Fair Play

by Tove Jansson
This is a short novel that I found totally absorbing about two women living together on an island. Nothing much happens but you are drawn in to their story in a gentle way that made you want to sit down and watch a film with them. 8/10

Any Human Heart

by William Boyd
This life of Logan Mountstuart covers the twentieth century but is less a recap of the history of this period as it is a story of the human condition. The ageing process is movingly handled and as with the whole book shines with life affirming humour. Graet book 9/10

Footprints in Paris

by Gillian Tindall
This is a very readable book covering far more than a few streets in Paris.
You can still feel pain and hurt shouting from some pages but a far louder voice is the connection of memories across family histories and physical space. 7/10

The Quickening Maze

by Adam Foulds
This book is about John Clare and Tennyson and the Doctor who treated John Care during his first period of madness. It is written by a poet and the language is in places, beautifully poetic. I enjoyed it although working out the changes in story narrative took some doing at times but added to the enjoyment. 8/10

The Little Stranger

by Sarah Waters
Set in the period just after the second war this book is a strange mix of ghost story, social history, touch of romance and thriller. I felt it got a bit bogged down about half way through but then picked up the pace again. As ever, the writing is beautiful and a joy to read and the ending was as good as it was -for me-unexpected 8/10

The Girl Who Played with Fire

by Stieg Larsson
This has been a very hyped book and is the second in the Millenium trilogy. Much of the hype is driven by the fact we know that this is it as Larsson died soon after completing this trilogy.

This is a thriller that in my view falls into the same camp as The Da Vinci Code. That is it is a highly charged fast moving plot that keeps you up at night just to find out what is going to happen. That said the first 100 pages were dull and floated around recaps of the last book and badly written sketchy details of the characters sexual leanings. However, once the story commences the next 500 pages are non-stop.
The language is not that of a literary masterpiece and I found it grating and a little nausea inducing at times, but putting that aside I enjoy a good easy read like this and will read the final book in the trilogy, which the ending this book definitely makes almost obligatory! 7/10

The Children's Book

by AS Byatt
A long gentle sweep of english artistic middle class history from late 19th century to the end of the first world war. Interwoven with this is a taut story of a large cast of characters and their triumphs and tragedies. This is not a happy book but it is beautifully written and a joy to read 9/10

The Chalk Circle Man

by Fred Vargas
This was the first Adamsberg novel and gives us his quirkiness head on which I loved. Vargas is still my favourite crime writer. 9/10

Me Cheeta

by James Lever
A fictional autobiography this is a very amusing book in places and I think if you knew your cinema history it would have been funnier still. The writing is very good but the story was stretched out for 50 pages too far for me. 6/10

A Darker Domain

by Val McDermid
Good detective yarn but found the language a bit strained at times. Comments such as somebody expertly copying a picture to a pen drive grated. However, good holiday read 5/10

Chourmo

by Jean-Claude Izzo
The second book in the Marseilles trilogy and Montale has left the police force 12 months ago but gets embroiled in a mafia backed murder of a relative and friend. While the crime story is good the attraction of these books is the city of Marselles, the food and the music of Montale and the fishing trips. I enjoyed this second book more than the first and look forward to the final episode 9/10

The Yellow Dog

by Georges Simenon
An early Maigret set in Concarneau. A good story in a great setting. Very evocative of the Breton coast while enjoying Maigret's unorthadox methods 7/10

The Shadow of the Wind

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Set i Barcelona in the middle of the twentieth century this book grew on me as it went along. There were parts at the beginning where I was a little bored and others where the story swept you along.
However, as the book moved along there were some great twists and surprises that made the second part of the book much more enjoyable. 7/10

Netherland

by Joseph O' Neil
For me this was a book about cricket in New York with another story thrown in. The other story did not grab me but the cricketing references were sublime. 7/10

