Carlos Ruiz Zafon 'The Angel's Game'
I first read this book in Tuscany five years ago and left it there. Of all the books I have left there, this is the only one which hasn't been lifted by other readers. I'll tell you why: it's weird, convoluted and leaves you with more questions than it answers.
As always with ghost stories, which I don't much enjoy anyway, I get hugely irritated with the protagonist for being so gullible in the first place. This one, David Martin, has one or two saving graces but they don't make any difference to his utter stupidity.
Now, 'Shadow of the Wind' by the same author is a different thing altogether. I haven't read it for years but, as I recall, I loved every bit of it. It is dark and atmospheric but firmly based in reality. I must get it out and read it again just to check.
As always with ghost stories, which I don't much enjoy anyway, I get hugely irritated with the protagonist for being so gullible in the first place. This one, David Martin, has one or two saving graces but they don't make any difference to his utter stupidity.
Now, 'Shadow of the Wind' by the same author is a different thing altogether. I haven't read it for years but, as I recall, I loved every bit of it. It is dark and atmospheric but firmly based in reality. I must get it out and read it again just to check.
Michele Guittari 'A Death in Tuscany' - published in English 2008
Those people who know me would say that I hate thrillers or detective stories but, more and more now, I find myself reading them and thoroughly enjoying them. There have always been exceptions like the original James Patterson books or Lars Thorensen with the 'Girl with the Dragon Tatoo' series. This year I have been wedded to the Arnaldur Indridason series set in Iceland. Perhaps I just need to concentrate on finding the ones I like. Anyway, when I came across this one in Tuscany, I thought I might as well give it a go.
It's really great and I'm pleased that Guittari has written more and that they have been translated from the original Italian. I love the main character who is human, has flaws both as a person and a police officer but has integrity when dealing with the cover up of the murder of a young girl by those with high status in both society and the judicial system.
I must find the rest of his books.
It's really great and I'm pleased that Guittari has written more and that they have been translated from the original Italian. I love the main character who is human, has flaws both as a person and a police officer but has integrity when dealing with the cover up of the murder of a young girl by those with high status in both society and the judicial system.
I must find the rest of his books.
Jed Rubenfeld 'Interpretation of a Murder' - published 2006
this is a fictionalised account of Freud's trip to the United States in 1909 and is a terrific detective story with a good smattering of psychoanalysis thrown in. That doesn't sound like a very promising description but it's hugely captivating and just the thing for lying by the pool. There are twists and turns and loads of red herrings and double-dealing. It's immensely well written with few of the failings of many in the genre - no cliched descriptions nor pages and pages of the most infuriating staccato short sentences.
The characterisation is excellent with believable and, in some cases, even likeable characters.
The characterisation is excellent with believable and, in some cases, even likeable characters.
Zoe Heller 'Notes on a Scandal' - published 2003
i didn't really expect to enjoy this book much. I've read a novel about a teacher accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student before and it predictably pedestrian to say the least; I can't even remember the title.
This one was surprisingly different and, while the perpetrator was completely delusional and infuriatingly naive about her 'relationship' with a sixteen year old, it is the narrator who is much more interesting. It's really only in the final chapter, if not the final page that that the sinister nature of her plans become clear.
This one was surprisingly different and, while the perpetrator was completely delusional and infuriatingly naive about her 'relationship' with a sixteen year old, it is the narrator who is much more interesting. It's really only in the final chapter, if not the final page that that the sinister nature of her plans become clear.
Eric Lomax 'The Railway Man' - published 1995
Reminiscent of 'The Long Walk' (below), 'The Railway Man' is one of those books which emphasises the human capacity for enduring the worst kinds of mental and physical hardships and yet surviving. Eric Lomax clearly has a logical mind and his book as well as his experiences reflect that. His story is told in plain but very moving prose which makes no apologies for being forthright and explicit.
To say I enjoyed the book is the wrong way to look at it. I was at once fascinated, appalled and amazed at this man and his tormented road to recovery from his experiences on the Burma railway.
To say I enjoyed the book is the wrong way to look at it. I was at once fascinated, appalled and amazed at this man and his tormented road to recovery from his experiences on the Burma railway.
Meg Rosoff 'How I Live Now'
I'm not really sure what I think of this book. Written in 2004, it's published under the Penguin Celebration label - you know, the ones with the original orange covers which made me think it might be quite good. I suppose in a way it was quite good but I was put off by the science fiction nature of the setting. It's set in the future in a time when some fictional war breaks out in England for some reason. This is a mystery throughout the book which I found intensely irritating. I'm not a sci-fi fan at all and have a tendency to think that the story could just as easily have been set in a historical war which I understand. It's the story of how some children's lives are affected by this war and how they coped, or didn't. It's love and sex between under-age cousins (which means it's not suitable for the library) and how separation, virtual imprisonment and military service affected their childhoods and later adult lives. I won't be reading it again and probably wouldn't recommend it. I'll probably never trust Penguin again either.
