Echo Park

by Michael Connelly
Bosch sailing close to the wind again and displaying a slightly dark side to his character as he takes on the hunt for a serial killer and his latest victim who may be still alive. 7/10

Dombey and Son

By Charles Dickens
What to say, he makes you laugh, he makes you cry, he is far too sentimental yes but this does not take away from the drama and fast moving plot lines that are Dicken's hallmark. A great read over the new year period 9/10

The French Art of War

by Alexis Jenni
A great start but meandered it's way through the latter 20th century French wars. It tells the story of Victorien Salognen who has fought in the second world war, Indochine and Algeria.
The story is told by a young man who stumbles across Victorien in Lyon, having given up on his job and girlfriend. It turns out that Victorien is an artist and he offers to teach the younger man to paint in return for writing the story of his life. The book jumps from the present day to the various war zones.
It is a vast book and I felt it only partly worked. I loved the bits about painting but the war scenes were very mixed. 5/10

Review of 2017

Quite a varied year with crime-Maigret and Bosch yet again-biography, a session of Evelyn Waugh, a couple of books by Thomas Mann and a couple by Salman Rushdie and a record attempt at the Booker longlist where I managed 12 out of 13!
The Booker list this year was the best for a while. The winner was unusual, funny at times but definitely not my favorite. I really liked Elmet and home fire. I liked Autumn by Ali Smith and Exit West by Moshin Hammad, not to mention Swing Time and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, but I think my favorite of the crop was Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor which charts the circle of life as the years roll by in a village in Northern England.
For the others, Waugh was very funny but poignant too examining Britain around the wars of the last century, and Thomas Mann was a great family saga and the beautiful Death in Venice. However, I think my absolute favorite of the year was Salman Rushdie's Satanic verses. I love the breadth of his imagination and his use of language.
On the non-fiction side I think the prize must go to Claire Tomalin's biography of Thomas Hardy.

The Shadow Puppet

by Georges Simenon
Set in the Place des Vosges this case involves addiction, family secrets and greed. Claustrophobic and Maigret at his best. 8/10

Thomas Hardy-The time torn man

by Clare Tomalin
This book was a joy to read, especially as while reading it we stayed for a couple of nights at the Old rectory in St. Juliot, where Hardy met his first wife.
The book is very accessible and paints a great picture of the contradictions and tensions in his life and particularly with his women. It also gives a great picture of the novels and their setting which makes you want to visit Dorset and read the books again. 9/10

The two-penny bar

by George Simenon
Another enjoyable outing with Maigret, this time investigating a six year old murder brought to his attention by another criminal, the night before the man is guillotined. Great stuff 8/10

The Golden House

by Salman Rushdie
Set in America this book tells us the story of a family of Indian immigrants with secrets to hide. They move into a large house in New York in the same block as our narrator Rene Unterlinden, himself the son of Belgian immigrants. The Indian family take the name Golden and hence The Golden House.
Salman Rushdie is a great story-teller and hence the narrative moves along and keeps you interested as we hop between the stories of the three golden children and eventually their father. From the beginning we know something bad is going to happen. I enjoyed the book but it is not the best of his I have read. There are endless lists in the book which are both tedious and pretentious and this bugged me. Having said that there is also a back story running about the 2016 presidential election where Trump is portrayed as the Joker to Clinton's Batwoman, and also a quirky aside about the origins of a fedora hat! It apparently has a claim to be on the list of famous belgians. 7/10

Dance by the Canal

by Kerstin Hensel
A short novel published by the ever wonderful Peirene press.
This story is set in East Germany and tells the story of Gabriela. She was born into a family of privilege but also a troubled family. She never fit in and by the time we catch up with her she is living rough under a bridge in Leipzig. The story darts back and forwards in time as Gabriela tells us the story of her childhood at the same time as we discover what is happening to her in the present. It is a beautiful sad story 7/10

4321

by Paul Auster
A novel about an American called Archie Ferguson who shares my birthday!
The numbers in the title refer to the four lives that this character might have lived between his birth in 1947 and the early 1970's.
It is beautifully written with common links along the way in American history. It could have been a little bit cliched and forced but it wasn't. The final chapter of the book unlocks some of the secrets of what has been happening in the storytelling which just added to its pleasure. I will miss you Archie(s)! 8/10

Elmet

by Fiona Mozley
This is a debut novel but what a novel. From the outset it throws you off balance.
The narrator, a teenage boy seems to be wandering through some future post apocalyptic landscape but it turns out he isn't.
He calls his father daddy throughout the book but this does not quite fit with the character we learn about as the book unfolds and we learn why the boy is wandering as he is.
The other character is his sister who turns out to be far from the quiet retiring sort we are lulled into thinking she might be. It is a compelling read and although I found the ending very difficult to read it was a novel that challenged our views of family, commitment and society. 8/10

