by Olga Tokarczuk
Very funny, very dark, this book is loosely based on The Magic Mountain but is set in Silesia at the same time as the former book.
The characters are sympathetically drawn and, being half the length, we do not have so much philosophising. There is still some!
The subtitle refers to a horror story that does unfold gently as the book goes on and explodes at the end of the novel in a scene with gothic overtones!
A very enjoyable read 8.5/10
by Georges Simenon
Set in a Crimean port town in the 1930's this is the story of a Turkish consul sent to Stalin's Russia just ten years after the founding of modern Turkey. It captures his sense of isolation and the mistrust everybody has in everyone else. Is he being followed, is he being poisoned? 7/10
by Rachel Bowlby
Part of the Writing modern life series this is a short introduction to Zola's novels looking at the beginning, middle and end of his life and concentrating on character profile, shops and Zola's exile in London.
It was a very interesting book and I particularly enjoyed the middle section on shops, contrasting the department store on The Ladies Paradise with the smaller shops of L'assommoir and Le Ventre de Paris. 8/10
by Georges Simenon
Maigret has been advised by his doctor to take a holiday but rather than go away Maigret and his wife stay in Paris to enjoy a quiet August. It is not long before a murder is reported in the newspapers and Maigret takes on the role of a member of the public as he tries to solve the case by using the newspaper reports only. Great fun 8/10
