bwl 63 - Winter 2012
Fiction
| Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending
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| A compelling story told in later life about relationships formed when young, the relevance of history, the ambiguity of the written word, the fallibility of memory and the consequences of immature emotional reactions. Because of its unsettling denouement, the book demands a second reading (only 150 pages) to fully appreciate Barnes's skill. As finely crafted as a poem, almost every word carries multiple layers of meaning and the impact of the whole resonates long in the mind. Brilliant! (Denise Lewis)
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| William Boyd - Any Human Heart
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| The fictional memoirs of aspiring author Logan Mountstuart, whose story told without the benefit of hindsight, brings to the fore the frailties of the human character and life's unpredictable passage. Set against poignant events in the 20C. you take each twist and turn as simple facts of life. Vividly drawn relationships include real historical characters, which rather than being a cheap nod to celebrity, effectively adds to the vitality of the story. Dare I suggest, a modern classic? (Rebecca Howell)
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| Lee Child - Killer Floor
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| The very first 'Jack Reacher' which catapulted Child to the top of his genre. Ex-soldier Reacher is trying to get his bearings in an alien world. On a whim he goes to Georgia on the trail of a dead jazz musician, only to find himself in a corrupt prison in a corrupt town. More violence, less depth and subtlety than in subsequent books, but a real, breathing character and all the earmarks of success are there. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Lee Child - The Affair
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| I am a recent convert to the thrillers starring action-hero Reacher, the macho loner wandering at will with trouble always seeming to seek him out. This latest - fast paced with the right mix of murder, mayhem and intrigue - returns to his life in the Military Police setting the background to his current existence. Despite his killer instincts, he is a thinker and this paradox ensures he is one of the good guys - a winning formula for all fans! (Rebecca Howell)
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| Eleanor Farjeon - The Silver Curlew
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| This is a book from the past. No one can recreate fairy tales like Eleanor Farjeon who was both an accomplished author and a poet. This is her retelling of the tale of Rumplestiltskin - or rather the English version Tom Tit Tot. It has the feel of a superior pantomime - a moment of magic that dissolves reality with humour and poetry. Farjeon's style is perfectly mirrored by Shepard's illustrations. Do look for it. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Anne Fine - The Devil Walks
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| Anne Fine is one of our best writers for young people. Here she moves into M.R. James territory with a tale of obsession and possession. Daniel has lived a reclusive childhood with only his mother as his companion. The arrival of Dr Marlow changes everything and Daniel finds himself facing some very dark secrets. Horror can be difficult to achieve, but Fine succeeds. A slow starter, this is a gripping read. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Charles Frazier - Nightwoods
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| The late 1950s, a young woman, seeks solace from the world in the Appalachian backwoods, but her contentment is shattered with the arrival of two damaged children, her murdered sister's twins, for whom their killer father is searching believing they have stolen a cache of money. Wonderful, spare, lyrical writing, an inward-looking rural community peopled by characters powerfully drawn, I savoured it, though it wasn't liked by everyone in my book group. (Jenny Baker)
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| Jane Gardam - A Long Way from Verona
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| For all Gardam fans, here's another good one. The narrator, Jessica Vye, is destined to become a writer (according to a school lecturer) a prognostication that colours her life. This story of her post-war childhood growth into her 'vocation' is touching, true and funny. Lots of accurate memory-joggers for those of us of that generation - Viyella dresses for one - and an absolutely sure evocation of time and place. (The title makes me fear I've missed a point - help with Feedback please) . . .
(Annabel Bedini)
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| Samantha Harvey - The Wilderness
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| Jake is 62, a retired architect, now suffering from Alzheimer's. The story is told from his point of view and unreliable memories. Who is real? Did some events actually happen? Confusing enough for the reader to unravel, but not nearly as bewildering as for Jake to try and make sense of his own narrative. It could be a depressing read - it isn't. Harvey's first novel, can't wait to read her second. (Mary Standing)
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| Alan Hollinghurst - The Stranger's Child
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| Described by one critic as probably the best 2011 novel and with the literati outraged that the Booker ignored it, naively my expectations were high. At its heart: a charismatic WWI poet, the effect he has on those who encounter him and changing attitudes towards homosexuality in the 20C. The passages seen through a child's eye are funny and moving but the huge cast of groping, blushing males and frustrated females left me in a stupor. I gave up.