Lincoln on the Bardo

by George Saunders
A remarkable novel told in an unusual way through a myriad of voices.
The basic construct is that on the night Abraham Lincoln's son dies he gets caught in the bardo(purgatory) and some well meaning souls also caught there try to help him along to paradise while at the same time the grieving father visits the grave to hold his son for one last time. The characters are at various times funny, horrific, coarse but all universally dead!
I got a bit bored with it by the end but I enjoyed the imagination 6/10

History of Wolves

by Emily Fridlund
An interesting story of a girl brought up in the backwoods of Minnesota as part of a hippy commune already broken up by the time the story starts.
Madeline is fifteen and this story takes place over the summer as she gets involved with a family across the lake who employ her to look after their four year old. Not everything is as it seems and we soon realise something dreadful is going to happen. It is a gripping story with a number of sub plots that left me a little perplexed-her ex school teacher for one. Would still recommend it though 7/10

Exit West

by Mohsin Hamid
A retelling of Antigone set in the modern day this story had me gripped from beginning to end. A tale of three british asian siblings who get caught up in the struggles of our times. It does not have a happy ending but in the way of the Sophocles play, family devotion wins out over loyalty to the state which is uplifting 9/10

Days Without End

by Sebastian Barry
A story set in the American civil war lent some wry humour by a cross dressing soldier and his lifelong friend. It was very readable but not really my cup of tea 5/10

Reservoir 13

by Jon McGregor
The supposed central character of this book is Rebecca who disappears just before new years eve. She pops up throughout the book but the real star of the show is the village and it's changing and unchanging life over a period of some 10 years. It is a simple story beautifully told and, living in a village and having an allotment, I found resonances in so much of the detail. I loved this book 9/10

The Underground Railroad

by Colson Whitehead
This book grew on me as it went along. The story of a black slave in pre-civil war America is a timely reminder of the evils of racism and how barbaric man can be.
Cora, the slave in question who tries to runaway, is the character who holds the narrative together. I liked the construct of a physical underground railroad that was used to take slaves from state to state and examine the various stances different parts of the US took.
However, I never quite engaged with the narrative for some reason 5/10

Home Fire

by Kamila Shamsie
A story of 3 siblings -British Asians who are torn apart by current political turmoil. This book is riveting reading and definitely one of the best books I have read this year. It progresses at a breathtaking pace as the storytelling passes from one character to another. 9/10

Autumn

by Ali Smith
A round up and, to some extent, a comment on the current state or mood of the country. It is a story of the friendship between an old man, Daniel and a young girl/woman, Elisabeth that is full of imagination and humour that I loved. Quirky at times and maybe lopping off characters -such as Elisabeth's lovers-too quickly I really enjoyed it which almost certainly kills off its chances in the Man Booker prize for which it has been longlisted. 9/10

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

by Arundhati Roy
This is an engaging book but I found that when I picked it up I found it hard to put down, but when I put it down I felt no urgency to pick it back up.
The story is that of an Indian transexual who sets up an odd but engaging community in an old graveyard. The characters are tragic and comic and larger than life but they have a vibrancy that draws the reader in. A large part of the middle of the book is taken up with the Kashmir conflict and the relationship of 2 people caught up in it. This was interesting but for me a bit to long but a good read all the same 8/10

Les Parisiennes

by Anne Sebba
A fascinating book that I found difficult to follow at first because of all the names mentioned, but it gives a very balanced view of the role women played in Parisian life during the second world war and some of the reasons they may have acted as they did. 8/10

Unconditional Surrender

by Evelyn Waugh
The final part of the Sword of Honour trilogy sees things work out not too badly for Guy. This is a book full of pathos as the war nears its end and society realises that things have changed forever.
It has some interesting comment on being a catholic and the cultural as well as religious implications. I enjoyed this better than the second volume but still enjoyed the first book best 8/10

A horse walks into a bar

by David Grossman
This book has a number of very amusing jokes in it but it s far from a comedy.
It is the story, set in a stand up club, where a man's life unfolds during his act, to which he has invited a childhood acquaintance. As a side story we also get a bit of his life too.
It is a short, gripping piece of writing that kept me enthralled from beginning to end. 8/10

Officers and Gentlemen

by Evelyn Waugh
The second part of the Sword of Honour trilogy.
Continuing the story of Guy Crouchback, an outsider in many ways but part of the English elite. In this volume we have the story of preparations for war on the isle of Mugg, which is very amusing and the comedy of errors that leads to the elevation of trimmer.
The second part is based around Crete and is much more sombre and sobering but continues to show up the senselessness of war. 7/10

The Satanic Verses

by Salman Rushdie
The imagination of Rushdie is astounding. 30 years nearly after first published, it still bowled me over with its bizarre happenings from the very start to its tragic-tinged with a glimmer of hope-ending. The best book I have read this year and I will be lucky if I read one to equal it 9/10