Doctor Pascal

by Emile Zola
The last of the Rougon-Macquart novels. I enjoyed it because it rounded off the series well and because it is autobiographical and because it is set in Provence. You could criticize it for being melodramatic and for the boring exposition of medical theory but I wouldn't. I feel like I have lived the second empire with these characters and I am going to miss them.
The book would have been more difficult if you were not reading it at the end of the series but I am going to score it high for nostalgic reasons if othing else! 8/10

Flight of the Falcon

by Daphne du Maurier
As you would expect this was a good taut thriller but I did find you were always one step ahead of the hero. Set in a fictional university town in Italy it moves at a rapid rate and is definitely a good holiday read. 7/10

Total Chaos

by Jean-Claude Izzo
Set in Marseilles this is a thriller with a flawed hero and the backdrop of a flawed city which makes both attractive. This is the first in a trilogy and I will definitely hunt out the other two episodes. 8/10

Map of Another Town

by MFK Fisher
This picture of Aix en Provence in the late 50's to early 60's is great. She creates maps from her memory which is a great way of remembering places. Having just visited the town it was interesting to compare her map with mine. 8/10

Seeking Whom he may Devour

by Fred Vargas
A wolf, Adamsberg, and a trip way out of Paris but still a great quirky novel. Glass of wine, open fire, feet up, forget reality and enjoy....8/10

The Paris Enigma

by Pablo de Santis

A crime thriller set largely in Paris at the time of the 1900 world fair. I did not enjoy it. There were too many characters who were left without much more than a name and by the end, which I did enjoy, one could easily have lost the will to finish it 3/10

La Debacle or The Downfall

by Emile Zola

The penultimate novel in the Rougon Macquart series and a harrowing account of the last days of the empire, the French defeat at Sedan and the subsequent Paris commune. Gritty stuff but a great novel and covering all the stuff that Zola excels at such as realism, crowds and the baser sides of the human condition. It was great to see Jean Macquart again. 9/10

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

by Muriel Barbery
This book was very funny, witty, sad and all in all the best book I have read during the last year. 9/10

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Steig Larsson
A good thriller with a double story line running through it. Some of the language is pretty naff but it doesn't detract from the excitement. I think I still prefer Fred Vargas. 7/10

This nights foul work

by Fred Vargas
A french detective novel which is fairly wacky and reminds one of "The Incredible Journey" at one point. However, I like my crime novels off the wall and you will need to suspend your disbelief no more than you would for Agatha Christie or most other crime novels. The serious crime unit under Adamsberg is an interesting place there is no doubt. 8/10

L'Argent

by Emile Zola
A very timely read of this the 18th novel in the Rougon Macquart series. It deals with the rise and fall of a bank toward the end of second empire France. It has many parallels with the current financial crisis and is perhaps a warning not to over react too much. These things are cyclical after all even if the scope widens to a global level.
Some of the book gets bogged down in technical stock dealing and the English reader suffers from there only being one translation in existence. Now would be a good time for a new full translation! Not one of Zola's greatest by any means but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would from some of the comments I had read earlier. 7/10
www.emilezola.info

The White Tiger

by Aravinda Adiga
The story of a an Indian growing up in India in a time of huge change(ie Now!). It is a very readable tale touching on the caste system, corruption, murder, the new economy and the emergence of India-all in an engaging style. The main character remained somebody I felt distant from and could not take to, but I am not sure we are meant to like him. He is a killer and a corrupt businessman after all! 8/10

A Fraction of the Whole

by Steve Toltz
This is a long meandering book which in many ways is full of drivel and in others is very amusing. It reminds me in some ways of Peter Carey's, Illywhacker but maybe that is just the Australian connection kicking in. At over 800 pages I could have done with it being a little shorter but I skipped along through it just to find out what happened next. I would not read it again. 6/10

The Clothes on their Backs

by Linda Grant
As someone who grew up in the 70's I enjoyed some of the nostalgia in this book but I never really connected with the story or the characters and was left disappointed come the end. 6/10

