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The English Assassin by Daniel Silva – A really good read 9/10 |
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By bookworm on
12/30/2005 10:46 AM
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Daniel Silva’s The English Assassin is a well crafted mystery/thriller that moves along at a fast pace, with a terrific plot. The descriptions are contained and used for insight into context and characters, though characters and place are not drawn in the padded laboured detail as in some less well written books , but through clever focus on key events and action keeps the reader gripped. It really was difficult to put this one down even just to make a cup of tea ! I can really recommend this for a good read. I’ll make a point of reading his other books.
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The latest Aurelio Zen – Is Michael Dibdin pulling our leg ? |
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By bookworm on
12/29/2005 9:34 AM
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Back To Bologna by Michael Dibdin is the latest Aurelio Zen mystery shows the atmospheric Italian background of the earlier Zen mysteries at which Dibdin excels, but also some very tired plotting and characterisation that stretches our belief to the limit. The jacket blurb says “features a cast of vivid and idiosyncratic characters and along the way delivers both comic and serious insights into the realities of today’s Italy.” For idiosyncratic read weird and almost unbelievable when put together into one book –and “Comic insights” ?. I got the feeling that Dibdin was just fed up with Zen and all he could manage was a parody.
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Sleep Pale Sister by Joanne Harris. An early novel by author of Chocolat – a little turgid 5/10 |
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By bookworm on
12/28/2005 8:10 PM
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Sleep Pale Sister is a reprint of an early work of Whitbread-shortlisted Chocolat’s author Joanne Harris. It is a historical thriller. Written in the first person the narrator changes from character to character as a device to reveal the motives and thoughts of each of the protagonists. This does make the prose somewhat long winded stream of consciousness stuff that can be very tedious if you are (like me) wanting the plot to move a little quicker. The action is all too predictable, thought there are many circuitous chapters until we get there. I must also confess to feeling that this was a particular weak ending. However, I did read it until the end.
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Stuart – A life backwards by Alexander Masters – read this over Christmas |
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By bookworm on
12/23/2005 9:58 PM
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Stuart – A life backwards by Alexander Masters, is a true story about the life of a homeless man, Stuart. This wonderful biography, written after two years of interviews, shows a graphic and often funny picture of what it is like being a person with a chaotic lifestyle – and should be read by all those people who think the problem of homelessness could be cured by some simple answer. Read it this Christmas and have an insight into just how privileged you are – however grim your life may seem – not to have the demons and self awareness of them of Stuart Shorter.
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Michael Connelly – The Closers just as good as his others |
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By bookworm on
12/21/2005 9:56 AM
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You can see why Michael Connelly stays on the best seller lists - Michael Connelly’s The Closers is particularly well crafted crime fiction. It is well plotted with a nice fast-paced narrative. Harry Bosch, Connelly’s detective is out of retirement and working with “Cold Cases” – now renamed the “Open Unsolved Unit”.
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Shalimar the Clown –Salman Rushdie - 5/10 only |
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By bookworm on
12/18/2005 2:47 PM
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Heavyweight prizewinning author Salman Rushdie’s novel Shalimar the Clown has a fairly formulaic structure – Action then reason for it – that means little is unexpected and is tedious reading in parts. With a cast of flawed and unlikable characters it is really uphill work to keep on to the end. There are some lyrical passages of context which may be enough to lift the book for fans of his writing.
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Renko returns !. Wolves eat Dogs by Martin Cruz Smith equals Gorky Park |
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By bookworm on
12/15/2005 7:05 PM
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Wolves Eat Dogs, the latest Martin Cruz Smith book featuring the Moscow Senior Investigator Arkady Renko, now looks at the Russia after the fall of the Iron Curtain. This is a must read – not just for the interest in the setting and context, and effective characterisation, but a masterful plot that drips information and invites you to put together the solution. My best read this year.
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Michele Desbordes – The House in the Forest- has considerable critical acclaim |
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By bookworm on
12/13/2005 8:28 PM
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Michele Desbordes – The House in the Forest- has considerable critical acclaim – jacket reviews say “Michele Desbordes enigmatic first novel glitters and pulses” and “both a tantalising mystery and a gripping and lyrical meditation on love, loss and the passing of time”. This prepares you for something more than seems to be there. It is certainly quite strange in its setting, and increasingly predictably, a tragedy. Perhaps it were better read in its original French.
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Orange Prize shortlisted – Marina Lewycka, a Short History of Tractors in Ukranian |
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By bookworm on
12/11/2005 6:48 PM
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Marina Lewycka brought up in England, though with Ukrainian parents, has written a novel – A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (ISBN 0 670 91560 2 HB) that was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for fiction. The story is interwoven with a number of themes, relationships in families – with some wonderful reflections of old age, the legacy of Europe’s history over the past 50 years, and about immigrants and immigration and links with their mother countries. It is funny, very funny in parts, though it took a little getting into.
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Le Carre – The Constant Gardner – Film good but book better |
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By bookworm on
12/5/2005 8:31 PM
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Le Carre’s The Constant Gardner (ISBN 0 340 73339 X) is not just a murder mystery but a political thriller, a moving love story and environmental treatise. It has a knotted plot – is this a red herring ? Could be, probably not, probably is – viewpoints are forced to keep changing. A book that's a page turner with feeling and depth. Such a good read – and this from someone who thought she didn’t like Le Carre.
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Turkish author Orhan Pamuk in the news |
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By bookworm on
12/5/2005 5:18 PM
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Recently in the news, Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has been gaoled in Istanbul for writing books containing what has been thought of “negative” images of Turkey. Orhan Pamuk’s book “My name is Red” (Faber & Faber), written in 1998, had universally rave reviews and must be worth a read out of curiosity. It is dense, sensual, foreign, sensitive in insights into human nature and daily life, it’s a historical thriller/romance, and highlights the long-standing differences between Islamic and Christian cultures.
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Diehl’s Primal Fear worth a read |
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By bookworm on
12/4/2005 11:21 AM
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Primal Fear has most if not all of the elements that make for a high octane, gripping thriller, full of suspense: a gruesome beginning that grip your interest, leading to a clever legal/courtroom battle, then continuing to cleverly drip the reader clues keeping the brain engaged in problem-solving – and keeping you reading to try and find out what happens.
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Harry Potter best of last week’s reading |
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By bookworm on
12/2/2005 3:06 PM
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is in the tradition of the later Harry Potter books, a long and seemingly simple but yet tortuous story, where you are aware of major secrets and keep reading to find out what its all about, but get only dribbles of enlightenment though lots of action. The ending of the book is a sad surprise, as Harry is left with parts of Voldemorts soul to find in further books. It really is compelling reading. It left me wanting to read the one or two of the Harry Potter books I’ve missed.
Other Reading - Library books - this week: Death and the Language of Happiness by John Straley (Orion), The Magdalen Martyrs by Ken Bruen (Brandon) and The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen (Hodder & Stoughton)
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