Monday, August 25, 2008

Have Mercy on Us All

by Fred Vargas
The second novel I have read by this author. It is published by Vintage in the UK and had some bad editing mistakes but apart from that annoyance was a good read. The main character is likeable and suitably flawed as a human being to make him attractive.
The premise behind the story requires some suspension of reality but is none the less absorbing for that. 7/10

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Five Photos of my wife

by Agnes Desarthe
A gentle and at times amusing, at times sad tale of a man's search for a memory of his wife. I really enjoyed this book 9/10

The Dream (Le Reve)

by Emile Zola
This was hard work and far from being the most enjoyable book I have read of Zola's.
The main character Angelique is the Rougon-Macquart connection. She was abandoned as a child and the story starts with her turning up in a church porch from where she is taken in by some church embroiderers. She is annoying and I couldn't wait for some Zolaesque tragedy to take her away. Sadly it did not.
I will need to read around this to try and redeem the book but it definitely his worst to date- in my humble opinion! 4/10

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

The Three Evangelists

by Fred Vargas
Very enjoyable crime thriller. An easy read and great to relax with. 8/10

Testimony

by Nicolas Sarkozy
Fascinating stuff. The man intrigues me with his certainty about life and his beliefs. His piece on his wife and their eternal bond which has subsequently evaporated is illuminating. His utopian vision for France is straight from one of his beloved America's movies. Having said this I like this man and some of his open discussion of chaging France is refreshing.
Gets a bit bogged down in places but worth reading soon before it gets consigned to the political tract bin. 8/10