Ne Obliviscaris by Margaret Henderson SmithBook Review
Ne Obliviscaris is the sequel to Margaret’s novel, A Question of Answers. It features the same characters, primarily Harriet Glover, her long time partner, Mark, and her headmaster boss, Joris Sanderson.
Harriet is still the same old Harriet, bumping into people’s cars, knocking folks off ladders, and finding herself in scrapes and weird situations, some very funny, others downright embarrassing. We have all been there, those awkward moments when we wish the world would open up and swallow us whole. Harriet Glover specialises in moments such as these.
She may have lost a little weight, people in love often do, and Harriet Glover is the kind of woman who’s invariably in love, it’s just that sometimes she can’t make up her mind who with. Mark is making noises about getting married again, and not before time, and she’s up for that, while all the time Joris is there in the background, the gorgeous hunk of a man, as she describes him, a guy who doesn’t always treat her that well, and perhaps that intrigues her all the more so too.
She is fascinated by the trappings of wealth and influence he displays, the yacht, the Mercedes, the Rolex watch, she might feel a little guilty about that, what with her socialist leanings, and perhaps she might be more at home in the company of the union men, but that’s out of the question. They are seeking her dismissal, citing health and safety reasons, the woman’s a menace, they say, after Harriet knocks the caretaker clean off his ladder once too often. Harriet’s teaching position at the school is precarious.
She doesn’t care much about that, she tells herself, there are more important things to worry about, and this single-minded lady has other things on her mind. No matter how hard she tries she cannot totally eliminate Joris from her thoughts. She is besotted by the blonde curl that laps over his shirt collar, and the exciting adventures he always appears to be involved in. Fact is, he can do things to Harriet that most other men cannot, and he doesn’t need to touch her to do it.
It doesn’t matter though, he is going to marry someone else, and Harriet closes her mind to that and gets on with the job in hand, as the story unfurls with countless twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up to the very last page.
Next time you are thinking of buying a romcom caper you should consider Ne Obliviscaris. It would make a great travel/beach/holiday read too.
Do Not Forget, Ne Obliviscaris, and do not forget to think about acquiring this book when you are next in a buying mood. Recommended.
ISBN: 978-1-84549-406-3
The Writing Pad
Lustrum by Robert HarrisBook Review
Lustrum is Robert Harris’s third venture into the world of ancient Rome, after Pompeii and Imperium. Lustrum is a sequel to Imperium, featuring the same characters, primarily the lawyer and schemer, Cicero, and the main man himself, Julius Caesar.
Of course you can’t have Caesar without his main rival too, Pompey, and he is there with his vainglorious victory parades as he tries to garner support and favours, just like the all rest.
The story opens with the discovery of a child’s mutilated body, fished from the banks of the river Tiber. It bears all the signs of a ritualistic killing, but who would do such a terrible thing?
No shortage of candidates as it turns out.
This book is all about politics, just as his previous book Ghost was. It looks into the justice and rights and wrongs of waging wars in overseas territories, and questions if such things are really needed, or necessary.Sound familiar? It should, and it’s not the only thing that rings true today, as politicians bend the truth and bring influence to bear to get what they really want.
Lustrum pokes a stick at all those responsible, two thousand years or so apart.
Never underestimate a stick poker.
The story develops into an outright conflict between the two main characters, Cicero and Caesar, narrated through the eyes of Cicero’s slave and secretary, Tiro.
As with all of Robert Harris’s works it is wonderfully well researched and written, though for me this is not one of his most exciting works. Plenty of others disagree. Please make up your own mind.
Lustrum is Mister Harris’s seventh work of fiction and all have been bestsellers and it is easy to see why, but where would you rank this one against the others? Fifth or sixth for me, but as I say, others see things differently.
This is, we are told, the second of a trilogy, which presumably fits in with the somewhat loose ending. May be the third and final act in the play will bring the curtain down with a bang, and that might make us want to re-read Lustrum too, and re-evaluate it, and that is no bad thing either.
Theodore Boone by John Grisham Book Review
Word has it that Mister Grisham is slightly miffed at losing his reputation as the best selling writer of fiction to the Rowling girl. Someone; may be Mister G himself, or perhaps some bright spark at his publishers, looked at the hoards of new adolescent readers Ms Rowling brought to the table and thought – Eh up, if only we could attract some of that lot!
Here’s the result. Theodore Boone.
Theodore is a thirteen year old boy, sound familiar, who’s always dreamt of becoming a judge, I kid you not, or at least a high profile lawyer. It isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds because both of his parents are lawyers and so was his uncle once, though he now seems to be living in semi disgrace, and we don’t ever get to the bottom of that one.
Theo is already dishing out legal advice to his classmates, one suffering through parent’s splitting, another on the cusp of having the family home repossessed. I can’t charge, he says when one of the kids offers payment, I don’t have my licence yet. It sure won’t be long.
The main thrust of the story centres round a high profile murder case going on in the city. The accused is about to walk due to insufficient evidence and when Theo stumbles on a crucial new witness just as the trial is ending the story really gets under way.
It is clear from the reviews that many people did not realise this was a book primarily aimed at the youth audience, but don’t let that put you off entirely. The story rattles along in the same old Grisham way. Of course it is well written, even allowing for the occasional breaks to explain to the youngsters and newcomers what exactly the legal terms and ramifications mean.
We suspect any Grisham reader will still want to read this and will enjoy doing so. The big question is; how will this book impress that new target audience?
Whether that’s great, moderate, or not at all, you can expect to see more of these slimmed down cut down watered down legal thrillers coming from Mister G in his quest to regain his crown.
After all, they are much shorter and quicker to write, and you could expect to see a couple of these beasties churning off the production line every year if the demand was there, and it just might be.
Despite everything we enjoyed it. It is a good read and well worth a second look.
So what’s next? The Rowling girl creating a wicked witch of the courtroom? Now that we would like to see.
A Question of Answers by Margaret Henderson Smith – Book Review
Life begins at forty, so they say, and Harriet Glover certainly hopes so. She is married to Mark Glover, though they aren’t actually married at all. Seeing as their surnames happened to be the same Mark didn’t think it necessary. Commitment had never been his strong point, though Harriet would dearly like to be married, or would she?
May be, may be not, not now that she’s cast her eyes over the six foot blond hunk who just happens to be her boss, the headmaster at the primary school where Harriet teaches.So begins Margaret Henderson Smith’s first novel, A Question of Answers.
The Glovers have two grown up daughters living away from home, though they are still thinking of adding to their brood. The daughters have men of their own, and stressed relationships too. Harriet worries for them, her babies, and the phone never stops ringing, and if it isn’t the daughters, it’s Harriet’s mother who always likes to keep involved.
Add to that a cat that very much has a mind of its own, and the small fact that the Glover’s house is up for sale, (the useless estate agents haven’t produced a single viewer in months!), and of course, as estate agents always do, produce a viewing at the most inopportune moment.
Harriet is stressed, or ‘Arriet as some of her friends insist on calling her, much we suspect, to her annoyance. She is going through a clumsy phase, a one woman French farce at times, dropping bottles, knocking things over, including the school caretaker clean off his ladder, and all the while, Joris, pronounced Yoris, Sanderson, the dishy headmaster is there in the background standing, smiling… smiling at Harriet. Could he be? She’d like to think so.