Men at Arms

by Evelyn Waugh
The first part of the Sword of Honour trilogy finds Guy Crouchback joining the army 8 years after a failed marriage. He stands melancholy and aloof from the host of comic characters he meets en route as he grapples with his Catholicism and the boredom of army life at the start of WW2. It is laugh out loud funny in places but equally sad in others as the loneliness of human existence is laid out. His fellow officers struggles with his thunderbox are a great piece of theatre. 9/10

The Closers

by Michael Connelly
Harry Bosch is back in the LAPD after a 3 year "retirement" and working cold cases, or as they like to refer to them open unsolved. This first case brings him into conflict with Irving Irvine who himself has been moved out of Parker Centre. The case centres around a murdered teenager and the trauma left in the wake of her killing. A good return for Harry 8/10

The Narrows

by Michael Connelly
The return of a notorious fbi agent turned criminal known as The Poet keeps Harry more than occupied in a tense cat and mouse chase 7/10

Buddenbrooks

by Thomas Mann
Mann's first novel published in 1901 is the story of a wealthy merchant family in Germany covering three generations from the 1830's to the late 1870's. It charts the gradual decline of the family fortune.
I loved this book. The descriptions of the characters were such that I could see them immediately in my minds eye. I loved Toni, who is constantly referring to herself as a silly goose but actually was the most committed to maintaining the family position and suffers personally as a result. Little Hanno with his artistic bent was wonderful and then Christian and Thomas - so different but so true to life. I will miss them all 10/10

The Orange Grove

by Larry Tremblay
Another great short novel from Peirene Press.
This novel left me tearful as it examines the fate of twin brothers caught up in a bloody civil war and being forced to take actions that we in the West find hard to comprehend.
Being the father of twin boys I recognised the friendship that bound the two central characters and ultimately ripped them both apart. 8/10

The Pen and the Brush

by Anka Muhlstein
A look at the link between novelists and painters in nineteenth century French fiction looking at Balzac, Zola and Proust together with Maupassant and Huysmans.
This is a fascinating survey of the painter in the French novel and how the novelist uses their own relationships with painters and painting to influence their writing. I particularly liked the piece on Proust's painter Elstir. Made me want to pick up the book again 8/10

The Last Summer

by Ricarda Huch
A thriller set in St Petersburg in the early 1900's. The governor has closed the University following student unrest and has received a death threat.
His wife, concerned for his safety, hires a secretary to look out for him. But not everything is as it seems. Told through letters written by the main characters this book is a real page turner. 8/10

Death in Venice

by Thomas Mann
I read this book in Venice and it evokes the city in a loving and perfect way.
The story is about a wealthy artist who falls in love with a young boy whom he adores from a distance. It is always a doomed attraction but is one of the most beautiful books I have read in some time 9/10

Vile Bodies

by Evelyn Waugh
The story of Adam Fenwick-Symes and of England and the upper classes between the wars.
This satire is bitingly funny in places but ends up in a very somber and, for a book published in 1930, prophetic place. 8/10

The Disappearance of Emile Zola

by Michael Rosen
In 1898 Zola had to disappear following a court case relating to his stance in the Dreyfus case.
This book charts the time he spent in England during the year before he was able to return to France. Using letters that remain and newspaper accounts it charts a very personal account of the pressure Zola was under and the cost he had to pay for his speaking out in support of a wrongly accused man. Although it is a story I know well I enjoyed this book and I liked the fact that J'accuse was included as an appendix together with a ghost story he wrote while in England. 9/10

The Courtesan and the Gigolo

by Aaron Freundschuh
This book uses the Pranzini Affair from 1887 Paris to examine social and political life at the time. Parallels with today are hard to avoid as the book examines the rise of right wing xenophobia and the looking for scapegoats among the outsider. Very interesting 7/10

Zero K

by Don Delillo
On the face of it this was a novel examining why someone might go for cryogenic freezing ranging from hope for a cure for a disease to escaping the current human disasters in hope of a better future.
The story is narrated by the son of a wealthy man who has set up a hidden and highly secure facility in the middle of nowhere. The father and step mother end up going through the cooling process and the son is a witness, opposed to the whole idea.
The book works best and is at it's most engaging when the father and son are interacting. They are not close and the exchanges between them bring out some of the ethical issues raised. Much of the rest of the book I found laboured but as you would expect written in a prose that was wonderful. 6/10

Frog

by Mo Yan
This is a novel about a chinese midwife called Gugu and her nephew called Tadpole who narrates the story. However, it is much more than that. It tells the story of the one child policy in China from the time of post second world war to the current day. At one point it is talking about the national level and the benefits the state would see and then seamlessly, takes it down to the individual level and the pain and problems caused to families and individuals.
It was funny in places and heartbreaking in others. Personally, I found difficulty in getting to grips with the names but that did not get in the way of a thought provoking and enjoyable novel 8/10

William Morris

by Fiona MacCarthy
This is a heavy tome in terms of weight but is a very enjoyable read. Published 20 years ago it looks at the phases of life that Morris went through and is particularly good on his socialist phase-how he arrived there and the contribution that he made to the early days of the labour movement. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to know about the man and his relationships with Burn-Jones(a lifelong friend) and Rosetti etc. 9/10
ps To protect your wrists from permanent damage buy it for your kindle!

