bwl 3 - May 2000
Fiction
| Melissa Bank - The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
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| Interesting format of a series of short stories providing snapshots, both poignant and very funny, of an east coast American girl growing up and trying to get her life right. It's refreshing and light with lots of snappy dialogue, and thoroughly real characters. Disappointing last sections, but well worth it. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)
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| M Bernstein - Sacred and Profane
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| It concerns a girl in prison convicted of murder and a young nun. The prisoner suffers seemingly from a psychological disorder, while the nun appears to have a mysterious past. A young priest gradually discovers a link between them. Sort of thriller with strong philosophical undertones, religious belief, morals, child education and a bit of romance. (Rosamund Bandi)
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| Angela Carter - Wise Children
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| The wonderfully zany story of two theatrical families, circa 1870 - today, told in breathless fashion at the speed of a roller-coaster. Totally irreverent, packed with one comic situation after another. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Elizabeth George - In the Presence of the Enemy
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| A closely-packed thriller, by a Californian author but nevertheless convincingly set in London and the West Country. The plot weaves around the kidnapping of the daughter of a single-parent Home Office minister and its consequences for others including the father, editor-in-chief of a London tabloid. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Josephine Hart - Damage
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| Damage is both elegant and erotic. It tells a tale of a completely obsessive love which leads to an inevitable ending. Prepare to be shocked, enthralled, and left thinking - 'Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive!' A quote that stays with you (Sandra Lee)
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| Doris Lessing - Mara and Dann
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| Set thousands of years in the future when a new Ice Age engulfs the northern hemisphere, this is the story of two children, their struggle to grow up and the odyssey they undertake across the hostile country we call Africa and they know as Ifrik. At times irritating but nevertheless a real page turner. (Jenny Baker)
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| Hilary Mantel - The Giant O'Brien
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| A disturbing read, dark and compelling, evoking the poverty and squalor of 18th century London. Mantel weaves together the life of the giant O'Brien, story teller and dreamer with that of John Hunter, celebrated surgeon, anatomist and procurer of dead bodies from he cares not where. Not for the squeamish. (Jenny Baker)
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| Alan Massie - A Question of Loyalties
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| This is a terrific book about the fall of France and Vichy - a much written about subject, I know, but I have read and re-read this, and think it is the best. (Jenny Freeman)
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| Deborah Moggach - Tulip Fever
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| Set in Amsterdam in the 1630s, the lives of Sophia Sandvoort, her elderly husband Cornelis and the portraitist Jan van Loos are inextricably linked with that of tulip fever which gripped the city. The fate of them all hinges on the value of a single bulb. Atmospheric and mesmerising. (Jenny Baker)
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| Ahdaf Soueif - The Map of Love
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| Part romance, part political commentary, this is an unusual book which charts the story of two women, whose lives are separated by a century, both of whom are drawn to Egypt where the story takes place. It was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker, but don't let this put you off. (Jenny Baker)
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| Anne Tyler - Ladder of Years
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| My favourite by Anne Tyler, I just couldn't put it down. It's the story of Delia who, during a family seaside holiday, simply walks off the beach, leaving her husband and her three teenage children. She starts her life again in a nearby town, reinventing herself as a serious and independent-minded woman without ties. (Katherine Swann)
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| Barbara Vine - The Chimney Sweeper's Boy
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| I thought this was excellent. It takes the form of a novel as well as being a 'thriller', and I like the way she interweaves the 'human' side of the story with keeping us on the book as to what 'really happened'. (Polly Sams Plant)
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Non-Fiction
| Jenny Baker - Simple French Cuisine from Provence and Languedoc
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| First published 1990 and just reissued, the book is divided into sections by seasons and flavours, each with an evocative introduction. My favourite is Autumn and Winter Matters, which I frequently turn to for ideas after a successful mushrooming expedition. (Wendy Swann)
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| Mark Bence-Jones - Twilight of the Ascendancy
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| An entertaining account of the last years of the Ascendancy in Ireland (1870 - 1970) when many of the owners of ancestral homes still managed to survive and even live it up despite the collapse of all around them. Many amusing anecdotes. Eccentrics galore. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Robert Byron - The Road to Oxiana
