bwl 12 - January 2002
Fiction
| Isabel Allende - Portrait in Sepia
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| This family saga, spanning several generations of a rich Chilean family, is a sequel to 'Daughter of Fortune' (bwl 7) and features some of the same colourful characters. Chronologically it precedes the author's very first novel, 'The House of the Spirits'. Isabel Allende is a great storyteller. She paints a vivid picture of 19th C Chilean society, of social unrest, revolution and repression. Against this background Aurora, the narrator, tells her tale. (Wendy Swann)
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| Reed Arvin - The Will
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| This is the kind of book which you will have difficulties to put down. That is if you get over the first part which will make you swim with the sharks until you feel sick and wonder if you should not just throw the book away. Then you will meet the others and hope that miracles still exist. But keep on reading, it's worth it. (Josiane Simonin)
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| Louis de Bernieres - Red Dog
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| The fact that it is about a dog must absolutely not put non-dog-lovers off reading this extraordinary and beautifully produced little book. Based on true events in back-of-beyond North West Australia, it's utterly unlike anything else he has written; but I defy anyone not to be caught up and ultimately moved by it. (Annabel Bedini)
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| Tracy Chevalier - Falling Angels
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| In 1901, two little girls meet in Highgate Cemetery and become acquainted with the gravedigger's son. Over the years, their friendship has a profound effect on themselves and their families and ultimately leads to tragedy. Although I felt the American author did not truly understand the mores of Edwardian England, the pages kept turning. If you enjoyed 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' (bwl 7), you'll want to read this but maybe wait for the paperback in June. (Jenny Baker)
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| Christie Dickason - Quicksilver
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| Set in the 17th century, the action shifting from Holland to England and back again, this is the extraordinary story of Ned Malise a dreamy, impoverished musician whose unwilling mission in life is to avenge his family's wrongs. Then suddenly to his horror he begins to turn into a wolf. Brilliant research and characterisation, luminous writing, this psychological thriller is, as the jacket claims, 'a dazzling novel of love, science and superstition'. (Jenny Baker)
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| Jane Gardam - The Summer After the Funeral
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| I discovered this early work of Jane Gardam's in the library. I wasn't disappointed. An elderly clergyman dies whereupon his widow palms their children off onto various friends and acquaintances for the summer. It's a rites of passage book. Perceptive and funny. The characters are a delight, especially the mother who assumes that people exist to do whatever she asks and so constantly finds they fall rather short of her expectations. (Jenny Baker)
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| Elizabeth George - A Traitor to Memory
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| In my view this author's best so far and a real blockbuster. As usual she introduces a wide variety of characters, including an infant prodigy violinist suffering from a mental blockage and undergoing psychoanalysis. Sub-plots are cleverly woven together in a setting of London today. This is a gripping whodunnit with many twists and much suspense. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Kathryn Harrison - The Binding Chair
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| The narrative, alternating between 1920's Nice, late 19th century rural China, Shanghai, the trans-Siberian railway and pre WWI England, tells the story of May, the Chinese wife of an Australian Jew, and his feisty niece Alice to whom the older woman becomes a surrogate mother. The gruesome custom of binding little girl's feet is central to the narrative dominating May's life and affecting all around her. Dare I use the word unputdownable? Well, it was! (Jenny Baker)
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| Oates Joyce Carol - Middle Age
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| Another novel for those long winter evenings! It shows the changes that the death of Adam Berendt makes to his friends, wealthy middle-aged inhabitants of Salthill-on-Hudson: before it was all business, dinner parties and shopping but afterwards . . . well it's a lot more surprising! (Laurence Martin Euler)
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| Barbara Kingsolver - Prodigal Summer
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| Another book which immediately draws you into a world unfamiliar to most people, I should think (the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia). Kingsolver concentrates on 3 women of different generations and backgrounds, and the way their lives intertwine and eventually influence each other. There are men in the book too, but the women take the lead in almost all things. Written with depth and understanding, and love. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every page. (Julie Higgins)
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| Doris Lessing - The Sweetest Dream
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| This is a classic novel, perfect for the long winter evenings. It is a tale of two strong women's lives - Frances and her mother-in-law Julia - and their many relatives. (Laurence Martin Euler)
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| Marc Levy - If Only It Were True
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| Translation of a 2001 bestseller in France, this is a cross between a love and a ghost story for adults. A young woman doctor is in a coma in a San Francisco hospital after a serious car accident. In startling circumstances a young architect finds her and a plot develops full of strange and comic situations. A delightful story with a clever twist at the end. Good for a winter evening. (Jeremy Swann)
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| William Maxwell - The Chateau
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| First published in the USA in 1961, but I think only recently published over here. Interesting as it gives an American view of life in France just after the second world war. Well written and there was something about it that slightly reminded me of Scott Fitzgerald. I enjoyed it. (Julia Garbett)
