bwl 111 - Winter 2024
Fiction
| Jean-Baptiste Andrea - Devils and Saints
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| An elderly virtuoso pianist plays only in stations and other public places, capturing the sublime in Beethoven sonatas while reviewing his life. Tragically orphaned, placed in a joyless Catholic orphanage in the French Pyrenees, he and other rebellious boys form a resistance group concocting a dangerous all or nothing plan on means of escape. A compelling narrative and vividly drawn characters – from a bigoted, cunning abbé to a young boy clutching a soft toy. It had me waiting impatiently to know what happened next.
(Tony Pratt)
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| Anne Enright - The Wren, The Wren
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| This was a quirky gambol through multi-generational dysfunction in an Irish family, all talented and educated, but deeply affected in some cases by minor celebrity, and in others by excessive introspection, depression and poor self-esteem. If this sounds bleak, don't be deterred. The writing is assured, with unexpected wry humour in its observations of family affections, disaffections and loyalties, and the bird metaphor quite literally extends and binds the whole story to a satisfying conclusion. (Margaret Teh)
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| William Golding - The Inheritors
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| An extraordinary story of a group of Neanderthals, struggling for survival, who have no real language but some telepathy, a highly developed sense of smell and understand nature as an animated force. They encounter an alien group – home sapiens - which is both incomprehensible and a threat and what follows is highly testing and in the end, life changing. There is an astonishing switch of perspective at the end. It all adds up to a vivid and moving story, brilliantly imagined. (Tony Pratt)
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| Claire Keegan - Small Things Like These
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| A short but profound book where every word counts beautifully conveying the community and life in rural Ireland. Set against the background of the Magdalen laundries, Bill Furlong, hard-working coal supplier, senses that all is not well in the local convent. His past - born illegitimate to a maidservant and brought up by her kindly Protestant employer - underscores the theme of humanity and charity versus the cruelty and control of the Catholic church. While the book ends on a hopeful note, we know many dark days were to follow. (Sue Pratt)
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| Claire Keegan - So Late in the Day
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| My introduction to Keegan was reading Small Things like These. She can stun you with the clarity of her writing. Not for her lengthy, flowery descriptions but place and characters are carefully drawn. In this novella the narrative takes place over one day. A man, Cathal, reflects on a relationship, time shared and what might have been. The reveal at the end is perfect but awful. (Christine Miller)
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| D H Lawrence - Lady Chatterley's Lover
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| Set in Nottinghamshire, just after the Great War, the story explores the social, psychological, and sexual mores of the early Industrial Age, when the fictitious Lady Chatterley and her estate gamekeeper, Mellors, began their adulterous affair. Once banned for its sexual content, the story is about loneliness, and the longing for simple, uncomplicated sexual contact between a man and a woman. It is a beautifully written novel by one of England’s most eminent fiction writers.
(Sharron Calkins)
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| Suzie Miller - Prima Facie
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| A reflection on the UK Justice system, particularly as it serves women, and on anyone who may not have the financial and social connections to buy the best representation. Related as first person narrative, it is honest, raw, personal and passionate. For its advocacy for integrity and change of gendered biases relating to issues of consent, sexual abuse and harassment, this book should be on the reading list at every school for both boys and girls. (Margaret Teh)
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| Paul Murray - The Bee Sting
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| A patch of ice on the tarmac, a casual favour to a charming stranger, a bee caught beneath a bridal veil - can a single moment change everything? The Barnes family is in crisis - we follow the character's complicated lives through the eyes of different narrators as each one struggles to survive. Funny, sad, totally immersive - from another of those born story-telling Irish writers.
(Jenny Baker)
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| Sally Nicholls - Yours from the Tower
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| Sally Nicholls writes for young teens and YA. This, her latest book is a treat. Set in the 1890’s three friends (all girls, all in their late teens) write to each other now they have left school - their hopes, fears, frustrations. Through their letters we get a glimpse of different aspects of the society of the times. It is a neat, engaging package – and there is romance. Think Daddy Longlegs by Jean Webster. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Katherine Rundell - Impossible Creatures
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| Enter a magic world – the Archipelago where the impossible creatures are dying – yes ,those mythical beings that populate our stories are facing extinction – some already are extinct. It is up to Christopher and Mal to find out why – and stop this. This is excellent fantasy that channels all those classics but never seems stale. And it is not all rosy. Recommended if you have lively young readers 8+ (or want to connect to your childhood). (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Douglas Stuart - Young Mungo
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| I was a huge admirer of Stuart's debut novel Shuggie Bain so why am I finding his latest so hard to read? Is it because it is about yet another 16-year old boy with an alcoholic mother growing up in a seventies Glasgow tenement awash with rival gangs of Catholics and Protestants? This time there's a bullying older brother, a saint-like sister, a love affaire with another boy, male rape and murder. So it is different but . . . . . .
(Jenny Baker)
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| Olga Tokarczuk - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
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| A strange book - (a translation). Janina Duszejko, an eccentric loner and nature lover, looks after holiday homes of the Warsaw wealthy in rural Poland. It's a murder mystery with a twist, which she is trying to solve with the aid of her equally reclusive neighbours who she nicknames 'Oddball', 'Dizzy' and (the victim) 'Bigfoot'. She has other obsessions too - astrology and the poems of William Blake (hence the title and chapter headings). A dark story with political undertones!