(Jenny Baker)
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| Simon Mawer - The Glass Room
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| In Czechoslovakia, with war and Nazism looming, a wealthy Jewish business man and his Gentile wife, commission an avant-garde Architect to build a house. We follow their lives, along with that of the house, the frightening effect on people of power, of bigotry, and what human beings will do to survive. From the very first page, I was immersed in the underlying passions and desires of those involved, and utterly fascinated by the story. (Polly Sams Plant)
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| Erin Morganstern - The Night Circus
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| This beautiful book will either infuriate you - or enchant you. It has enchanted me despite its flaws (yes, I agree there are flaws). I have been completely drawn into this world of a magical night circus, the Cirque des Rêves, sustained by the magical contest between two young magicians. This is a fairy tale, and fairy tales are rarely consistent. If you enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (bwl 27) have a look. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Edward St Aubyn - At Last
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| A tyrannical father and an ineffectual, alcoholic mother have left Patrick Melrose coming to terms with drink, drugs and inheritance problems. Indeed it is sometimes grim, but also very intelligent and funny, and this final novel is a satisfying conclusion to the Melrose series. The writing is brilliant - always authentic and compelling. Particularly poignant and witty are the scenes with Patrick's own wife and two precocious young boys. Read at least 'Mother's Milk' before this. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)
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| Daniel Wallace - Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions
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| Myths and tall tales are attracted to heroes and eventually submerge and subsume the individual. In Big Fish the opposite is the case as the myths and legends that gather around an ordinary man (indeed that are created by him) actually serve to illuminate and explain his life. After all, we are all the heroes of our own existence and how better to make sense of it than through 'The Story of My Extraordinary Life'? (Clive Yelf)
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| Christie Watson - Tiny Sunbirds Far Away*
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12 year old Blessing leaves a comfortable life in Lagos with her mother and brother to seek refuge with her Moslem grandparents in the Niger Delta. No electricity, no flush toilet, crocodiles in the river, gunfire in the distance, oil fires poisoning the air, boy soldiers, magic fireflies, female circumcision. Told with love, laughter and tears - it's impossible to summarise the story. Believe all the hype this surprise novel has generated and read it!
*Winner of the Costa First Novel award
(Jenny Baker)
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| Denton Welch - In Youth is Pleasure
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| A novel in which not a great deal happens, but what does is recorded and recounted in a compelling way. Orvil Pym is plucked from school to spend the summer with his father and two older brothers. Sensitive, confused and the subject of stirring feelings and emotions, Orvil explores the world of people and relationships in a thorough but dispassionate manner. (Clive Yelf)
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| Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse
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| I picked this up out of idle curiosity, to see how dated it is, and ended up enthralled. It's not an easy read but it does, I think, repay attention with its sinuously beautiful prose and intimate exploration of the inner workings of her characters' minds. And having always used the image of the title as a metaphor for unachieved aims I was amazed to find they do eventually get to the lighthouse!
(Annabel Bedini)
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Non-Fiction
| Kate Adie - The Kindness of Strangers
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| A fascinating account of a remarkable life by a remarkable woman. Apart from the many powerfully narrated hair-raising bits (and my goodness she's courageous!) she's wise and illuminating about what television reporting should be and also she's very funny. Above all she comes across as having held onto a balanced, intelligent and sensitive outlook on life. I can't recommend this book highly enough! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Diana Athill - Somewhere Towards the End
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| A must read book - whatever your age. Adopting the rather outmoded literary form of the essay, Athill reflects on life - her life - growing old, relationships, sex and death among other subjects with an almost brutal honesty. And what a life, she has to look back on; publisher, editor, writer, lover always unconventional. She writes beautifully, with wit, humour and a complete lack of sentimentality, terrifying but refreshing and uplifting. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Edward Blishen - A Cack-Handed War
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| When the author registered as a conscientious objector at the outbreak of WWII, he probably didn't realise he was in for four years of digging ditches and rubbing shoulders with a strange collection of political, religious and eccentric odd-balls. Agricultural labour was the order of the day and 'Conchies' were regarded as little more than traitors, so his memoirs provide a fascinating and alternative perspective to the usual view of Britain at War. (Clive Yelf)
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| Nicky Campbell - Blue Eyed Son: The Story of an Adoption
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| Because for me this is a subject close to home, I found this book very difficult to put down. Although lucky enough to have a wonderful Mummy, Daddy and sister (his words), TV Presenter Nicky Campbell - with the support of his wife throughout the long process - determined to trace his biological parents. Writing with love and compassion for both families, he does not avoid traumatic events or his personal feelings as he unravels an uncomfortable history. (Shirley Williams)
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| Orlando Figes - Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
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| This is a book for anyone who is curious to discover Russia's past through the experiences of its intelligentsia, artists, writers, musicians and architects. Their perceptions, fantasies and attitudes about their country and its peasant majority played an important part in shaping events. Those who became exiles, lived under an idealistic belief in Russia's greatness but the ones who returned, almost without exception, fell foul of Stalin's ruthless system. A fascinating, accessible way to learn a lot of history.