Rancid Pansies

by James Hamilton-Paterson

The third novel featuring Gerald Samper, a snobbish writer living in Italy(mostly). While not as laugh out loud funny as Fernet Branca this is still very amusing in places and a great critique of the Princess Diana myth as only Samper could do it. 6/10

La Bete Humaine

by Emile Zola

The seventeenth novel in the Rougon Macquart and one of the best. After the dream this is straight back in to the darker side of the human existence and a roller coaster murder yarn set on the railway line between Le Havre and Paris. It is Zola at his best painting wonderful descriptions of the landscape and a plot that runs along with the railway it depicts. 9/10

Have Mercy on Us All

by Fred Vargas
The second novel I have read by this author. It is published by Vintage in the UK and had some bad editing mistakes but apart from that annoyance was a good read. The main character is likeable and suitably flawed as a human being to make him attractive.
The premise behind the story requires some suspension of reality but is none the less absorbing for that. 7/10

Five Photos of my wife

by Agnes Desarthe
A gentle and at times amusing, at times sad tale of a man's search for a memory of his wife. I really enjoyed this book 9/10

The Dream (Le Reve)

by Emile Zola
This was hard work and far from being the most enjoyable book I have read of Zola's.
The main character Angelique is the Rougon-Macquart connection. She was abandoned as a child and the story starts with her turning up in a church porch from where she is taken in by some church embroiderers. She is annoying and I couldn't wait for some Zolaesque tragedy to take her away. Sadly it did not.
I will need to read around this to try and redeem the book but it definitely his worst to date- in my humble opinion! 4/10

The Three Evangelists

by Fred Vargas
Very enjoyable crime thriller. An easy read and great to relax with. 8/10

Testimony

by Nicolas Sarkozy
Fascinating stuff. The man intrigues me with his certainty about life and his beliefs. His piece on his wife and their eternal bond which has subsequently evaporated is illuminating. His utopian vision for France is straight from one of his beloved America's movies. Having said this I like this man and some of his open discussion of chaging France is refreshing.
Gets a bit bogged down in places but worth reading soon before it gets consigned to the political tract bin. 8/10

The Gathering

by Anne Enright
I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the writing very much and there were some extremely moving and disturbing passages as well as some darkly humorous ones. However, I felt the story line was a bit thin and the ending unsatisfactory. It was almost as though having revealed to the reader the central issue of the story the rest of the book lost its way. Would still recommend it though. 7/10

Ninety three

by Victor Hugo
Set in 1793 this book was about the Vendean war at the time of the French revolution. The second half of the book was good and had some great insights into the terrors and hardships of civil war and also some detail on how enlightened some of the revolutionary thinking was. However the first half of the book was hard going and pretty dull. 4/10

Dawn, Dusk or Night

by Yasmina Reza
Subtitled 'a year with Nicolas Sarkozy' this is a book of reflections and observations of the French president during the manic year leading up to his election in May 2007.
I found the style of this book difficult to get my head around and yet I could not put it down. It is mesmerising and offers this love him hate him view that resonates with my own reactions to Sarkozy. So many of the observations are fleeting glances when I would have liked to stay longer, but maybe this is the nature of the man where clearly what you see is only what he wants you to see. The book mercifully steers clear of any comment on his private life and gets an extra point from me for that alone. 9/10

Rounding the Mark

by Andrea Camilleri

Another Inspector Montalbano crime mystery set in Sicily. This is very easy reading but great fun although easier than some to unravel fairly early on. 6/10

La Terre (The Earth)

by Emile Zola
The fifteenth novel in the Rougon Macquart series and I think one of the best.
It is shocking even today and exposes some of the more base and brutal sides of mankind, where Jean Macquart as a outsider throughout observes the futile battle of the peasants with the soil and themselves. Some of the scenes are brilliantly written such as when Lise is giving birth at the same time and i the same location as their household cow is giving birth to twin calves. There is even humour with Jesus Christ's(a character not a deity) farting exploits. Definitely a must read if you want to sample Zola. 9/10