Decline and Fall

by Evelyn Waugh
A very funny book with a great bunch of comic characters. The book follows the story of Paul Pennyfeather, who gets wrongly thrown out of Oxford for indecent exposure following a party of the Bollinger club.
As we follow his life subsequent to this we come across some marvelous specimens of which my favourite is Captain Grimes who he meets at Fagan's school. He, by his own admission, is always in the soup but manages to pull himself through due to his public school background.
The book was written in 1928 and seems to cross certain PC lines at times but does take a gigantic swipe at "the privileged" 8/10

Lost Light

by Michael Connelly
Harry has left the police force and picks up a job as a private eye tracking down the killer in a cold case he worked on in the past.
Along the way he picks up a bank heist and learns to play saxaphone from an old jazz player he visits. Perhaps his biggest surprise waits until the end of the book though. 7/10

The Story of the Lost Child

by Elena Ferrante
So the final book in this quartet. I left book 3 feeling annoyed with Lenu. This book brings us back to Naples and covers the second half of the six decades this quartet covers.
It is a very sad and at times painful portrayal of friendship and whether it can last the ravages of time. I find myself wondering with which character I empathise most. Lenu is extremely selfish. I didn't buy her justifications for writing a novel that borrows from her friends deeply personal loss, but I guess at the end of the day she had her own battles to fight.
I think my sympathy lies mostly with Pietro. Even though the book talked a lot about Leila it would be wonderful to hear this story told from her perspective. Like Lenu, I guess we know that will never happen. A memorable quartet of books 9/10

Round up 2016

A year when I read a greater number of non-fiction books including a very enjoyable biography of Napoleon and books around the French revolution and France after the second world war.
I also reread War and Peace and 3 of the Neopolitan quartet by Elena Ferrante which I mostly enjoyed. Continued in crime with Harry Bosch and Maigret.
I also reread A Christmas Carol which is always fun and sure to bring a tear to the eye.
Putting aside the classics, hard to find a really standout book this year. Maybe Hot Milk by Deborah Levy for the beauty of the language or The Childhood of Jesus by JM Coetzee. Ian Macewan and Nutshell was so quirky I enjoyed it but I have to say nothing that will stay with me for a long time.
The Booker was disappointing with the winner being funny but maybe more suited to a reader more in touch with America.

Swing Time

by Zadie Smith
Based in London, New York and Africa it follows the fortunes of an unnamed narrator and her relationship with her parents, her pop superstar boss and her childhood friend, Tracey.
The parts looking back to her childhood worked really well and resonated with me but it then seemed to lose its way. The big revelations in the book were not so great and the ending felt rushed and didn't quite work for me. The nameless narrator became quite forgettable. 6/10

City of Bones

by Michael Connelly
A tough story about child abuse and a cold case as bones of a young boy are found 20 years after he was killed. Lots of false trails and some further development of the Bosch character make for compelling stuff. 7/10

breach

by Olumide Popoola and Annie Holmes
This book is a collection of eight short stories formed and crafted in the Calais jungle. They tell stories of immigration from different standpoints and vary from being very good to so-so. However, what they do-even after the jungle has been dismantled-is raise questions about the migrant crisis which we cannot ignore. The stories highlight the fact that this crisis is about individual lives and not indistinguishable, expendable masses. This alone makes it worth reading. 6/10

Nutshell

by Ian McEwan
An unusual book. Therese Raquin told with humour by an unborn infant. This book totters along the edge of will it/won't it work from beginning to end. It is hilarious in places- this foetus must be the most knowledgable wine buff who has never been born-and dark in others but it works. By the end I was desperate to find out how it ends despite the narrator. Maybe not the best McEwan I have read but certainly the funniest and at the end of the day it was a great yarn. 8/10

Napoleon the Great

by Andrew Roberts
This is the first biography of Napoleon I have read but I found it engaging, informative and, despite its size of 800 pages, interesting both when describing battles and when describing his adminastrative acheivements which were huge. 8/10

The Crowd in History 1730-1848

by George Rude
A book first published in 1964 this was the revised version of 1981.
It was very interesting looking at the French revolution and 1848 revolution in France and the Luddites, Chartists and Gordo riots in England along with a number of food and labour riots in both countries. He gets behind "the mob" by looking at some of the individual participants with some surprising results.
I found the style of writing a bit flat at times. I found the maps charting the spread of riots really fascinating. 7/10