Marianne Fredriksson 'Hanna's Daughters'
Another from the book exchange haul, another translation and another revelation. Set in Sweden at the end of the nineteenth century, beginning of the twentieth, it's the story of Scandinavia's, specifically Sweden's, move from land-based peasant life to cosmopolitan city life. It's told through three generations of women but the resemblance to your usual epic tale of tragedy struck generations in those epics of the eighties ends there. These women are infuriating but understandable and just struggling to cope with the speed of change. Hanna particularly is memorable and there is a great deal in the book which is presented in a style which encourages empathy. It's particularly fascinating since I knew nothing of the history and the way people lived which I suppose makes sense and always makes me consider how little I really know. Puts you in your place really. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and will probably return it to the book exchange with recommendations for people to read it. I might even put it in the school library.
Slavomir Rawicz 'The Long Walk'
A true story this time and one that completely enthralled me. It's the story of a Polish cavalry officer who was condemned to the Siberian gulags for life in 1939 for what appears to be the crime of growing up near the Russian border and then joining the army. This man is amazing. He was so determined to escape that after he was already half-starved and weakened by a three month journey to the gulags, he did everything in his power to organise it. And he succeeded. The story of the group's journey from Siberia to India is almost unbelievable. They lost a few of their number on the way and were incredibly ill at the end but their determination and strength is amazing. Rawicz's storytelling is honest and, at times, heart-wrenching but I am still marvelling at it. I had no idea that anybody had successfully escaped from the Siberian hell camps and was thrilled to find that some did and more than that had the strength of character and will to make it. The book was published in 1956 so how come I've never come across it before?
Irène Némerovsky 'Suite Française'
We had a Book Exchange' at work a few weeks ago for Book Day and I acquired four books I'd never read before. This is the wonderful one I read first. It is the story of several interlinked characters set in the events of the fall of France in 1940. Némerovsky describes in detail the horror of events and the confusion of the many refugees; how their worlds had collapsed. The variety of characters is profuse - those who fall to pieces, those who discover strength and those who just refuse to accept what's happening. Her language is incredible (bearing in mind the book is translated from French) and her characters are described in a beautifully acerbic yet empathetic way. Many an author would envy her understanding of people's motives and selfishness. All of this leads to a book that needs concentration to keep track of all that is going on. It's a fantastic read but, more than that, the story of the author herself is fascinating and tragic.
Before the war, she was a hugely successful author but her family had come to France in 1918 to escape the Russian Revolution and were Jewish. She was prohibited from publishing when the Germans invaded France but embarked on this realistic novel which recounts the events happening around her. Sadly, she died in Auschwitz in 1942. I would love to read her earlier work but I suspect I would have to brush up on my French.
Before the war, she was a hugely successful author but her family had come to France in 1918 to escape the Russian Revolution and were Jewish. She was prohibited from publishing when the Germans invaded France but embarked on this realistic novel which recounts the events happening around her. Sadly, she died in Auschwitz in 1942. I would love to read her earlier work but I suspect I would have to brush up on my French.
Ian McEwan 'Atonement'
This is the only Ian McEwan book I could say I enjoyed so I suppose you could says it is my favourite! He explores the ever-present problem of those wrongly accused and his characterisation is spot on. The characters are all believable in that they are all caught up with themselves they people really are whether they want you to believe that or not. It's set during the Second World War which sets it firmly in history with a context that most of us understand. The context however is not that important to the basic premise. How many people are wrongly accused and have their lives ruined because of it? And then, when the real events come into the open, it's too late and the real culprits have not suffered at all. It's one of those books that could infuriate you because things could so easily have been resolved earlier (and then there would have been no book!) but the characterisation of the accuser is so well done that you can empathise with her; her age, recent trauma and downright stubborn qualities. It's also comforting to think that she had to live her life knowing what she had done.
For some reason this book reminds me of Woolf's 'To the Lighthouse'. I suspect it's the characterisation and events that were going on around the characters both within the grounds and globally because it's certainly not written in Woolf's gorgeous unique style.
For some reason this book reminds me of Woolf's 'To the Lighthouse'. I suspect it's the characterisation and events that were going on around the characters both within the grounds and globally because it's certainly not written in Woolf's gorgeous unique style.
Bernhard Schlink 'The Reader'
This was a reread, I first read this not long after arriving in Qatar. It is just such a marvellous book and I had completely forgotten the twists at the end. I haven't seen the film, I mostly avoid films of books I love because films can't really do them justice and I completely understand why but it takes a genius of a screenwriter to please everybody.
The questions that arise from this book are practically impossible to answer but it's a story told which a huge amount of sympathy to both sides. I love it.
The questions that arise from this book are practically impossible to answer but it's a story told which a huge amount of sympathy to both sides. I love it.