There’s a lot going on here, a reflection of contemporary situations we all find ourselves in, or wished we did, or didn’t, as the case may be. Resonances of Bridget Jones too, as Harriet stumbles from one cringing situation to another, some funny, some hugely embarrassing, when she wishes the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Little wonder she likes a bottle of wine, or two, with her takeaway tea, little wonder she’s often elated, or in tears.
The book is well written and has been well proof read, which makes a pleasant change, and is, we understand, the first of a series of two.
It’s a promising debut from this new writer and we look forward to seeing more.
And does Harriet land the man of her dreams and find true happiness? Of course… we couldn’t possibly comment on that in any way, except to say you will just have to buy the book and find out for yourself!
A Question of Answers by Margaret Henderson Smith.
ISBN: 978-1-84549-328-8
Published by Arima Publishing
Waiting by Ha Jin – Book Review.
Lin Hong, a gentleman, is a doctor, who now works in the hospital in the city. He loves Manna Wu, but he can’t marry her, they can’t have children, because a while ago as a young man he pleased his parents by marrying Shuyu in the rural county from which he comes. They produced a daughter, but there is little else to bind them together.
Now Lin doesn’t see his girl or his wife often, his life and future are firmly bound to the city, with Manna Wu.
Every year he returns home to petition for divorce, but divorce in communist China is not an easy thing to achieve. He needs his wife’s agreement for that, and every year the timid Shuyu agrees before they enter court, but egged on by her manipulative brother, changes her mind once before the magistrate.
This continues for years, eighteen long years, during which Manna Wu will not allow her relationship with Lin to be consummated. That wouldn’t be right. People would talk; the Party would not like it. They would get into trouble, she might be banished.
Time is slipping by. Their lives are passing by. They are growing old.
And all this is happening to the backdrop of a China going through monumental changes, from the era of the revolutionary Red Guards when anyone with any influence in any field is fair game for mockery and abuse, and worse. Through to the Mao Zedong era, and slowly into a more enlightened time when once again people are permitted to dance, to listen to music, to start a small business, to sell things, and even to read novels, those terrible bourgeois meaningless luxuries once outlawed and vilified and burned.
Lin is a keen reader, though he doesn’t broadcast the fact. He has his own small library, including some novels by the Russian masters, and even a poetry book by Walt Whitman. They have to be covered in brown paper, disguised from prying eyes, for discovery would not go well for Lin.
“Waiting” inevitably covers a wide period of time. The story meanders along, but never drags. It holds the reader from several standpoints. It is a love story, a family saga, a political lesson, a record of a country in turmoil, and most of all, a thoroughly good read. The descriptive narrative of the times are particularly evocative.
Some of the American English translation can grate on the English ear. “She dove in the water” just one example, but that aside, this is a fascinating book, warm and tender, and one that I highly recommend.
The writer, Ha Jin, is also I discover a gentlemen; whereas before I was aware of that I was convinced this book was written by a woman. If you are looking for something a little different, something that is easy to read, with a story that will hold you from beginning to end, then Ha Jin’s Waiting could be just the thing for you.
It comes as no surprise to us that this book has been critically acclaimed from London to Chicago and all stations in between. Well worth the time and effort spent in seeking it out.
Absolute Friends by John le Carré – Book Review
Ted Mundy is born on the Indian sub-continent just as the country is tearing itself apart at independence. The young Ted is happy in the shiny new state of Pakistan, with his cricket, ideal climate, and young female admirer, but his army father is cashiered and they return to a cold and grey Britain where food is still rationed, where Ted is never truly accepted at school, despite his exceptional ability at fast bowling.
Sasha is the son of a Lutheran pastor and the two first meet as bright-eyed idealistic young men in Berlin during the revolutionary sixties. Their relationship is destined to be long and complicated, their friendship sure to be tested to the limit.
So opens Absolute Friends, John Le Carré’s nineteenth novel.
The book spans more than fifty years, through university, marriage, children, divorce, affairs, money worries, and that’s just the simple things in life.
Workwise is something entirely different. Shadowy characters, weird assignments, invisible boundaries that occasionally both the characters and reader notices, and other times not. You know how it is with a John Le Carré book!
I liked Absolute Friends, despite the somewhat clunky messages hidden within. It just depends on whether you approved of the Gulf War, or not. Clearly Mister LC was four square agin it, it’s a free country after all, but somehow this heavy point of view detracted from the book. Was I reading fiction, or a sermon? Sometimes it was hard to tell.
Leaving that aside, I enjoyed the book. It seemed to me something of a throwback to his earlier works, generally regarded as some of his best. Is Ted working for us or the other side? And who are the other side, anyway. And what about Sasha? Could he be a triple agent? Perhaps they both are. It isn’t easy to tell. You decide.
The book builds to an interesting ending that can live in the memory, but I suspect it might reveal yet more of its secrets from a second reading, something I plan to do in the future. In the meantime if you like the works of John Le Carré you will probably like this one too. Superbly written as always, and whatever you say about it, it isn’t dull.
On ChesilBeach by Ian McEwan. Book Review.
This book is set at the beginning of a new decade, but no ordinary decade this. It is set in the early sixties and so many things are about to change forever. Hairstyles, fashion, art, film, music, architecture, space travel, charismatic young leaders, attitudes to sex and parents and wars, and even the food available in the shops are all about to turn turtle.
Edward is a history student at OxfordUniversity. He decides to attend a CND meeting where he meets Florence on the door. Their lives will never be the same again.
The pill hasn’t yet been invented, or if it has, it is not yet generally available. For many people the only way to access sex is via marriage. Edward tells Florence he loves her and proposes. She loves him too; of course she does, and gladly accepts.
On ChesilBeach explores the interaction between a caring and conscientious couple, where, as so often happens, events turn on things left unsaid, as much as on feelings openly discussed.
The book tells the story through a series of flashbacks, and moves on to the honeymoon set in an imaginary hotel on, yes you’ve guessed it, Chesil Beach, that strange and spooky eighteen mile long pebble spit set on the south coast of England in west Dorset, where Portland Bill sits ever-present, brooding on the skyline.
On ChesilBeach is only a short book, just five chapters.As with everything from this author, it is beautifully written and particularly evocative of the time, especially to those baby boomers like me who lived through those momentous years.
If you like your books all neat and tidy with happy endings then may be this is not the read for you. If you enjoy gentle books, beautifully written, then I can’t recommend it highly enough.
How Not to Write a Novel by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark. Book Review
There are thousands of books out there that purport to show you how to write your great novel. This book is somewhat different in that it endeavours to show you how NOT to write your novel, or novil as was first written here.
The book lists two hundred mistakes to avoid at all costs, and if you are struggling to write a good book, then this list may well save you an awful lot of grief.
It is a well known fact that sex scenes are amongst the hardest to write. Reading some of the bungled attempts featured in this book and I can well believe it. I am not certain whether the “bad writing” featured in this guide is real or simply made up, but of one thing I am certain, some of the bad sex is so toe-curlingly awful, it becomes hugely amusing.