Do not say we have nothing

by Madeleine Thien
This is a long novel covering a long and eventful period in chinese history.
The book starts in Canada and is told by a chinese woman looking back over her life' or more importantly, the life of her parents. They have both now died, her father committing suicide in Hong Kong and she tries to piece together the gaps in what she knows about her family. The result is a story covering the latter half of the twentieth century taking in the rise of Mao, the cultural revolution and Tianemen square.
It took me a while to get into this novel as I was trying to piece together who was who but by half way through I was hooked by a story examining the impact of world events on individuals and families. Definitely worth reading and close to getting the vote of my favourite from the Booker shortlist. 9/10

The Sellout

by Paul Beatty
The winner of the 2016 Booker prize so I felt duty bound to give it a go.
I have to say it was very funnily written in places which is impressive given its subject matter is slavery and segregation and a look at racism in modern America.
The basic premise is that a black man has a slave (albeit not of his own doing) and also looks to implement segregation in his home neighbourhood with a view to improving the lot of black people.
Although the book was well written and comic I had trouble keeping up with some of the language and references back to American cultural items, so not my favourite on the shortlist but part of the fun of the shortlist is disagreeing with the judges. 6/10

Paris Reborn: Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City

by Stephane Kirkland
You get the impression that the author is a fan of Napoleon III, which is different to much of the bad press the man gets.
He also tries to show that Hausmannisation was not all the idea or the delivery of Haussman himself.
The book gives a great picture of the changes wrought by the second empire on Paris, both for good and bad. I enjoyed the book very much. 9/10

All that Man is

by David Szalay
Shortlisted for the Booker prize this book should not work but it does.
On the face of it, it is a collection of nine short stories. The stories are about unrelated men all of whom are travelling or living away from home and each story places the men at a different stage in life starting at 18 and finishing at 73 and by doing so builds a picture of everyman. I really enjoyed it 9/10

The North Water

by Ian McGuire
This was a f****ng C*!t of a book with more use of these two expletives than I have ever come across in a book.
Having said that it was a good story with an Irish doctor-disgraced unfairly in India-signing up to a whaling boat with a psycho on board.
He is also not the only person on board hiding a secret which becomes clear as the story unfolds. I particularly liked the ending. Longlisted for the Booker it did not make the longlist. 8/10

The Childhood of Jesus

by J. M. Coetzee
As the sequel to this book is on the Booker longlist I thought I had better read this first.
It is a strange tale where nothing is quite what it seems. The story is not about the biblical Jesus.
It is set in the 20th century but we are never told when. They have telephones but not mobiles. They have cars but they still use horses at the docks where Simon works. They speak Spanish but they are not in Spain. They have arrived from somehere by boat but we do not know where. On the way nearly all there memories have been erased but we do not know why.
The central characters are a young boy called David(or is he) and a middle aged man called Simon who has taken him under his wing on the boat with a promise to help him find his mother.
The book asks lots of questions about family ties and what is a father/mother? It offers no answers. The little boy is very irritating at times and the story has no satisfactory conclusion.
All that said, it is a tribute to Coetzee's storytelling that you get carried along with ease, and although I ended the book with more questions than I started I enjoyed the ride. 8/10

Work Like any Other

by Virginia Reeves
A book set in 1920's Alabama, concerning a young man enthralled by the new industry of electricity and power distribution. Having married and been forced by circumstance to take over his wife's family farm, he is uninterested until he realises he can tap in to the local power company's supply and bring electricity to the farm.
We learn right at the start that this experiment goes badly wrong and a man is killed. Found guilty of theft and manslaughter he is given a sentence of 20 years imprisonment. The book tells us the story of what happened next as well as what went before.
Told by alternate chapters from within the prison and life outside it is a beautifully crafted story that I really enjoyed and would probably put at the top of booker longlist novels I have read so far. This almost certainly means it has no chance of winning, but that is part of the fun of long lists! 9/10

The Ghost Stories of Charles Dickens vol. 3

by Charles Dickens
'The Signalman', 'The Portrait Painter's Story', 'The Mortals of the House', 'The Ghost in Master B's Room', 'Captain Murderer and the Devil's Bargain', 'Well-Authenticated Rappings', 'A Child's Dream of a Star'.
This collection, published as an audiobook is a pretty mixed collection with well known favourites such as the signalman combined with a bit off victorian horror in Captain Murderer and some dross such as the last 2 stories. 4/10

The Empress and the Cake

by Linda Stift
This starts in the most normal way with an old lady offering a young woman a piece of cake at a pastry shop.
It then descends into a sinister creepy tale as the young woman becomes enmeshed in the strange goings on of the older woman.
Both women exhibit traits of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth which is both funny and creepy at different times. The book ends with the darkest of sentences.
There was an awful lot of vomiting in this book which is a bit hard to take, and probably best not read while eating cake! 8/10

