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1421 by Gavin Menzies |
What have Piri Reis Map, the Sacramento junk, the sand mounds on Bimini and the tower on Rhode Island in common? They are clues supporting the story that in 1421-3 the Chinese, in the largest fleet ever known, circumnavigated the world reaching, among other places, N America (well before Columbus). Ming Emperor Zhu Di initiated this but subsequently, fearful of the Gods, abandoned the scheme, destroyed the evidence and imposed isolation on China. History re-written?
(bwl 18 April 2003) |
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1599 A year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro |
Why 1599? Much happened in England including: the 'false' Armada, the failed attempt at quelling the Irish Rebels with the subsequent execution of Exeter, and a growing concern over Elizabeth's health. The year is also full of clues about Shakespeare and the author finds much evidence to build up a picture of the poet and dramatist's life in London and Stratford-upon-Avon, as he becomes both famous and relatively wealthy. A totally absorbing and illuminating read.
(bwl 37 December 2006) |
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A Face to the World: on self portraits by Laura Cumming |
Perhaps the key to this fascinating book is the quote by Dickens on his ideal of Shakespeare's likeness: " . . . a genius and absolute blank". No portrait was necessary, his work is a self-portrait. Yet we're fascinated from Rembrandt to Lucien Freud, by artists' studying themselves in self-portraiture. Do we discover anything? About them, about ourselves? Or do we see just an image to make of what we will? Irresistible
(bwl 58 Autumn 2010) |
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A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman |
When some celebrity's misdemeanours are publicly exposed you can choose whether to savour all the details or to turn away - but there's no escape for the audience in an Israeli comedy club expecting to enjoy the jokes and funny stories of a seasoned comedian. In this extraordinary novel, Grossman's comedian is falling apart, you and the audience are trapped in your seats, watching and listening as he peels away, skin by skin, all the layers of his pain.
(bwl 84 Spring 2017) |
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A Star Called Henry - Volume I of The Last Roundup by Roddy Doyle |
This is a powerful novel set in Dublin around the 1916 Easter Uprising. Henry, a big lad for 14, symbolises the massive confusion and resentment felt by the poverty-stricken Irish towards their British rulers. Armed with his father's wooden leg, he joins the undisciplined and ill-equipped revolt which is easily crushed by the British Army and especially the Black & Tans. Told with much humour and warmth, it sets Doyle firmly amongst the best Irish writers.
(bwl 9 June 2001) |
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Animal Farm & Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell |
Having watched a school production of Animal Farm recently, I have re-read both of Orwell's classics. The revolt by the animals against an alcoholic bullying farmer is popular and initially successful but their democracy is soon replaced by an even worse form of dictatorship. "All animals are equal" becomes "Some animals are more equal than others". In Nineteen Eighty-Four, in a country controlled by "Big Brother" who watches everybody constantly, Winston Smith manages to elude this surveillance - including having a secret affair with Julia; they are betrayed and pay a terrible price for their illusory freedom. Both books are still powerfully valid.
(bwl 69 Summer 2013) |
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Arthur & George by Julian Barnes |
George Edjali, - solicitor son of a Scottish mother and Indian father, the local vicar in a Staffordshire village - is tried and shamefully convicted of mutilating horses following anonymous letters sent to the family. George endures a sentence of 7 years philosophically and courageously. On hearing of this scandalous miscarriage of justice, Arthur Conan Doyle, famous creator of Sherlock Holmes, determines to see justice done. Historically correct, Julian Barnes's 'novel' is a riveting account.
(bwl 35 July 2006) |
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Artist's Handbook of Materials & Techniques, The by Ralph Mayer |
At a price just under £30 I was very glad to have been given this book as a birthday present! But I have to say that it is the single most informative book on the subject I have encountered. Expanded and updated this the fifth edition is both lucid and packed with information, the emphasis being on chemistry and craftsmanship not the aesthetics of art. No serious artist (amateur or professional) should be without it.
(bwl 11 October 2001) |
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Attlee and Churchill by Leo McKinstry |
These two extraordinary men, thrust together to lead the fight against Hitler, worked well together, despite their political differences and remained friends long afterwards. For me, brought up in China and imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp, Churchill's election defeat was incomprehensible. This book has helped to fill the gaps in my understanding of those times. Be warned: it weighs over 3 lbs. but it is worth every penny. I was lucky, it was a Christmas present!
