bookswelike

bwl 34 - April 2006

Fiction

Geraldine Brooks - March - A Love Story in a Time of War

Anyone who loved Louisa May Alcott's Little Women will be intrigued by this book. While the March girls and their mother valiantly kept the home fires burning, their father was caught up in the Civil War. This is his story. It paints a much darker picture of the times seen through the eyes of a man trying to conquer his own fears and desires and doesn't flinch from describing the cruelties inflicted by both sides. (Jenny Baker)

Jonathan Coe - The Rotters' Club

An account, sometimes touching and often hilarious, of a group of rebellious and gifted teenagers at the same school (and to a lesser extent of their parents and teachers), during the 1970s in Birmingham. Industrial strife with a three day week and the destruction of the car industry by the unions just before the start of the Thatcher years forms the backcloth to this highly entertaining satire. I strongly recommend it. (Jeremy Swann)

Robert Ford - The Student Conductor

The setting: the world of classical music and musicians in Germany after the Wall came down. Cooper Barrow, student conductor, is in Karlsruhe for lessons with Ziegler, a renowned elderly conductor with a mysterious past. Barrow falls in love with Petra, just out of East Germany and oboist in Ziegler's orchestra. We enjoy an insight into the stresses of a musician's life. Mysteries, betrayal and guilt arise from Petra's past. An outstanding first novel. (Jeremy Swann)

Jane Gardam - Crusoe's Daughter

From the age of 6, Polly Flint spends her life in her elderly aunts' remote house on the edge of a marsh where she feels as marooned as Crusoe, her hero, on his island. Set against a backdrop of the 20th century with its two world wars, this is a tale of family secrets, hidden relationships, unrequited love and how the experiences of childhood so often determine our adult lives. Jane Gardam at her best. (Jenny Baker)

P D James - The Lighthouse

Here is a classic 'closed room' mystery and classic James. Once again Dalgliesh takes charge of a sensitive case. A famous novelist has been found dead on an island retreat favoured by the powerful. The scene is set - a small civilised community but with hidden tensions and secrets; a remote setting and minimal technology. The reader, like Dalgliesh, has to pick up the clues - and James doesn't cheat; they are all there. Very satisfying. (Ferelith Hordon)

Hanif Kureshi - Midnight All Day

The cover illustration on my edition is grey, slightly disorientating and very stylish. Which is exactly how I found this collection of short stories around the themes of unrequited or impossible emotion. I avoid the word 'love' because it's not always that easy - characters are complex, their actions not always laudable and sometimes the visceral wrench of yearning seems to be an end in itself. No happy endings - but you'd feel cheated if there were. (Clive Yelf)

Robert Littell - The Amateur: A Novel of Revenge

The hero is a cryptographer with the CIA in America whose girlfriend becomes the victim of a hostage-taking that goes wrong. He decides to take his revenge by hunting out and killing the perpetrators. The publisher's blurb, in my view, is not justified in claiming that the author is in the same class as Le CarrÃ© but nevertheless I found this thriller an enjoyable light read and recommend it as such. (Jeremy Swann)

Sophie McDougall - Romanitas

Rome: Marcus, heir to the Imperial throne, must escape possible assassination. London: a young slave boy is facing crucifixion for rape. This is the Roman Empire - but a Roman Empire of the 21st century. The author combines the technology of the future with the panoply of Ancient Rome. This is an interesting juxtaposition that works as the setting for a historical novel with a touch of science fiction. I enjoyed it - though McDougall's style could irritate. (Ferelith Hordon)

Amos Oz - To Know a Woman

Set in Israel. Yoel, an ex-secret agent, has just retired but the theme is not about spies or agents, rather about his relationships with his daughter, mother, mother-in-law and neighbours. Is there a plot? No. Yes. Intriguing and different. A strange and unsettling read. (Ange Guttierez Dewar)

Ann Packer - The Dive from Clausen's Pier

Carrie is on the point of breaking off her long-standing relationship with her fiancÃ© when he is suddenly injured and ends up a paraplegic. Feeling trapped and unable to cope, she eventually flees to Manhattan, seeking new people, new experiences, new possibilities. An honest look at the difficulties Carrie faces, her feelings of guilt and her struggle to find a way to live her own life as an unbound individual. (Pamela Jaunin)

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Heat and Dust

The elusive nature of life in India, as seen through the eyes of two British women, writing diaries which are cleverly intertwined. Olivia, the young wife of a British official, discovers a deeper side of herself when she meets an Indian Nawab. Fifty years later, the experiences of another young English woman in India echo those of her predecessor. A love story, and a thought-provoking look at India. (Pamela Jaunin)

Anita Shreve - Light on Snow

While walking through woods, a man and his daughter find a newborn baby abandoned in the snow. For two people who have already suffered trauma through great loss, it is an especially shocking discovery. Through the 'voice' of the 12-year old, we come to understand and see how different her perceptions are from those of her father, the dilemmas they both face and how, in the end, forgiveness can overcome the ability to condemn. (Polly Sams Plant)

Amy Tan - Saving Fish from Drowning

Eleven American tourists on an art expedition to Burma simply disappear. What happens to them is narrated by the ghost of the woman who organised the tour but died bizarrely on the eve of their departure. It's a tale of naivety and corruption, good and bad intentions, tyranny and humanity which veers rather uneasily between comedy and tragedy and has too many characters who seem like prototypes. Worth reading but wait for the paperback. (Jenny Baker)

Non-Fiction

Bill Bryson - Made in America *

I'm a little tepid as regarding Bill Bryson's travel books but I'm a big fan when he gets onto the subject of language. Whereas in Mother Tongue he looked at the roots and development of English in England, here he concentrates on the American variety with its native American borrowings, archaic survivals and the regional influences of early settlers. One correction though, 'slobberchops'* may have died out in America but not yet in our house!