Hot Milk

by Deborah Levy
The story of a 20 something woman who has ended up in Spain with her English mother to try and find a cure for a puzzling illness. Her Greek father left when she was young but he does put in appearance in the book as she struggles to find meaning in it all. The use of language is at times mesmerising and beautiful to listen to on the audio book I listened to this on. The story fely a bit laboured toward the end but I would happily read this again. 9/10

Eileen

by Ottessa Moshfegh
Set in 1960's America this is a strange book that tells the story of a young women who is a loner from an abused background who forms an unlikely friendship with a young women at the detention facility in which she works. It builds suspense very well but I was disappointed with the story telling. A sure sign it will win the booker prize for which it has been longlisted. 5/10

The Bitter Taste of Victory

by Lara Feigel
A look at Berlin from 1944 to the early days of the cold war. It is told from the angle of writers and artists, journalists and musicians who all for various reasons chose to get involved or went to have a look. It is a fascinating read. There are fascinating sections on the relative positions to Germany of Thomas Mann and his children, the involvement and responses of British writers such as Auden and Mervyn Peake. Who wouldn't marvel at James Gavin of the 82nd Airborne who at one time was carrying on simultaneous affairs with Martha Gellhorn and Marlene Dietrich. It was a mad, depressing time that led to mad unreal responses. 9/10

A Climate of Fear

by Fred Vargas
Gorgeously quirky Commissioner Adamsberg at it again with his team of bizarre French detectives. The story just hangs in there for an enjoyable romp which I had just about unravelled before the end. 8/10

Sappho-Parisian Manners, A realistic novel

by Alphonse Daudet
The attraction of this book for me was it's publisher, Vizetelly and Co in 1888. This was the famous publisher of Zola novels who was tried for publishing such obscene works as La Terre!
Sappho is full of melodrama and not a book to grip you. A story of a young aristocrat, Gaussin and his relationship with an aging prostitute. The ending is predictable but it moves along at a good pace and the numerous illustrations are fun. 5/10

Angels Flight

by Michael Connelly
The next Bosch and we cover a lot of ground from Civil rights, child sex crimes, and corrupt cops on the LAPD. Add to that problems with Harry's marriage and you realise this book is not short on plot.
The body count is quite high in this one and as ever has a fairly ambivalent conclusion. A good listen on the commute to work though. 7/10

Those who leave and those who stay

by Elena Ferrante
Part three of the Neopolitan quartet and Lenu and Lena grow up. Lenu leaves, goes through university and marries into a good northern family. Lena leaves her husband and works in a sausage factory owned by Bruno from the beach in Ischia.
We are taken on a whirlwind tour through late twentieth century Italian history and some long drawn out passages on life as a mother which can be a bit tedious. I finished this book absolutely infuriated with Lenu. For someone intelligent and able to think and write about feminist issues how can she get so taken in by a shit who she knows the complete history of. I know I have to read part four but Lenu and I are not friends at present so I am putting it off! 7/10

Her Father's Daughter

by Marie Sizun
The story of growing up at the end of the second world war seen through the eyes of a child. For her early years she is brought up by her mother alone as the father is away at the war. But then he comes back and everything changes. This is a moving portrayal of how a child deals with adult issues and draws you in immediately. I loved it. 9/10

Camille

by Pierre LeMaitre
The third in a crime trilogy featuring Camille Verhoeven. There is a good back story about the quirky and very short commandant in the French police force.
His girlfriend gets caught up in a violent robbery and Camille breaks a number of rules to track down the perpetrators. As in all three there are a number of twists along the way but in this one I did see the end coming. Still a real page turner 8/10

Trunk Music

by Michael Connelly
Another Harry Bosch novel where he returns to homicide after a previous case had put him on suspension.
A simple murder case on Mullholland drive turns serious when Harry discovers that they are treading on the toes of an FBI engagement. Harry also discovers an old love. 7/10

Zola and the Victorians

by Eileen Horne
This is the story of the Vizetelly publishing house and the trouble it got into by publishing the novels of Emile Zola. It highlights the sheer madness of a society that allows a bunch of people with extremely clear views of what is right and wrong to drive public opinion over the edge of a cliff. The outcome of these 2 cases which resulted in Henry Vizetelly being imprisoned for 3 months had long repercussions in England with many books banned/destroyed. This was not reversed until the 1960's and the new laws on obscene publications together with the Lady Chatterley case.
The author of this book covers the ground really well but I found the novelistic style a bit much at times. I also would have to complain again about the poor editing, with words missed out or spelt incorrectly or merged together. Who does read these books before going out?
The dustjacket cover is fabulous! 6/10