(Mary Standing)
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| Rose Tremain - Absolutely & Forever
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| 15-year old Marianne falls in love, absolutely and forever, with 18-year old Simon. Just a crush her mother says. But love, a crush, whatever will haunt her through her teenage years, into her twenties and beyond. Sounds a bit trashy? Think again. This is Rose Tremain and her wit, humour and believable characters carry you through to the end. (Jenny Baker)
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| Niall Williams - Boy in the World
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| Standing at the altar waiting to be confirmed The Boy stares at the bishop, says No, and runs from the church in his small Irish village. Having that day discovered his father whom he never knew is not dead after all, he sets out to find him. Thus begins a journey across a Europe in the grip of terrorist attacks, the journey a metaphor for his passage from boyhood to maturity, questioning everything and finding his way through each experience and encounter. (Sue Pratt)
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| Niall Williams - The Fall of Light
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| Mid-nineteenth C. rural Ireland, Francis Foley, quick to anger, and his four sons flee the aftermath of his rage which cost them their mother. Each follows his own path as they search for a land they can call their own. We follow their separate fortunes until finally a series of encounters and coincidences lead to a kind of reunion and redemption for him. Another gem from Williams yet another Irish author who writes like an angel. (Jenny Baker)
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Non-Fiction
| Winston Churchill - Churchill: The Power of Words
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| Compiled by the historian Martin Gilbert. Compelling argument, keen observation, and exceptional use of the English language, as well as a journey through the 20th century. The material is drawn from speeches, newspaper dispatches, and excerpts from his books, all of which won him the Nobel Prize in Literature. (Herb Roselle)
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| Judy Dench - Shakespeare - The Man Who Pays the Rent
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| Originally recorded conversations between Dench and director Brendan O'Hea, here Dench talks about the Shakespeare characters she has acted in her long career, play by play. O'Hea asks intelligent, knowledgable question and Dench's answers are spontaneous, often hilariously anecdotal, enlightening about her absolute dedication to interpreting what Shakespeare wrote and full of personal, often unexpected insights, like why she dislikes The Merchant of Venice (and not for antisemitic reasons!).'National treasure'? Absolutely yes! (Annabel Bedini)
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| David Grann - The Wager
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| The true story of an eighteenth century ship sent to South America to strike a blow against the Spanish and bent on plunder. Shipwreck, death, deprivation, mutiny and a reckoning are elements in an extraordinary tale which reveals much about naval life and ethics as well as colonial conflict. A dramatic story superbly told and populated by intensely realised personalities placed in equally vivid landscapes. (Tony Pratt)
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| Peter Hennessy - Land of Shame and Glory: Britain 2021-2022
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| How quickly we forget (or want to forget) the egregious behaviour of the Government during the latter period of the pandemic. The author studies the machinations of the state from the perspective of an eminent public historian, one who coined the concept of the ‘good chap’ theory of government. You can be quite sure he does not hold back on devastating criticism. His highly engaging account is very often extremely funny, but ultimately profoundly sad.
(Jeremy Miller)
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| Tobias Jones - The Po: An elegy for Italy’s longest river
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| Any romantic notions of pastoral idylls and exquisite cities are quickly dispelled by the author whose epic journey begins in the bleak estuary as the river debouches into the Adriatic. Through history, the Po has been a vital trading route, an aquatic defence against invaders and finally a major centre for industry and agriculture. Alas the ruined farms, factories and power stations that now disfigure the landscape are now merely epitaphs to happier times.
(Jeremy Miller)
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| Herbert George Roselle - The York Minster Monuments and Their Stories
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| After two years of info gathering and picture taking, I have compiled the memorial contents of the York Minster as a guidebook, and also as an informative sketch of the background behind the monuments. It's an amazing place but there was little available in the way of information about the memorials throughout, some spectacular, and some of great historical and biographical significance. It is available on Amazon Kindle. I chose this format so that people visiting the Minster can follow the suggested route around and be informed. (Herb Roselle)
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| Rory Stewart - Politics on the Edge
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| Conservative by tradition, thrown out by Johnson after serving valiantly as MP for Cumbria and in many Ministeries, Stewart's political memoirs are eye-opening on how government works – or rather, as he illustrates here, does NOT work. Here we have a truly useful politician, genuinely believing in public service and in getting on with doing the job in hand, up against the self-seeking, power-hungry mediocrities governing the country. He writes brilliantly and is often very funny but OHHHH.....poor country! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Colin Thubron - Shadow of the Silk Road
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| Thubron took me on another long, fascinating journey. This time we follow some 7,000 miles of the old silk route, starting in the heart of China. This is a 21st century traveller meeting the ancient world. It is full of (mis)adventures, endurance and compassion, all of which are described in his beautiful writing. This book benefits from time set aside for a longer read - rather than a page or two at bedtime - if possible. (Christine Miller)
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| Colin Thubron - Shadow of the Silk Road
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| This is one of the most immersive, interesting – and depressing – travel journals; but so fascinating. Colin Thubron writes beautifully and one is drawn along in his wake as he retraces an earlier journey following the Silk Road. He is travelling through places that ring in the imagination with glorious pasts; now derelict, run down – or great concrete sprawls. There are extraordinary tombs in the middle of nowhere – and over all the devastation of modern regimes. His knowledge is encyclopaedic. A wonderful read – but depressing (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Gillian Tindall - The Fields Beneath:The history of one London village
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| Kentish Town is the focus of the author’s forensic and imaginative exploration of one of London’s villages as it transforms from countryside dwellings along the banks of the Fleet river and is gradually absorbed by the metropolis. The advent of the railways was the greatest catalyst for change. Above all, precise examination of this locality opens our understanding of universal themes such as the nature of communities and the roles of the individuals within them. (Jeremy Miller)
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