Notes from Exile

by Emile Zola
This book is edited and translated by Dorothy Speirs
I guess this book is a little niche but I loved it. It is very short and contains notes that Zola made when forced into exile in England during the Dreyfuss affair.
What is more it includes photos taken during that time by Zola himself. Then there is even more with an introduction that gives us some background on the Vizetelly family who were responsible for some of the early Zola translations. For his pains one of them received a prison sentence for publishing porn. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. 10/10

The Power of Flies

by Lydie Salvayre
Originally published in French these are the musings of a madman (or is he?) who has murdered someone and addresses himself to the judge, the warder and his psychiatrist. You do find out who he has murdered but not until the very end and there are several potential candidates along the way. We only ever hear the voice of the accused and as such he provokes our sympathy but it left me wanting to write somebody elses point of view. What did the judge think or his wife or his father. A good thought provoking book. 8/10

The Courtesans

by Joanna Richardson

Brief biographies of a number of different courtesans from the French second empire days. It was fascinating reading and an insight to French society of that time. I found the style a nnoying at times and felt that the author was always trying to restrain from passing judgement on these women. 5/10

The Discovery of France

by Graham Robb
This is a fascinating book. It is full of interesting info on shepherds on stilts, people with deliberately contorted heads, hobbitt like folk etc. They all lived in a seemingly hidden France unrecognisable from our perceived view which I guess is typically the court of Versailles and bloody revolutions on the streets. I loved it even though he does bang on about map making and cyclists more than I cared for. 9/10

The little girl and the cigarette

by Benoit Duteurtre
A short satire sending up some of the lunacy in our current society's thinking. As with all good satire it is just inches between reality and the absurd. Being French it ends with a suitably dark twist. Excellent 9/10

David Copperfield

by Charles Dickens
As ever with Dickens a great cast of wonderful characters from the glorious Betsy Trotwood to the outrageous Mr Micawber. The only parts I found tedious were the Dora passages. The rest is a great read with some very comic writing indeed. 9/10

The Masterpiece

by Emile Zola
Fourteenth novel in the Rougon Macquart series. This novel more than any other of Zola's is based on real characters from his own circle of friends, including himself as the novelist Sandoz. There were parts of it I found really interesting and great writing such as the crowds at the exhibition and the struggles of trying to portray nature in painting. But other parts, such as Sandoz talking about writing a series of novels based around a family just seemed too anal. Still a great insight into the Paris art scene in mid nineteenth century Paris 7/10

www.emilezola.info

The Uncommon Reader

by Alan Bennett
If you ever feel guilty curling up and reading a book this is the perfect book to assuage your guilt. Written with gentle humour this is a great book and it will only take you an afternoon in front of the fire to read. My only problem was it was not long enough! 9/10

The Shape of Water

by Andrea Camilleri
A crime mystery by an Italian author set in Sicily. A quick easy read-I read it during a four hour train journey-that was very enjoyable. A nice light touch in the principal character, Inspector Montalbano, which I like in a crime book. 6/10

Germinal

by Emile Zola
Thirteenth of the Rougon Macquart and probably the most well known.
This was a great read with some of Zola's most memorable crowd scenes as the striking miners protest and rampage. You are drawn in to the terror of group action. The book also portrays the disconnect between the working class and the bourgeoisie that doesn't seem a million miles from the position in the Paris suburbs today. A great book. 9/10

www.emilezola.info

Hallucinating Foucault

by Patricia Duncker
This is a haunting novel based around a fictional mad French writer obsessed with Foucault and an unnamed Phd student obsessed with the writer. It is all about the relationship between writer and reader but is told in a gripping way that holds your attention even though the conclusion is inevitable. 7/10

