bwl 44 - February 2008
Fiction
| Alan Bennett - Uncommon Reader, The
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| In this brilliantly humorous little book the author imagines how the Queen, on a search for her dogs, comes upon the local travelling library parked outside the Palace kitchens. She gets into conversation with the librarian and Norman, kitchen skiffy and keen borrower. The Queen borrows a book, becomes an obsessive reader and, with Norman's help, devotes all possible time between and during her duties, to this new interest. One hilarious episode after another. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Geraldine Brooks - March
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| If you read Little Women, this fills in what happened to the March girls' father while he was away fighting in the American Civil War. The storyline is a little far fetched in places but it's beautifully written. Its main strength lies in its vivid, accurate and shocking description of slavery - incredible to think it was only 150 years ago. (Annie Noble)
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| Karel Capek - War with the Newts
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| Somewhere near Sumatra a strange thing happens: newts are observed coming on to shore at night and dancing. Soon they begin to learn to speak, and men discover that they can be put to great use working under water. They are used as slaves, experimented on and encouraged to breed hugely. Then these 'aboriginal newts' realise that they can rule the world in their own way . . . Extremely funny, and horrifically prophetic. A brilliant read. (Julie Higgins)
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| Kim Edwards - The Memory Keeper's Daughter
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| This novel is absolutely mesmerizing. The story begins in 1964, when a doctor delivers his wife of twins. Realising that one of the babies has Down's Syndrome he immediately gives it away to a nurse, telling her to take it to an institution. He meanwhile tells his wife that the baby has died. As their lives unfold the consequences of this act are revealed. Definitely a book to keep you up into the small hours. (Caroline Winstanley)
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| Anne Enright - The Gathering
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| Liam has died, ostensibly of drink but maybe of other things too. His sister Victoria, closest to him of all eight siblings, retraces the steps leading to his death and in the process uncovers layers of this chaotic Irish family's history, some real, some with the potency of imagined truth. Hopping from present to past, fantasy to reality, questioning the reliability of memory and how it affects our beliefs, this is a gloriously rich brew. (Annabel Bedini)
* Winner of the 2007 Man Booker prize |
| Dan Fesperman - The Amateur Spy
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| I bought this thriller on the strength of an unexpected and enthusiastic review in The Economist. It's unusual because it's mostly set in the Near East (Jordan and Israel) and the narrator has a United Nations aid agency background. He is mysteriously recruited to spy on the leader of a mission to raise money for building a hospital. Until the last few pages the pace is slow and the cast confusing. My reactions are mixed. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Mohsin Hamid - The Reluctant Fundamentalist
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| If you've read Màrai's Embers (bwl 13 & 30) you will recognise this mesmerizing narrative device: a monologue by the protagonist (in this case, a Pakistani Princetown graduate) towards a silent and ambiguous companion in which he explains and justifies his actions. In an atmosphere of suspense and tension, Mohsin dissects the effects of a doomed love affair and the cataclysmic fall-out following 9/11 which contribute to his hero's despair, disillusionment and ultimate fundamental change of values and beliefs. (Jenny Baker)
* *Short listed for the 2007 Man Booker prize |
| Robert Harris - The Ghost
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| Harris has produced a blood-chilling novel, not because of the violence, of which there is little, but because sailing very near the wind, this roman à clef has all too clearly the answers to today's political situation for which we have all been searching. Or does it? It is up to the reader to decide, and the surprises keep coming to the very last page, and even beyond . . . ? Very, very clever! (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Penelope Lively - Moon Tiger
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| This winner of the Booker Prize 1987 deserves its accolade. Seemingly desultory and unfocused at the beginning, it gathers momentum but is so transparent in its portrayal of complex human relations against a true historical background that the outcome is at once satisfying, beautiful and emotionally stirring. Although foreseeable, the end comes as a surprise and fulfills the promise, seemingly exaggerated and superficial, of the beginning. A book perhaps richer in depth because of its concise, even terse, style. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Penelope Lively - Making It Up
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| This is fiction not based on but inspired by the author's life. She has discerned some of the 'might have beens' in her own existence, following them into alluring and quite different paths. Varied and excellently written, it might strike some as being over fanciful and sometimes forced. However, social comment and psychological insight, in a style brief in words and rich in content, go together with the darker and more forbidding side of the human condition. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Penelope Lively - The Photograph
