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.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
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
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
Monday, December 12, 2016
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
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
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
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
Saturday, November 26, 2016
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
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
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
Sunday, November 06, 2016
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
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
Friday, September 23, 2016
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
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
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
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
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
Monday, September 05, 2016
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
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
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
Saturday, September 03, 2016
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 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
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
Monday, August 22, 2016
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
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
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 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
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
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