Surely no one could write this bad, you might be forgiven for thinking, yet we all know that bad writing is plastered all over the internet under the guise of“my latest exciting book”.
As Lynne Truss commented, the lady famous for her Eats Shoots and Leaves punctuation guide, “Heavens, what a joy this book is, extremely funny.”
The guide covers such facets as plot, dialogue, pacing, character essentials, bad guys, beginnings, endings, narrative stance, historical research, sentences and paragraphs, and much more besides.
At the end is a section entitled: How not to sell your novel, which again is incredibly funny, if some of the enclosure letters to publishers repeated here are to be believed.
If you have been struggling to land a publishing deal for years, or have just started out on that rocky road, How Not To Write A Novel could well be the best book you have ever bought.
Hugely amusing and mighty useful, I defy any writer not to look at their own work through different eyes, once they have read this work. It comes highly recommended because it is both a great read, and downright useful.An essential addition to the bookshelf for anyone determined to find a traditional publisher to take on their work.
Be Near Me by Andrew O’Hagan. Book Review
Father David Anderton was born in Edinburgh, but as a child the family moved to Lancashire where he is brought up and educated at AmpleforthCollege in the North of England.
Now in his fifties, he is moved back to Ayrshire where, perhaps mischievously, the Celtic Football Club supporting Bishop gives him a parish in a mainly protestant area. There is a large wooden hut opposite the church, painted bright blue, where the local Orange Lodge band carry out loud practice sessions to coincide with church services.
Back at the manse Father David’s housekeeper Mrs Poole initially regards him with suspicion. He’s English after all, despite what he says through his plummy accent. He drinks wine and port for goodness sake, though their mutual love of music and gardening soon deepens their respect.
Outside of church Father David makes friends with some rough kids, teenagers from difficult backgrounds, where drugs and alcohol and matches are always present, and soon they are taking trips together.
Just as in one of his previous books, Personality, Andrew O’Hagan has a deft ear for the Scottish accent and dialect. On several occasions I found myself repeating aloud Scottish phrases like some extra on the set of Doctor Finlay’s Casebook. I defy you not to.
There is great humour here too. I laughed aloud on many an occasion, especially at the football lines.
The middle of the book harks back at David Anderton’s university career at Oxford where he finds himself, though I suspect he truly found himself long before that. I didn’t enjoy this section so much, but it was soon over and we are back in Ayrshire for the climax of the book. The humour has gone now. There is a time for laughter, and that has most definitely passed.
Be Near Me is beautifully written and a real page turner. I read it in near record time and that is a tribute to the quality of the writing of Andrew O’Hagan. If you are a budding writer yourself there are lots of lessons to be learned here. If you haven’t read anything by this writer before, then why not take some time out to do so? I reckon you’ll enjoy it.
As Alan Massie wrote in the Scotsman newspaper, “I wish I had written it.” Here, here.Highly recommended.
Forgiving Hitler – The Kathy Diosy Story as told by Kel Richards
Katherine Diosy was born in Budapest in 1920. As a schoolgirl in Vienna she was ordered out onto the streets to welcome the visiting Adolf Hitler, after he and his thugs had swallowed the country. Even Jews were ordered to attend, to swell the crowds and show the outside world how everyone in Austria approved. She stood a matter of feet from the man himself as he was driven past, a pasty faced nonentity of a chap with a sly, sullen look.
Kathy was amazed to discover that even her teachers were closet Nazis, and even more so to discover that she and her sole friend were now regarded as outcasts, pariahs, made to sit in the corner, not to be spoken to by the other pupils at any time, and it was with great relief that she was able to return to her family and friends in a still free Hungary, though only on condition that her school fees for the rest of the year were paid up.
That safety would not last long.
The long shadow of evil turned towards Budapest and again Kathy and her family were persecuted, ordered to attend railway stations at ungodly hours, and far worse than that. Kathy argued with her mother about attending. The daughter courageously tore off her yellow star and went into hiding, hunkering down in a cousin’s abandoned flat, the same cousin who had been called into the Hungarian army to fight alongside the German army on the Russian front. The hapless young man, suffering from cold and poor rations and no mail from home, eventually receives a letter from his homeland, only to discover it is an electricity bill for the crumbling and bombed flat back in Buda, where Kathy cowers in the hallway, living in silence with a single candle for company.
Eventually the Russians arrive and all will be well, except it won’t be for the young and conquered women. Things get worse again, far worse, but at least there is some consolation for Kathy from the hanging Nazis who decorate many of the lampposts throughout Buda. Kathy touches their feet, for comfort, it is good to know that at least some have paid the ultimate price for murdering and deporting hundreds of thousands Hungarian Jews and others to the camps, including many of Kathy’s immediate family. Can she ever forgive them? Would you?
She applies to emigrate to the USA but they drag their heels, citing one excuse after another, but Australia will accept them, and finally Kathy leaves a shattered and bitter Europe for the sunshine and peace of a country a world away.
Forgiving Hitler is three books in one. Firstly, Kathy’s own story, an intimate tale of one women’s eventful life, and how other human beings can sink so low. Secondly, we break off every now and again, for an update on the how the war is progressing. This part didn’t convince me; and one or two of the facts were not quite correct either, but hey, it was only ever a slight diversion from the real story.
And the third strand followed Kathy’s strange religious conversion. She came from an old Jewish family, but they were what could be termed, lapsed Jews. They didn’t follow a kosher diet, and barely visited the synagogues once a year. Someone had the bright wheeze that if they converted to Catholicism, they would all be safe. A piece of priestly paper in the pocket stating they were now Catholic would save them from any trouble from the Nazis, and what is more, they could obtain such a document by simply making a substantial contribution to the church funds, except the piece of paper was about as useful as 1920’s German banknote.
On arrival in Australia she again attempts to join the Catholic Church, but surprisingly, and rather oddly, they don’t want to know because she has never attended a Catholic service in her life. But the Anglicans and even Evangelists are keen enough, and here she finds some peace, and even the ability to forgive, maybe.
The book comes from a religious publisher, and that made me wonder about the ultimate conversions, but please do read it and make up your own mind.
All in all this is a fantastic book, detailing one young woman’s struggle with walls of evil the likes of which had never been seen before. Kathy’s story held me through and through; the other two strands were never as engaging, or convincing.
A super read though, and Kathy’s story will live long in the memory.
OP JB –The Last Great Secret of the Second World War
This book purports to tell of a British intelligence plan to kidnap Martin Bormann and bring him out of the ashes of Berlin in 1945, just as the war came to a crashing end.
Indeed the writer insists that that is precisely what he did, accompanied by the late Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, after whom this operation was supposedly named.
You must forgive my scepticism, but the book is so full of amazing and extravagant claims that it makes it difficult to take anything too seriously.
Mister Creighton claimed to be personal friends with Winston Churchill, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Ribbentrop the German foreign minister, and if that wasn’t enough, throw in the King and good old Adolf himself, with whom he stood on the French cliffs watching allied servicemen being slaughtered during the Dieppe raid. Creighton had provided the Germans with the information of that raid to prove he was a genuine German double agent. Mmm.