The Story of a New Name

by Elena Ferrante
The second in the Neopolitan quartet follows Lila on her disastrous marriage and Lenu on her journey through the education system. It deals in raw detail with domestic violence and the male dominated society of the girls upbringing. These parts of the book were difficult for me but what drew me in was the reflections of Lenu on growing up in a working class environment where little things we now take for granted(telephone, fridge, washing machine) were luxury goods only owned by the well to do in society. This kept lighting up memories from my own past.
I also empathised with the struggle to fit into a society where everyone but you seems to know the rules, and no matter how bright you maybe you are always one step away from your next social faux pas.
But underneath this is a story of a friendship that endures and that is what makes it so engaging and so human. I am looking forward to part 3. 9/10

The Dancer at the gai-moulin

by Georges Simenon
Yet another Maigret and I think my favourite to date. Two young lads get caught up in a much bigger story when they see a dead man in a club they meant to rob. Lots of tension as Maigret unravels what really happened at the gai moulin. 8/10

The Grand Banks Cafe

by Georges Simenon
Another enjoyable Maigret yarn. This time set in a normandy fishing port where a whole crew appear traumatised from a recent trip and the captain has ended up dead. Who did it and why is that radio operator acting so stangely? 7/10

Cousin Bette

by Honore de Balzac

Great storytelling and character painting from one of the greats. Bette is a horrible person with a huge chip on her shoulder and the book unfolds the devious way she goes about trying to get revenge on her virtuous cousin using the outrageous characters she is surrounded by. Very funny in places, gut wrenching in others this was an enjoyable novel and did not speak well of early nineteenth century parisians! 9/10

A People's History of the French Revolution

by Eric Hazan
A very readable account of the French revolution and told from the left's point of view. I found this very engaging and particular the positive view of Robespierre's role in the events of 1789-1793.
Definitely would read again 9/10

The Man with the Getaway Face

by Richard Stark
The second Parker novel. Did not enjoy it as much as the first one. An average crime caper where the good guy is a bad guy. 5/10

The Vanishing Man

by Laura Cumming
Having read the blurb I was not sure what to expect from this book. I wasn't sure if it was a novel or art history or what?
It turns out to be a very readable book about Velazquez and a little known (and to me totally unknown) shopkeeper from Reading whose life was dominated by a painting he was sure was by Velazquez. It is an absorbing tale as we follow both men through very different but equally fascinating lives. It is also beautifully illustrated 8/10

Number 11

by Jonathan Coe
A great book but probably made better by having read What a Carve Up recently. The book is not a sequel but it does hark back to the Winshaw's a reasonable amount.
A reflection on 21st Century Britain it is both very funny and very sad with a very bizarre ending that on reflection is what the subject matter deserves. 9/10

A Man's head

by Georges Simenon
This was a very enjoyable Maigret. Set in Paris and Maigret on the edge as he has a man released from prison to try and find the true killer. Great stuff 8/10

War and Peace

by Tolstoy
Have listened to this over the last 3 months as an audiobook and it is epic in so many ways.
The thing Tolstoy seems to do effortlessly is move from the large scale of the franco russian conflict to the lives of individual russians and their concerns and daily lives. His detailing of character is wonderful and even his fatalistic philosophising gives you pause for thought-although he does go on a bit! 9/10

What a carve up!

by Jonathan Coe
Part satire on the 1980's and 90's life in Britain, part out and out farce this is the story of the Winshaw family who represent everything dreadful about Thatcher's Britain. They have a butler who goes by the wonderful name of Pyles.
There story is told by Michael Owen, an author down on his luck and whose life is far from staightforward.
It is very funny in places and a good bedtime read 8/10

Voices from the Dark Years

by Douglas Boyd
This was a survey of what it was like in France after the German occupation.
It looks at the wider picture but ties the narrative together by looking at particular families and individuals and the way they dealt with life in this difficult period for France. I found this approach helpful and offered some fresh aspect on living ordinary lives in difficult times. I found some of the editing a bit flawed but I am being picky 7/10

The Hunter

by Richard Stark
This is the first Parker novel and it is hard to describe. I enjoyed it and was willing Parker on even though he is a killer, a woman beater, an out an out criminal. It bugs me that I cannot put my finger on why you end up rooting for him, but you do (or at least I did). Maybe it's the Soprano's thing. Why would you ever like Tony Soprano, but who can't help loving him. Definitely worth a read 7/10

A history of the Barricades

by Eric Hazan
A whirlwind tour of the French barricades from 1588 to 1871-the 1968 barricades were different. It is mostly about Paris but points out that they were used across France and other parts of Europe. It is a book that sets you hunting for more information (I have acquired 2 Victor Hugo boos on the back of it). I enjoyed it immensely and am already planning my next Paris trip to track down some of this history 8/10

The Man I Became

by Peter Verhelst
A novella about a gorilla who gets kidnapped and trained up to behave like a human. He observes and reflects on his life from a time beyond a great catastrophe and it is at times funny, sad and downright weird! I enjoyed it though and it was the right length to avoid becoming stale. 7/10