Eugénie

by Desmond Seward
This is a biography of the wife of Napoleon III and the empress of the second empire. It is written from a very supportive view and is very readable.
It does not set out to supply new information but it does give an interesting portrait of second empire life and is a great background to the Rougon Macquart novels of Emile Zola.
A good bibliography as well. 8/10

www.emilezola.info

The Journal of the de Goncourts

This is extracts from the diaries of the French brothers covering the period 1851 to Edmond's death in 1896. It is a fascinating glimpse from one part of French society of the second empire period and its aftermath including a first hand account of the seige of Paris and the commune. There were parts which recounted details of people I do not know but this did not distract from my enjoyment.
I bought this second hand so it may no longer be in print but could definitely be picked up on Abe books. 8/10

Darkmans

by Nicola Barker
This is the 4th novel I have read that appears on this years Man Booker shortlist and I felt really let down by it. The novel is gripping to read and has some fantastic comic characters as well as dark undertones that pull you in to the story.
It is a long book (800+ pages) which makes the last 100 pages all the more disappointing, as you realise that nothing is going to happen and characters just disappear with no explanation. It has received a lot of plaudits and no doubt I am missing the clever undertones but I am not convinced that clever makes for a good read 4/10

Mr. Pip

by Lloyd Jones
A book about one of my favourite books, Great Expectations. But this book is more about the power of a novel itself to transform our world and experience and even to save us from our experience. This book has the power to shock you as it describes the bloody civil war on a pacific island but also to protect you from these realities. The book is still lingering with me even after putting it down. Thank you Mr. Jones (and of course, Mr. Dickens). Great larks 8/10

On Chesil Beach

by Ian McEwan
As ever with McEwan this is beautifully written and evokes places and times in a wonderful way. I found the plot very thin and the end incredibly rushed but no doubt it will remain the bookies favorite for the Booker prize. I would still go for the reluctant fundamentalist. 7/10

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamid

Long-listed for the booker prize this year this is a short gripping novel and highly recommended.

It is written in the first person and is one side of an unusual conversation. It builds suspense gradually and has a gentle humour as well as being very touching. It also makes you think about some of the larger issues in the world and hopefully offers a slightly different perspective. 9/10

Zest for Life

by Emile Zola

The twelfth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series and the worst so far in my view. The plot is extremely thin and being obsessed with death is very depressing. No wonder one of the hero's idols is Schopenhauer.
The novel is set on the Normandy coast and has some good description of the sea and its relentless attack on the cliffs. There are some graphic descriptions of childbirth and gout but I found the whole thing a bit too repetitious. Hopefully it will be like La Curée and improve on second reading. Still the good news is that the next novel is Germinal and this I love. 4/10

www.emilezola.info

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexander Dumas
If AD was alive today he would surely be writing film scripts. This book moves at such an exhilarating pace that the 1200+ pages seemed to fly by with its cast of prisoners, thieves, bandits, child murderers, poisoners, lesbians, drug users, and more. For a ripping yarn and not quite the expected ending this is great stuff. 9/10

The Blond Baboon

by Jan willem van de Wetering
Another crime mystery and this time our laid back Amsterdam heroes are back in their home town investigating the death of an old woman. A very easy read but great fun as ever7/10

The Ladies Paradise

by Emile Zola
The eleventh book in the Rougon Macquart series and one of the most fascinating to date. It follows on very closely from Pot Bouille following the fortunes of Octave Mouret and the growth of the department store. The social and economic history element to this book is as fascinating as the character narrative itself.
The heroine reminded me very much of a Dickensian heroine although I did enjoy her resolve in leaving her uncle and the umbrella maker to run with the new. 9/10

www.emilezola.info

Pot-Bouille

by Emile Zola
This marks the half way stage in the Rougon-Macquart series being the tenth out of 20 novels. It is set in Paris and describes the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie through the goings on in one house in the Rue de Choiseul. Only one member of the Rougon-Macquarts features and this is Octave Mouret who comes to Paris from the South and sets about conquering Paris and its women, with varying success.
It was a good read and as usual peopled with a number of great characters, notably the horrible Mme Josserand and her equally obnoxious brother, Bachelard 8/10

