bwl 86 - Autumn 2017
Fiction
| Margaret Atwood - Moral Disorder
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| Eleven "chapters" which can be viewed as stand alone short stories or vignettes of a woman's life spanning childhood to old age. Sometimes first person, sometimes third person narration, not always told chronologically, make for an intriguing format which doesn't feel like a true novel but nevertheless flows easily. Well drawn family members anchor and link the chapters and have the effect of making the mundane events of life appear vivid. (Sue Pratt)
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| Jane Costley - The Nearly-Weds
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| This is a bit of nonsense but enjoyable. I began it while waiting for a flight and had finished it by the time I turned out my light in the hotel I was staying in for the weekend on the first night! It's about a young woman, Zoe, who is jilted on her wedding day and seeks to forget him by taking a job in America. Many twists and turns later, not all of them predictable, she ends up with her American boss. (Helen Allan)
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| Francis Dick - For Kicks
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| I must have read this quite a few times when Francis was still alive. Revisiting it - yes, the language - indeed some of the attitudes are dated (and may cause some to squirm). But my goodness, he keeps you on the edge of your seat. Few thriller writers can thrill as Francis does in his best novels, and I think this is one. A winning combination of inside knowledge and jeopardy. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Sebastian Faulks - Where my Heart Used to Beat
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| Here Faulks returns to the horrors of two world wars and their tragic aftermath on the lives of those who were there. Unexpectedly contacted by a stranger, neurologist Dr.Robert Hendricks is forced to confront and make sense of his life. The narrative is strong, moving backwards and forwards in time, poignant and sad with themes of love and loss, set against reflections on the workings and frailty of the human mind. (Sue Pratt)
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| Kent Haruf - Our Souls at Night
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| Addie and Louis are neighbours, both widowed, with children gone. Why should they both be lonely? Addie's unlikely solution to this question is the theme of this heart-warming little book. Up against the disapproval of neighbours and a bullying son will they have the courage to stick to their survival tactic? I'm not telling, but it is a good story and because I enjoyed the pared-down, evocative prose I forgave it for being, maybe, slightly simplistic. (Annabel Bedini)
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| James Lasdun - The Fall Guy
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| A successful banker, his attractive photographer wife and a friend - a man whose life appears to be on hold - spend a summer in the Catskills. The living, by the pool and among arty types, is easy. But the idyll has undertones. The men have a shared past while the wife has a secret. What are the real dynamics of this triangular summer? Matters become intriguing, suspenseful and then dramatic before ending in surprise. A very good read. (Tony Pratt)
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| John le Carré - A Legacy of Spies
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| This is le Carré back to his very best. Brilliantly drawn, most characters will be very familiar to readers of his earlier work. Acquaintance however only enhances the intrigue. But like so many of his novels, the plot is not fully resolved; appropriately for the genre, he again leaves us in a state of suspended ambiguity. He says this is George Smiley's last outing. Addicts will be begging for more. How clever is that! (Jeremy Miller)
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| S G MacLean - The Seeker
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| A political crime thriller set in 1654 at the time of Cromwell's Protectorate. Plots and counter plots are told at a fast pace with interesting characters who evoke our sympathy; especially the women and the central character of Seeker. There are spies, exiles and assassins who conspire to topple the Protector and restore the King. (Helen Allan)
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| Thomas Mann - The Magic Mountain
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| This novel is not for the faint hearted. Mann uses The Magic Mountain as a vehicle in which to explore philosophical and political issues of the early 20th century. These topics are presented to the reader through the themes of the passing of time and of illness and death. There are only rare moments of humour in this voluminous book and I did not warm to the self-centred characters. I cannot take Mann's advice to read it twice. (Judith Peppitt)
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| Margaret Mayhew - The Boat Girls
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| As the saying goes "we learn something new every day". What women did during WW II amazes me. It is 1943 and three girls from completely different backgrounds all want to do their 'bit' for the war effort; against all advice they join the 'band of women working on the canals', delivering heavy goods, while the men are at war. A tough, unglamorous task but one that brings them all unexpected reward and long-term friendship. Well researched but also mixed with romance. (Shirley Williams)
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| Deborah Moggach - Tulip Fever
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| A re-review after 17 years (see bwl 3)! Perhaps not as mesmerising as it seemed then when we had never heard how tulip fever swept 17th century Holland. This is Amsterdam, cold, damp with its canals, cobbled streets and warehouses and those sumptuous paintings of everyday life. A story of love, lust, deception and greed - will Cornelis get the heir that he craves and will Sophia and Jan escape with a fortune? (Jenny Baker)
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| Maggie O'Farrell - This Must be the Place
