bookswelike

bwl 47 - September 2008

Fiction

Paul Auster - Oracle Night

Narrated by New York author Sidney Orr - the central figure in a convoluted set of mysterious events - this reads at times like a detective novel. It is distinguished however by the intriguing if sometimes irritating devices employed by Auster. They are innovative and engaging, and reinforce his exploration of complexity and ambiguity in human emotional relationships, particularly with regard to commitment and trust. (Margaret Teh)

Theresa Breslin - The Nostradamus Prophecy

Set in France during Catherine de Medici's regency and culminating in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, this is an exciting historical novel with a strong heroine. Melisande finds herself caught up in the intrigues of the court; a prophecy by Nostradamus seems to involve her in saving the king. But prophecies are tricky things and deception - whether self-deception or the cunning of others - is a central theme. A very enjoyable teen novel. (Ferelith Hordon)

Javier Cercas - Soldiers of Salamis*

The search for the truth behind the story of the fascist writer who'd faced a firing squad at the end of the Spanish Civil War, and survived, becomes an obsession for the author and he sets out to discover what really happened. When he finally tracks down the old soldier who may have been the militiaman who spared him, the story begins to have real momentum. An interesting but not an easy read. *Winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2004 (Diana Davies)

Dick Francis - The Danger and Reflex

Time to re-evaluate Francis? I picked these two up by chance and was surprised by how good they are (to my mind anyway). Gripping, well constructed plots, interesting insights into themes other than racing - kidnapping and photography in these cases - and above all entirely credible characters. When in need of an unproblematic and exciting read you probably can't do much better than these (and, no doubt, his others). (Annabel Bedini)

Anna Gavalda - Hunting and Gathering

This was quite simply an enchanting and brilliant book. It focuses on three misfits in Paris who come together and change each other's lives; it explores ageing, love, family and friendship against a background of food and art. The characters are so well drawn and completely believable. It's poignant, funny, heart-warming and thoroughly engaging. Highly recommended. (Annie Noble)

Amitav Ghosh - The Hungry Tide

Into the harsh world of an archipelago of islands set between the sea and the Bengali plains come two outsiders: Kanai, a business man and Piya, Indian born but American raised; he to discover the secrets of his uncle's past, she to study cetaceans. Although it is ostensibly their story, it was the haunting tide country, its legends and its people whose lives they disrupt, which engaged my imagination and kept the pages turning. (Jenny Baker)

Lloyd Jones - Mister Pip

In this extraordinary book, the villagers on the tropical island, Bougainville, are caught between government forces and rebels high on jungle juice. Mr Watts, the only white man, appoints himself as teacher to the children, his only text book: Great Expectations. It and its hero have a huge influence on how the narrator, 13 year old Matilda, copes with the gruesome experiences inflicted by the warring factions and ultimately enable her to deal with life itself. (Jenny Baker)

Sophie Kinsella - Shopaholic Ties the Knot

For those Becky fans: slightly less frantic in pace this time, as Becky's quandary is even larger.... not only 'something old, something new, something borrowed... and something else new' but a fond mother and ambitious mother-in-law, both planning elaborate weddings on both sides of the pond...a not so subtle take-off on the hype of American wedding procedures...entertaining with solid values amongst the frivolity. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)

Sophie Kinsella - Can you keep a secret?

Kinsella as usual manages to hide common sense, good taste, moral message and sense of reality under a huge amount of feminine fluff for the general reader but alas, I suspect mostly for females...very original and if sometimes a bit much if one is not in the mood, the more one reads the more it grows on you and the home truths fall loud and clear...very entertaining. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)

Pascal Mercier - Night Train to Lisbon

After discovering an intriguing book by a Portuguese doctor named Prado, a classical languages teacher at a Swiss high school abruptly abandons his job and starts a new life in Lisbon. His quest to comprehend Prado's life takes him into the past and the secret resistance movement against Salazar. A fascinating read about choices in life and existential angst. Not for those who crave action though! (Pamela Jaunin)

Kate Mosse - Sepulchre

Another mystical tale centred around the Carcassonne area of France. It focuses on a young girl in the 1890s who flees Paris to a country estate in Rennes-les-Bains to escape her brother's violent enemy; a parallel story, set in 2007, focuses on an American researching a biography of Debussy who comes to the same place. While, like Labyrinth (bwl 33), the story is completely preposterous in places, for some reason I simply couldn't put it down. (Annie Noble)

Anthony Powell - A Question of Upbringing

When consulting back numbers of bookswelike I was surprised to find that no one had ever reviewed any of the novels from this author's outstanding Music of Time series. This is the first of twelve volumes. The skill and gentle humour with which he analyses the main characters, who reappear amongst a host of others in different situations throughout the series, make this a masterpiece amongst English novels set between 1920 and the early 1970s. (Jeremy Swann)

