, uplifting and horrifying. It will live on in your memory. (Lynda Johnson)
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| Frank Richards - Old Soldiers Never Die
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| I found this gem in a box of old books and was delighted to find it's obtainable from Amazon. Richards was a private soldier during the First World War and this is his story, tidied up by Robert Graves, of life at the front. Told with unadorned honesty - terrible officers, pinching food from fallen Germans - and a sort of stubborn humour, this is an amazing account of what it was really like. Forget historians and latter-day novelists! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Sophy Roberts - The Lost Pianos of Siberia
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| This is so much more than a book about pianos - it is a book about Siberia with pianos an excuse for a fascinating journey. Sophy Roberts has a very readable style as she takes us through a 19th and 20th century historical and geographical jigsaw against a backdrop of sometimes harrowing political events. The good maps and photographs help to make this a great read. (Jeremy Freeman)
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| Edited by Adam Sisman - Dashing for the Post: The letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor
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| Patrick Leigh Fermor - Paddy - has entranced readers through his books - as he seems to have entranced those who knew him. Here in this compilation of letters spanning seventy years we can get a flavour of why this was Paddy's energy, joie de vivre and ability to write leap off the page. This is why we should not stop writing letters. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Ai Wei Wei - 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: The story of two lives, one nation, and a century of art under tyranny
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| Ai Wei Wei's memoir is a very satisfying read for anyone like me who has an interest in his work, contemporary Art in general, and Chinese history since Mao. Apart from finding the book enjoyable and informative, I can't help admiring his ability to capture the epoch without self-pity or rancour. (Margaret Teh)
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| Edmund Wilson - To the Finland Station: A study in the writing and acting of history
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| It is easy to conflate communism with the evils of Soviet Russia. Edmund Wilson in his epic history of the left, reminds us that its origins sprung from the friendship between a middle-class son of Trier (where today his image adorns traffic lights!) and the scion of a Manchester-based cotton family. Marx and Engels alongside Babeuf and Saint-Simon and the US Owenite social optimists are explored in this brilliant, comprehensive and above all readable synthesis.
(Jeremy Miller)
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| Michael Wood - The Story of China: A portrait of a civilisation and its people
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| For anyone hoping for an overview of 4,000 years of Chinese history in just 500 pages, read this book. Far from being a dry catalogue of floods, famines, and battles, the author has made the effort to bring the numerous dynasties, as well as their arts, to life. Political events such as the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, Mao's Great Reform, and China's move toward the international stage are also examined. (Sharron Calkins)
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Poetry
| Matsuo Basho (trans. by Sam Hamill) - Narrow Road to the Interior and other writings |
| What a revelation it is to strip away hundreds of years of civilization and to enter, briefly, a life of true simplicity. With Matsuo Basho's (1644-1694) travel diaries and his Zen-inspired haiku poetry you will journey through ancient Japan with a master poet as your guide. A minimalist in the extreme, Basho unfailingly expresses life's brevity and beauty in poems of just three lines. Within his words, ageless wisdom. (Sharron Calkins) |
| Clive James - The Fire of Joy: Roughly eighty poems to get by heart and say aloud |
| You can hear his antipodean twang in every verse he chooses for this eclectic anthology. The author's lifetime love affair with words that he has memorised is matched by his wry and peerless commentary on each of his choices. Though compiled towards the end of his life when he was bed-ridden and unable to return to the country of his birth, it is shot through with humour and vitality. A truly generous human being.
(Jeremy Miller) |
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