(bwl 96 Spring 2020) |
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Bobby Fischer Goes to War: The true story of how the Soviets lost the most extraordinary chess match of all time by David Edmonds |
and John Eidinow
For anyone interested in chess, the most extraordinary match perhaps of all time between Spassky and Fischer is an enduring memory, not only for the games but for the personalities of the contestants from the two major powers during the 'cold war', eliciting from Fischer the famous quote that it was " . . . a microcosm of the whole political situation . . . ". It also made Reykjavik for ever part of history.
(bwl 54 November 2009) |
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Brief Answers to Big Questions by Stephen Hawkins |
And they certainly are Big - from Black Holes, the Big Bang, little green men on Mars, the existence of God - yet Hawkin's exquisitely written brief answers made a non-scientist like me feel, after several readings, that I had a glimmer of understanding of our place in the Universe. I not only recommend it but feel it should be essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered Why . . . ? Read it! You'll be very glad you did. Good luck!
As I write this, the first photographs of a black hole have been published
(bwl 92 Spring 2019) |
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Brief Lives by W F Deedes |
These are eighteen mini biographies of people as diverse as Stanley Baldwin, Princess Diana, Imelda Marcus, Oswald Mosley and Mary Whitehouse written by a 90 year old after 70 years as a journalist who, along the way, was also an M P, cabinet minister and editor of a national newspaper. Deedes is well equipped to do the job with perception, sympathy and the authority of one who was there and knew them all. Fascinating stuff.
(bwl 25 August 2004) |
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Contested Will by James Shapiro |
Anyone who has read Shapiro's 1599 (bwl 37) may wonder if he can add to his reputation for the authentic re-creation of late Elizabethan life centred around the theatre. They will not be disappointed. This time he goes straight to the heart of the great mystery: Who was Shakespeare? And did he really write some of the greatest plays and poetry in the English language? His answer is an unequivocal "Yes", as he conclusively exposes the weaknesses of any opposition and of alternative candidates.
(bwl 58 Autumn 2010) |
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Doors Open by Ian Rankin |
The title refers to a perfect crime planned by a rich man to enliven his life. He persuades a few selected friends in the Art World to lift paintings from the Scottish National Gallery leaving the impression that no crime has been committed. The plan involves a professional who sees an opportunity for himself and his gang. Things go wrong . . . and quite nasty. An intriguing end leaves the reader to finish the story!
(bwl 55 Winter 2010) |
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Earthly Possessions by Anne Tyler |
This is one of Tyler's earlier novels, recently reissued, and has all the ingredients her fans have grown to expect: ordinary people trying to make sense of their lives who find themselves, either accidentally or on purpose, in less than ordinary situations, in this case Charlotte taken hostage by an inept bank robber. From the opening sentence: 'The marriage wasn't going well and I decided to leave my husband', we both agree, we were hooked.
(bwl 10 August 2001) |
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Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James |
This year's publishing phenomenon* - Anastasia, virginal and beautiful, meets Christian Grey, rich, high-powered and controlling. Fast forward a few pages of intense wooing until she consents to anything, a lot more than she imagined (think rope, leather, bindings, suspension, spanking, biting, hot waxing, clamps, whatever you fancy) but oh my the orgasms for several hundred pages . . . phew, I can't go on with this, never mind the huge bath big enough for four - I need a cold shower.
*Ed's Note: 2,833,990 copies sold up to 22/7/12 including 524,089 plus 1 during last week
(bwl 65 Summer 2012) |
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Fire in the Blood by Irène Némirovsky |
Set in the same village as Suite Française, narrated by Silvio who escaped when young but returned penniless, this novel brilliantly anticipates Némirovsky's final masterpiece. Selling his remaining land, Silvio ekes out his days along with his dog, sipping wine, smoking his pipe and observing rural life. There is much intrigue with young wives deceiving old husbands with sometimes tragic results, while the villagers know or suspect but keep their secrets and money to themselves.