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| Ian McEwan - Atonement
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| A drama and a great book: thirteen year old Briony tells a lie and in doing so she dramatically changes the lives of her sister Cecilia and her lover Robbie. Her lie will make her an artist, a writer, but will she be able to find atonement? Probably never... (Laurence Martin Euler)
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| Andrew Miller - Oxygen
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| Alice Valentine is dying in England. Her sons, Alec, a self-diagnosed failure, and Larry, a falling star, return home to care for her. In Paris, the life of Laszlo Lazar, a Hungarian exile whose play Alec is translating, is marred only by his sense of having betrayed a comrade forty years before. In an evocative, witty, at times claustrophobic book, they play out their deftly paralleled stories, each struggling in his own way to draw breath.... (Siobhan Thomson)
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| Shannon Olsen - Welcome To My Planet
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| Along the same lines as 'The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing' (bwl 3) and with a recommendation from Melissa Bank on the cover - maybe not as unusual, but very entertaining, very funny and believable. 29 year old girl from Minnesota searches for the right occupation/boyfriend/meaning of life etc., exploring 'issues' with her counsellor and relationships with her family. I have read this twice already - a real 'comfort read'. Interesting from a parent's point of view too! (Victoria Grey-Edwards)
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| Iain Pears - The Bernini Bust
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| If you enjoyed 'The Raphael Affair' (bwl 5) and /or 'The Titian Committee' (bwl 11), you will almost certainly enjoy this follow-up. The same engaging hero and heroine are this time in California and confronted with as much skulduggery as ever. The story involves acquisitions for a private art museum. The author uses delightful irony in portraying his characters and his plot keeps one guessing throughout. (Jeremy Swann)
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| E Annie Proulx - Accordion Crimes
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| A tour de force. Proulx uses the device of tracing the vicissitudes of a humble accordion for a panoramic view of the ethnic/cultural groups that went into the great American melting pot. She has a Dickensian capacity to invent idiosyncratic characters and amazing twists of story and each episode is rich in convincing detail as her characters struggle for survival. Both enormous fun and thought-provoking. Great American Nightmare? (Annabel Bedini)
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| Philip Roth - The Human Stain
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| The Clinton scandal is at its height. Prurience and political correctness abound in equal measure. Coleman Silk, once revered classics professor, has resigned in disgrace in the face of false allegations of racism. As his world crumbles, Coleman holds fast to an astonishing secret he has kept for fifty years. Despite the odd unconvincing plot device, there is unparalleled linguistic dexterity and a gripping foray into the nuances of truth. Worth reading again. (Siobhan Thomson)
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| Salman Rushdie - Fury
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| A rolling, turbulent book, and a disturbing read in the wake of the events of 11th September. Malik Solanka, erstwhile professor and doll-maker, takes his well-stoked anger, confusion and murderous thoughts with him as he flees to New York, leaving his wife and child in England. Rushdie employs his facility for rich and precise language to navigate Solanka through a series of bizarre adventures, rages and passionate encounters. Not for the faint of heart. (Siobhan Thomson)
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| Zadie Smith - White Teeth
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| Packed with colourful characters and history, this large book explores the experiences of West Indian and Asian families in London from every conceivable angle - particularly interesting on the young teenagers finding their identities. Reading this felt like walking down a busy main road in London and knowing the story of everyone you pass. Sometimes a rather bitter interpretation of British history, but a cleverly constructed narrative, very nicely and surprisingly rounded off at the end. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)
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| J R R Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings
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| The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King
Amidst all the excitement generated by the filming of the first part of this epic trilogy, I felt I had to re-read it and was almost as captivated as the first time round. If, like me, you're a fan of Harry Potter or the books of Philip Pullman but somehow never got round to Tolkien, rush out and buy a copy. You won't be disappointed and it will certainly enhance your enjoyment of the films. (Jenny Baker)
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| Giles Waterfield - The Long Afternoon
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| After WWI , Helen and Henry find the safest, most delightful niche in the Riviera. Comfortably cocooned by wealth, they make it their Edwardian-style home, leading an ostrich-like existence with friends and family. WWII with all its horrors gradually intrudes and inevitably tragic reality catches up with them. A kind, sympathetic factional novel of those indulgent, easy years by Helen and Henry's grandson. Vivid, quiet writing. (Joan Jackson)
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Non-Fiction
| Mike Dash - Tulipomania
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| Fascinating historical study of the Tulip and the passions it inspires. Covering its origins in Turkey, its veneration by Sultans, its dubious use as a food in the post-war period and its recent speculative revival in China, the book primarily focuses on the Dutch frenzy of the 1630's. These were not the everyday single-coloured flowers now so common, but delicate and varied blooms streaked by a mosaic virus. A virus which has now been eradicated. (Clive Yelf)
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| Samuel C Florman - Existential Pleasures of Engineering, The