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| O'Farrell spins Irish magic as she gradually unravels the lives and marriage of American Daniel and Claudette, a reclusive English film star. You need to concentrate. There are multiple narrators, each with their own perceptions; time is not lineal; we zigzag across continents; those who are closest are often the furthest apart. And when unresolved events return to haunt Daniel can love ever be enough? A roller-coaster - my first O'Farrell, and it won't be the last! (Jenny Baker)
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| Sheila O'Flanagan - The Missing Wife
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| A good bedtime read, mixing romance, mystery, charm and excitement, filled with interesting characters from the past and present of a woman who engineers something many of us may have contemplated at some stage. O'Flanaghan keeps you guessing until the end proving no-one knows what happens behind closed doors and that with determination we can surprise ourselves with our own resourcefulness. A journey of a woman trying to find the woman she once was. But can she? (Shirley Williams)
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| Julie Otsuka - The Buddha in the Attic
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| This is the story of 'mail order brides' who left Japan for California in the early 20th century. After wide research into personal memories Otsuka creates a collective voice - 'we learned'... 'some of us' - rather than individual stories, and it works amazingly well, from stunned disappointment (where were those handsome, successful husbands?) through bewilderment, alienation, backbreaking labour, and finally the tragic deportation to WW II camps for Enemy Aliens. Poetic, incantatory, haunting, absolutely beautiful! (Annabel Bedini)
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| Sarah Perry - The Essex Serpent
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| An historical novel with a 'twist'. London and Essex in 1893 an age of exhilarating and alarming change. When Cora Seaborne's husband dies, she changes her life dramatically. She escapes to the Essex countryside to discover the 'Essex Serpent' a creature of folklore. She believes it can be solved scientifically, and comes up against the local Vicar, who thinks the answer is through Faith. All the while keeping up with her completely different past London friends. (Shirley Williams)
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| Rachel Rhys - Dangerous Crossing
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| A fascinating read which tells the tale of a real life murder on board an ocean liner carrying people to Australia in the 1930s - people from all walks of life. The heroine is Lily who is adventurous and keen to escape drudgery at home. Life on board enables the social classes to mix and the central tale is a murder born of jealousy, loss, grief and betrayal. (Helen Allan)
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| Tony Riches - Owen
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| I hated history at school but have become passionate about historical fiction and Philippa Gregory's books in particular. Owen - the first in a trilogy - features the life of Owen Tudor the founder of the Tudor Dynasty and how it came about with all its twists and turns. It is written from the male point of view and I found it fascinating in its detail and well put together making it a good fast running read which I found hard to put down. (Aletha Anne Bloor)
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| Arundhati Roy - The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
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| In spite of being a sprawling, passionate tale of damaged souls in a damaged land, it is neither depressing nor hopeless. The central, intriguing love story develops unexpectedly. Roy's insight into the motivations of her characters and their acts of kindness, often in the face of unspeakable brutality, is masterful and humane. It possibly could have done with a bit more editing, but I was really pleased to have this long-awaited offering from the author of The God of Small Things (bwl 2 & 21). (Margaret Teh)
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| Sunjee Sahota - The Year of the Runaways
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| With immigration such a divisive topic this is an enthralling story about three young men fleeing India to find a better life in England. Recent media coverage of the 1947 India Partition provided some understanding of what led to the desperate risks these boys took travelling, and the often appalling conditions in which they were forced to live after they arrived. A strong sense of loyalty to family, religion and the caste system, plus emotional conflicts that arise from living and working in a different culture. (Mary Standing)
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| Graham Swift - Waterland
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| Swift writes in the Introduction that he created his protagonist Tom Crick, a history teacher, in order "to explore the whole mystery of 'history' (local, personal and global) - its meaning...its distinction...from mere 'story'." Atmospherically set in the Fens, spanning 200 years and two interconnected families, it involves land-reclamation, relationships, sexual awakenings, mental incapacity, incest, murder, abortion and the life-cycle of eels. Full of suspense, all is explained by the cyclical nature of history. Brilliant! (Denise Lewis)
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| Jason Wallace - Encounters
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| Remember Out of Shadows (bwl 60)? Tough, uncompromising writing for a young adult audience. Here is Jason Wallace's second book. We return to South Africa a few years on. The plot is driven by a real incident - the claim that aliens landed - is it true? That is not the point. The incident allows Wallace to explore relationships and events through the voices of the young people involved. Not for those looking for romance. Excellent. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Colsom Whitehead - The Underground Railroad
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| Cora is a slave escaping the barbaric existence of life on a cotton plantation. As she passes from state to state, through the network of the underground railroad, hunted by slave-catchers, she discovers what seems like freedom is often just another form of bondage until . . . . . Whitehead has based his story on contemporary accounts but makes the Railroad an actual railway - a device which at first is distracting but ultimately it works. A searing, compulsive read. (Jenny Baker)