(bwl 44 February 2008) |
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Gould's book of fish - A novel in twelve fish by Richard Flanagan |
The few facts known about Gould include his imprisonment as a transported convict in Van Diemans Land, Tasmania; that he painted fish; that he had many aliases and that he drowned in an attempted escape on February 29, 1831. In this weird and surrealistic book, Gould fantasises with much seductive black humour on his fate, telling us much more than about the living hell of a doomed man in a 19th C penal colony.
(bwl 17 February 2003) |
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Goya by Robert Hughes |
This account of the turbulent life of this extraordinary artist with his penetrating portrait studies of Spanish Bourbon royalty and terrifying etchings and paintings of the effects of Napoleon's invasion of Spain in his series 'Disasters of War' who became totally deaf at 46 years, is made more poignant by Hughes' own near fatal car accident which painfully crippled him. Very well illustrated, it makes you want to fly to Madrid and the Prado pronto.
(bwl 27 December 2004) |
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H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald |
Not a handbook on how to train a hawk, let alone a goshawk but a beautifully written account of the author's coming to terms with the loss of her father through the process of understanding and gaining the trust of a wild predator. The stages of the bird's development mirror the stages of her grieving until the moment when it is introduced to its adult home and she finds she can now face her own future.
(bwl 76 Spring 2015) |
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Have I Got Views for You by Boris Johnson |
And now he's standing for Mayor of London! But from way back as contributor and editor of The Spectator magazine and popular celebrity on TV, he is renowned as a bit of a clown in the UK. His weapon is humour behind which he makes salient points about serious subjects from politics to personalities. Whatever one's political affiliation, it's a good, entertaining and thought provoking read. You won't be disappointed.
(bwl 42 October 2007) |
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High Fidelity by Nick Hornby |
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby will probably confirm any lingering doubt about my taste in literature. I loved the book so much that I am preparing to pay good money to see the Americanised film version at the local cinema. This first person account of Rob's record shop in North London together with his search for self-identification and reciprocal love, I found educational, hilarious and very moving. Read it Murray!
(bwl 5 October 2000) |
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How Charles Bravo Died by Yeseult Bridges |
In 1876 Charles Bravo died from antimony poison. Was it deliberately taken by him, administered to him by another or swallowed accidentally? Set in the Victorian suburb of Balham, the revelations at the much abused inquest, which turned into a virtual trial of the main 'suspects', created a scandal devoured by readers of the popular press. Probably the nearest we'll get to the truth of the matter is this riveting account written 80 years later.
(bwl 16 December 2002) |
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Jimmy Corrigan or The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware |
Almost impossible to describe: started in 1993 as a weekly contribution to a Chicago newspaper, over five years it developed into, as far as I know, the only 'novel' produced in comic strip form. It's a semi-autobiographical attempt to make sense of the author's life, especially regarding his failed efforts to meet his father whom he had never seen. It's funny, sometimes confusing, strangely moving, beautifully designed and executed. Buy it for a unique experience.
(bwl 10 August 2001) |
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Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson |
A serious book for the general reader but studiously researched with much detailed information and some surprises. Leonardo (from Vinci) ended up dying in France in 1519. We often think of him as a painter because of his famous The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper but his insatiable curiosity in anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry made him the true Renaissance man. This is an irresistible, illuminating account of an amazing, unique human being.
(bwl 87 Winter 2018) |
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Love of Many Things, The - A Life of Vincent Van Gogh by David Sweetman |
Vincent's story is so well known that a biography might seem almost superfluous but this one must be as near definitive as possible separating, through scrupulous scholarship, fact from myth, especially in the years before he decided to 'live to paint',. Without his outstanding output his short life could be classified as a tragic mess. His paintings transform tragedy into triumph. So does this book help us to understand Vincent's vision? Most decidedly, it does.
(bwl 26 October 2004) |
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Lustrum by Robert Harris |
This second volume of the trilogy, tests Cicero's authority to the limit as he confronts the conspirators' plot to overthrow the state of Rome. Cicero's eloquence, his greatest weapon, is the mainspring of his courage and genius which as an orator he uses to huge effect. This account based on the diaries of his secretary and slave is a riveting read - not for the squeamish.
(bwl 90 Autumn 2018) |
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Mao by Jung Chang |
and Jon Halliday
A big book that catalogues the crimes against his own people, committed by an evil genius who used communism (like Stalin) to attain absolute power over a quarter of mankind, through ruthless disregard for anyone in his way - "I eat a lot and I shit a lot." - yet managed to die in his bed. This well researched though biased account had to be written as the Mao myth is still perpetuated. Essential reading.