Owen Sheers - Resistance

D-Day has failed, Germany invades the UK, women in a Welsh valley wake to find their husbands gone: all part of a plan to set up a resistance movement against the invaders. Their valley is then occupied by a troop of Germans, and the two groups become dependent on each other for survival. A great story which is well written and gives lots of food for thought, but spoilt by a weak ending. (Annie Noble)

Ahdaf Soueif - In the Eye of the Sun

Deservedly a best-seller in 1992, this merits a re-read. Asya, from the privileged academic world of Cairo, chooses to do her PhD in Northern England where, estranged from her husband, she falls for the dreadful Gerald. East-West tensions, breakdowns in communication and love, losing and finding identity, juxtaposed with the parallel universe of modern Cairo and the warm world of Asya's close-knit family - all sensitively and engrossingly explored. A book to live inside. (Annabel Bedini)

Muriel Spark - A Far Cry from Kensington

A Far Cry from Kensington is slight and quickly read but fun particularly for those of us who are old enough to remember the bed-sits, the coffee bars and the offices of London in the 1950s. Muriel Spark's characters are very well drawn and are truly representative of their time. (Judith Peppitt)

Rose Tremain - The Road Home

Lev comes from Eastern Europe to seek work, leaving behind his mother, daughter and Rudi, his crazy friend who lives for his battered Chevrolet. He battles grinding hours in restaurants and on an asparagus farm for small wages, encountering hostility and unexpected kindness in a baffling world of casual sex and an obsession with celebrity, until ultimately discovering that the road he is travelling is leading him home. Absorbing, beautifully written, funny and deeply moving. (Jenny Baker)

Edith Wharton - The House of Mirth

There is something daunting about 19th century novelists - all those words! Yet so often - as is the case with Wharton - the words slip by like silk they are so well written. I had not read any Wharton - and what a pleasure, despite finding the world portrayed horribly fascinating in its shallow adherence to luxury. But that is the point - and in Lily Bart, Wharton has created an interesting, flawed heroine. Recommended. (Ferelith Hordon)

David Wroblewski - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

One of the finest novels I have read. A new and intelligent twist on Hamlet. Edgar, born inexplicably mute but communicating with his own sign language, lives an idyllic life in Wisconsin with his beloved parents who breed rare dogs, unique nearly human animals . . . but then Edgar's uncle returns mysteriously and their lives are transformed. Beautifully written, the author communicates a dog's innermost feelings as brilliantly as he tells us of our own. (Lucy Childs)

Carlos Ruiz Zafón - The Shadow of the Wind

This is a book which is difficult to précis - a mystery, a love story, a story about loyalties both adhered to and discarded, it is beautifully written and gripping until the very end (even though I had solved the "mystery" about a third of the way through). I was constantly struck at the clever invention of the plot and although it isn't short I read it in two sessions. Riveting and very satisfying! (Julie Higgins)

Non-Fiction

Melvyn Bragg - The Adventure of English - The Biography of a Language

The English language as biography, with its hopes, fears and struggles all recorded and retold. Early days and Viking intrusions, the leaden blanket of Norman French, the assertion of independence and a desire to see the world, the offspring and rivals, cyber-speak and the future, it's all there folks! If you're a sucker for etymology then this is one to add to your list. Enjoyable and lively with a hefty dollop of anecdotes and examples. (Clive Yelf)

Derren Brown - Tricks of the Mind

Anyone hoping for an exposé of the 'How I do it' variety will be sadly disappointed but those interested in the exploration of a range of memory and mind-training tips and techniques sprinkled with anecdotes and delivered in a flamboyant but ironically self-deprecating style will be more than satisfied. The whole family can all still recite his list of twenty unconnected words backward and forwards so we can confirm that particular technique works at least...! (Clive Yelf)

Bill Bryson - Shakespeare - The World as a Stage (Eminent Lives)

Bryson tackles his subject as one would expect - with maximum respect for sources and research, translated into his own inimitable style. As he says, there's really not much to be said about Shakespeare's mysterious life, but to compensate, he gives us plenty of unexpected background detail on the period. A pleasing and illuminating slim volume. (Annabel Bedini)

David Gilmour - Curzon: Imperial Statesman - Imperial Statesman

Scholarly, certainly comprehensive and as objective as it is possible to be with such a complicated, many-sided, turbulent and often misunderstood politician, who left such deep and lasting marks on Britain. Who today knows he was one of those particularly involved with saving those historic places which quite soon led to the National Trust? Enigmatic and occasionally lovable, Curzon comes to life for us here with all his many warts but also his many virtues. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)

Peter Godwin - When a Crocodile Eats the Sun

The author, born and bred in Zimbabwe but now living in New York, frequently visits his elderly parents still living there. He tells of the tragedy of Zimbabwe's steady downward spiral into anarchy and chaos in a very unbiased way. There is also a sub-plot revealing his father's past. I found it deeply moving and one of the best books I have read in years. (Veronica Edwards)

