bwl 98 - Autumn 2020
Fiction
| Shokoofeh Azar - The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree(Translated from Farsi. The translator's name has been withheld
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Banned in Iran, the book follows one family's struggle after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, as related by the ghost of a daughter burned to death when zealots entered the house in Tehran. They escape to the countryside for sanctuary. As the title suggests the book is full of magical realism and the author's deep understanding of Persian folklore. So much so that I found these aspects overwhelmed the story. Deeply imaginatively written but flawed for me.
Ed's Note: Shortlisted for the 2020 International Booker (Christine Miller)
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| Jo Baker - Longbourn
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| Jo Baker - no relation - takes us to downstairs Longbourn, home to the Bennet family. Forget the muslin and manners, concentrate instead on housemaid Sarah's reddened hands scrubbing those monthly rags. No D'Arcy here, but a black manservant and a new footman with a mysterious past and what is the secret between the housekeeper and Mr Bennet? An intriguing, enjoyable read for all lover's of Pride and Prejudice, I wonder what Jane Austen would have thought. (Jenny Baker)
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| Louis de Bernieres - Captain Corelli's Mandolin
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| Published in 1995 this is as compelling as ever in its telling of the WW II German massacre of the Italians on the Greek island of Cephalonia. Yes, there is a touching love story but unlike the film it does not dominate, instead we view events through the experiences of all three nationalities. It is a passionate indictment of how War and a belief in racial superiority corrupted so many. The writing is so gripping, the characters so real that it is truly unputdownable. (Jenny Baker)
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| George du Maurier - Trilby
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| As fresh as when it was written, this is an extraordinary link between the late 1880's, the literary world, the artistic world, a social commentary and the tragedy of human existence. The protagonists' names became part of the language. Trilby, a tone-deaf model is transformed into a world-famous singer by Svengali, a brilliant musician with hypnotic powers. This powerful re-creation of the Vie de Boheme is the link between the Gothic novel and those of Henry James. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Penelope Fitzgerald - Offshore
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| Set in 1960's Battersea Reach, Fitzgerald's short, early novel, a Booker prize winner, features a community of disparate characters living in houseboats or barely seaworthy former barges. They include a ramshackle painter, the highly organised unofficial leader of the fleet, a rent boy, a woman wondering if her husband will return and their two streetwise children. There is scruffy charm and some poignancy in the backwater life, and much passing interest to be had in everything from changing tides to comments on Whistler and Turner. (Tony Pratt)
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| Guinevere Glasfurd - The Year without Summer
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| The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia was cataclysmic with floods, droughts, wildfires, summer snow, as well as civil unrest in the world. Glasfurd uses the stories of six individuals, both real and fictional, to explore this horrific event. It is a grim tale but with moments of light. Glasfurd wants to remind us of the potential climate catastrophe to which we may be heading. Some may not enjoy its episodic nature but I did.
(Christine Miller)
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| Robert Harris - Imperium
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| The rise of the ambitious young Cicero as remembered by his now aged but still faithful secretary Tiro. The ruthless machinations of the Roman Republic are laid bare in a plausible novelisation of the known facts. And what a cast of memorable characters there are; Crassus, Pompey, Caesar and others, scheming and plotting to bring down the Republic and through sham populist promises and policies, establish themselves as Emperor. It all seems strangely contemporary too... (Clive Yelf)
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| Hilary Mantel - The Mirror and the Light
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| Many thought this overblown with its diversions into diplomatic tensions, even hinting you need to be a student of European history to understand the complexities instigated or combatted by Thomas Cromwell. But others became engrossed in the drama and avidly followed the fortunes and inevitable bloody conclusions of the protagonists. Having thought that France's revolutionaries and present-day terrorists are the extremes of barbarism, I realise now that 16C England was in the same league. Nevertheless, a very satisfying conclusion to the Trilogy, lockdown or no lockdown. (Margaret Teh)
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| John Masefield - The Midnight Folk
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| Who could not be enchanted by Masefield's classic in which he enters the world of childhood imagination. The social background is rather different but the adventures . . . We meet Kay suffering at the hands of his fearsome governess Sylvia Daisy (but who is she really?). Come, there is treasure to be found and a family name to clear. So let's follow Nibbins and meet the Midnight Folk - characters once met never forgotten.