Conspiracy theories and outlandish claims abound throughout the 256 pages, such as the fact that the Germans were using Donegal as an active U-boat base, that many of the Battle of Britain pilots were only sixteen, and in some cases, fifteen, and that he personally accounted for, (murdered even?) the entire crew of an allied Dutch submarine that had spotted the Japanese fleet on their way to attack the Americans at Pearl Harbour, to ensure that America came into the war.
The book opens with our Biggles-type hero diving from a British motor torpedo boat into a heavy swell, carrying an unbelievable amount of equipment and weaponry, and swimming into Dublin harbour at the dead of night. Surely any British agent entering the Irish republic would have done so by taking the ferry to Belfast and driving across the unmarked border, or better still, fly across in half in hour, and the job’s done.
There are some weird quasi sexual references sprinkled throughout work, such as the WRENS in his unit were regularly beaten with bamboo canes on the bare buttocks in full view of the men to toughen them up.
My mother was in an intelligence unit in the WRENS through the war and wrote her memoirs afterwards, a book that I have recently re
visited. Strangely, she makes no reference to such peculiar practices.
The book climaxes with the successful kidnapping of Bormann from Berlin, as seemingly dozens of allied agents flew in and out on light Lysander aircraft without a care in the world, as the Red Army were smashing Berlin to smithereens.
If you enjoy conspiracy theory books then this is right up your street. You will be amazed at what you didn’t know.
As an afterthought the man went on to become a film director, working in Prague in the sixties when all along he was really engaged on vital work for NATO. No surprise there then.
As proof of the story, library photographs of Bormann, Hitler, Mountbatten and Churchill are reprinted, but none feature the writer together with any of his supposed chums, not even Ian Fleming, and they were as close as close could be, if the book is to be believed.
One of the most surprising things about this book is that Simon and Shuster should issue it at all, but even they did so with some reservations, stating rather shamefacedly I thought: “We have been unable to verify the writer’s account by independent research.” Yes, quite.
File it under fiction, treat it for what it is, and you might just enjoy it. Anything more than that, and I’d be amazed, but then again…
The Gamblers by John Pearson Book Review
One has to look pretty closely at the subtitle of this book to catch the drift of what it is really all about. The subtitle actually says “and the murder of Lord Lucan”.
For those that don’t know, the Lord Lucan murder was one of the most infamous of the twentieth century. His children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett was brutally battered to death one evening by person(s) unknown in the Lucan London household.
Following the murder Lord Lucan disappeared, telling his friends he was lying doggo for a while as he tried to clear his name. Previously the Lord had expressed a desire to murder his wife on more than one occasion, and the similarity in build and height between his wife and the nanny convinced many people, the police included, that the noble Lord had murdered the nanny in error.
Lucky Lucan, as he was known, not that he was ever particularly lucky, disappeared and went on the run, never to be seen again to this day. Rumours abounded that he was hunkering down somewhere, living with, and being protected by his hi-profile friends.
Usually when people discuss the Lord Lucan murder mystery, they mean, the murder of Sandra Rivett. This book is different, the writer is purporting that Lord Lucan himself was murdered by some of those very friends, because he was becoming too much of a hot potato, that he was threatening to return to the public eye in an effort to clear his name, and by doing so, would implicate those friends that supported him, for harbouring a wanted murderer.
It is an interesting theory. The writer goes further, saying that he knows who was responsible, but here, because that person is still alive, things become cloudy. The person is referred to throughout the book as Mr X.
Mr X theories in books always leave me cold, because of course anyone can invent a Mr X in their own mind, even convince themselves of this phantom’s existence, and of course no one can prove otherwise; or indeed the existence of such a person for obvious reasons.
But the writer of the Gamblers clearly knew and spoke to many of the surviving people involved, and seems to portray an insightful view of the events that went down in that Belgravia house on a bleak November night in 1974. Whether there really was, or is, a Mr X, and whether he was responsible in some way for the possible murder of Lord Lucan I shall leave you to decide.
The Gamblers, as featured on the cover, consisted ofLucky himself, plus John Aspinall, erstwhile owner of the Clermont Club, a top London gambling establishment where an addiction to Chemin de Fer brought John huge wealth, and conversely, Lucky Lucan practically to his financial knees, while the third member featured, (there were plenty of others too), was Jimmy Goldsmith, international tycoon who specialised in buying ailing companies and knocking them into shape.
All three are now dead, or at least Lucky has been officially pronounced dead, though rumours abound to the contrary, and even to this day some people won’t accept it.
Jimmy Goldsmith became fabulously wealthy, enabling him to run three different families in three different countries, and he was a heavy gambler too, though in his case it would appear he won more often than lost.
He would certainly have had the financial muscle to assist Lucan, and indeed, according to the book, offered Lucan a gift of money, an offer that Lucan was bound to refuse, because true gentlemen never accept gifts of money from friends. A loan yes, gifts, never.
As for John Aspinall, he established his crazy private zoo at Howletts in Kent, still there to this day, and very popular it is too. In John Aspinall’s time he convinced himself that all animals, bears, tigers, gorillas, you name it, could be made personal friends of. John was eager to prove his point by going into the enclosures and cages as a matter of course, and not only that, but would invite friends and family to come in too, and often they did.
There is one particularly harrowing scene in the book where a fully grown tiger attempts to bite the head off one of the young boys, and another scene where someone is invited into the adjoining mansion for a meal, and happily accepts, only to find two fully grown gorillas, at the best dining table enjoying lunch. Sit down, why don’t you? Banana anyone?
Howletts has always striven to do things differently, and by my arithmetic at least five keepers have paid for this radical approach with their lives.
The Gamblers is a rollicking read, a real page turner, and a revealing insight of a group of men who probably had too much money to play with; and too much time on their hands.
The three featured gamblers may now be all dead, but Mr X is out there still. Isn’t he always? Food for thought, but don’t let that put you off. One must never forget that the nanny lost her life in a brutal attack, but that aside, this is a hugely enjoyable story, and ongoing mystery, and a book I would unhesitatingly recommend.
Marrying Buddha by Wei Hui Book Review
This book is something of a sequel to the author’s phenomenally successful Shanghai Baby. It features the same character, Coco, a successful novelist, and the book itself is semi-autobiographical.
She meets the charismatic Muju, half Italian, half Japanese, falls in love with him and some of his eccentric ways, while others clearly annoy her.
The tale is set in Fuxing Street, Shanghai, and New York , with occasional sojourns to the Spanish speaking world. It would seem that Coco could not be happier, but then she meets the urbane New Yorker, Nick, who is younger and better looking than George Clooney, as he runs his hands through his thick dark hair, quite often, and things really begin to hot up.
I have seen this book described as soft porn. It certainly isn’t that, but the writer doesn’t hold back in explaining her relationships with Muju and Nick. Some people might just describe it as growing up.
The book is easy to read, something of a page turner too, and we could imagine it stuffed into many a holiday travel bag, beach reading at its lightest.
One thing we did find rather surprising was the large number of typing errors there are. If an independent press produced a book with as many, or heaven forbid, a self published work came out like this, there would be no mercy from the critics, who would pounce on such carelessness with great glee. But this comes from a publisher whose history goes all the way back to 1795, and no one seems to bat an eyelid at that.