Northanger Abbey

by Jane Austen
A very enjoyable yarn from Jane Austen. Her books are very amusing and this one has a great, but not too taxing, mystery running through it. 9/10

Zola, A Life

by Frederick Brown

An excellent book. It is very readable and has a great balance between Zola's life and his works and a very good chapter summarising the Dreyfus affair. There are also some interesting photos spread throughout the book. If you want a comprehensive introduction to Emile Zola and his work then this would be a good place to start. 9/10

Amazing Disgrace

by James Hamilton-Paterson

This is the follow-up to the excellent Cooking with Fernet Branca and gives us the further exploits of the snobbish but very funny ghost writer Gerald Samper. This time he is writing the biography of a one armed and obnoxious woman sailor while longing for more worthwhile subjects, such as Max Christ the composer.
The book has some very amusing episodes but seems to rely to heavily on its predecessor and I did not enjoy it as much. 5/10

The Bullet Trick

by Louise Welsh

This was a good thriller set between Glasgow, London and Berlin and involves the bizarre tale of a conjuror going through a tough time. It was gripping and I read it very quickly although in places it felt a bit strung out. Would still recommend it though. 7/10

Nana

by Emile Zola

The ninth book in the Rougon Macquart series.
This is one of the best known of Zola's novels, not least for the allegations of pornography when first published. Now, more than 100 years later it still has the ability to shock in its depiction of a society rotting beneath a facade of respectability.
I did not enjoy this as much as some of his books as I found it difficult to differentiate some of the characters early on but still a good read. 7/10

Une Page d'Amour

by Emile Zola
The eighth novel in the Rougon Macquart series and featuring Helene Mouret and her daughter Jeanne. The novel is set around the Passy area of Paris and describes the love affair that Helene has with a neighbour and its disastrous consequences. One of the saddest books but almost Dickensian in its sentimentality at the end. Great depictions of Paris and the childrens ball is great writing 8/10

See www.emilezola.info

Seven Ages of Paris

Alistair Horne
This is one of the most fascinating and absorbing history books I have ever read. It brings Paris to life and makes you want to get back there as soon as possible to relive some of the pages from its history. I could not fault this book and is even better than Horne's great history of the Algerian war. 10/10

The Maine Massacre

by Jan willem van de Wetering
One of our heros and the Commissaris go off to New England to solve this one. This adds to the humour as they try and decipher America and in particular the meaning of motherfucker. One of the best so far 8/10

The Japanese Corpse

by Jan willem van de Wetering
Another good yarn about the Dutch detectives but with a twist on the personal front that is a shock. Very enjoyable for those who, like me, like their crime served with a light touch and a sense of humour 8/10

L'Assommoir

Widely acknowledged as one of the great novels from the Rougon Macquart series of novels by Emile Zola.
It is a very tightly structured book charting the rise and fall of Gervaise Macquart and a devastating comment on the effects of poverty. As ever with Zola some of the descriptive passages are suberb, the wedding walk and the huge feast in the shop for instance and the unforgettable death scene with Madame Coupeau. 9/10

I have some pictures from a modern day following of the wedding day walk on my web site at www.emilezola.info

Time to catch up

It is July since I have posted anything so hopefully over the next few days I will catch up with my reading of the past few months.
Have done a reasonable amount of research around Zola and will -hopefully over christmas get to update the website at www.emilezola.info
Until then it is on with the books.

