bookswelike

bwl 11 - October 2001

Fiction

Julian Barnes - Love, Etc.

Despite a rather inconclusive end, what a genius! I love 'the offstage close-harmony tinkle of forks cascading into their little stacking nooks.....' and Julian Barnes is as good with human emotions as he is on loading the dishwasher. I never persevered with 'Talking it Over', which introduced the three main characters in this 'love triangle', but found this one witty, entertaining and perceptive, though with (finally) quite a chilly outlook on life etc. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)

Marilyn Bowering - Visible Worlds

Fascinating story of a family of German immigrants in Canada jumping around from the 30s to the 60s, and the personal and international upheavals that they (mostly) live through.The story moves around Canada, Germany, Siberia, Korea and the Arctic, offering a refreshing perspective on world events of the time and their effects on the characters. Unusual, full of horrors, but also resilience, strong family bonds and some beautiful language - very worthwhile! (Victoria Grey-Edwards)

Mark Burnell - Chameleon

This is a chilling story about the world of international terrorism, much more chilling when you read it after the 11th September 2001...You follow its two main characters without really understanding who is or are behind them. And it makes you wonder... (Laurence Martin Euler)

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - The Mistress of Spices

Those in the mood for a bit of a fairy tale might enjoy this story of Tilo, a mysterious priestess who has arrived in California from a magic Indian island to set up a shop dispensing spices which will give her customers whatever they most desire. All is well until she falls under the spell of a lonely American and finds herself having to choose between following her heart or losing her powers. (Jenny Baker)

Nicholas Evans - The Smoke Jumper

If you liked 'The Horse Whisperer', you will like this one as well. There is the tragic love story, a woman torn between two best friends, the beauty of the wild countryside of the American West. Of course, it's very romantic and predictably it ends well, but who cares? It's perfect for a rainy autumn weekend. (Laurence Martin Euler)

Sebastian Faulks - On Green Dolphin Street

Set against a backdrop of the Kennedy/Nixon fight for the presidency and the Cold War, this is a mesmerizing tale of love and divided loyalties. Mary van der Linden is happy in her marriage, has children she adores and parents who adore her. It seems nothing can disturb the equilibrium of her charmed life, until that is she accompanies her diplomat husband to a posting in Washington where journalist Frank Renzo appears on the scene. (Jenny Baker)

Jane Gardam - Faith Fox

Golden girl, Holly Fox, dies in childbirth. No one can cope, so baby Faith is dumped on her strange family in the North which includes an uncle who runs a religious sanctuary for the homeless and her caring but slightly dotty grandparents. Although its themes are serious - bereavement, faith or its absence and people's different expectations and perceptions - it is written with life-affirming exuberance and is very amusing especially about growing old. (Jenny Baker)

Amitav Ghosh - The Glass Palace

I can't recommend this too highly. Burma, India and Malaya through three generations of war, peace, Empire, and social and political change. Beautifully written and described, this is a book of great human and historical insight and truthfulness. Some of the history seems weirdly relevant to the present situation.... (Annabel Bedini)

Ha Jin - Waiting

For eighteen years army doctor Lin Kong and Manna, a nurse, have wanted to marry but they must obey the crazy rules of the Cultural Revolution which allow his village wife to refuse to divorce him and forbids them to be seen together beyond the hospital confines let alone cohabit. Sometimes funny, often sad, this novel vividly depicts life under an authoritarian regime and demonstrates how the passage of time alters desires and perceptions. (Jenny Baker)

Andrei Makine - Le Testament Français

Prize-winning semi-autobiographical novel by a Russian who defected to Paris in 1987. Its dream-like atmosphere reflects the subject matter of double identities - Russian and French - recounted through the interaction between a boy and his French grandmother, between memory and imagination. A 'clever' book. (Annabel Bedini)

Joseph O'Connor - Yeats is Dead!

With Joseph O'Connor as editor - Fifteen different Irish writers contribute a chapter each to this mad romp of a who-why-what-dunnit. Starting with Roddy Doyle and ending with Frank McCourt, some chapters are better than others, but it's fun to see how each writer picks up the story and carries it forward. Written in aid of Amnesty International, it's worth buying for that reason alone. (Annabel Bedini)

Iain Pears - The Titian Committee

If you are in need of a light thriller with lots of wit and humour, I couldn't do better than recommend this delightful book set mainly in Venice. English art dealer Jonathan and Flavia, Italian police member of the Art Squad, get caught up in a scarcely believable plot ... but I don't think I will tell you more because it might give the game away. Do try it! I'm sure you won't be disappointed. (Jeremy Swann)

Marge Piercy - The Longings of Women

You will not want to put this one down, as you share the lives of Leila, the feisty academic, Mary, the homeless middle-class cleaning lady, and Becky, who only longed for a better life. It is an emotional roller coaster, and you will remember this book, I promise. I enjoyed it because I found myself becoming involved with the characters, and felt for them as they struggled to make sense of their lives and to survive. (Sandra Lee)

Henry Porter - Remembrance Day

A gripping and authentic contemporary thriller. A young Irish scientist becomes involved in a web of intrigue following a bomb explosion in central London. His brother with dubious Nationalist links, the Security Service and New Scotland Yard with their internal rivalries contrive to fog the trail. Fighting against time, the narrative leads to Ireland and on to North America and back to London for its ingenious conclusion. A powerful and highly credible first novel. (John Vail)

Ruth Rendell - Adam and Eve and Pinch Me

The last Ruth Rendell and not a Wexford; so maybe it's the reason why I found it a bit disappointing. Jerry Leach is a despicable man, using women to get money and it will be by the most stupid and naive that he will be cruelly punished... (Laurence Martin Euler)

