bwl 39 - April 2007
Fiction
| Boris Akunin - The Death of Achilles
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| Those familiar with our hero Erast Fandorin's adventures, in which he exhibits his formidable skills of detection, will be delighted with this latest assignment which occurs after his return to Moscow, accompanied by his Japanese manservant Maso, following six diplomatic years in Japan. He is confronted with a new mystery: the 'murder' of his friend General Sobolev, the Russian Achilles, which he is 'invited' to solve . . . and of course that's not all. (James Baker)
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| Julian Barnes - Flaubert's Parrot
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| A gentle and discursive stroll around one of France's 19th century literary giants, Gustave Flaubert, author of 'Madame Bovary'. Definitely not a formal biography but instead Barnes's reflections on different aspects of Flaubert's life and experiences, as well as on aspects of his own life. Amusing and, I found, a satisfying gap-filler for reading, spasmodically rather than straight through, between two more serious works. I enjoyed it. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Sybille Bedford - Jigsaw - An unsentimental education
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| This 'novel' reads more like autobiography (as Bedford's afterword admits). The child Billi is shuttled from Germany to Italy, to London, to the South of France, picking up what education she can from ravenous reading and the conversation of intellectuals and artists settled in the Midi between the wars. Central in this atmospheric evocation of a lost age is Billi's evolving relationship with her brilliant, unmaternal and ultimately tragic mother. Fascinating, powerful and moving. (Annabel Bedini)
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| G K Chesterton - The Napoleon of Notting Hill
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| Well-written and engaging, Chesterton's anti-Wellsian future has kings selected by lottery ruling over a country devoid of vigour. When one of the last eccentrics finds himself on the throne he whimsically creates colourful city-states out of the districts of London. Their enforced mock-medievalism and pageantry are all very well, but one idealist takes the rhetoric to heart and sets out against the odds to create a modern Athens in the back streets of Notting Hill. (Clive Yelf)
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| Kiran Desai - The Inheritance of Loss
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This novel set in India, America and England aroused conflicting reactions from my book group. It has a strong story line and intriguing characters and Desai is a formidable writer but it is only for those who revel in convoluted prose, extraneous punctuation marks, frequent diversions and long lists of description. If like me you find this sort of style overblown and intrusive you might want to throw the book straight out of the window.
*Winner of the 2006 Man Booker prize. (Jenny Baker)
* Winner of the 2006 Man Booker prize |
| Penelope Fitzgerald - Innocence
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| Florence, 1955. Aristocratic Chiara, who wants to please everyone, and rising neurologist Salvatore from the south, who wants to prove he is unique, fall in love at first meeting. Their progress is hindered by helpful people: batty aunt, vague father, silent uncle, bossy school friend Barney who comes to Florence to sort things out . . . In this extremely funny and perceptive tale of tangled misconceptions Fitzgerald also gets details of time and place exactly right. Excellent! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Fergus Fleming - Killing Dragons - The Conquest of the Alps
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| Dragons on the tops of mountains kept them safe until the age of scientific enquiry and the sudden realisation that an unmapped corner of the globe lay just a few days journey away from London. Cue the formation of the British Alpine Club and a desperate scramble to claim the summit of every peak in sight. A wonderful tale of eccentrics, fanatics and gentlemen climbers all strung together with rope the thickness of a washing line.