A C Grayling - The Mystery Of Things

What an interesting and at the same time frustrating book this is! In form I suppose you could liken it to a collection of observations and musings jotted down by a philosophical free-thinker in readiness for future consideration. For my part I would prefer fewer musings and more conclusions. I like someone to do some of the thinking for me, not just to start me off - isn't that what we pay philosophers for anyway? (Clive Yelf)

Christopher Hitchens - God Is Not Great

Any critique of faith will stir and frustrate in equal measure and this example, well-written and engaging though it is, is no different. If you believe in a god then the quotes and examples from various holy books, whilst uncomfortable, can probably be dismissed or excused whilst leaving a core faith intact. If you don't believe, then Hitchens is determinedly pointing out the obvious to those with "La-la-I can't hear you" fingers in their ears. (Clive Yelf)

Andy Merrifield - The Wisdom of Donkeys

Gribouille is a donkey that accompanies the author on a journey through rural France. Between them they absorb their environment down to the tiniest detail. By travelling at the donkey's pace Merrifield finds the peace and tranquillity that has up to now eluded him, while reflecting on the historic and geographical significance of donkeys. With its touching simplicity this book is a perfect antidote to the modern world. (Mary Standing)

Donald Morris - The Washing of the Spears - The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation

The familiar skirmish at Rorke's Drift and the less well known but equally dramatic events on Hlobane mountain are but two of the highlights in this most respected and unbiased history that looks beyond the short-lived and tragic war that eclipsed the noble Zulu nation. Morris helps us to understand Zulu culture and customs which explain why Cetshwayo took on the might of the British, inflicting on its army some of its worst defeats. (Jeremy Miller)

Azar Nafisi - Reading Lolita in Tehran - A Memoir in Books

The author, who had studied in America and taught afterwards at Tehran University, describes how she set up a seminar for a select group of students after the Iranian revolution. Although much of this book is devoted to their discussions about the works of Jane Austen, Scott Fitzgerald, Nabokov and others, the tyrannical system imposed by Khomeini and its consequences for the students have an important role in this story. A remarkable book. (Jeremy Swann)

Gervase Phinn - The Heart of the Dales

The easiest of reads, this, and great fun. I took it on holiday and it was great to dip into at odd moments. Gervase Phinn was schools inspector for the Yorkshire Dales and tells about other inspectors, teachers, and especially the children - most of whom have a charm and directness rarely found. The stories are delightful, amusing, and sometimes outright hysterical. Some unpleasant teachers and colleagues aren't spared, but most are revered. Good stuff! (Julie Higgins)

Rory Stewart - The Places In Between

Stewart walked across the middle of Afghanistan in 2002, over snow-covered mountains and desert, relying on letters of introduction to persuade poor and suspicious villagers to provide him with shelter and maybe a piece of naan bread. The distinct tribal areas he crossed are often involved in ancient vendettas and are now the focus of ill-conceived reforms from the West. A fascinating portrait of a country in continual change, thoughtful and very entertaining. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)

Kate Summerscale - The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House

A secluded Victorian mansion, an extended family ruled by a severe father, a three-year-old boy callously and gruesomely murdered, an astute detective ahead of his time....all the classic 'whodunit' ingredients. However, this true murder case in 1860 inspired a generation of writers and influenced the development not only of the detective profession but of the detective novel. Minutely researched and brilliantly brought to life, a must for historians and mystery addicts alike. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)

Jeannette Walls - The Glass Castle - A Memoir

Although I feared this memoir by a woman who grew up in a dysfunctional family might be full of whining complaints about her alcoholic and terribly negligent parents, I was amazed by Jeannette Walls' ability to recount the amazing experiences of her childhood, from surviving burns to hunting through trash bins for food. Despite the shocking failures of her parents, this book is full of humour, hope and love of life. Unforgettable! (Pamela Jaunin)

Michael White - Leonardo da Vinci - The First Scientist

Although the title takes the form of a statement, the book is ostensibly a question - Was Leonardo not only a great artist but the first scientist? For the most part it's a very readable biography that picks up the main threads of a fascinating life and shows just how diverse and free-thinking he was. For the record I find Leonardo's anatomical enquiries and firm insistence on the 'scientific method' pretty convincing and vote 'Yes'! (Clive Yelf)

A N Wilson - Winnie and Wolf

Winifred Wagner, an English girl married at 18 to Wagner's son Siegfried, forms an extraordinary bond with Hitler, whom she calls Wolf. The story of their unlikely friendship is narrated with deceptive plausibility by the family secretary. Wilson gives us fascinating glimpses into behind-the-scenes activity at Bayreuth where Wolf is received as storytelling uncle and opera lover. But Winnie's blindness to his real nature and to the evil he unleashes leaves one baffled and appalled. (Diana Davies)

Feedback

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Mary Standing writes on Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader (bwl 44)
That the Queen would visit a travelling library within the grounds of Buckingham Palace is such an unlikely scenario, this little gem of a book just cannot be ignored. Continuously entertaining, very short, yet it speaks volumes about how a growing addiction to reading can "take over one's life and duties'', and through which the Queen discovers she is an opsimath. An excellent waiting room read.

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