Thursday, December 26, 2024

Review of the year 2024

 A busy year and some good reads amongst them.

On the non-fiction side I found Goodbye Globalisation thought provoking and helpful in understanding what is going on in the world. Also Salman Rushdie's reflections on his attack and its aftermath was interesting. Andrew Martin's book on the Paris metro had me hooked in a way I did not expect.

On the fiction side there was an interesting Booker prize but as ever my favourite -My friends- did not make the shortlist. Also enjoyed James and Enlightenment and Playground.

In other fiction Annihilation by Michel Houellebecq was good and the latest Jackson Brodie from Kate Atkinson was crazy but fun. I read Paul Auster's last book and his New York trilogy both of which I enjoyed. Again on the wacky side, was The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers guild but an enjoyable read. 

Crime has included a number of Maigret's and a series set in Hamburg by Simone Buchholz featuring a prosecutor called Chastity Riley. 

My best books of the year are probably My Friends and The Annual Banquet but a hard choice this year!

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Maigret's Mistake

 by Georges Simenon

The lowly mistress of an eminent surgeon is found dead by gun shot to the head in the apartment paid for by the surgeon and in the same building as he lives in with his wife. 

Maigret spends a long time talking with everyone but the surgeon, who eventually contacts Maigret himself. Good story 7/10 

Goodbye Globalisation

 by Elisabeth Braw

Through various interviews, press publications and research this book traces the path of globalisation through the past forty years and examines why it may now be coming to an end. Actually, it postulates that it is coming to an end. It explores the rise of China and western businesses love affair with China which now is cooling significantly. It looks at Europe's interactions with Russia that came to a juddering halt after the Ukraine war started. You leave the book thinking, with the benefit of hindsight, how could we have been so naive as to think such massive growth could be achieved without harming the planet, to think that trade would trump ideological stances and desire for power or that people would think cheaper goods were fair recompense for losing their jobs. This is a very readable and thought provoking book 9/10 

Friday, December 13, 2024

The Stranger in the Seine

 by Guillaume Musso

A young woman is found in the river but escapes on her way to a secure hospital. DNA matches her to a pianist who died 12 months before. Who is she and what is her connection to an older police officer who has had a fall and his son? Enter Roxanne, a police officer with her own problems.

This is a fast paced thriller for which you have to suspend belief at times but doesn't stop you turning the pages. 6/10

Shy

 by Max Porter

Shy is a troubled teenager and this book covers one night of his life as he sets out from a special residential school with a rucksack full of rocks.

Max Porter's books are refreshingly different and this one is no different. It was a lively, sad, funny engaging story. Loved it. 9/10

Saturday, December 07, 2024

Gliff

 by Ali Smith

Two abandoned children, a horse destined for the knackers yard, lots of red lines and a society under seeming totalitarian rule. Nothing is fully explained as we gradually piece together what is happening in two time slots five years apart and sometime in the near future. 

For all this I enjoyed this book, typically witty and playful but I was left frustrated by the unresolved endings. I wonder if Glyph will help when it is published. I am not holding my breath! 8/10