(Clive Yelf)
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| Linzi Glass - The Year the Gypsies Came
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| It is 1966, the outskirts of Johannesburg. For Emily life would be perfect - if only they did have a really happy family. But it is Buza, the old Zulu, who gives Emily the love and support she longs for. Then Streak and his itinerant family arrive, bringing novelty. Their arrival triggers a chain of events that ends in tragedy. Beautifully written for a teen audience this is a book to recommend to adults as well. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Robert Harris - Imperium
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| I loved this book about Cicero, the great writer and brilliant Roman lawyer, as it is told by his faithful slave, Tiro. So much better than a history book and twice as interesting. (Laurence Martin Euler)
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| Zoë Heller - Notes on a Scandal
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| Based on a case in the press a few years ago of a woman teacher in love with her fifteen-year-old student, this novel, although a major film at present, is eminently worth reading. The dry, pedantic and obsessive prose covers a multitude of contradictions and hidden meanings in mother-child, lover-victim and family relationships, as well as social commentary. A must. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Yasmina Khadra - The Attack
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| A riveting story set in present-day Israel. Amin, the narrator of Arab origin, is a naturalised Israeli and a surgeon at Tel Aviv's hospital. A bomb explodes in a nearby restaurant and , after treating the injured, Amin learns that the kamikaze was his own wife, Sihem. After years of happy marriage he is unable to grasp that Sihem had a secret anti-Jewish involvement and sets out to discover how and why. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Binnie Kirshenbaum - An Almost Perfect Moment
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| I enjoyed this unpretentious book about a naive Jewish girl, whose mother seems to have only two occupations: playing mah-jong with her female friends or cooking Jewish meals. It is set in Brooklyn in the age of disco, an age from which these two women are almost completely alienated. Very touching. (Laurence Martin Euler)
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| Guus Kuijer - The Book of Everything
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| Thomas sees things - frogs leaping through the letterbox for example - and he is recording everything in his notebook. It is his defence against his violent father and his repressive religious beliefs. Sounds grim? Far from it. Beautifully translated from the Dutch original, this is a little gem of a book that deserves to be discovered by discerning readers, young and old. You will want to cry - but in the end there is hope. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| John le Carré - The Mission Song
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| The intriguing main character and narrator, Bruno Salvador, orphan child of an Irish missionary and Congolese woman, is a freelance professional interpreter. He finds himself caught up in complicated political negotiations involving the Congo, described in many pages of detail. I found the story so difficult to unravel that, after 60 pages, I skipped to the end and read that before continuing. Altogether a frustrating and disappointing read. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Penelope Lively - The Photograph
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| Glyn discovers a photograph of his dead wife holding hands with her brother-in-law. Driven by an obsessive need to know if she was unfaithful, he starts a quest which draws in all those who knew and loved her. The spreading ripples of questioning and growing self-knowledge transform the memories they had chosen to have into those they should have. Skillfully handled and utterly credible - a treat! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Geraldine McCaughrean - Peter Pan in Scarlet
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| "Something is wrong in Neverland . . . we must go back". So Wendy, John and the other Lost Boys (despite being Grown Up) find themselves back under the leadership of Pan. Neverland is dying as dreams are leaking out. Can they save it? Full of amazing characters and surreal adventures, McCaughrean captures both the spirit and tone of Barrie's original. And the strangeness. This is the official sequel. Not everyone will like it. But worth a try. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| T N Murai - The Imperial Agent
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| This Indian author adopts Kipling's Kim, developing his life from boyhood to manhood against the panorama of the apogee of the British Empire in India. The well-rounded characters are plausible, dignified and even touching, but this book's most important feature is the Great Game seen through the adult Kim's eyes. Once an enthusiastic pro-British player, his growing awareness of his Indian identity mirrors the rise of Indian nationalism and the ensuing dilemmas of the British. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Stef Penney - The Tenderness of Wolves
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| An excellent story set in 1867 in a remote Canadian settlement where the layer of civilisation is only ice thin. The murder of a local Frenchman exposes deep feelings and buried secrets in and beyond the small community. Everyone has their own reason for finding the killer, sparking off a series of desperate treks into the wilderness. The vast, bleak landscape provides a vivid backdrop. It starts to ramble near the end, but it's worth it. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)
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| Rosamunde Pilcher - Winter Solstice
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| Rosamunde Pilcher, well-known for her capable story-telling, in this, her most recent novel, has not only provided another excellent read but one that is deeper than some of her others. The plot is well constructed and the characters, arresting in their originality, are well-rounded, engaging and very real. Written with humour, warmth and genuine sympathy for the human condition, this is just the thing to take on holiday or on a long journey. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Meg Rosoff - Just in Case
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| Fifteen year old David Case is desperate to cheat a Fate clearly out to get him. The first move is to change his name to Justin; the second to adopt a new persona courtesy of a charity shop and the eccentric photographer, Agnes. But Fate is not so easily tricked. Edgy, quirky, thoroughly enjoyable - or very irritating, Rosoff captures the surrealism of the teenage mind in a second novel which is as original as her first. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Jacqueline Wilson - Double Act