Perhaps the critics of self published and independently produced works should show a little more patience and leniency with their pens in this area. Rant over! I thank you.
Did we enjoy Marrying Buddha? Yes, we did, very much as it happens, and we’d recommend it as a light holiday read, but is it anymore than that? Why not read it and find out for yourself?
Tokyo Tango by Rika YokomoriBook Review
Saya is a classically beautiful Japanese girl of nineteen. She has no difficulty attracting men of all ages, and is happy to give them what they want. Sometimes they pay, sometimes not, though she doesn’t particularly like any of them, and as for love, does that really exist?
Then she meets Bogey.
He’s a middle-aged forty-something with a paunch and greying hair who fancies himself as something of a yakuza, a gangster. He makes his living through gambling, wagering on anything late into the night, mahjong, the horses, bicycle riding, and the super-hot boiling over stockmarket where everybody always wins. He adores gangster movies and hanging round with the rough crowd. Saya is bedazzled by Bogey, he’s known as that because of his love of Bogart’s movies. She’s fascinated by his weird selection of friends and is flattered by the attention of an older man, especially one such as he. Inevitably she becomes his mistress without a moment’s hesitation.
‘Whatever you do, don’t go with a gambler,’ was the one piece of advice her mother gave her when it came to men. But when did a teenage girl ever take advice about men from her mother? Saya is no different. She jumps at the opportunity, she loves cuddling into his warm body and laying her head on his fat tummy, she will do anything he wants. She even buys a cookbook and attempts to cook him the food he loves, not that he is impressed by that, preferring to eat in the seedy underworld he inhabits.
So opens Rika Yokomori’s novel set in Japan and New York.
In places the book comes across almost as a reality TV programme. It is as if the camera is set permanently on Saya’s shoulder. She is rarely out of shot as we learn of the exciting parts of her life, and the mundane, almost in equal measure.
But this is a page turner as we watch Saya slowly growing into a worldly-wise woman. Gradually she begins to see things as they really are. Everything, as you might expect, is not so rosy in the life of a wannabe yakuza’s moll. There are sure to be rocky times ahead.
Rika Yokomori has published more than thirty-five books in the past fifteen years and this one is certainly worth a look. True, I did guess the ending some time before actually arriving there, but that was no big disappointment. There is a peach of a final sentence to look forward to. If you enjoy modern novels from Japan then you will find plenty here to keep you interested. If you haven’t tried oriental fiction before, then this one could be a good place to start.
The Horse Painters by Peter Stockwell – Book Review.
The Horse Painters is a children’s book set long ago in the last Ice Age. It opens with Umalik and Aariak, brother and sister, making for a large cave where there are drawings on the walls of bison and deer and other animals too. Many of the pictures are drawn by the girl, Aariak, for she possesses magical powers, because the animals she draws are attracted to the cave, making them easier to hunt.
One night another youth, Uirngut, comes to their cave and cowardly slays the sister and in so doing takes the magical powers for himself. He flees across the frozen wastes, knowing that Umalik and his younger brother Aku, will not let the matter rest. Their semi tame wolf goes along too, eager and keen to share in the adventure; a timid creature apparently, though perhaps he is just waiting for a chance to show what he can really do.
So the scene is set as they track the murderer through the snow and ice, hunt animals to eat to stay alive, as they bump into other interesting characters along the way.
In places you can almost smell the odours of drying animal hides and wood-smoke and passing herds of bison and mammoth; feel the icy cold winds that blow across the country, and see the frozen breath oozing from the shivering characters and, the many animals that populate the book.
The story is divided into two parts, the second part introducing more new characters and it all ends when… ah… but I couldn’t possibly say anymore about that, could I?
Cambridgeshire based writer, Peter Stockwell, previously released another book called The Market.This new one, the Horse Painters is aimed at children aged between 8 and 12 and we could well see them enjoying these tales. We liked the cover too. That features a real cave drawing from thousands of years ago.
The book is published through Booklocker.com and is out now and available through all good book stores quoting the ISBN: 978-1-60145-848-3.
A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carré.Book Review.
The book opens in Hamburg in Northern Germany; indeed most of the events take place there. A law abiding Turkish family take in a Chechen refugee, an illegal immigrant, a pious Muslim young man who reached the west via a circuitous route that included Turkish and Russian prisons where he was dreadfully abused, a young man who doesn’t appear to speak any language that well.
But the young guy, Issa, is strangely not without means. His father was a corrupt Soviet general in the final days of the evil empire, busy salting away ill gotten gains from heaven knows what crooked enterprises, depositing vast funds in the apparent safety of Tommy Brue’s independent English bank, Brue Freres, now based in Hamburg.
Sixty year old Tommy is approached by Issa’s lawyer, Annabel Richter, a beautiful if earnest young woman from an old German family steeped in the law, a young woman still seeking her true vocation in the world, as she represents Sanctuary, a human rights organisation supporting the causes and claims of immigrants seeking a better life, a striking young woman who twice-married Tommy Brue promptly falls in love with, just as the competing security services are gearing up their interest in the newly arrived potential terrorist, and Tommy, and Annabel.
So opens A Most Wanted Man.
The book as you might expect is beautifully written by the master of spy drama. It is particularly well researched, especially the Muslim connections and scenes, yet for all that, it doesn’t really go anywhere.
There are numerous Germans rushing around from competing security services, eager to grab a piece of any pie there might be, the British are there too, of course they are, blackmailing Tommy to do their bidding, while the omnipresent CIA lurk in the background, though who or what or where is difficult to identify. That’s them.
The ending I found something of a disappointment, a little more clarification would have been nice for this confused reader, and the rather predictable anti-American stance I thought a little wearisome. I guess that all depends on your point of view. It seems that many people love this book, and an almost equal number the reverse.
If you enjoy spy novels in general and John Le Carré in particular, you will probably adore this work too.If not, there are lots of better books out there, and many of them written by JLC himself, that I would recommend without hesitation.
Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino Book Review
Grotesque - what a superb and apt title for this book, tells the story of two half Japanese sisters, one, impossibly beautiful and of course, hugely attractive to men, while the other, the opposite in almost every conceivable way. Their contemporaries tease them that they must have had different fathers. Could that be the truth of it?
The book is set in Japan, China, and Switzerland, and each section I found equally interesting and believable.
This is a story about sibling rivalry, sibling hatred even, that festers and slowly draws the reader in until you are compelled to discover more. The beautiful one, Yuriko, grows up and becomes a prostitute. Why shouldn't she? She constantly needs men and what better profession could there be?
The story is told in the first person, but by four different people, so there is some repetition of events here, but because the viewpoints are different, the facts differ, the story weaves a different course, keeping the reader interested and guessing.
This is a dark and disturbing book involving prostitution, under age sex, incest, illegal immigrants, senility, suicide and murder, and all among quite ordinary mortals who are ultimately simply seeking love and to be loved. It is the second novel by the Japanese writer Natsuo Kirino to be translated into English, the first being the highly acclaimed, Out.
