Oranges are not the only fruit

by Jeanette Winterson
Very funny in places and very reminiscent in parts of my youth. Felt the last 40 pages or so lost their way but 25 years on this is still agood read. 7/10

The Kindly Ones

by Jonathan Littell
Where do I begin. It was the best of books; it was the worst of books. One thing is certain you cannot be indifferent to this book. It is the fictional autobiography of Max Aue, an intellectual who was a SS officer during the second war. He recounts his experiences from the relative safety of sixty years after the event when he is a respectable owner of a lace factory in France. The narrative is compelling as it recounts not only the history of WWII but the intimate enjoyment and pain of one man's experience. It is hard going though with some very harrowing scenes. I also found the detail of the SS and German heirarchy difficult to follow, even with a glossary at the end of the book. This is a book that will live with me for some time yet. 8/10

Indemnity Only

by Sara Paretsky
This book, first published in 1982, introduces the detective V. I. Warshawski. She is a Chicago based private investigator who has gone on to feature in numerous subsequent investigations set in the city.
This first novel starts with somebody employing Warshawski by pretending to be a wealthy banker and sending her off on a hunt that results in her finding the body of the bankers son. Despite being warned off numerous times, she pursues the case, involving fraud, murder and corruption to an exciting end. As an aside it is fascinating to read a “modern” detective who is set pre mobile phones, pre internet and who is debating whether an IBM desktop computer would be any help in her office.
The character of VI is well built and it is not hard to see why she has continued to attract readers in her subsequent adventures. The plot in this novel stretches credibility to breaking point at times, particularly in the final showdown scene. I also found most of the characters-with the exception of VI –very two dimensional but such is the nature of the genre. If you enjoy a good crime caper this is a fun read.

Parrot and Olivier

by Peter Carey
Carey is a fantastic storyteller and this is no exception. This is a crazy tale inspired by Tocqueville but covers Paris and Dartmoor as well as America itself. It is littered with amusing characters and tall story scenes. Good fun 8/10

Alone in Berlin

by Hans Fallada
This book took me by surprise. The story is in many ways a simple one of a couple whose son is killed at the front during the second world war. They start a campaign of dropping postcards denouncing Hitler. Somehow the inevitable ending is moved towards with tremendous suspense and an engagement with the characters. The best book I have read so far in 2010 9/10

Berlin Tales

Edited and translated by Lyn Marven
This is a collection of short stories with Berlin as a unifying theme. They range from excellent-Evenings after six by Kurt Tucholsky- to very poor. The photos at the start of each story are a real treat. 2/10

The Outsider

by Albert Camus
A fascinating short novel by one of France's most revered writers. Set in his native Algeirs this is a fascinating story that reminds me of a line from Eliot. Humankind cannot face too much reality or words to that effect. It is a fascinating read that left me asking questions about how I would react in similar circumstances-although I cannot envisage killing a man- and what are the things that should provoke a reaction in us. 7/10

Solea

by Jean-Claude Izzo
This is the final book in the Marseilles trilogy featuring the ex cop Fabio Montale. I can't put my finger on what makes this series so good. It could be the worn down, flawed humanity of the central character, it could be the flawed and yet beautiful city of Marseilles that features as a central character in the book, it could be the thriller that runs as almost secondary story throughout. Whatever it is I found all three of the books really enjoyable as they moved slowly to the ineviatable conclusion. 10/10

Smile or Die

by Barbara Ehrenreich
A swipe at the positive thinking industry in America with some reference to the rest of us.
I found the book quite heavy on evidence but would have liked more reasoning as to why positive thinking is not a good thing. An interesting thought provoking read all the same. 6/10

The Girl who kicked the hornet's nest

by Stieg Larsson
The final part of the Salander trilogy and like the previous two ploughs on at an unrelenting rate. As with any series like this there is an element of repitition for those who need a reminder of where we have got to and this makes the book too long. It is a great yarn though!8/10

Wolf Hall

by Hilary Mantel
This Booker Prize winning novel plots the life of Thomas Cromwell-an advisor to Henry VIII. Its detail is remarkable but I never got caught up in the story although the characters were remarkably well drawn and the scope extensive. I can see why it won the prize but I would have chosen AS Byatt above this. 7/10

My Days of Adventure

by E A Vizetelly
This is a book written by a well known journalist and publisher of Zola in 1913 and relating his experiences of being in France at the time of the franco-prussian war in 1870-1. The language is rather dated and I found some of the military detail a little too detailed but the book was very interesting when describing the situation and atmosphere in Paris as the war progressed. 6/10

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