(bwl 33 February 2006) |
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Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser |
When Marie Antoinette, after a happy and relatively free royal family upbringing, left Austria to marry the dauphin Louis, she vowed to become completely French and, as a future queen, joint guardian of the interests of everything French. She was only fourteen. Despite the stultifying formality of the Versailles court and the gradual demonising of her when queen, culminating in trial and execution, she never betrayed that trust. This riveting account is both illuminating and heartbreaking.
(bwl 10 August 2001) |
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Midnight in Peking: The murder that haunted the last days of old China by Paul French |
Peking, China, 1937, a freezing January morning, next to the inner wall the mutilated body of an English girl. Her name was Pamela Werner, daughter of a respected academic who spent the rest of his life searching for her murderer and the motive behind this horrific crime. French exposes corruption and closing of ranks of senior officials even after 76 years and his persistence answers most of the questions. This is a history lesson and riveting crime story exposé.
(bwl 67 Winter 2013) |
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Munich by Robert Harris |
One of the advantages of age is I can remember the reaction to Chamberlain's waving of that piece of white paper when he returned from Munich and heralded "peace in our time". We all know what followed. Harris imagines what actually took place in both camps and manages to bring home how different it might have been with invented characters speaking for brave Germans who just might have changed history's course. A riveting read, written by a master of the genre.
(bwl 89 Summer 2018) |
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Murder on the Leviathan by Boris Akunin |
A treat for those who enjoyed The Winter Queen (bwl 25). This time the handsome, young Russian sleuth is travelling on the world's newest and largest steamship, posing as a diplomat. Shades of Agatha Christie, the suspects of a multiple murder in Paris are contained within the elite area of the great ship together with the hapless French investigator, Commissioner Gauche. Lots of false leads and more casualties keep you guessing until Fedorin explains.
(bwl 28 February 2005) |
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My Dear Bessie: A Love Story in Letters by Chris Barker and Bessie Moore |
edited by Simon Garfield
In 2004 a father entrusted a small, blue box to his son asking him not to open it until after he and his wife were dead; four years later he opened it and discovered over 500 letters written during WW !! beginning in Libya in 1943 through to May 1946. During this time Chris and Bessie met only twice but what began as a friendship very soon became a romance. These letters are unique, unpretentious and deeply moving.
(bwl 77 Summer 2015) |
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Mysterious Wisdom: The Life and Work of Samuel Palmer by Rachel Campbell-Johnston |
Samuel Palmer is a frustrating person to write about. As an artist his production over his working life was relatively small, in some cases literally so. He was also secretive and shy keeping some of his best pictures to be discovered only after he had died. In her sensitive account of this endearing, unassuming and sad genius, RCJ reveals how easy it was to misjudge his stature till long after his death.
(bwl 64 Spring 2012) |
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Outsider ll: Always Almost: Never Quite by Brian Sewell |
This is the second volume of Sewell's autobiography Outsider (see bwl 64), starting from leaving Christie's in 1967 and ending with a dissertation on old age and death. On the way in his usual frank and idiosyncratic style, he deals with his mother, his homosexual encounters, travels, Anthony Blunt, his dogs and of course his critical views on art, especially Renaissance drawings. His voice once heard gives an extra dimension to this unique account.
(bwl 68 Spring 2013) |
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Outsider: Always Almost: Never Quite by Brian Sewell |
Still very much with us and well known for his art reviews and his recent TV journey through Italy, this is Sewell's frank and revealing autobiography in which with wit and perception he displays his knowledge of Renaissance Art - especially the drawings - acquired from his early association with Christies's and the Courtauld Institute through to the present day. He also is frank about his background, his experiences during National Service and his sexual orientation. An entertaining and compulsive reading.
(bwl 64 Spring 2012) |
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Pompeii by Robert Harris |
This story is about a newly appointed engineer trying to correct a serious fault in the natural water supply via aqueducts and pipes threatening the 250,000 inhabitants in the region surrounding the Bay of Naples. He is thwarted by corrupt vested-interests; his life is in danger but he won't give up. He also senses something sinister about the mountain he is working on. It is 22 August 79 AD on the slopes of Vesuvius overlooking Pompeii ...