The Haunted Hotel

by Wilkie Collins
A ghost story set in London and Venice. In true Collins style the plot gallops along as the mystery of what really went on with the older brother in a family is revealed. Great stuff and also coupled with a short story, The Dream Woman'. 8/10

My Brilliant Friend

by Elena Ferrante
Part of a quartet of books that follows two friends from childhood on. It is set in Naples and starts in the 1950's and although at times it moves quite slowly its evocation of Naples streets and childhood memories is fantastic. Definitely worth a read, especially if you grew up in a time when not everybody had a tv or a car 8/10

The Dark Angel

by Dominique Silvain
Quirky crime thriller involving two women, one a burlesque dancer and the other a retired policewoman. Okay but wouldn't rush for the next in the series 5/10

Round up 2015

Have read a number of series books this year, starting with the MadAddam trilogy and starting the Tariq Ali Islam quintet(covered 3 books). Also read Irene from the Pierre Lemaitre crime trilogy, and reread Money from the Rougon Macquart series. Add to this some Harry Bosch and Maigret and I guess you conclude it was the year of the series.
However, my book of the year comes down to one of three from no series.
A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman, a rereading of Great Expectations by Dickens and The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre. If I had to pick one it would probably be Sarah Winman by a whisker, for the way it captures magic in the real.
It would be wrong to end this post without a mention of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. How this did not win the Booker escapes me. It was the hardest read this year but a book I could not keep away from despite having to put it down for a day or two en route.

The Rise of Islamic State

by Patrick Cockburn
A useful introduction to the stories behind the headlines in the current Syrian mess.
If you didn't think British bombing was misguided before reading this you may be persuaded otherwise reading this book. 8/10

The Great Swindle

by Pierre Lemaitre
There are numerous swindles going on in this book set against the backdrop of the first world war-the greatest swindle of all. I really enjoyed this book. The first chapter is fantastic, leaving you wondering what the book is about and where it will go. After that it is a case of follow the swindles.
This is such a contrast to his detective works but still great writing One of the best reads this year. 9/10

Great Expectations

by Charles Dickens
What Larks! What can I say, one of my all time favourites and the book that kicked off my love of Dickens. Pip is still as annoying, Estella is still annoying but the characters are all wonderful and the book is a joy to read. 9/10

The Concrete Blonde

by Michael Connelly
The third Harry Bosch novel this year. It was ok and gave us a bit more insight into Harry's character. It was a good relaxing read. 6/10

Playing the Whore

by Melissa Gira Grant
A book about sex work by a sex worker.
An interesting book and an interesting take on this area of society. It suffers from continually claiming that nobody outside the sex workers field could write with any valid opinion about the industry. I cannot agree with that but I did like a refreshing look at the issues. 5/10

Satin Island

by Tom McCarthy
Very different from the previous book, this short novel has minimal plot, minimal character development and yet somehow is very engaging. In parts it is very funny -how funny can a corporate anthropologist be I hear you say- and in others very thought provoking. It definitely grew on me the more I read. 7/10

A Spool of Blue Thread

by Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler has been accused of only ever writing about family life. As this is the first book I have read by her I cannot comment on that, but if it is true then she does it very well. This is the story of the Whitshanks scattered over several decades and I found it really engaging. Character development is excellent and the story is kept alive somehow with very little happening that wouldn't happen in many families. Good stuff!7/10

Capital in the 21st Century

by Thomas Piketty
This book I have been reading for the past year nearly and have used audio, paper and kindle at various times to complete it. Having said that it is a very engaging read and highlights the need for some form of intervention if we are to avoid the disparity in wealth from increasing at an accelerating rate. The translation by Arthur Goldhammer is excellet. 9/10

Sweet Caress

by William Boyd
subtitled The Many Lives of Amory Clay this is narrated by a women photographer who lives for a large part of the twentieth century. It tells the story of her life and was at its most engaging when she was photographing things. The parts in the Scottish highlands were a diversion. A good read for a long weekend.8/10

The Looking-Glass Sisters

by Gohril Gabrielsen
This book by a Norwegian author makes any nordic noir you have read look like Anne of Green Gables. This is grim fare and although the writing is great in places it is a thoroughly depressing read. Described as a tragic love story it may be better described as a tragic hate story laced with bitterness and resentment. Could not get into this at all 3/10

Lamentation

by CJ Sansom
This is the last in a series of Tudor crime mysteries featuring lawyer Matthew Shardlake. It is a very easy writing style that carries you along through all 600 pages to a surprising conclusion. The historical detail is good and yet it is not a taxing read. 8/10

The Moor's Account

by Laila Lalami
The story of a Spanish expedition to conquer Florida told from the standpoint of a slave who was never consulted by history. This fictional account starts in Barbary before the narrator is a slave and follows his path through good times to bad times to slavery and his final inclusion on an ill fated trip to Florida and a march across the south to Mexico.
I found it slow moving to begin with but I became more and more engaged and ending up enjoying the story. 7/10