It is a longer book than might first appear, ideal then for the concentrated holiday read. True, there are only 467 pages, but the print is quite small, and I estimate the word count must be pushing up toward the quarter of a million mark; a considerable body of work in any language. It was translated into English by Rebecca Copeland who has clearly done an excellent job.
I enjoyed Grotesque immensely, never once feeling the need to set it aside and begin something else, but more than that; I shall miss it now that it no longer sits beside my bed. It isn't a jolly-jolly novel, the title and subject matter says it all about that, but it is a compelling read that I would definitely recommend.
Animal Farm by George Orwell. Book Review – Revisited.
The animals at manor farm are treated appallingly. Their life is one of toil and misery as their food rations are constantly cut. Tested to breaking point they finally snap. They rebel and rise up and finally after considerable violence, force the hated Mister Jones from his land.
The animals are now free, no longer under the domination of humankind, led by the pigs, especially the domineering Napoleon and the more imaginative Snowball.
From now on, life will forever be sweet, with heated accommodation, education, security, good pensions, and ample food for all.
I first read this book 45 years ago at school, and it was indeed this very same copy, that somehow found its way back to me. (Where has that time gone?)
Back then I thought it a rather sweet kid’s story and was only vaguely aware that it held added meanings.
Reading it again today brought those meanings to the fore. Mister Jones is a substitute Czar, Napoleon could be Stalin, and Snowball must be the chased out Trotsky. Boxer the shire horse, loyal to the end, who adopts the slogan “I must work harder”, could be the Soviet people en masse.
Life on Animal Farm steadily grows harder. There is near starvation, and bullying by Napoleon’s specially trained dogs. This leads to show trials and forced confessions and murder, and the parallels go on and on and on.
Then the hated neighbours invade and after brutal battles they are finally defeated. Animal Farm will remain independent, solely for the animals, though things are about to change forever.
This book was written and first published in 1945 and yet is foretells of the total collapse and ruin of the Soviet way of life. One wonders if George Orwell himself would have been surprised at just how accurate his prophesies became. I suspect not.
Animal Farm is only a short book, my copy runs to just 120 pages, but it is a cracking story that continues to throw up twists and surprises. It can be bought for next to no money and be read in a couple of good sittings.
Go on, treat yourself, remind yourself of what a wonderful work this is. As the blurb says: A biting satire on dictatorship. It is that, and much more besides.
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child. Book Review.
Jack Reacher is riding on the New York subway late at night when he spots a woman acting suspiciously, no, much more than that, he is certain she is a potential suicide bomber, he has studied all the intelligence written on the subject, the information manuals compiled by the Israeli security services, she displays all eleven signs, she is about to blow them all to kingdom come. What happens next astonishes Reacher, and everyone else.
So begins the latest Jack Reacher thriller from the master of the genre, Lee Child. This is the thirteenth in the series, all featuring everyone’s hero, Mister Reacher, though this one is slightly different in several ways.
Firstly it is written in the first person, only the second book to appear in that way. It is also different in other ways I shall come to in a moment.
This one is a hard book to review without giving away important facets of the story. After the huge hooking opening it kind of drifts for quite a while without really going anywhere, brooding, yet all the while the reader knows there is far more to come than is immediately obvious.
Then suddenly about half way through things begin slotting into place, as you always knew they would with Mister Child’s writing. We begin to get to the meat of the matter, the real issues being tackled here.
Eventually Reacher goes on a killing spree, nothing different about that you might think, except for the sheer quantity. Was it twenty or thirty human beings, in a matter of a few days in the centre of New York City, without a hint he might get arrested, or knocked over himself.
You have to ask yourself at what point does the story become unbelievable. Lee Child should be congratulated because he gets away with it, almost. Of course all the murdered foes thoroughly deserve what they get, but even so, is this really where we are heading, where a vigilante murdering machine stalks the city, taking the law into his own hands, and getting away with it, Scot free.
Thrown in there somewhere is the obligatory bedroom scene, one I found a little weird, as if some editor had suggested, nay insisted, you must have a conquest in there somewhere, you simply must!Add to that, scenes of descriptive graphic violence that I did not enjoy, and you pretty much have it.
This book has been super well reviewed. Comments such as “Lee Child (or Jack Reacher - take your pick), back on form.”
Personally I don’t think he has ever been off form. He is still the best, or one of the best, thriller writers out there, but for me, this one was just a little bit too much. What is he going to do next? Take on one of the rogue states, all by himself? And win?
Sometimes less is more. One horrific villain beats the shit, huge apologies there, out of thirty indistinguishable bad guys.
Did I enjoy the book? Most of it, certainly, yes. But is it one of Lee Child’s best? Not in my eyes it isn’t, but to top his ever impressive inventory of work would be a major achievement.
Next time I hope that Reacher comes up against one truly horrific villain, one that even Reacher himself struggles to better. After all, even Sherlock Holmes found one bad guy he struggled to best. We are all human here, I think, even Jack Reacher.
Drift and Badger and the Search for Uncle Mo by David Carter
Although it begins with a life altering tragedy, the remainder of this story is not only heart-warming but refreshing.
It can be taken very lightly, allowing the reader to relax and block out all other thought. Or you can immerse yourself in this fantasy world, hearing the underlying life skill lessons.
Drift, a newborn Red Deer fawn, has the fortune of being befriended by a short sighted, crazy badger, Daisy. With Daisys knowledge of the dangers in the forest, the pair set off in search of Drifts family, specifically his Uncle Mo. Their journey is not only fun but also treacherous, bringing them both the spirit of adventure as they strive to reach their goal.
Could there be a happy ending?
The Author, David Carter, has lightly scented your mind with a natural ability to share his imagination. Letting your own imagination loose, you can smell the aroma of forest and see the picturesque surroundings. He is a well-known English author, with a variety of published articles, as well as a previous novel that I had the pleasure of reviewing. He has now presented us with another novel, suitable for both children and the young at heart.
Highly Recommended by Reviewer:
Cheryl Ellis, Allbooks Review
The Associate by John Grisham.
Kyle McAvoy comes from a small but decent family. He is setting out on his adult life, his career. His father is a small time, small town lawyer and Kyle is on his way to the Bar exam with the same kind of career in mind, when a stranger approaches him with an offer he cant refuse.
The stranger, Bennie he calls himself, has moving pictures of a drunken college orgy, complete with embarrassing sound, and Kyle is involved, though never a major player. In future Kyle will do as Bennie says or the Internet gets it, the pictures that is.
So Kyle does what he is told. He enrols with the largest law firm in America, nay the known world, working a hundred hours a week, with explicit instructions to obtain information, specific papers, to steal intelligence, about a forthcoming court case that will set records of every kind.
So begins Mister Grishams latest offering, his 22nd if my maths are correct. The beginning is somewhat reminiscent of The Firm, dont take my word for that, the publishing house themselves are saying so, though that is about all that reminds me of that book.
When I was reading it I found myself thinking of the works of John Le Carré, in places it is more like a spy book than a traditional Grishamesque law thriller, and then the following day when watching an interview from the man himself, I was intrigued to see that he nominated Mister Le Carré as the writer he admired the most, the writer he always ordered every new book hot off the press.