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Non-Fiction
| Sarah Bakewell - At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails
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| So you know nothing (or not much ) about Existentialism? Here Sarah Bakewell lays it all out in an easy, friendly manner - though it is true, I am still not completely sure. But that is philosophy! However I did enjoy meeting Sartre and De Beauvoir and friends. Then there is the world they move in. So, yes, I would definitely recommend this book. (Ferelith Hordon)
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| Paula Byrne - The Real Jane Austin
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| Byrne uses objects associated with the author - jewellery, a miniature, notebooks, the bathing machine - to illuminate Austen's life and character. What emerges is both individual and convincing, a portrait of a woman with a keen grasp of the world around her, a mordant line in humour, a deep but understated faith, sometimes financially stressed but increasingly placing her writing above the possibility of marriage. The tame spinster in a narrow circle is banished in favour of a real, formidable person. (Tony Pratt)
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| James Campbell - The Art of Winnie-the-Pooh: How E H Shepard illustrated an icon
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| This delightful book introduces us to Shepard the artist before going on to the production of the classic Winnie-the-Pooh books from the first collaboration between A A Milne and Shepard, right through to - ugh - Disney. It is, of course, fully illustrated with some fascinating first ideas for Pooh illustrations - many unused in the end - as well as lots of background information. It is also a beautifully produced book so a real pleasure from every point of view. (Annabel Bedini)
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| James Fox - The Langhorn Sisters
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| A real page turner chronicling the lives of Nancy Astor and her sisters, widely known in Virginia, U.S.A as the Langhorne Sisters. Both Nancy and her favourite, Phyllis, fled their first marriages with disastrous consequences for their children. On coming to England, both married husbands amongst the cleverest of their generation and were at the heart of the 1930's political elite centred at Cliveden House. Oh, and Nancy was the first female MP! Very interesting and written by Nancy's great-nephew. (Helen Allan)
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| Michael Haag - The Durrells of Corfu
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| For watchers of the TV series, the real story - with plenty of photos. Different in some respects from a narrative pepped up for TV, but still a remarkable story. Any set of four siblings which included a famous writer and a famous naturalist and some very different personalities is going to be interesting especially when combined with what happened before and after. The collision of an eccentric family with thirties Corfu is the centrepiece though and makes for an entertaining read. (Tony Pratt)
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| Katie Hickman - Daughters of Britannia: The Lives and Times of Diplomatic Wives
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| This is a fascinating book which I really enjoyed. It's well researched and very well written, taking you through the details of diplomatic wives' lives; from how they shop in remote postings, wash and iron clothes and entertain Royalty. It also includes chapters on the emotional costs of being a diplomatic wife - leaving her children to be with her husband, being pregnant and giving birth far away from home and one's family. It's full of detail and witty too. (Helen Allan)
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| James Marriott and Mika Minio-Paluello - The Oil Road: Journeys from the Caspian Sea to the City of London
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| This is travelling - but alas not hopefully. The authors follow the pipeline above ground (and sometimes by tanker) from Baku to London. All the while, we get the local backstory and especially the politics. The ultimate tragedy is that the natural resources from poor countries only exacerbates the wealth gap between them and richer ones at the other end of the 'road'. BP is somewhat harshly judged. But their fingers were everywhere. Messy stuff! (Jeremy Miller)
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| Henry Marsh - Admissions: A Life in Brain Surgery
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| In this follow up to his previous memoir Do No Harm (bwl 75), Henry Marsh reflects further on his life as a neurosurgeon. Retiring from the NHS but continuing occasional support work in Nepal and the Ukraine, he faces up to what all these experiences have taught him about life and death. Almost as fascinating is his new passion - renovating a derelict cottage on the canal near Oxford to use as a woodworking workshop. A man of great skill and compassion, who writes with much humanity and refreshing honesty. (Mary Standing)
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| Clare Tomalin - A Life of my Own
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| I have just read or rather devoured this lovely memoir. Her life of high achievement, literary editor, biographer has been marred by personal tragedy which places her on an almost heroic level. She is married to Michael Frayn and they are in my humble opinion a class act. I am lucky to have met them both.They have enriched our cultural life. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. (David Graham)
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| Feedback |
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| Apparently some people loathed David Grossman's A Horse Walks into a Bar (bwl 84). I found a deeply moving, totally involving tour de force. It's an extraordinary book by an extraordinary writer who won the Man Booker International prize 2017. (Annabel Bedini)
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| Just to say how much I enjoyed the last bookswelike (bwl85). When I have time (ha ha) I want to read Ishiguro's The Buried Giant, Sashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore and The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler. (Judith Peppitt)
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