bwl 83 - Winter 2017
Fiction
| Margaret Atwood - Hag-Seed
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Atwood takes on Shakespeare's The Tempest. The play about imprisonment, revenge, forgiveness and enchantment is to be produced by the inmates of a modern prison. The director, not an inmate, grieves over the death of his daughter and from this stems his creativity, together with his vengeful desire to expose the corruption of those in power. Atwood's interpretation covers the themes of the original. You may miss the glorious Shakespearian language but it is a terrific read.
Ed Note: This is the fourth in the Hogarth Shakespeare series of modern interpretations, following Jeanette Winterson's The Gap of Time (The Winter's Tale), Howard Jacobson's Shylock is my Name (The Merchant of Venice) and Anne Tyler's Vinegar Girl (The Taming of the Shrew)
(Christine Miller)
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| Paul Beatty - The Sellout
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| A protest! How could the Man Booker judges award the prize for an 'English language' novel to a book written in a dialect - the Los Angeles black community's - which must represent about 0.000001% of English language readers world wide? When you can decipher it, the central theme of this irritating book - re-instating racial segregation to promote social cohesion - is a good tease but the incomprehensible language, the obsessive navel-gazing on purely local affairs and cultural figures? . . . aaahhhgggrrrrr......!!!!!! (Annabel Bedini)
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| William Boyd - Sweet Caress
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| Boyd's done it again - brought the 20th C alive, this time through the lens of a pioneer female photographer. She takes us from childhood trauma to old-age by way of the home counties, London, Berlin, New York, the Blackshirt riots, the Western Front, the Highlands, Vietnam and a Scottish island. Boyd loves tricks - the photos scattered through the text are fakes, so is the quotation on the frontispiece; even the acknowledgements are not to be trusted. Relax, sit back, enjoy the magic! (Jenny Baker)
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| Kate Chopin - The Awakening
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| First published in 1899, the critics of the time condemned this novel for the heroine's unrepentant drive for independence regardless of the happiness of her family. It had a re-birth in the bra-burning 1960s when it was received with great enthusiasm. I lost whatever sympathy I had with Edna because she is selfish and rebellious rather than persuasive. Chopin's description of music, birds and the sea created the mood that held my attention. (Judith Peppitt)
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| Richard Flanagan - Wanting
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| This imaginative portrayal of episodes in the lives of two prominent 19th C Englishmen - Charles Dickens and Sir John Franklin - at first in parallel then intertwined, is moving, and ultimately compassionate. The collateral damage to everyone in the spheres of influence of both famous men, at different times adored and reviled, is revealed to be tragic, but not entirely surprising. After persevering with the first expositional chapters, I couldn't put it down. Worth the read! (Margaret Teh)
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| Robert Harris - Conclave
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| With great respect, sensitivity and restraint, Harris has carefully reproduced in detail the traditional procedure of the election of a new Pope in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, without sacrificing any cultural and historical background, giving his characters their full religious scope while being, as usual, a master of thriller writing. Actually at least three books in one, the suspense is enormous and the denouement amazing. Even better than all his others - a triumph. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Robert Harris - Imperium
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I'm not a big fan of Robert Harris or political novels in general, but I really enjoyed this. Narrated by Tiro, Cicero's secretary, the huge amount of research and wealth of detail bring the characters and the Republic to life. I found the political intrigues thrilling and can now understand why Cicero is known as one of the greatest orators of all time. It ends just as Cicero becomes Consul, so I've started the second in the trilogy which I'm enjoying just as much. (Denise)
Ed Note: the second is Lustrum and the third Dictator
(Denise Lewis)
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| Margaret Laurence - The Stone Angel
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| Hagar Shipley, a proud and stubborn 'curmudgeon' of 90 years, reflects on her long life spent on the Western Canadian Prairies. Hard though to empathise with her character - bloody-minded to the end - alienating all those closest to her along the way. I enjoy several Canadian women writers but had not come across Laurence before, I like her style and will seek out more. The stone angel of the title is revealed, physically and metaphorically. (Mary Standing)
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| John le Carré - The Night Manager
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| Like many others who watched the recent TV version, I'm looking forward to the next le Carré adaptation. It kept pretty faithfully to the original but what I hadn't expected when reading the book was that the writing, with its greater depth, would make the story even more nerve-wracking. I would encourage any and everyone to lay their hands on the book and enjoy the same powerful experience in the hands of the master. Wow! (James Baker)
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| Naguib Mahfouz - Palace Walk
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A kaleidoscope of Egyptian family life with its controlling patriarch, submissive wife and daughters and dominated sons whose struggle to throw off their fetters becomes a metaphor for Cairo itself as it rises against British dominance. The characters may not all be likeable but they pulse with life as does the city in all its beauty and squalor. Set at the end of WWI, the engaging and perceptive youngest son must surely be a portrait of Mahfouz himself.
