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A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry |
A long book, (614 pages) but totally absorbing throughout. It is written in a very easy style but manages to paint a most vivid picture of life in India during the "emergency" period of the 70's. The plot is centred around four characters and all that they have to endure and the way they interact with each other. The ending is devastating! A "must read".
(bwl 60 Spring 2011) |
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A Long Way Gone - The true story of a child soldier by Ishmael Beah |
This biography of a boy from Sierra Leone forcibly turned into a soldier is written in rather a factual way, a bit like a diary, nonetheless it vividly portrays the horrors he endured and the tasks he was forced to perform. The amazing thing for me was that he emerged from it all so normal and was not desensitized long-term, thus proving his point that one can recover from such an ordeal. Well worth reading.
(bwl 45 April 2008) |
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Conclave by Robert Harris |
Everybody should read this book Catholic or not! Papal conclaves are by nature clandestine affairs, but Robert Harris has done a great deal of research and produced as a result a plausible and brilliant novel. There is ambition, chauvinism, envy, conceit and over-confidence alongside humility, human understanding, kindness and true holiness. The final twist in the story is stunning!
(bwl 88 Spring 2018) |
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Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov |
Viktor, living in post-soviet Russia, earns his living by writing obituaries for currently living people. His companion is a penguin who is unhappy living in an over-heated environment. It is a macabre book, packed with death, but the dead-pan way it is written makes it extremely humorous. The lack of emotion between the characters and the sinister events which occur paint a striking portrait of the bleakness of life in Russia.
(bwl 48 November 2008) |
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Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin |
One of the best books I have ever read, simply and straightforwardly written, ideal holiday reading! The author, aged 11, was plucked from his peasant home in China and drafted into the Chinese National Ballet. Initially he is extremely homesick and loathes ballet but sees it as his one chance to escape his desperately poor life in Qingdao. With perseverance he overcomes the struggle, eventually becoming a star and defecting to the US. A most moving tale.
(bwl 59 Winter 2011) |
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Samuel Pepys - The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin |
A fascinating insight into the social and political life of the l7th century diarist. Well written and a 'must' for anyone interested in history.
(bwl 30 June 2005) |
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The Islamist - Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left by Ed Husain |
This is a chilling tale of a teenage Muslim who adopted fundamentalism and five years later rejected it. He explains so well the mind-set and commitment behind 'jihad' and the way it is a cancer slowly spreading in our midst. Everybody should read it because it is happening in our country.
(bwl 42 October 2007) |
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The Night Watch by Sarah Waters |
A strange book because it is written back to front. It is the story of 7 or so characters during and immediately after WW II who are all intertwined in one way or another in their diverse relationships. The first section (1947) was a struggle and rather boring I thought, but as the circumstances and stories of these characters unfold it becomes fascinating and all falls into place. For those of us who remember the war it was a trip down memory lane!
(bwl 44 February 2008) |
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The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger |
An extraordinary book which took some getting into, but I could not put it down by the end. Deeply in love with Clare whom he marries, Henry - due to a clinical disorder - travels into the past and the future. His ability to know the future (his own death for example) and the anguish caused by his frequent disappearances makes for an intricate and poignant story. Best read in large chunks, rather than dipping into!
(bwl 29 April 2005) |
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When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin |
The author, born and bred in Zimbabwe but now living in New York, frequently visits his elderly parents still living there. He tells of the tragedy of Zimbabwe's steady downward spiral into anarchy and chaos in a very unbiased way. There is also a sub-plot revealing his father's past. I found it deeply moving and one of the best books I have read in years.
(bwl 47 September 2008) |
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Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom |
This is an enthralling tale set at the beginning of WW II in the wake of the Spanish Civil War. It is long (550 pp) but the way the author interweaves the many plots holds ones attention and it is a "must" for anyone interested in the human side of history. A good yarn.
(bwl 52 July 2009) |
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