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| This novella grows from an inauspicious beginning into a haunting analysis of how the ripple effect of a small event can threaten and destroy all those it touches. Morally but not moralistically, Lively illustrates how even our most insignificant actions can count, how impossible it is to properly assess or control their impact on others for good or evil and that even the element of time has no boundaries. A rather horrifying book. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Gemma Malley - The Declaration
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| It is 2140, a world where having children can be a criminal act. Surplus Anna aims to become a Valuable Asset - but then she finds the pink notebook and so begins her diary. It is her first act of defiance and it will have dramatic consequences for Anna. While not as powerful as Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman) this first novel for young adults with its bleak vision of a distopian future is very readable. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Irène Némirovsky - Fire in the Blood
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| Set in the same village as Suite Française, narrated by Silvio who escaped when young but returned penniless, this novel brilliantly anticipates Némirovsky's final masterpiece. Selling his remaining land, Silvio ekes out his days along with his dog, sipping wine, smoking his pipe and observing rural life. There is much intrigue with young wives deceiving old husbands with sometimes tragic results, while the villagers know or suspect but keep their secrets and money to themselves. (James Baker)
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| Irène Némirovsky - Suite Française
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| A cross-section of Parisians gets caught up in the panic exodus as the Germans advance . . . Village life in occupied France. . . Némirovsky never loses sight of the mindless tragedy of the circumstances surrounding her wonderfully real protagonists' personal dramas of social disintegration, but her perceptive wit and her affection for human eccentricity infuse the stories with unexpected hope. Beautifully written, profoundly felt - absolutely exceptional! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Per Petterson - Out Stealing Horses
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| This is the story of Trond, a 67 year old man who moves to a remote area of Norway in his quest for solitude. A chance encounter causes him to reflect on traumatic events during his childhood. Per Petterson's descriptions of the Norwegian landscape have a dreamlike quality. He unwinds this intriguing story with simple elegance yet with great depth. (Claire Bane)
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| C J Sansom - Dissolution
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| Meet Matthew Shardlake, eyes and ears of Thomas Cromwell, as he attempts to unravel a suspicious death within a Benedictine monastery on the eve of the Dissolution. I am predisposed to enjoy historical crime novels - and this one certainly does not disappoint. The Tudor background, full of tension, is brought to life, without resorting to heavy-handed learning or pseudo dialogue. Shardlake himself is an interesting and flawed protagonist. I shall certainly look for more. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Bernhard Schlink - The Reader
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| A 15 year-old boy has hepatitis, and one day on the street becomes extremely ill. A young woman comes to his rescue, takes him to her apartment, helps to clean him up and then delivers him home. We learn what happens when he has recovered and takes her a bunch of flowers, and then again much later. It is a riveting and intriguing story written in two quite separate parts. (Polly Sams Plant)
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| Nicholas Sparks - The Wedding
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| 'International Number One Bestselling Author' . . . 'long-awaited follow-up to his classic. . . ' Don't be taken in. This super-soppy, feel-good novel is based on the premise that to win back the love of your wife all you need do is to give her a wedding to organise. As if that in itself were not enough, every sentence is a platitude, every emotion a cliché. Poor world if this kind of drivel is 'long-awaited'! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Joanna Trollope - Second Honeymoon
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| The Sunday Times calls Joanna Trollope 'the queen of the domestic dilemma', but this novel does not seem to be as clear cut in its conception as her others . . . the characters of course do not know where they are going, but one feels that Trollope herself has not solved the problems and the solutions are too fortuitous . . . but, as always, a diverting and in some parts an illuminating read. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Sarah Waters - The Night Watch
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| A strange book because it is written back to front. It is the story of 7 or so characters during and immediately after WW II who are all intertwined in one way or another in their diverse relationships. The first section (1947) was a struggle and rather boring I thought, but as the circumstances and stories of these characters unfold it becomes fascinating and all falls into place. For those of us who remember the war it was a trip down memory lane! (Veronica Edwards)
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| Richard B Wright - October
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| A retired professor travels to England to visit his daughter, Susan, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. By chance he meets a crippled friend of his adolescence, Gabriel, whom he's not seen for sixty years. This reunion and what ensues intertwines with his struggle to accept his daughter's possible death. Although I was drawn into the well written story, I found the way he dealt with Susan's devastating illness rather too impersonal. (Polly Sams Plant)