The Corpse on the Dyke

by Jan willem van de Wetering
Third in the series of Amsterdam crime novels and a lot of fun. Maybe not for the purist but great if you do not take the genre too seriously. I am becoming a fan! 8/10

The life and Times of Emile Zola

by F.W. Hemmings
A great introduction to Emile Zola and the France of his time. Has some excellent photographs.
9/10

Trace

by Patricia Cornwell
Good crime novel in the Scarpetta series. By chapter 2 you know who the killer is but it still holds the suspense until the end of the book. Excellent. 8/10

Tumbleweed

The second in the Amsterdam detective series and probably better than the first as the characters of the detectives develop alongside the plot. These books maybe 30 years old but I still think they are a great train read. 8/10

Abbé Mouret's Transgression

The fifth book in Zola's Rougon-Macquart series.
I found this book different from the previous four. It was not so peopled and had a very dream-like feel to the key central part of the book. The garden descriptions were fantastic and when I get around to putting this book on the website I will try and include a page on the flowers of the paradou.
Am I alone in hating the hero by the end? 7/10

Link: www.emilezola.info

Three books

Body Double by Tess Gerritsen
Very easy read and a good thriller that I read in a short space of time. 7/10

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
A classic American novel I guess. I read this right around the time I visited New York (it has definitely changed) which made it more interesting. These characters are all pretty horrible and you will certainly not believe a word you read in the press after this. I did not rate the ending that highly but the rest was great. 7/10

Outsider in Amsterdam by Jan willem van de Wetering
A crime thriller based in Amsterdam and the first in a series. This was off the wall and amusing in parts as well as a conventional who dunnit. I really enjoyed it and will read more in the series. 8/10

Goat Song

A crime novel set in present day Montmartre. I loved the main character but found the text a bit laboured in places. The overall plot was good and had a really good solution. Definitely worth a read 7/10

We need to talk about Kevin

By Lionel Shriver.
Wow! I don't know if we needed to but we did. This was a disturbing book that was very well written with twists along the way right up to the end.
The book was a challenging look at school shootings and was a demanding read. Having said that I did not want to put it down. However, this is one book I would not contemplate reading again-too sad. 8/10

Lock 14

A Maigret novel by George Simenon.
An easy short read which kept me occupied on a train journey. I enjoy Maigret and I enjoyed this. A staightforward crime mystery which if you like crime novels you will like. 7/10

Arthur and George

A novel by Julian Barnes and after a very slow(dare I say boring) start it picked up pace and grabbed me as it went on.
He has a great style and I was left with a number of unanswered questions at the end which in a book of this sort should be the case. 7/10

A Priest in the House

Another novel by Emile Zola in the Rougon Macquart series.
I enjoyed this even though it was a little bit predictable-although the end was a shock. The characters were well drawn by and large and I love his descriptions of town life in Plassans. Does not rate as highly as Savage Paris in my view but still good 6/10

The Last Great Frenchman

Subtitled a biography of Charles de Gaulle.
This was a very readable book that analyses a complex man with a great deal of clarity and shows how myth (in the good sense) is created.
The key point he makes is the difference that de Gaulle seemed to draw between the "I" and "The General", with the latter standing for and representing the soul of France.
He must have been absolutely terrible to negotiate with but no-one reading this book can doubt his love for his homeland. Highly recommended 9/10

Savage Paris

Known as le ventre de Paris in the original, this is the third novel in Zola's Rougon Macquart series. I found this the best so far with absolutely gorgeous descriptions of the food markets of Paris and the life that goes on there.
There is one vivid piece on the making of black pudding which you definitely do not want to read after eating!
The story revolves around a young man who returns to Paris after escaping from Devil's Island. He is very naive and the adventures that unwind are perhaps predictable but do not take away from the enjoyment of the feast Zola dishes up. 8/10

A Good Year

Read very quickly while in Paris at the end of August.
This is a very light and very comical book which I greatly enjoyed.
It made a welcome break from La Curee.
If you want a good curl up in front of the fire with a glass of wine book, this would be good.
7/10

The kill(Le Curee)

Zola's second novel in a series.

This is bleak stuff about corruption and incest.
None of the characters endear themselves and are almost too evil to believe at times.