(Ferelith Hordon)
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| Ian McEwan - Saturday
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| Open this book and enter the thrilling, chilling tale of a Saturday gone very wrong for successful neurosurgeon Henry Perowne. As he drives to meet a colleague for a game of handball, a minor accident sets the scene for a collision between two different worlds: the rational and the irrational. McEwan has created a book of perfect suspense and perfect prose. (Sharron Calkins)
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| Ross Montgomery - The Midnight Guardians
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| It is the middle of the war. Coll, desperately unhappy having been evacuated and separated from his beloved older sister, Rose runs away to find himself on quest against a fearsome adversary; his companions, The Guardians, his imaginary friends from early childhood. I don't often get really excited but this one I loved - it reminded me of Masefield, The Midnight Folk in its imagination (see separate review). A Christmas treat
(Ferelith Hordon)
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| Michael Palin - Hemingway's Chair
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| A novel by Palin? Being curious, I gave it a try, though it does go back a bit. Mild Martin has two loves: the Suffolk post office where he works, and, secretly, Hemingway. When his beloved post office is, over his head, moved to the back of the sweet shop, abetted by visiting American scholar Ruth he allows his Hemingway side to prevail and plots his revenge. Small town intrigue plus a worm turning..... a cheerful romp. (Annabel Bedini)
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| Ann Patchett - State of Wonder
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| Patchett never disappoints. This is the story of a scientist who goes to the Amazon to investigate the mysterious death of a colleague who had been sent to find out what was happening with a research project into drugs which could change female fertility. It brings the wonders and dangers of the rainforest to life, as well as the tribes who live there, and we follow the scientist's own journey as in solving the mystery she gets sucked into the research project. A great read. (Annie Noble)
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| Dominic Smith - The Last Painting of Sara de Vos
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| The adventures of a painting, its artist and its owners. In 1630's Amsterdam, when Sara de Vos painted At the Edge of the Wood, female artists were only considered suited to painting tulips - or still-lifes. In 1957 it hangs over the bed of a rich lawyer, Marty de Groot, and its adventure starts during a bizarre dinner given by his wife. This fascinating book moves between Golden Age Holland, 1950's Brooklyn and London 2000. Beautifully written, well researched and a pacey storyline make it a joy to read. (Jenny Freeman)
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| Natsume Soseki - The Gate
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| On the surface, this is a simple story about a humble Japanese clerk and his loving wife, both resigned to a life of limited prospects. However, this is a Japanese novel. Just as with a classic sumi-e brush and ink drawing, with its suggestive blank spaces, "The Gate" asks you to imagine what has been left out. Read the edition with an introduction by Pico Iyer. (Sharron Calkins)
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| Andrew Taylor - The Fire Court
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| This is the second book (see bwl 93 The King) to feature James Marwood and Cat Lovett - and it is as enjoyable. We are in London as it recovers from the Great Fire. A court has been established to sort out the inevitable disputes arising from property ownership, leaseholds - and development. But - are the judges incorruptible? Taylor brings the past to life. The reader walks the devastated streets with Marwood - and keeps turning the pages
(Ferelith Hordon)
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| William Trevor - The Silence in the Garden
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| Summer 1904 Sarah comes to an island off Cork as governess for distant cousins. She remembers an idyllic time but 30 years later, after WW I and the Irish Civil War, she returns and uncovers the devastating events which haunt the family still living there. Told in Trevor's lyrical prose it's an absorbing read, but with a narrative that crosses time, place and characters, you need to be on the look-out for his subtle clues. It tied my book group in knots! (Jenny Baker)
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| Evelyn Waugh - A Handful of Dust
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| Re-reading this favourite, I found the 1930s a fascinating setting for the series of unfortunate events that take Tony Last from 'hideous' family seat in the English countryside to the Amazon jungle. Wife Brenda can't resist the lure of modernity and change; then personal tragedy ensures there's no going back. Despite London's feverish partying you can sense the changes and unease of the times, but it's deftly written: concise, humorous and a joy to read. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)
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Non-Fiction
| Anne Applebaum - Twilight of Democracy: The failures of politics and the parting of friends