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Non-Fiction
| Dannie Abse - The Prescence
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| Son, brother, husband, father, surgeon, writer, poet . . . a happy, fulfilled life . . . then in a flash no longer husband when a car kills his wife and he escapes. He copes, jotting down in diary form the first year of his loneliness. The writing is beautifully clear, poignant, angry, wistfully brave. Many will recognise a fellow soul. (Joan Jackson)
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| Chandler Burr - A Separate Creation - How Biology Makes Us Gay
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| The search for the 'Gay Gene' was in all the papers several years ago. This book looks at the science behind the headlines and explains just why things are never as black and white as the papers would hope. The first chapter 'Proof that the Gay Gene Exists' is followed by 'Proof that the Gay Gene does not Exist' and the apparent contradiction is explored with humour, interviews and a wealth of easily digestible information. (Clive Yelf)
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| Lawrence Durrell - Bitter Lemons
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| With his characteristic verbal fireworks this poet/author conjures up a picture of 1950s Cyprus as a paradise. He settled down in a small village, renovated an old house and, with his fluent Greek, quickly made friends amongst the locals. Sadly the latent Greek/Turkish conflict exploded into violence and the colonial government for which Durrell worked as information officer was succeeded by direct military rule. He decided it was time for him to leave. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Douglas Hurd - Memoirs
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| This British politician (b. 1930) describes, straightforwardly and unpretentiously, the main stages in his life: King's Scholar at Eton, national service in the Artillery, Cambridge, Diplomatic Service, political assistant to Prime Minister Heath, MP, and several times minister before just failing to reach the top of 'the greasy pole' following Margaret Thatcher's departure in 1990. Very informative on the functioning of these different worlds. (Jeremy Swann)
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| Gavin Pretor-Pinney - The Cloudspotter's Guide
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| I knew a rain cloud when I saw it but thanks to this book I can now use a whole range of Latin terms to describe it, estimate its height and identify famous examples in literature, art and mythology. I am now also aware that contrails (aircraft trails) may be more environmentally damaging than the fuel being burned. This is a handbook written by an enthusiast and far more enjoyable than my old Scout cloud chart! (Clive Yelf)
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| Claire Tomalin - Thomas Hardy
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| "Too fragrant was life's early bloom/Too tart the fruit it brought!" - can sum up, in his own words, Hardy's life. This mild, amazingly intelligent man straddles the horrific social divide he was born into with strength, insight and bravery. Wonderfully researched (as always) by Tomalin. We are left thankful for a rich, strong and original mind who produced a peerless addition to our Island novelists. (Joan Jackson)
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| A N Wilson - The Victorians
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| Copiously illustrated, ranging across the whole spectrum of life in the Victorian era and told in a racy, sometimes gossipy style, this book is for anyone looking for an introduction to the history of that period. Its only flaw is that owing to the vastness of its canvas it tends to flit from one subject to another, leaving you hungering for more detail. But then perhaps that's the whole purpose of the book. (Jenny Baker)
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| Simon Winchester - The Map that Changed the World
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| I love it when a forgotten human story ties in with a great scientific advance. The labours of the canal-digger William Smith to create the world's first scientific geological map certainly fit that category. Defying the belief that the layers were the work of God, Smith's life's-work was on the science of stratigraphy but his great achievements were at first snubbed then stolen by the Royal Geological Society before recognition arrived in his dotage. (Clive Yelf)
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| Feedback |
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Victoria Grey-Edwards writes:
re. 'Reading Group Notes' in Feedback bwl 43...
I agree that these are extremely irritating - if they do exist in a book I always ignore them, and I think reading groups should do the same. Readers should be allowed to react to a book in their own way, and that's probably what makes reading groups interesting - not that I've ever been to one!
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Using titles reviewed in bookswelike, Wendy Swann continues the title-based story started in Feedback bwl 43:
Mrs. D: Goodbye Arthur. George, have you heard? I went to see Clara at the chateau and she's talking of divorcing Jack.
George: Oh yes. Between you and I, he's been seeing another woman, to Clara's fury. According to Mark he has had six wives.
Mrs. D : Well that's neither here nor there. We should avoid drawing conclusions and interfering in family matters.
George: What are we going to do during the long afternoon?
Mrs. D: We could go shooting butterflies.
George: Yes but last time we got a fine of 200 francs.
Mrs. D: Well anyway, don't let's go to the dogs tonight.
George: No, we'll wait for the winter solstice.
More contributions, please!
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