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| One of the classics of 20th century travel writing : a lighthearted account in diary form of the journey the author took with the writer Christopher Sykes through the Near East, chiefly Persia and Afghanistan, in the early 1930s. Particularly interesting, as a comparison, for anyone who has been in the same region in recent years. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Hermione Countess of Ranfurly - To War with Whitaker
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| War diaries (again!) of courageous young bride who refuses to be left behind - or sent home - and ends up running the offices of all the Generals you've ever heard of, in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy. Both humanly and historically enthralling. (Annabel Bedini)
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| Hermione Countess of Ranfurly - The Ugly One
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| Encouraged by success of the above, the Countess tells her childhood story. Her light touch illuminates with charm, wit, and no self-pity, her family's slippery-slope progress from carefree privilege to disaster on many fronts. (Annabel Bedini)
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| Stephen Jay Gould - Guns, Germs and Steel - The Fates of Human Societies
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| An interesting survey of 10,000 years of development of human societies in different parts of the world and the effect of the environment on the type and speed of development. It explains why Europeans conquered the Americas and not the other way around. Numerous examples bring a new perspective to modern life and contribute to demolish racist theories. (Jean-Pierre Jaunin)
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| Stephen Jay Gould - Bully for Brontosaurus
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| 'Bully for Brontosaurus' is my favourite of the many collections of Professor Gould's essays on evolutionary biology. The thirty-five essays include thoughts on pandas' thumbs, Mark Twain, the origin of species, caterpillars, Captain Bligh, the planets, ants, dinosaurs etc. Each one is as fresh, beautifully written, honest, funny, clear-headed, and compassionate as the next. (Mark Baker)
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| Katie Hickman - Daughters of Britannia - The Lives & Times of Diplomatic Wives
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| Written by the daughter of one of those wives, this is an illuminating look at the lives of women who by reason of marriage played an essential part in the diplomatic scene. Quoting from letters and memoirs, it ranges across the centuries. Warm, funny and at times unbearably poignant. (Jenny Baker)
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| Jeremy Isaacs - Never Mind the Moon - My time at the ROH
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| And In House - John Tooley
The personal records of successive General Directors aptly describe the difficulty of planning a schedule to meet demands of egocentric superstar performers whose diaries fill years in advance, whilst depending on short term finance from public and private supporters determined to dictate policy. The story builds through an inevitable catalogue of cut backs & cancellations, staff and audience discontent, to a climax of near chaos more farcical than any opera plot. (To set the background it is worth looking for a copy of Opera at Covent Garden - a short history - Harold Rosenthal)
(Serena Fenwick)
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| Benedict le Vay - Eccentric Britain
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| Not a 'coffee table' book but a practical guide to the slightly dotty. Full of anecdotes and pithy comments as well as comprehensive details of location, contact phone numbers etc. (Serena Fenwick)
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| John Tooley - In House
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| And Never Mind the Moon my time at the ROH - Jeremy Isaacs
The personal records of successive General Directors aptly describe the difficulty of planning a schedule to meet demands of egocentric superstar performers whose diaries fill years in advance, whilst depending on short term finance from public and private supporters determined to dictate policy. The story builds through an inevitable catalogue of cut backs & cancellations, staff and audience discontent, to a climax of near chaos more farcical than any opera plot. (To set the background it is worth looking for a copy of Opera at Covent Garden - a short history - Harold Rosenthal)
(Serena Fenwick)
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| Jill Tweedie - Eating Children and Frightening People
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| British journalist who died young recounts her upbringing in the London suburbs with a cruel father. Escapes to Canada, marries her first husband, an exiled count, and lives a rackety life. Includes a hilarious experience staying with her husband's European aristocratic relations. Happiness comes with remarriage and writing. A moving story. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Simon Winchester - The Surgeon of Crowthorne
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| This is the story of two remarkable Victorian men. It is also about the creation of the greatest dictionary of the English language : the OED. If that sounds heavily academic, it is also about murder, war, madness and sex ; all ingredients of a good thriller. And it is. (James Baker)
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| Zhang Xianliang - Grass Soup
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| From skeleton jottings he wrote at the time, the author reconstructs life in a labour reform camp in the 1960s. A fascinating insight into Chinese life and thinking as well as a record of endurance beyond belief and against all odds. (Annabel Bedini)
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