The Things We Never Say

By Elizabeth Strout

I did not expect to enjoy this novel as much as I did. It follows Artie Dam, a popular and successful teacher who life finally overwhelms as he descends into loneliness and depression. Sad, it is but engaging and touching the nerve endings of people of my age I suspect. It asks the question of whether it is true that no man is an island. It doesn't really answer the question. 9/10

Poulenc a biography

 by Roger Nichols

An interesting biography of one of the key French composers of the first half of the twentieth century. He comes across as a complex figure but whose musical stature grew and endures. The biography has definitely coaxed me into listening to more of his music which has been a good experience 7/10 

A prayer for Owen Meany

 by John Irving

A sprawling novel of over 700 pages that took me a little while to get into but ended up being totally absorbing. It is set mostly in 1960's New Hampshire at the time of the Vietnam war and two boys, the narrator and Owen Meany grow up together and become best friends, even though Owen manages to kill John's mother at the start of the book with a wild, uncharacteristic swing of the bat in a little league baseball game.

It touches on friendship and faith as the narrator looks back from twenty years hence when he is living in Canada. It is sad and moving in places but also has one of the funniest passages I have read as the 1953 christmas pageant unfolds. 9/10

Land

 by Maggie O'Farrell

Set in Ireland this book follows the fortunes of Tomas and his wife and family, together with the land they inhabit. It starts in 1865 when Tomas, working for the british as a cartographer has a quasi religious experience in a wood on the West coast. It will change him and those close to him forever. It is an absorbing book and has some great characters in it from a slimy priest to a faithful irish wolf hound. 8/10

The Alchemist of Paris

 by M. C. Dulac

A gothic page turner which starts in current day Paris but then takes us back by way of a diary to strange happenings in a house in Paris. Can alchemists make gold or extend life, and what happens if they can. All will be revealed. Fun holiday read 7/10

Maigret and the Ghost

 by Georges Simenon

A policeman gets shot and Maigret is pulled into the art world and the lives of the rich Europeans who operate there. 7/10

My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein

 by Deborah Levy

The narrator (called Deborah Levy) goes to Paris to write an essay on Gertrude Stein. She falls in with two women, Fanny and Eva. Eva is Swedish but has a husband in America who she hasn't seen for a couple of years-other than their weekly facetime call. Fanny is in finance and has three lesbian affairs going at any one time. The book quotes a lot from Gertrude Stein but the writing is clever, funny and pulls you along at a cracking pace. A cat also features throughout but I must not give too much away! 9/10

All my Love

By Agnes Lidbeck

An absorbing story set in Sweden in the near future. A far right government has finally been defeated and a wishy washy investigation into their actions has just been published.  The book looks at the personal impact of this time on four friends and lovers. The ending collapsed a bit but I enjoyed the writing 7/10

Maigret's Anger

By Georges Simenon 

Another great story.  A lawyer is demanding large payments from clients by telling  them he is using the money to bribe policemen, including Maigret. 

Meanwhile someone gets killed.  Is it a gangland killing or is there a link to the lawyer? 8/10

The Wizard of the Kremlin

 by Giuliano da Empoli

A strange book in many ways and supposedly modeled on a real character, Vadim Baranov works as a key advisor to Putin. He uses his background in reality TV to great effect in setting Kremlin goals and political outcomes but eventually he wants out.

The book never quite worked for me but it was apparently turned into a 2025 film which I may have to watch 5/10