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| This intriguing book hopes to overturn the notion of engineers as either earnest nerds or the driving force of a soul-less society. The author looks at significant moments in the historical development of engineering, notably those points when the engineer ceased to be perceived as a creative entity and became the bogeyman of the anti-technology movement, arguing that this is an misunderstanding of one of mankind's fundamental attributes. But engineers to replace politicians? Could work! (Clive Yelf)
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| Brendan Gill - Here at the New Yorker
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| Partly autobiographical, partly historical, one of my old favourites happily still available (now from Amazon and perhaps elsewhere). Historical, it's a chronicle of the loves and hates of some of the famous chiefly American writers, artists and celebrities of the 20th century in the heyday of the magazine when edited by founder Harold Ross and successor William Shawn. Many comic anecdotes. It is also good on aspects of putting each issue together. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Katharine Graham - Personal History
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| If you like biographies - or even if you don't - this is a must and if you like thick books, you'll be delighted. Beyond the saga of a family, it's the story of the Washington Post and a woman who found her destiny through unexpected ways and contributed to shape her century through determination and courage. She even contributed to change the status of women, without being a feminist but by simply being herself. (Josiane Simonin)
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| David Hockney - Secret Knowledge - Rediscovering the lost techniques of the old masters
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| David Hockney makes a convincing case for the use of optics by artists as far back as the early 15th century in this beautifully illustrated book. The instruments got better and more sophisticated enabling painting to become more and more 'realistic' or 'photographic', until in fact photography took over and artists began to see things differently through impressionism, post impressionism, cubism etc. and what we now call modern art. Are there any secrets left? Probably. (James Baker)
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| Peter Hopkirk - The Great Game
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| As the Great Game - the vicissitudes of power in Central Asia since Napoleon - has alas been revived in an even more aggressive mode in our day - this book makes enthralling reading and cannot be bettered as background information and guide to more understanding of the present situation. Memoirs written 150 years ago have a familiar ring. A must for Kipling and Secret Service fans. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Adrian House - Francis of Assisi
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| A straightforward well researched life, though, given the amount of fascinating material that's extant, no need for some narrative padding of the 'Francis would no doubt have....' kind in the early parts. Apart from the perennial fascination of the subject, what makes this different from other lives is House's interesting insights into parallel thought systems. And did you know that in pre-coinage days the opposite of 'poor' was 'powerful'? (Annabel Bedini)
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| Miles Hudson - War and the Media
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| and John Stanier
With (almost) everyone's eyes glued to the newspapers and the television these days, a bird's-eye view of how military news reporting all came about makes for fast and fascinating reading, especially if it is as objective and as low-key as that offered by Field Marshal Stanier and his co-author Miles Hudson. Useful as well for a brush-up of general political issues of the day. An excellent post-Christmas present.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Roy Jenkins - Churchill
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| It may seem superfluous to draw attention to a book which received all the hype Macmillan could give it last year, but this book is indeed outstanding and there are those who judge it to be better than the same author's 'Gladstone'. Though running to a massive 1000 pages the pace seldom flags and Jenkins' own experience of office is used helpfully yet with admirable restraint. (Michael Fitzgerald-Lombard)
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| Eric Newby - Departures and Arrivals
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| The irrepressible Eric Newby has done it again! His newest book - but hopefully not his last - is a chronicle of his various travels from early childhood to the present day. Anyone who has been with him to the Hindu Kush and in the Apennines, being hunted by the Germans during the war, will adore this book. He helpfully disguises his great erudition with high good humour and wonderful thumbnail portraits. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Adam Phillips - On Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored
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| Psychoanalytic musing on the mundane things in everyday life. In similar vein as Freud's examination of jokes and verbal slips, this collection of essays ferments with the author's enthusiasm. Prior knowledge of the subject is desirable, but not essential because either way you'll need to re-read it several times to fully grasp what he's saying. Heavy with insight and speculation but leavened with anecdote. Do not try reading after half a bottle of wine. Otherwise recommended. (Clive Yelf)
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| John Simpson - A Mad World, My Masters
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| This leading BBC news correspondent recounts some of his dramatic experiences in a life of reporting from many of the world's most sinister and dangerous places. Anecdotes galore, both comic and otherwise, concerning some gruesome dictators as well as unsung heroes. Situations include: Afghanistan and meeting bin Laden when the Taliban were taking over, Colombia with its drug business and Belgrade under the Nato bombs. Good reading with some stimulating objections to the conventional view. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Robert Sutton - Weird Ideas That Work
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| For those of you who are involved in management and for the others who have to live with the management this is THE book to read. It's not a recipe book but one that you can use for inspiration whenever you have to find solutions. Innovation is the key word and is this not what is most needed in our world ? Take the risk to try: it works! (Josiane Simonin)
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