So it is true, we are all influenced by the writers we read. We cant avoid that and its no bad thing.
The Associate has come in for an amount of stinging criticism, some of it justified, some of it not. In some places Grisham-slagging is becoming something of a national sport. The guy has only sold upward of 250 million books so he must be fair game, for some people that is.
The Associate is still a great page turner, the writer holds the readers interest as he always does, no, the criticism surrounds the ending, not that I am going to go into any detail of that here. Let us just say that the book leaves open several substantial threads as if an early sequel is planned.
Listening to Mister Grishams future plans, somehow I doubt that. It would seem that any potential sequel is a long way off.
Perhaps the ending is just too subtle for the average Joe (like me your honour) to fully grasp, or may be, just may be, Johnny G has given some thought to introducing the thinking readers ending where the reader fills in all the blanks to suit themselves, something that I think John Le Carré is a past master at.
I enjoyed the book, but then again I have enjoyed everything that Mister Grisham has ever written. If you are new to his work you may wish to start somewhere else, but if you are not, read it for yourself and see if you can make more of it than many of the readers and critics have done so far.
One thing is for sure, John Grishams next book will be looked at with more than the usual curiosity. Personally, I cant wait.
Personality by Andrew OHagan
If you live in Britain you will probably recognise the young lady in this book. A young woman in the seventies who swept to fame via Hughie Greens Opportunity Knocks, the Pop Idol talent show programme of its day. A Scottish lassie with an Italian name and Italian background, a slight young woman with a big big voice. Youd know who that was, wouldnt you?
And youd be wrong too, because we are talking about Maria Tambini here, from Rothesay on the island of Bute. So fiction is stranger than fact, or is this book that peculiar and somewhat trendy hybrid, faction?
Either way, along with the Tambinis and their friends, we also meet some characters you will be familiar with, such as Les Dawson, Dean Martin, Princess Diana and even President Reagan himself and the lovely Nancy. A girl can never be too slim, whispers Nancy in Marias ear at a White House dinner. Oh yeah? I think you may have got that one wrong.
It is quite impossible to read this book and not think of the tragic life of Lena Zavaroni who died at such an early age at just 35. Lena remains the youngest person ever to have an album in the UK pop charts and she came from, wait for it, Rothesay on the Island of Bute.
I am really not sure about the merits of writing a novel that borrows so much information from real life. The edges become blurred and you begin to wonder what is true and what is flowing from the creative brain of Mister Andrew OHagan. What I do know is that Andrew has written a compelling work here and I could not set it down from beginning to end.
His ear for the Scottish accent and dialect is superb. I found myself repeating many a phrase out loud, some of which seem to have bounced straight out of Doctor Finlays Casebook.
The Italian men are all philanderers, no surprise there then, and there is quite an Italian community on Bute, making and selling their unmatched ice creams to the tourists, while one of the guys walked all the way from Tuscany to Scotland on the vague promise of a job. That sounds so absolutely ridiculous, it is probably true.
The women all seem to suffer from mental problems, perhaps that is understandable with all they had to put up with, their Scottish shops being looted and burned for example, when Mussolini dragged Italy into World War II. After that the Italian immigrants were promptly invited into holding camps, an invitation they could not refuse.
There is a lot going on here which all adds to the depth of the book, but always, and inevitably, it returns to the girl with the incredible voice, the girl with mental problems all of her own, the incredible Maria Tambini, with Lena Zavaroni always perched firmly on her shoulder.
Personality is a cracking book. Evocative of the seventies and eighties, yes it is, but it is much more than that. It brings the searchlight back on to a very real problem, one that sadly still holds a firm place in the modern world. Read the book if you get the chance. It can be bought on the big river for small change or even less, and that is just crazy.
And at least this story has a happy ending, or does it? Im not so sure. Read it, and find out for yourself. You wont regret it.
Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
Eddie de Chooch is a serial villain who misses a court date. Stephanie Plum is a modern day New York bounty hunter. $5,000 will drop into her bank account if she can bring him to court and that shouldnt be so difficult, Eddie is in his seventies after all. How hard could that be? But how old do you have to be to fire a gun, something that Eddie is mighty fond of doing and he is not too particular who gets in the way.
Seven Up, so called because this is the seventh Stephanie Plum mystery, is a sassy quick paced tale, though it did kind of drag somewhere in the middle. It is crammed with some interesting characters some of whom are carried over from previous tales, such as Bob the dog who eats everything and anything and can and will, vomit on demand.
There is quite a bit of humour here, and yes I did laugh out loud several times, big plus point, though some of it is of the kind that used to be known as toilet humour. Think people messing their pants, and far worse, and you get the idea.
Stephanies grandmother is my favourite character, I didnt care for any of the men in the story much, but granny is a feisty old girl who fancies all the men, especially Eddie himself, and she dresses to match, though he has problems in the moving parts region, something that granny is happy to tell everyone about in great detail, though when she is introduced to the thrills of riding on Stephanies Harley Davidson, well things start to get really exciting, for granny that is.
This book is easy to get into and for the most part it is a real page turner but I suspect it will also be quickly forgotten, Granny excepted of course. Seven Up is a lightweight laugh that just might cheer you up. Certainly worth thinking about.
Rainbows Revelations the Guinea Pig Story by Natalya Popova
What a pleasant change it makes to review a childrens book. Rainbows Revelations, the Guinea Pig story, is written and illustrated by Natalya Popova, who as her names suggests, is of Russian origin, but has now settled in Poole on the south coast of England.
This colourful book is aimed at children aged between 4 and 7 and is designed to promote care for small animals. Many of the stories are based on the real life adventures of Rainbow, the feisty guinea pig. The book contains sixteen illustrations that compliment the stories well and we think that young children will enjoy this book a lot.
This is a very competitive field; you only have to enter any modern bookshop to see the shelves piled high with childrens titles of every kind. We could certainly see Rainbows Revelations sitting there happily too because we like the concept and we like the illustrations as well.
We understand there is a second Rainbow book planned, also featuring the guinea pigs adventures, at large in PoolePark, Dorset, and we wish the writer and creator every success with both the current book and the follow up title too.
If you are looking for something a little different then this one could well be for you. Rainbows Revelations is out now and available through many online bookstores and can also be ordered through any good high street bookshop by quoting the ISBN: 978-1-4092-1336-9
Stillwater by William F WeldBook Review
This book is set in the SwiftRiverValley in North America in 1938. The city fathers in distant Boston decide that the valley should be flooded to provide a constant supply of sweet water for the east coast cities. The locals can be bought off with minimal compensation and go and live and die somewhere else, there are only five small towns there after all.
Jamieson Kooby is fifteen and on the brink of becoming an adult, on the brink of falling in love. He was looking forward to growing up and spending his entire life in the valley. Now he will have to do that quickly, and like everyone else, he will have to do everything quickly. Jamieson is an orphan and lives with his feisty grandma who is determined to be the last person remaining in the valley.
He, like some others in the book display a real connection with nature, with all the creatures there, and he has no desire to be moved from the land where his fathers have lived for years. What is going to happen to the animals, Grandma?
