Yesterday

 by Juan Emar

A crazy book written by a chilean author in the 1930's. Very funny in places and totally bizarre throughout. 7/10

Maigret

 by Georges Simenon

Another strange case. Maigret has been retired for sometime and is living in the Loire valley near Tours.

His nephew, a policeman, does something stupid and is arrested for murder drawing Maigret back to Paris and his detective work.

I need to read around this as there are 55 more novels in this series and the next one has Maigret back in full detective mode so clearly not published chronologically. 8/10

Lock No. 1

 by George Simenon

An interesting book with Maigret about to retire and a strange barge owner whose past catches up with him. Darker than some but really enjoyable 9/10

Lean Fall Stand

 by John McGregor

A difficult but compulsive read. Robert, has worked for 30 years in Antarctica for several months of the year. On his last trip he has a stroke in the middle of a storm and further tragedy ensues. The large part of the book deals with the aftermath of these events and Robert's handling of his speech and mobility impairment. It also deals with his wife who holds a senior research post and the effect it has on her life. This gets lost toward the end of the book and I ended up musing on how this would pan out. Thought provoking stuff and written in a totally engaging style 9/10

A Sentimental Education

 by Gustave Flaubert

A book made interesting by its historical setting and the key events in the 1840's in France as it passed from monarchy to republic. The plot is limited, following the life of the main character, Frédéric Moreau. He is generally annoying but is in love with the wife of a man called Arnoux who is modelled on a real life character. His character drawing is good and some of Frederic's friends are at times funny, monstrous or to be pitied. I never felt any of this for our hero. 7/10