*Editor's Note: For those of you unfamiliar with the word 'slobberchops', here is the definition from the website www.urbandictionary.com An old British word, still used in some areas, esp. Ireland: 1) One who dribbles 2) A messy eater 3) A lecherous man. The example they give suited to all three is 'Grandad is a right slobberchops'. (Clive Yelf) * 1) One who dribbles 2) A messy eater 3) A lecherous man. The example they give suited to all three is ‘Grandad is a right slobberchops'.

Richard Dawkins - River Out of Eden - A Darwinian View of Life

One of the excellent 'Science Masters' series, this is an attempt to explain how evolution actually works. The river referred to in the title is the DNA streaming through the ages, splitting and dividing as it goes and although it is slightly disconcerting to come to regard yourself merely as a tool for its replication (no higher purpose here!) I can heartily recommend this as a fascinating, easily accessible and very entertaining read. (Clive Yelf)

John Kenneth Galbraith - A Life in Our Times

The eminent economist and author of 'The Affluent Society' was born and brought up in an agricultural community in Canada. He studied and taught at leading American and other universities including Harvard and Cambridge. During WWII he held a high-ranking post in the American administration under President Roosevelt and later, under President Kennedy, several others including ambassadorial. An interesting man with an interesting life. (Jeremy Swann)

Sheila Hancock - The Two of Us - My Life with John Thaw

While describing both of their lives, from childhood on, Sheila Hancock so very sensitively interjects paragraphs, written in the present, about her thoughts and emotions after losing her beloved husband. Times were not always easy for them, especially in dealing with Thaw's alcoholism and black moods, but their marriage endured. It was indeed a true, passionate love story. (Polly Sams Plant)

Eric Lax - The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat - How Penicillin Began the Age of Miracle Cures

Say penicillin - think Fleming? No, think Florey, Chain, Heatley and their fantastic girl assistants. True, Fleming first noticed the mould and took the glory for discovering the antibiotic - but it was these Oxford based chemists using incredible ingenuity under very primitive conditions (late 30s, war time, no money) who were responsible for making it non-toxic to humans. A very exciting, minutely-recorded document of human behaviour and personalities. Why Florey's coat? Read and find out! (Joan Jackson)

Jane Robinson - Unsuitable for Ladies - an Anthology of Women Travellers

This anthology of women travellers is a tantalising book which I find whets the appetite. It is a book that needs to be read for a short time so that you can absorb what has been written. Some of the incidents recorded are quite amazing. This is a book for feminists as are her other books. (Julia Garbett)

Claire Tomalin - Samuel Pepys - The Unequalled Self

A lively, well researched biography. Many who know the Diary, full or abridged, forget that it only starts in January 1660, by which time Pepys, like most others in Whitehall, was prudently turning his coat Royalist. Claire Tomalin pieces together the largely undocumented pre-Diary years both of Pepys' life and the nation's politics, including his approving presence at the king's execution, and his post-Diary years dogged by accusations of crypto-Catholicism. Recommended. (Michael Fitzgerald-Lombard)

Nicholas Whittaker - Blue Period - Notes from a Life in the Titillation Trade

A budding journalist's tale of how he found himself writing large chunks of Fiesta in the 70s (from readers' letters to the exotic 'biographies' of less than exotic models) is both amusing and slightly poignant. Working daily with the slightly seamier side of life takes its toll on personal relationships and emotional health as the 'dream' job eventually becomes both numbing and repetitive. Less glamour than a Carry On movie but a very breezy read! (Clive Yelf)

Bob Woodward - Plan of Attack

The Washington Post journalist who together with Carl Bernstein exposed the Watergate Affair describes the nuts and bolts of the American decision-making and planning process in the run-up to the launch of the Second Gulf War. The account seemed to me objective. There are revealing pen-portraits of the leading participants from the President down and the book is good on the stresses and strains they experienced in their interaction. I found this a truly fascinating book. (Jeremy Swann)

Feedback

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James Baker writes:

Having just read Two Lives by Vikram Seth (bwl 32) I absolutely agree with the sentiments expressed in the succinct review. His pursuit of the truth of the history of his uncle and aunt is fascinating and gripping until you become exhausted by his obsession. What is cathartic to him finds the reader nodding off, like being on the receiving end of an overlong one-sided telephone call . . . but I'm glad I read it and remain a fan.

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Jenny Baker writes:

I too loved Kate Mosse's Labyrinth (bwl 33) which I agree is much better than The Da Vinci Code (though I thought that book was a great yarn). I especially enjoyed the medieval sections in Labyrinth which filled me in with I lot I didn't know about the background of and the persecution of the Cathars. I did get a bit irritated by and lost count of the times the hairs rose on the back of someone's neck but that's a minor quibble.

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