(bwl 22 February 2004) |
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Pour out the Cat by Angela Dewar |
This life-affirming memoir - ultimately a love story par excellence - is told with the majesty of simple truth and openness by a natural and gifted writer. It begins in the war with evacuation to Wales, the return to London, school, job experiences, and a fascination with Cornwall which heralded an almost mystical attraction to Spain. Her mother, sisters, brother, her adopted Spanish family and all those who crossed her path are vivid on the page.
Ed's Note: Published in Spain, it can be ordered from:
http://www.casadellibro.com/libro-pour-out-the-cat/9788494002731/2063823
(bwl 67 Winter 2013) |
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Secret Knowledge - Rediscovering the lost techniques of the old masters by David Hockney |
David Hockney makes a convincing case for the use of optics by artists as far back as the early 15th century in this beautifully illustrated book. The instruments got better and more sophisticated enabling painting to become more and more 'realistic' or 'photographic', until in fact photography took over and artists began to see things differently through impressionism, post impressionism, cubism etc. and what we now call modern art. Are there any secrets left? Probably.
(bwl 12 January 2002) |
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Soul of the Age: The Life, Mind and World of William Shakespeare by Jonathan Bate |
This could be just another attempted biography with the usual frustrations of having no contemporary account of his life and barely any facts that would corroborate any gossip. Bate turns to the plays themselves to provide the clues to the important and personal events in Shakespeare's life and uses Jaques' 'Seven ages of man' from As you Like It as a guide and structural spine. His own formidable scholarship and imagination provide an illuminating account.
(bwl 52 July 2009) |
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Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore |
A vast amount has been written about Stalin and his crimes against millions of people - mainly his own - during his atrocious reign of terror. This account adds a new perspective in also showing a human side to this particular monster. New evidence from Stalin's archives such as letters, scribbled notes etc. reveal the man behind the crimes with the laughter, simple pleasures, little jealousies, affections, as well as pain and paranoia. Hideously compulsive read.
(bwl 21 November 2003) |
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Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor |
Not my normal bedside read, but I found this book fascinating and in places un-put-downable. It is an incredibly compelling and moving account of the war at Stalingrad, made all the more interesting by the intimate accounts of the lives of the soldiers and civilians trapped there for the duration.
(bwl 4 July 2000) |
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The Death of Achilles by Boris Akunin |
Those familiar with our hero Erast Fandorin's adventures, in which he exhibits his formidable skills of detection, will be delighted with this latest assignment which occurs after his return to Moscow, accompanied by his Japanese manservant Maso, following six diplomatic years in Japan. He is confronted with a new mystery: the 'murder' of his friend General Sobolev, the Russian Achilles, which he is 'invited' to solve . . . and of course that's not all.
(bwl 39 April 2007) |
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The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears |
Set in Provence this long book consists of three different stories at three critical periods in European history: the end of the Roman Empire; the Black Death; and WW II. I found the constant switching from one period to the other at times confusing and irritating, yet - like the curate's egg - it was (very) good in parts. It would be difficult to imagine the author surpassing the brilliance of his An Instance of the Fingerpost (bwl 5).
(bwl 16 December 2002) |
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The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje |
This complex, seductive novel - set in Italy in WWII as the Germans retreated towards Rome leaving bombs and booby traps in their wake - is so much more than the love-story portrayed in the film. Yes, there is the badly burnt pilot but as important are the lives of his young Canadian nurse, the Sikh who she loves and the thief turned intelligence agent, Caravaggio. I thought it one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read.
(bwl 91 Winter 2019) |
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The Ford of Heaven - A childhood in Tianjin, China by Brian Power |
Born and brought up in the English Concession by his mother and profoundly influenced by the loving care of his "Amah" Jieh-Jieh who also taught him Chinese, Brian Power left when 18 for college in England not returning until 1973 after 40 years and the intervention of WW II and the Chinese Revolution. The contrast is spelt out clearly. Having been born and spent part of my childhood in Tientsin (now Tianjin), I can highly recommend this superb book.