Ed Note: Naquib Mahfouz was given the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988. This is the first book in his Cairo Trilogy, the others are Palace of Desire and Sugar Street
(Jenny Baker)
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| Ian McEwan - Nutshell
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| Rewriting a truly great play as a contemporary novel is bound not to match up but this is still a very enjoyable reinvention - enjoyable for its ingenuity in making 'Hamlet' a thinking foetus, for its insights into the state of the world outside, for its sundry reflections and for the murder plot at the story's heart. Shakespeare fans will enjoy spotting the 'translations' of the soliloquies into modern idiom. To read or not to read - no question: go ahead. (Tony Pratt)
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| Jojo Moyes - Me Before You
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| From the first page I was completely at ease with this book which had been recommended to me. I had never heard of it. It is a very unusual love story. Two entirely different people are thrown together in the most unexpected circumstances and their slowly developing happiness and sadness is absorbing, at times funny and at times heart-breaking! I loved it. There is a sequel - After You - which I have just started. (Margaret Knott)
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| Maggie O'Farrell - This Must Be the Place
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| This is a captivating novel which jumps decades and has multiple storylines which all come together eventually. It's the story of one rather complicated family, the ties that bind them together and the decisions and events which tear them apart; it also explores whether it's better to run from your past or face up to it. The characters are brilliantly drawn, it's beautifully written and it's as good as anything else from O'Farrell. Highly recommended. (Annie Noble)
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| Sarah Perry - The Essex Serpent
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| I was sure I would hate this over-hyped book but instead found myself drawn in. The damp, fog-bound descriptions of the Essex landscape with its oozing mud, sense of foreboding and the creeping fear of superstition play as much a part as do the varied cast of characters who confound our belief in the conventional viewpoint of those we think of as Victorian - perfect when the frost lies outside and there's every excuse to curl up with a book. (Jenny Baker)
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| Sarah Perry - After Me Comes the Flood
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| Perry's debut novel garnered much praise. John's car breaks down and he seeks help at a dilapidated grand country house where they seem to expect him. So the mystery starts. It is heavy on atmosphere, unsettling and strange with curious characters who are not always what they seem. For my taste it was perhaps rather too gothic but beautifully written with a strong opening to lure you in. (Christine Miller)
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| Sarah Perry - After Me Comes the Flood
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| An unsettling but intriguing first novel - this author had an unusual childhood and it feels that she never quite shares her intentions with the reader and is thus a little indulgent. The descriptions of the heatwave and uneasy atmosphere are expertly done and I'm glad I read it. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)
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| Laura Ruby - Bone Gap
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| A magical book. Not only is it beautifully written in an easy, conversational storyteller's voice, but it tugs at the reader's awareness with themes and motifs from mythology, fairytale, folktale while telling a story that is based in reality. Magical realism but it is rooted in the world of a small town full of tensions, emotions, jealousies and passions. And this makes the magic work. Aimed at a YA audience but do read it. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Francis Spufford - Golden Hill
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| All Hallows, 1746, the Henrietta lays anchor in New York harbour, on board a young man, the purveyor of a bill for one thousand pounds. Who is he? Is the bill genuine? Is he rich or is he a scoundrel? And what exactly does he want the money for? Here's a delicious web of 18th century intrigue with a denouement that I defy anyone to guess. It's a book that takes time to get into but well worth the effort once you do. (Jenny Baker)
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| Jeanette Winterson - The Passion
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| It is a fantasy, a dream, a story of history and hero worship, the plight of women, pains of soldiering, the violence of youth and the sadness of unfulfilled humanity. It has roots in Virginia Woolf and is as moving and funny as it is skilful. Gore Vidal once said she was the most interesting young writer he had read in 20 Years. I would disagree, it was hard going.
(Shirley Williams)
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Non-Fiction
| Rick Atkinson - An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943
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The first of The Liberation Trilogy tells in great detail the daring amphibian American invasion in N. Africa which led to them joining the British and French to fight in Morocco and then take on the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Atkinson's expertise, faultless eye for terrain and remorseless criticism of those generals whose boundless egoism and ambition made them as dangerous for their troops as the enemy, makes this book more enthralling than any fiction.
The other two are: The Day of Battle and The Guns at Last Light (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Ed Balls - Speaking Out: Lessons in Life and Politics
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| Political memoirs are frequently overlong, self-serving and only for junkies. Balls, by contrast, manages an entertaining mix of his own memoirs, reflection on the political process, self-criticism and gossip. Especially interesting are his claimed achievements (keeping us out of the euro/Bank of England independence) and personal struggles (his stammer, coping with defeat). He portrays his political life as over but this could be seen as a clearing of the decks just in case not. (Tony Pratt)
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| Margaret Forster - My Life in Houses
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"My house is like a garret, made to my exact measurements, draped around me in the way I live. I never want it to change."* I love this memoir. Forster uses the various houses she has lived in as a measure of her journey through life. From humble beginnings to a more privileged later life she describes these sanctuaries with an honesty and passion but without sentimentality.
