A year when I read a greater number of non-fiction books including a very enjoyable biography of Napoleon and books around the French revolution and France after the second world war.
I also reread War and Peace and 3 of the Neopolitan quartet by Elena Ferrante which I mostly enjoyed. Continued in crime with Harry Bosch and Maigret.
I also reread A Christmas Carol which is always fun and sure to bring a tear to the eye.
Putting aside the classics, hard to find a really standout book this year. Maybe Hot Milk by Deborah Levy for the beauty of the language or The Childhood of Jesus by JM Coetzee. Ian Macewan and Nutshell was so quirky I enjoyed it but I have to say nothing that will stay with me for a long time.
The Booker was disappointing with the winner being funny but maybe more suited to a reader more in touch with America.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Swing Time
by Zadie Smith
Based in London, New York and Africa it follows the fortunes of an unnamed narrator and her relationship with her parents, her pop superstar boss and her childhood friend, Tracey.
The parts looking back to her childhood worked really well and resonated with me but it then seemed to lose its way. The big revelations in the book were not so great and the ending felt rushed and didn't quite work for me. The nameless narrator became quite forgettable. 6/10
Based in London, New York and Africa it follows the fortunes of an unnamed narrator and her relationship with her parents, her pop superstar boss and her childhood friend, Tracey.
The parts looking back to her childhood worked really well and resonated with me but it then seemed to lose its way. The big revelations in the book were not so great and the ending felt rushed and didn't quite work for me. The nameless narrator became quite forgettable. 6/10
Monday, December 12, 2016
City of Bones
by Michael Connelly
A tough story about child abuse and a cold case as bones of a young boy are found 20 years after he was killed. Lots of false trails and some further development of the Bosch character make for compelling stuff. 7/10
A tough story about child abuse and a cold case as bones of a young boy are found 20 years after he was killed. Lots of false trails and some further development of the Bosch character make for compelling stuff. 7/10
breach
by Olumide Popoola and Annie Holmes
This book is a collection of eight short stories formed and crafted in the Calais jungle. They tell stories of immigration from different standpoints and vary from being very good to so-so. However, what they do-even after the jungle has been dismantled-is raise questions about the migrant crisis which we cannot ignore. The stories highlight the fact that this crisis is about individual lives and not indistinguishable, expendable masses. This alone makes it worth reading. 6/10
This book is a collection of eight short stories formed and crafted in the Calais jungle. They tell stories of immigration from different standpoints and vary from being very good to so-so. However, what they do-even after the jungle has been dismantled-is raise questions about the migrant crisis which we cannot ignore. The stories highlight the fact that this crisis is about individual lives and not indistinguishable, expendable masses. This alone makes it worth reading. 6/10
Nutshell
by Ian McEwan
An unusual book. Therese Raquin told with humour by an unborn infant. This book totters along the edge of will it/won't it work from beginning to end. It is hilarious in places- this foetus must be the most knowledgable wine buff who has never been born-and dark in others but it works. By the end I was desperate to find out how it ends despite the narrator. Maybe not the best McEwan I have read but certainly the funniest and at the end of the day it was a great yarn. 8/10
An unusual book. Therese Raquin told with humour by an unborn infant. This book totters along the edge of will it/won't it work from beginning to end. It is hilarious in places- this foetus must be the most knowledgable wine buff who has never been born-and dark in others but it works. By the end I was desperate to find out how it ends despite the narrator. Maybe not the best McEwan I have read but certainly the funniest and at the end of the day it was a great yarn. 8/10
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