(bwl 49 January 2009) |
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson |
An ageing Swedish Industrialist - convinced that his great-niece was murdered decades ago by a relative - hires journalist Blomkvist to unearth the truth. By chance, Blomkist meets Lizbeth Salander, an asocial punk and computer genius and together they become a classic detective pair, hunters becoming the hunted . . . it's those bleak winters, arid landscapes and dark characters which make you long to curl up with an Anne Tyler - but you can't.
(bwl 53 September 2009) |
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The King's Speech: How one man saved the British Monarchy by Mark Logue |
with Peter Conrad
If you've seen the hugely successful film, you won't need any introduction to Lionel Logue, the Australian speech therapist - without any formal qualifications - who arrived in England with his young family in 1924, set himself up in Harley Street and helped the future George VI to conquer the worst effects of his stammer. Now read this fascinating and moving book based on his diaries which fills in many of the gaps not covered in the film.
(bwl 60 Spring 2011) |
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The Mechanical Turk - the True Story of the Chess-playing Machine that Fooled the World by Tom Standage |
In 1769 Wolfgang von Kempelen produced a mechanical toy to amuse the court of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. It consisted of a life-size, oriental figure, seated behind a cabinet on which rested a chess board and pieces, capable of playing and winning a game against a human volunteer. It played and beat, amongst others, Napoleon and Benjamin Franklin during its 85 year career. Hoax or mechanical brain? All is revealed in this fascinating account.
(bwl 23 April 2004) |
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The Night Manager by John le Carré |
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!
(bwl 83 Winter 2017) |
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The Raqqa Diaries - by Samer: Escape from 'Islamic State' by Mike Thomson (edited by) |
After reading the Sunday Times review, I felt compelled to read and now spread this unique account of life (and death) by a very brave man, Samer - not his real name. These diaries describe existence under Daesh (Islamic State) who liberated Raqqa, replacing Government troops with an ultra-extremist version of Islam with its own punishment of death by beheading - in front of a coerced crowd of local onlookers - on a daily basis . . . Samer has escaped and is now in a refugee camp.
(bwl 84 Spring 2017) |
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The Second World War by Anthony Beevor |
Those familiar with Beevor's writing, especially his Stalingrad (bwl 4), won't be surprised at his mastering the gigantic task of recounting the course of WW II, from the start to finish of the European conflagration, concluding with Hiroshima and the Japanese Emperor conceding defeat. A brutal, ugly story of almost unimaginable cruelty and suffering laced with bravery, courage and sacrifice. Beevor's lucid language makes this book essential reading for anyone who wants to unravel and absorb those events nearly 80 years later.
(bwl 74 Autumn 2014) |
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The Story of Art by E H Gombrich |
Using the word story in the title of this deservedly, universally popular book and by resisting words like history or meaning, Gombrich makes this formidable read accessible to everyone and as a master storyteller, he gently guides us through every facet of this vast subject from cave painting to post-modernism. One Egyptian word for sculptor was 'he-who-keeps-alive'. Gombrich helps all his readers keep art alive. The full colour illustrations that accompany the story are excellent.
(bwl 13 April 2002) |
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The Story of China: A Portrait of a Civilisation and its People by Michael Wood |
The fly-leaf states that China is the oldest, living civilisation on Earth but it's history is still surprisingly little known. How true. Michael Wood's enthralling book is a must for anyone wanting to know more and for me, born in Tientsin and interred in Shanghai by the Japanese, it has of course an immediate and special appeal. It's worth too catching up on the BBC's series which he made in 2016.
(bwl 99 Winter 2021) |
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The Surgeon of Crowthorne by Simon Winchester |
This is the story of two remarkable Victorian men. It is also about the creation of the greatest dictionary of the English language : the OED. If that sounds heavily academic, it is also about murder, war, madness and sex ; all ingredients of a good thriller. And it is.
(bwl 3 May 2000) |
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The Testament of Mary* by Colm Tóibin |
A mother's lament for her son's short life and the terrifying cruelty of his death. She is limited in her understanding of the how and why of his behaviour with his 'friends', as he moves inexorably towards an inevitable end. Surrounded by spies watching his every action, she feels compelled to secretly follow him. Despite the euphoria of those who believe he is 'the chosen one', she cannot comprehend what is happening. Searingly powerful and deeply thought provoking.