*Not sure where the quote came from, I had jotted it down and it seemed appropriate.
Ed Note: Puzzle: Does anyone know who wrote those words? If so, send us an email!
Mystery solved: Typing error, it should read garment not garret and the quote comes from an article in The Spectator
(Mary Standing)
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| Carl Hoffman - Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest
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| An extraordinary book which not only combines history, art, colonialism, adventure and ethnography but is an enthralling thriller with startling new evidence uncovering the story of Michael Rockefeller's mysterious disappearance in New Guinea in 1961 when he was on a mission to buy primitive art for his father's museum. It is also the baring of the author's soul who in 2012 went to this obscure place to find the truth and also to find himself. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Derek Johns - Ariel: A Literary Life of Jan Morris
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| I had no idea Morris was such a wonderful writer. This sympathetically written book - illustrated with Morris's own enchanting line drawings - follows his/her career as travel writer, or rather as a perceptive describer of the great cities of the world and intelligent historian of the British Empire. The generous quotes from her writings show her to be wise and witty and whetted my appetite for more. A most pleasing little book! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Katherine Langrish - Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: Reflections on Fairy Tales
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| Do you like fairy tales? Did you read them as a child? Are you intrigued by them? Katherine Langrish, herself a storyteller, is steeped in fairytale and has been writing a blog around her interest. Here she has recreated her blog as a series of essays looking at themes and indeed, specific tales. Intelligent rather than academic, these are an enjoyable introduction to a fascinating and fantastic world.
(Ferelith Hordon)
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| Hyeonseo Lee - The Girl with Seven Names: Escape from North Korea
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| In a fit of adolescent bravado, Hyeonseo crosses the river from her home town into China, to find she can't go back. Her seven name-changes correspond to her attempts to avoid arrest and deportation while she struggles to make a life for herself (and, after nightmare complications, for her mother and brother). From the appalling physical and mental conditions in North Korea to the knife-edge dangers of exile this account is absolutely mind-boggling. Unputdownable. (Annabel Bedini)
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| Joseph Lelyveld - His Final Battle: The last months of Franklin Roosevelt
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| A sensitive, touching, ruthlessly honest play-by-play account of Roosevelt's final months battling for his health and whether to stand for a fourth term, winning the election and the war against Hitler and Japan, setting up the United Nations while constantly fencing with Stalin and his very real threat to world peace. With the recent election in mind, this book offers deep insights into the public and private life of an exceptional man whose decisions still influence our lives. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| John Julius Norwich - Sicily
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| His latest and history at its very best by the top chronicler of Italy, the Mediterranean and Byzantium. From the Ancient Greeks to Cosa Nostra, why Sicily's sad fate through the ages is to be poor, exploited and backward. A virtual gallop through 2,500 years, missing nothing relevant, filled with anecdotes, written with genuine love and appreciation, with brio and sympathy, a wonderful, entertaining and informative read. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Jan Pilditch - Catherine Carsell: A Biography
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| I had never heard of this novelist, biographer and critic. Born in Glasgow in the late 19th century, she was well travelled and a major figure in the Scottish Renaissance. Her life tells us much about the women and their writing in the early years of the 20th century. She was rebellious, determined, intellectual and no stranger to conflict. Hard to read at first, but it grew on me. (Shirley Williams)
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| Mark Rowlands - The Philosopher and the Wolf: Lessons from the Wild on Love Death & Happiness
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| A very personal journey: a professor of philosophy adopts a Timber Wolf - Brennan - who he defines as his 'brother' and who accompanies him to lectures, parties, rugby matches and to various countries. They mature together and learn from each other. Rowlands is painfully honest about himself as he reflects on humanity, nature and what he learns from their relationship. A brave, moving and joyful book. (Lynda Johnson)
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| John Van der Kiste - Edward VII's Children
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| A delightful bedtime read. Of five children who reached maturity only one has received much attention, King George V. Unfortunately the only other male died young, leaving thre daughters of which not much has been written and who were never well known to the British Public during their lifetime. However new light has revealed how their lives supported the Family during the change from Victorian to the uncertain 20th century. (Shirley Williams)
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| I found The Shepherd's Life (bwl 77) fascinating and informative in its details about shepherding in the Lake District where the love and passion for the land and the way of life shine out. The timeless rhythms of the seasons are beautifully described with all their hardships and rewards. A delight. (Sue Pratt)
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| One has to deal with obscurity and cloaked meaning with Julian Barnes but in The Sense of an Ending (bwl 63) his very subtle and in-depth handling of memory, morality and mortality is impressive and unsettling. His views on the abuse and damage that even just being alive deals human beings, I have never come across in any author before. Even only for this, I consider this book worth reading but in addition, the end is unusual and unexpected. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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