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| A dawn of the millennium party in Poland, a country celebrating its liberation from the Soviet yoke. Twenty years later, another party with some old friends purposefully absent either by the author's or their own volition. These events bookend Applebaum's awakening to the rise of authoritarianism in her adopted country, in Europe and elsewhere. Her writing is very fluent and her confessions startingly personal. She admits she should have questioned her former friends earlier and harder. (Jeremy Miller)
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| Richard Basset - Last Days in Old Europe: Trieste '79, Vienna '85, Prague '89
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| The fascinating reminiscences of a man who started as principal horn in Ljubijlana Opera House in Slovenia and finished as Times correspondent in central Europe. In 1980's Trieste and Vienna, he encounters the survivors of the Habsburg aristocracy, including the last Empress, and an Austria which has an ambivalent Cold War status. Moving on to Germany and Poland he witnesses the fall of communism. A journalist in the era before instant communication meant competing for getting the story first and put a premium on local insight. (Tony Pratt)
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| Rachel Clarke - Dear Life: A Doctor's Story of Love, Loss and Consolation
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| This is quite simply a life enhancing wonderful book. The fact that it concerns the end of life is irrelevant. Rachel Clarke works in palliative care and she brings to the front line of death a vibrant moving and loving feeling. I could hardly believe that her workplace could be so heartwarming. I shall treasure this book as long as I myself draw breath. (David Graham)
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| Catrine Clau - Trautmann's Journey From Hitler Youth to FA Cup Legend
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| Awarded both an OBE and an Iron Cross and recipient of an FA Cup winner's medal whilst breaking his neck during the game itself, Bert Trautmann's story is unique. Although ostensibly a sporting biography the real fascination lies in his youth and the Nazi indoctrination that carried him throughout the war, only questioned when shocked by the offer of tea by his British captors. Trautmann had his devils but this is a true tale of redemption. (Clive Yelf)
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| Robert Crowcroft - The End is Nigh: British politics, power and the road to the Second World War
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| Crowcroft's main contentions are that foreign policy during the 1930's subsumed Britain's domestic agenda and that events in a world about to explode, especially the rhetorical use that could be made of them, became the key resource to be exploited in the competition for Parliamentary ascendancy. Churchill, obsessed by India, comes out particularly badly by this interpretation. By questioning accepted mythologies, Crowcroft paints a far murkier, cynical picture more akin to today's distasteful politics. (Jeremy Miller)
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| Dianne Hales - Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered
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| The most recognised face in the world, but who was she? The author's research to discover the real woman is a biography of the artist, the model and the painting itself, a social, political and cultural history of Florence during the Renaissance and a memoir of the years she spent walking the city's streets where Lisa lived. The book is written with pace and passion and I found it absolutely fascinating. (Denise Lewis)
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| Kathryn Hughes - The Victorian Governess
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| A familiar figure in 19th C. novels, but much less is known about her in the 'real world'. This rare study provides a key to the Victorian concept of 'the lady' and what it meant to be, or alas, not to be one, and highlights the problems of female identity and place in society, still not completely solved today. A scholarly, highly readable study presenting little-known information and statistics and a wealth of social-historical details and it is beautifully illustrated. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Kathryn Hughes - The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton
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| Kathryn Hughes' best work is this marvellous biography of the legendary Mrs Beeton, whose comfortable, matronly image never fades but who was just 21, with only six months' experience of running a house, when she began her Book of Household Management. Her culinary reputation has never diminished, kept alive by her publishers and her insatiable readers, and thanks to this biography we now know what superhuman energy produced such a work, as she struggled with every kind of trouble in her personal life.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Dominique Loreau - L'art de la simplicité: How to Live More with Less
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| Eight years ago my desire for 'less' eventually led me to this small paperback book. It was love at first reading. Loreau's book has become my dog-eared, curly-edged, lifestyle 'bible'. Yes, it is by my bedside. The result is that my small home is free of the unnecessary and feels positively spacious. (Sharron Calkins)