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| Twins Ruby and Garnet live with their Dad and Gran. They are very different people but both dream of being famous actresses. Their Mum died at a young age but their dad meets a lady called Rose and they leave Gran. The children start writing the story of their life, but Garnet lets Ruby down when they go to different schools. I think this is a very good book, easy to read and good fun! (Jessica Yelf)
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Non-Fiction
| Linda Colley - Captives - Britain, Empire and the World 1600-1850
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| An empire short on manpower would always risk leaving its citizens exposed and vulnerable to capture and these testimonies prove the lie that Britons 'never shall be slaves'. Concentrating on North Africa, the Americas, India and Afghanistan, Britons showed an extraordinary ability to be assimilated into their captor's society, often showing an embarrassing reluctance to re-emerge. For the poorer captive, 'going native' even as a slave often seemed preferable to the life they left behind. (Clive Yelf)
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| Alistair Cooke - American Journey: Life on the Home Front in the Second World War
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| Re-discovered just before his death (much to his delight) this picaresque journey loops around America as the author seeks for himself just how the declaration of war after Pearl Harbour affected the ordinary American. Sensitive, intuitive and perceptive, it is impossible to read without hearing Cooke's distinctive voice resonating within. For me this only heightens the enjoyment of a book that teases out the real issues and concerns confronting those he meets along the way. (Clive Yelf)
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| Edward Crouzet - Slender Thread - The Origins and Development of the English Benedictine mission at Bungay, 1657-2007
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| Seldom does a book so literally parochial as the history of a parish deserve notice beyond its own niche market, but St Edmund's, Bungay, claims to spring from the oldest Catholic mission in eastern England and its 350 year existence reflects the social and religious development of the country. Exceptionally, therefore, it may appeal also to the general reader. Beautifully illustrated and fluently written, this short work of 128 pages is a little gem. (Michael Fitzgerald-Lombard)
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| William Dalrymple - The Last Mughal - The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857
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| In this last of his amazing books on Mughal/British India, Dalrymple has researched anew and in depth the events leading to the 1857 Mutiny. He sympathetically describes the heights of power and culture to which the three-hundred-year Mughal dynasty rose, as well as the depths to which it finally fell through its own decadence and that of the East India Company. The Mutiny finally marked not only their mutual end but that of an era. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Alexander Frater - Chasing the Monsoon - A Modern Pilgrimage Through India
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| An utterly engaging and often amusing book about pursuing the summer monsoon around India, inspired by childhood memories of a picture of Cherrapunji, the wettest place on earth, and his father's passion for meteorology. The journey, Indian history and recollections of his childhood on a South Pacific island are interwoven beautifully and the host of characters very entertaining. A fine piece of travel writing - I wanted to stand in the monsoon rain too! (Christine Miller)
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| Celia Haddon - Chats with Cats - How to read your cat's mind
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| This useful book for all cat lovers is written by a sensitive and very experienced 'feline understander', the pet correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and well-known author. Unusual because she manages to give excellent advice on behavioral problems and pointers on how to train one's cat. Without resorting to sentimental, anthropomorphic hype, by tracing the cat's ancestry she provides a more serious scientific background. It is also for the cat-less a witty and interesting read. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Christina Lamb - The Africa House: The True Story of an English Gentleman and His African Dream
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| Based on his copious correspondence Lamb recounts Stewart Gore-Browne's struggle to create an ideal English estate in the wilds of Northern Rhodesia: brick cottages for workers, forty-room mansion for himself, family portraits, liveried servants, dressing for dinner and all. Outrageous Edwardian folie de grandeur? Yes, but add his sad, self-deceiving relationship with his aunt and wife and his heroic commitment to black political empowerment and a more complex figure emerges. A truly extraordinary story. (Annabel Bedini)
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| Nelson Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom
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| Remarkable memoirs of a remarkable man. Long and very detailed, but rarely boring. His surprisingly eventful 27-year imprisonment is recounted in a matter-of-fact style, without self-pity or bitterness. Throughout, he kept the freedom movement alive despite incredibly tough prison conditions: damp cells, poor food, hard labour, disproportionate punishments, though in later years tennis, gardening and study were allowed. Whatever one thinks of violent protest, his unwavering belief in the rightness of his cause wins us over. (Wendy Swann)
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| Jerry White - London in the Nineteenth Century - A Human Awful Wonder of God
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| The author traces London's history from the destruction of much of the old slums at the beginning of the century to the huge suburban expansion which had occurred by the end and which forms the basis of today's metropolis. It paints a vibrant picture of a city where rich and poor from all over Britain, Europe and the Empire rubbed shoulders, and where literature, science, architecture, engineering and philanthropy flourished. A gem of a reference book. (Jenny Baker)
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| Feedback |
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Laurence Martin Euler writes:
I had to read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (bwl 35) for my book club and everybody but me was enthusiastic about it. It is not a bad book at all but the way the author made the story so complex really got on my nerves!
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Kathie Somerwil Ayrton writes about the awaited Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
I have thought about the denouement after 6 huge novels from babyhood to graduation and I wonder what J K Rowling has thought up:
1) All a dream, waking up as a normal boy with his own parents
2) Vanquishing Voldermart at last and forever, good will outlast bad, etc
3) On graduation and in the real world, suddenly losing all his magical powers and becoming a normal young man with a future
4) Graduating as a wizard and never leaving the magical world
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