It paints a great picture of the rebuilding of Paris and of Parisian society and in Mme Sidonie is close to comedy.

I need a break before I start on Le ventre de Paris-some light relief. I need a nice character! 5/10

The fortune of the Rougons

The first novel in Zola's Rougon Macquart series.
This sets the scene and when he is not getting in to his social theories is a good story.
As ever with Zola the good guys get shot but at least there were some good guys.At least the major characters have been introduced 7/10

A Short history of Tractors in Ukranian

This was sometimes funny, sometimes sad with characters I felt affection for and annoyance at and everything that adds up to a good story. I even learnt a little bit about tractors but not much Ukranian. Definitely worth reading 8/10

Leo the African

A fast moving book by Amin Maalouf which was a good read. I found the final chapters were a little too fast moving as they became a rapid summary of European history at the time of the Medicis. However, apart from this I loved the personal adventures and storytelling and felt exhausted by what he achieved by his 40th birthday! 9/10

Sideways

A very funny book. I loathed the central character but could not help laughing at some of the antics these 2 got up to. Much better than the film and very different.
The only problem with this book is that it upped my wine consumption considerably! 8/10

The Elephant Vanishes

This collection of short stories by Haruki Murukami was a mixed bag. As with anything I have read it kept me wanting to read it but I found some of the stories a little iffy and as with all short stories I get really frustrated by all the loose ends. Still a good read though. 7/10

The Plot Against America

This book has taken me a long time to read. It was recommended as one of the best books of 2004.
While it cannot be doubted this is a very clever book in concept and, being Roth, very well written, it never captured my soul.
To me a good book will not let me put it down. This book I could put down at any stage and not be upset by the interruption. The characters were well drawn but I just left it with the impression that the story never raised itself beyond the great idea of what would have happened if...
All in all 4/10

Quite a week

Well this has been a major week for news. A pope dies and clogs up Rome, an election called in the UK, Saul Bellow is dead in the US, Prince Rainier is dead in Monaco and one of our biggest clients is close to dying and taking us down with it. Thank goodness the baseball season has started and Chelsea beat Bayern 4-2.

Betrayal in Naples

Read this book in a few days and really enjoyed it. It has a great pace and would be a fantastic read for those people who have to read the last page as it tells you what happens on the first page.
There are some great pictures of Naples drawn and the varying betrayals going on are dizzying.
I still don't know how his landlady fits into the picture though. A great holiday book providing you are not going to Naples 9/10

More books

PG Wodehouse-Some Jeeves title
Great train read. Made me smile and passed the time of day. Just what I wanted. 8/10

Naples '44
A great picture of Naples as it emerged from war. Not so much the city but the people. I didn't want this book to end and would love to find a similar diary updated to the 21st century. 9/10

Norweigan Wood

Finished this book yesterday.
I really enjoyed it. The prose-even in translation-is effortless and captures the dilemmas and heartache faced in love, and the finality that death brings and doesn't bring as well as anything I have read.
Like any modern novel it ends with so many questions. It is a book I will be churning around for weeks to come. 9/10

AMSTERDAM

AMSTERDAM

This is one of my favourite Brel songs. The above site is great in that it has many lyrics to Brel songs.

There are a number of things this world needs including
1. A good english biography of Brel and
2. A book of lyrics with English translation

or maybe I just need to improve my French!

Latest Books

Of Water and Spirit
Think the title is correct. It was about the initiation rites in an African tribe and the clash of culture with Western christianity. I read this soon after a novel-Jonanthan Strange-about magic in England and I had to keep reminding myself that this was based on real life experience. All in all it was a fascinating book which raised more questions than it answered, and that was part of its enjoyment. 8/10

The Da Vinci Code
I enjoyed this although it was not written in a great prose style. It was exciting and although it may be total drivel -it was a novel for goodness sake-it kept me hooked until the end. I wouldn't read another of his books but this one gets a 7/10