*shortlisted for the 2013 Booker prize
(bwl 74 Autumn 2014) |
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The Train that Disappeared into History - The Berlin-to-Baghdad Railway and how it led to the Great Warr by Kathie Somerwil Ayrton |
This is the story of a forgotten railway built by the Germans to further their national and commercial ambitions spanning the territory between Berlin, the Persian Gulf and ultimately Bombay and which were brought to an ignominious close at the end of WW I. Meticulously researched and written with panache and exuberance, it uncovers unexplored details about a fascinating subject. A must for military buffs and anyone interested in the unraveling of historical events.
(bwl 43 December 2007) |
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The Trouble with Women by Jacky Fleming |
As a mere male, it's impossible to be neutral about this slim volume of clearly biased opinion by this confused female. Her illustrations and comments simply reinforce her misguided reaction to History's overwhelming evidence of the natural superiority and genius of the stronger sex. Acknowledging this would lead to a happier, more contented existence on this Earth. I found it so witty and funny that I can only conclude it must have been written by a man.
(bwl 80 Spring 2016) |
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The Truth About Queeney by Beryl Bainbridge |
In 1765 Samuel Johnson falls in love with Mrs Thrale (the wife of his benefactor). By this time he was famous and much revered. He was also observed by 'Queeney' daughter of Thrale as she grew up until Johnson's death in 1784. Written in a style sympathetic to the times and with remarkable economy, it has a convincing authority of touch. I had to read it twice to get the full benefit of this extraordinary book.
(bwl 19 June 2003) |
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The Untouchables by John Banville |
Inevitably the figure of Anthony Blunt plays a part in the reading of this amazing book together with other disguised characters taken from the 20th century's biggest UK spy scandal. But the fictional cast takes on authentic dimensions of its own as the story unfolds. Absolutely riveting.
(bwl 2 March 2000) |
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Toulouse-Lautrec and the Fin-de-Siècle by David Sweetman |
The crippled Lautrec's brief adulthood was spent mostly in the cafés and brothels of Paris, his suffering alleviated by absinthe, 'fun' and hard work. He never flinched at recording what he saw with penetrating insight and compassion. Sweetman does him proud, putting him and his art into the context of the challenge to entrenched attitudes about sex, politics and women's place in a man's world, exemplified by the trials of Oscar Wilde, Dreyfus and the anarchists.
(bwl 8 April 2001) |
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Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz |
Like many other fans of Fleming's Bond books and films, I hesitated to enthuse about yet another adventure, this time written by Anthony Horowitz . . . I needn't have worried. It is vintage Bond containing some actual Fleming writing. It may be a "Boys' book" but it's very much a page-turner, chilling and pretty frightening at times. Can't wait for the next one! There's no need to outline the plot . . . just read it!
(bwl 82 Autumn 2016) |
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V 2 by Robert Harris |
It was Rudi Graf's dream to send a rocket to the moon, instead he finds himself in charge of firing the deadly V2's pummelling London. In newly liberated Belgium, Kaye, a young Englishwoman is one of the WAAFs equipped with slide-rules and equations tasked with tracking them mid-flight. For Robert Harris fans this is a thrilling and immersive read.
(bwl 99 Winter 2021) |
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Vermeer's Camera by Philip Steadman |
Now anyone can paint like Vermeer! All you need are: 17th C art materials (or 21st equivalent), a good apprentice artist training, unlimited patience (in painter and models), a Dutch interior with natural light, a large camera obscura, together with this absorbing book explaining how Vermeer did it. The author's life-long fascination with the mystery of Vermeer's astounding accuracy makes compelling reading. Oh, I nearly forgot, the only other crucial ingredient: a touch of genius.
(bwl 10 August 2001) |
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Walter Sickert - A Life by Matthew Sturgis |
Some-time actor, radical reactionary, reclusive socialite, innovative traditionalist, the heart of the English school of painters, Sickert (1860-1942) was all these things and more but not, as Sturgis conclusively proves, Jack the Ripper.* More than a biography this is a rewarding slice of social history illuminated by the life of this talented, single-minded, selfish, kindly and generous man who seemed equally at home in such diverse places as London, Paris, Venice, Dieppe, Bath and even Broadstairs. (*see Portrait of a Killer, bwl20).
(bwl 48 November 2008) |
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