Ian McEwan 'The Innocent'
I'm not a huge fan and this didn't change my mind. It's fairly inoccuous to begin with even if the main character is annoyingly naive even for the 1950s. Towards the middle, the plot takes a ridiculous turn which is completely far-fetched and totally unbelievable. This is not a good thing; we are being asked to believe something which I honestly don't think would ever, ever happen. I carried on reading just to see if the characters got away with this outrageous deed. I'm prepared to believe that the Cold War and the espionage taking place led to such farcical spying techniques but McEwan's additions are just daft. I think you'll have worked out by now that no, I didn't much like this book.
That said, I have brought 'Atonement' from the school library but then, that is the one I like.
That said, I have brought 'Atonement' from the school library but then, that is the one I like.
Louise Welsh 'Naming the Bones'
Louise Welsh is one of my favourite authors and I still think her best book is 'The Cutting Room' which is dark detective/thriller set in Glasgow with some surprising characters and outcomes. 'Naming the Bones' is also set in Scotland (well, she is Scottish) and is another thriller (which I don't normally like much) with researcher from the English Department at Glasgow University researching into the life of a short-lived poet with a past and a curious selection of 'friends'. The mysteries deepen and then unravel as the story gets more and more complicated and the circumstances get darker and darker. The outcome is a chilling surprise and leaves you shocked and horrified. It's a fabulous read and beautifully written. How I wish I could do that.
Chris Cleave 'Little Bee'
I bought this book in San Francisco and there is very little blurb, just an instruction to tell nobody what it is about but that it's good. It is very, very good; pathos and humour combine in a plot that at times seems almost surreal yet firmly based in reality. The main characters are believable if not particularly likeable at times but that adds to the reality of a fairly controversial subject. It's set in both Nigeria and England which may be giving a bit too much of a clue but nobody could begin to imagine how the author has woven the stories of two women together.
Ian Buruma 'The China Lover'
Don't even bother. Unless you are not already familiar with Sino-Japanese relations before and during WWII of course. It's heavy history and a bit more. I gave up which doesn't often happen. I had a glance through it and the character who is touted at the beginning of the blurb,"When Simon Vanoven is sent to occupied Japan, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, it is his dream posting." doesn't appear until a third of the way through by which time you have lost the will to live.
I often have issues with blurb writers but this has to be one of the most misleading blurbs I have ever read.
I often have issues with blurb writers but this has to be one of the most misleading blurbs I have ever read.
Peter Høeg 'The Elephant Keepers' Children'
I read 'Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow' years ago and loved it. Indeed, I read it more than once. This one, published in English in 2012, promises to be much the same. Miss Smilla was a dark, mysterious detective story but 'The Elephant Keepers' Children' couldn't be more different.
It's really a coming-of-age story written from the perspective of a fourteen year-old boy, Peter Finø, who is deep, witty and intelligent. The story is absurd and funny but at the same time poignant and sad. It's one of those books that has to be read quickly, probably at the expense of the style, because the reader just has to know what on earth is going to happen next. But that's all right; I will read it again.
There are all sorts of strange and fantastic characters with equally strange and fantastic names which are often Dickensian in the descriptive way they represent the characters or give us information about their pasts. Some are nicknames but some are the character's 'real' names. I have a feeling that some of these may have lost something in the translation but, there are many that work and are memorable such as, Karl Marauder Lander or Leonora Ticklepalate.
Peter and his sister, Tilte, finally solve the mystery of where their parents have disappeared to and what they have been up to but, at the same time, they discover a great deal about the nature of science, religion, the way people react to these and, most importantly, about themselves and their place in the world around them.
Brilliant, definitely worth a read. I will be reading it again sometime but, in the meantime, I have to find 'The Quiet Girl' also by Peter Høeg.
4th January 2013
It's really a coming-of-age story written from the perspective of a fourteen year-old boy, Peter Finø, who is deep, witty and intelligent. The story is absurd and funny but at the same time poignant and sad. It's one of those books that has to be read quickly, probably at the expense of the style, because the reader just has to know what on earth is going to happen next. But that's all right; I will read it again.
There are all sorts of strange and fantastic characters with equally strange and fantastic names which are often Dickensian in the descriptive way they represent the characters or give us information about their pasts. Some are nicknames but some are the character's 'real' names. I have a feeling that some of these may have lost something in the translation but, there are many that work and are memorable such as, Karl Marauder Lander or Leonora Ticklepalate.
Peter and his sister, Tilte, finally solve the mystery of where their parents have disappeared to and what they have been up to but, at the same time, they discover a great deal about the nature of science, religion, the way people react to these and, most importantly, about themselves and their place in the world around them.
Brilliant, definitely worth a read. I will be reading it again sometime but, in the meantime, I have to find 'The Quiet Girl' also by Peter Høeg.
4th January 2013