(Jenny Baker)
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| Arthur Goldwag - Isms and Ologies: 453 Difficult Doctrines You've Always Pretended to Understand,
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| This could easily present as a slightly tacky Christmas stocking-filler. Luckily it's not. It's actually a highly absorbing and enlightening bed-time, smallest room, bus journey type of reference book which produces a pleasing number of mental 'Oohs' and 'Aahs' and the odd 'Fancy that!' to boot. I know I will be reading this more than once and Harry Potter and Muggletonianism fans may be interested to know that the very last Muggletonian died in 1979! (Clive Yelf)
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| Walter Isaacson - Steve Jobs
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| The comprehensive life-history of this genius in the design and invention of electronic consumer products who died recently at the age of 56. The author describes Jobs's early hippy years, his first achievements followed by setbacks and then his immense success with the development and launching one after another of Apple products such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad with their internet applications. I found this a fantastic and inspiring story.
(Jeremy Swann)
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| Maya Jasanoff - Liberty's Exiles: The Loss of America and the Remaking of the British Empire
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| A global diaspora, a refugee crisis. Jasanoff recounts the history of those 'loyalists' who sought to rebuild their lives outside the United States post independence. They sailed for Canada and further afield, notably India and the West Indies. She argues that the energy and self-reliance of those seeking the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness elsewhere was the making of the modern British Empire. A brilliant, original and enlightening book. (Jeremy Miller)
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| Simon Louvish - Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy
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| An evocative trip through the early days of cinema through the lives of my favourite Golden Age comedians. Stan and Ollie were both experienced silent actors before getting together - Stan a potential lead and Ollie a ubiquitous 'heavy'. It's Stan who comes across as the more complex and interesting character - son of a well-known comedian, understudy to Chaplin, consummate gag-writer, director and eccentric wife collector! A story of fascinating people told by a real fan. (Clive Yelf)
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| W G Sebald - The Rings of Saturn
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| To call it a travel book feels like a dangerous oversimplification. A journey through Suffolk becomes a haunting meditation on places, people - their works and transitory lives - and the past. Once you are onto his wavelength, which takes a chapter or two, the effect is mesmerising. Impossible to convey its unique and sympathetic flavour but the mood lingers. Best thing I read in 2011. (Tony Pratt)
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| Claire Tomalin - Charles Dickens: A Life
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| Claire Tomalin's biography of Charles Dickens is a joy to read. An illuminating journey through the remarkable life of a great writer. Of demonic energy he shot like a meteor across the firmament of English literature. To read the book impels one to reread his works. (David Graham)
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| Barbara Tuchman - The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution
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| Do you sometimes feel you shouldn't have started a book that has remained unread on your shelves for ages? Picking up the author's last book which takes a meandering look at American independence in the context of the decline of Dutch and French maritime power, Tuchman's famous approach to 'history-as-a-story' is much in evidence but syntactically, the book is a mess and my version is littered with typographical errors. A tarnished but not ruined memory. (Jeremy Miller)
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| Charles Williams - Harold Macmillan
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| The author questions the appropriateness of another biography of Macmillan, already the subject of many books, not least his own 6 volume autobiography and whether now is the right time for one. This fascinating but somewhat flawed book is proof that the answer to both questions is 'yes'. We read how Macmillan approached the art and practice of politics and how he tried, and sometimes failed, to balance the demands of public and private life. (Jeremy Miller)
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| Feedback |
| -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- |
| re. The Stranger's Child. Jenny I quite agree - what a disappointment!
Like you I had high expectations. I enjoyed the early part when we met
Cecil and George at Two Acres, but then I just got less and less
interested. To be fair, I think he is great at the period detail and
particularly the dialogue, but it is much too long and the story didn't
seem to develop at all - just rambled on. I managed to finish it but only
by skipping large chunks (and still getting the gist, I think!). (Victoria Grey-Edwards) |
| -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- |
| Re. The Sense of An Ending, thanks for the tip Denise! I read it and
admired and enjoyed it but was rather bemused by the ending, despite going
back through the book to check what people had said etc. I obviously need
to read it again (good excuse!) to really appreciate it. (Victoria Grey-Edwards) |
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