Willy Russell - The Wrong Boy

Raymond saves a drowning friend - and there the troubles begin. Through a series of misunderstandings by teachers, parents, friends, his world changes forever. He decides that the wrong boy came up out of the canal, and if he could get the right one - his old self - back, his mother would love him again, etc. We follow him from 11 to 19. We laugh with him, cry with him and love him. A wonderful book! (Julie Higgins)

Anita Shreve - The Last Time They Met

This is a plausible tale of intermittent passion and constant love told without sentimentality. Anita Shreve's descriptive powers shine in the portion set in Kenya, her economy of words immediately transports you to the baked earth and blazing colours. All temperatures soar as Tom and Linda meet after having lived separate married lives for some time. The temptation to resist each other is absurd. An intelligent romance with the sumptuousness of an over ripe mango. (Claire Bane)

Robert Westall - A Place For Me

Ostensibly a book for teenagers, this really had me gripped and interested from the first page. Motherless Lucy must suddenly leave all that is comforting and start a life alone, because of a danger her father can only hint at. Westall creates a situation which feels completely possible, and which is threatening and compulsive. It is very easy and quick to read and is an excellent way to clear the mind's palate between more weighty literary courses. (Julie Higgins)

Non-Fiction

Raymond Briggs - Ethel and Ernest

In this enchanting and very funny little book Raymond Briggs, celebrated author of "The Snowman", tells entirely in cartoon format the story of his parents' marriage and his own childhood in their small London house. The personalities of his parents - his father's enthusiasm for new ideas contrasting with his mother's redoubtable common sense - shine through as they come to terms with progress and the changes in their lives from the pre-war years to the seventies. (Jane Grey-Edwards)

Bill Bryson - Down Under

For Bryson fans, this is a feast. A big, affectionate book about Australia. As well as the expected verbal exuberance and hilarious experiences, it is also full of fascinating information. His disguise as a 'humorous' travel writer sugars some interesting pills. (Annabel Bedini)

Margaret Costa - Four Season's Cookbook

First published in 1970, reissued in 1996 and now available in paperback, this is absolutely one of my favourite cookery books. It still seems up-to-date and is full of mouth watering recipes and suggestions arranged under seasonal headings. It's my first call when I am baffled by any culinary skill or when I want inspiration for a simple supper or more elaborate dinner party. And when I don't want to cook, I enjoy just reading it! (Jenny Baker)

Martin van Creveld - The Transformation of War

After 11th September, it is abundantly clear that the mode of warfare prophesied in this book - published ten years ago by this well-known military historian - is here to stay and must be adjusted to, and speedily. A startling reassessment of the role of conventional armies, it forecasts the guerrillas, terrorists and bandits of today pursuing their goals with any weapon from the most primitive to the most sophisticated. A must for all newspaper readers. Riveting. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)

David Cystal (editor) - Cambridge Biographical Dictionary

Published by Cambridge University Press, this is a first class reference book with coverage of 35,000 people both ancient and modern. Fully cross referenced. Also 50 essays linking key figures in exploration, science, arts, technology and history. All in one volume too! (John Bond)

William Dalrymple - City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi

The author and his artist wife Olivia, who did the attractive illustrations for this book, settled for a year in a rented apartment in a popular quarter of Delhi. The outcome is a wonderful mixture of ancient and modern: for example entrancing descriptions of the palaces as they were during the time of the Mughal Empire interspersed with perspicacious insights into the Indian way of life, fifty years after the end of the Raj. Fascinating! (Jeremy Swann)

Victoria Glendinning - Elizabeth Bowen - Portrait of a Writer

A vivid and well-rounded view of this distinguished Anglo-Irish novelist, short story writer and literary figure of the 0s - 0s. Interesting too on the position and way of life of the Anglo-Irish and their decline. The author devotes a good deal of space to Bowen's works and my appetite was whetted for a re-read of old favourites such as 'The Heat of the Day' set in London during the second world war. (Jeremy Swann)

Ralph Mayer - Artist's Handbook of Materials & Techniques, The

At a price just under £30 I was very glad to have been given this book as a birthday present! But I have to say that it is the single most informative book on the subject I have encountered. Expanded and updated this the fifth edition is both lucid and packed with information, the emphasis being on chemistry and craftsmanship not the aesthetics of art. No serious artist (amateur or professional) should be without it. (James Baker)

John Simpson - Lifting the Veil - Life in Revolutionary Iran

and Tira Shubart Published 1995 - This is a book for those who want to gain some understanding of the complexities of Islam, from the days of the Shah and some insight into the part played by the West and the prejudices on both sides. The text covers time spent with diverse individuals and groups, often in difficult conditions. Written with great warmth and in a very accessible style. Not for those who want life to be simplistic. (Lynda Johnson)

Stella Tillyard - The Aristocrats

The four Lennox sisters, daughters of an 18th century Duke of Richmond, were prolific letter writers and their letters, mainly to each other, tell us much of the story of their lives. Narrative and letters are interwoven into a vivid account of the lives and loves of the four women, whose homes were some of the great houses of England and Ireland, with the history of the Georgian period as a background. (Wendy Swann)

Poetry

Daisy Goodwin (editor) - 101 Poems that Could Save Your Life

This anthology is full of unexpected delights, gems for every occasion, from the serious (Parenthood, Illness) to the superficial (Bad Hair Day). As well as a few old favourites, lots of discoveries and eye-openers, much fun, much interest, much spot-hitting. (Annabel Bedini)

Edna St.Vincent Millay - Collected Lyrics

I've chosen this one because it draws on of her books of poetry and has in it two of my favourites: Lament and The Ballad of the Harp Weaver, both of which are achingly beautiful. From A Few Figs from Thistles: My candle burns at both ends;/It will not last the night;/But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends/It gives a lovely light. And one called Lord Archer, Death. I say no more. (Julie Higgins)