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| Ben MacIntyre - Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy
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| The story of a deeply flawed woman who in the name of a twisted ideology betrayed her country. A devoted Mother she was an equally devoted servant of Russia and The KGB. I find it hard to find a good word to say for her. When someone is gripped by a fervent belief in a cause any moral compass goes out of the window. As with The Spy and the Traitor (see bwl 90), this detailed study of infamy is a riveting read. (David Graham)
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| David McCullough - The Great BridgeThe Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
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| Written by this outstanding investigative journalist this is more enthralling than a detective story, set against the sweeping narrative of the social climate of what we know now as the Age of Optimism - the last three decades of the 19th C when all things were possible and miracles of science and engineering were facts of every-day life. A marvellous study of Americana in all its aspects and a tribute to what made America great. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Delia and Mark Owen - Cry of the Kalahari
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| In 1974 the Owens sold their few possessions [6,000 dollars] and spent the next seven years [sleeping in a tent] studying the rapidly declining wildlife in the uninhabited Kalahari desert. No water for thousands of miles and infrequent visits to the nearest community for basic supplies, it was a primitive, isolated and dangerous life [poachers as well as predators] but their research and campaigning will have saved many animals' lives. I couldn't put it down - life on the edge in every sense. (Lynda Johnson)
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| Thomas Penn - The Brothers York: An English Tragedy
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| The dramatic history of three brothers: the charismatic but dissolute Edward IV; Clarence, drowned in a butt of sweet Greek wine - not Malmsey; and Richard III, the last of the dynasty, more restrained in style but deadlier than his brothers. These vivid portraits dominate a narrative full of shifting allegiances, marital and diplomatic manoeuvrings and armed conflict. It was a nightmare world of mistrust which the author portrays in compelling detail. Richard went down fighting at Bosworth by which time, you feel, Henry Tudor could only be an improvement. (Tony Pratt)
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| Philippe Sands - The Ratline Love, lies and justice on the trail of a Nazi fugitive
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| Otto von Wachter, a senior Nazi officer died in Rome before he could take the 'Ratline' to South America. But was he a war criminal? Sands' forensic research lays bare his story in all its banality and evilness. It exposes just enough evidence to prove the case contrary to Wachter's son who maintains his father was a good man. It reads like a detective novel and its final ambivalence is probably just about right. (Jeremy Miller)
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| Lynne Truss - Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
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| An erudite and amusing historical survey of punctuation from Charlemagne to George OrwelI and beyond and also a plea to preserve the traditional system of printing convention before it gets completely swept up into the greedy maw of the Internet and destroyed forever. Not only for language sticklers, it is wonderful for those snatched bits of breathing time between chores or even just for a 'toes up' on the sofa with a drink, very restoring! (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)
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| Raynor Winn - The Salt Path
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| You've lost home and livelihood, your husband is terminally ill, what would you do? For Raynor and her husband Moth the solution was to walk the coastal path from Minehead to Land's End and beyond. They knew it was mad, they were broke with just two backpacks, camping equipment, a few clothes and an old guidebook. Step by step, we follow their path across this wild landscape of land, sea and sky, as spell bound by her writing as they are by nature's healing power. (Jenny Baker)
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| E J Burford and Joy Wotton - Private Vices, Public Virtues Bawdry in London from Elizabethan Times to the Regency
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| Having just finished this book I was surprised to see the 'Harlots' TV show. Did they base it on this book? It certainly covers the same subject matter, if not the time span. The story of women trying to run their own businesses in an unsavoury field where the protection of powerful men was a necessity but never a guarantee and the foibles of the rich and famous were there to be sated and titillated. (Clive Yelf)
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| Feedback |
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| I still feel like the 'goody-goody book reviewer' for ever making a comment about negative book reviews - especially since the debate continues. That will teach me a lesson! In the future I will 'loosen my stays' and just give a growl when it is deserved. (Sharron Calkins)
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