So begins Stillwater, a book containing many interesting characters and decent little subplots. For example, there is serious opposition, that is only to be expected, but that is casually swept away with the time old method of fat brown envelopes dropped in the right places, though that causes more problems than it solves.
In parts the books is written almost like a diary as the fateful day draws ever nearer. There are a lot of characters here, and not too many of them deserve much sympathy, but I liked the book a lot and it remained with me some time after I had set it down.
The writer, William F Weld, was in his spare time, the Governor of Massachusetts so if anyone knows of the machinations of local government it will be he. Probably as well then that it wasnt set in more recent times or some uncomfortable skeletons might have been revisited.
All in all the book is well worth the time and the effort. Recommended.
Water Lily by Susanna Jones.Book review.
This book was very easy to get into and very easy to read. It concerns a teacher and pupil who embark on a passionate affair. Nothing unusual in that you might say in the twenty-first century, except the teacher is a young woman in her twenties and the man, or boy, is a kid of sixteen. Nothing really unusual in that even, not in this day and age, except that this is Japan, and Runa is now in severe trouble.
Someone has seen them leaving a hotel, taken their photograph, threatens to expose them, so it is rumoured. The other teachers are aware that someone has been having an affair, but they dont yet know who. The witch hunt is on.
Runa panics and steals her sisters passport and flees the town, flees the country. She jumps on a ferry for Shanghai, and though she cant stop thinking of Jun, the kid, shes committed to running.
Meanwhile on the other side of town, Ralph, a middle aged English shopkeeper has been turned down flat by the comely young ladies at the Japanese Wives Bureau. He is too old, and too funny looking, big nose you see, for their liking. No thanks! No way. Not a chance.
Hes already tried a Thai wife before and his options are rapidly running out. His Thai beauty, Apple, (why are they always called Apple?) was charming and sweet in Thailand but once back in Carlisle in the far north of England, overnight she turned into a sourpuss, and worse still, stays out all night, engaged on affairs. No, Ralph does not want another Thai bride. Too much trouble for him.
Hes heard that China is a good bet. The hip place for the modern man to find a pretty young wife. You can buy anything in China nowadays, so they say.
He jumps the ferry for Shanghai and of course it is not long before he meets, and falls under the spell of the beautiful, yet streetwise, young Runa.
So begins the Water Lily, a novel of mystery, and an excellent one at that, from Susanna Jones.
Ralph and Runa believe all their troubles are over, when in fact they are only just beginning, and things rapidly get worse. Much worse.
As I said earlier, this book is incredibly easy to get into. I was hooked by page two. The pace is relentless. It simply will not let you set it down. Seek it out. You wont be disappointed. And for any budding writers out there, you will find lots to inspire and guide you here. Highly recommended.
Thewritingpad.co.uk
How to Start Your Own Secret Society by Nick Harding Book Review
What an unusual book this is. I have never read anything quite like it. Throughout the work I could not make up my mind as to whether it was one giant hoot, or a serious proposition. Either way I found it strangely enjoyable.
So if you have struggled in vain to nudge open the door to freemasonary, or have been rejected by the Rotary Club or the Ancient Order of Buffaloes, worry no longer. Start your own secret society. Why not? Its easier than you think. You wouldnt be the first to do so. Impress your friends. Get them wondering. All that time they never realised you were a high ranking officer in something or other.
Hey, fancy joining the Brothers of Gorgonzola, better known as BOG? You will be amazed at what you might discover. Amazed at the, cough, cough, history.
Its all there, down in black and white. How to invent, or borrow, a history for your society. How to set up and run initiation ceremonies. Goodness me. How to promote your society and recruit members. Supremely valuable information, you must agree.
My mind wandered to thinking of the society Mister Harding himself might have set up. Meeting in creaky hotels the length and breadth of the land, facing rag, tag and bobtail across the oak table. Planning goodness knows what. The mind boggles.
I found myself dreaming of faraway lands of windswept mountains and deep valleys where turbulent rivers rush down to the sea, where an ancient high priest struggles with his footing, reaching out, thrusting his golden baton toward me containing vital secrets lost in the mists of time. I cant reach it! I cant reach it!
Wake up! Wake up! Youll be late for work!
Ah well, perhaps next time.
Its a joke isnt it, the book I mean, and quite a funny one at that. Isnt it? Of course it is. It must be. I will leave you to decide. Either way, I found it an oddly engaging read.
Book Review
abducted: The Awakening by Lee Cambule
Gareth Oakley is a primary school teacher with problems. He is fighting the demon drink and no doubt the mood swings that come with it. He is still pining over his lost true love, now departed. He goes to bed alone in the small house they once shared, a house full of memories of happier times.
When he awakes he has a massive hangover, but that cant be right for he hasnt fallen off the wagon. He hasnt touched a drop. How strange. He opens his eyes and focuses on the ceiling. Its not his ceiling, its not his house. So where is he? And more to the point, how did he get there? He soon finds that he is not alone, there are many others there too, and the inevitable rivalries rapidly fall into place.
So begins abducted The Awakening the first in a promised series of mystery novels from the young Welsh based writer, Lee Cambule.
The book quickly hooked me and I wanted to know more. It is well written throughout and has been scrupulously proof-read, something that publishers large and small could do with spending a little more time and money on. Not here though, for I found nary a spelling mistake or typo anywhere in the work. There isnt a single swear word either, and that made a pleasant change and certainly did not effect the immediacy or power of the book.
There are lots of twists and turns and hooks aplenty to keep the reader interested and guessing. The chapters are nicely spaced and keep the reader wanting to turn the page. Included are a couple of nods to J R R Tolkien and I also found it in places reminiscent of Dan Browns work.
This book will appeal not only to Sci Fi fans, but also to anyone who enjoys a good mystery or thriller and is suitable for teenagers and upward. It leaves many questions unanswered that no doubt will be addressed in the next of the series abducted The Betrayal.
This is a very promising debut novel and I certainly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. Mister Cambule can certainly write, but more importantly, he has something to say.
You can find out more about Lee Cambule and his writing by checking out his excellent website at www.leecambule.co.uk
abducted The Awakening
Lee Cambule
ISBN: 978-1-4389-1987-4
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Retail Price:£12.50
The Poker Club by Ed Gorman - Book Review
Many of us have thought about what would happen if a burglar broke in while we were in the house. The Poker Club opens in this way. Aaron Tyler and his three friends are quietly playing poker in the attic when they hear breaking glass.
There has been increasing trouble in the neighbourhood. The boys know it from past experience and rush downstairs to confront the intruder. A ferocious fight ensues that ends in the burglar's bloody death. It's happened before elsewhere and it will surely happen again. You'd call the police, right?
But wait a minute. The burglar is covered with bruises and bumps. He is dead for goodness sake, and the force that consigned him from this world was overwhelming and excessive. Just who would the police start investigating when they turned up in numbers? Four on to one was hardly fair odds, but what is fair about a burglar invading one's home? Has the pendulum swung too far in favour of the transgressor?
Against Aaron's better judgment he lets the others persuade him that the better option would be to dump the body. Big mistake. From there on in their lives spiral downwards, but there is no going back.
Ed Gorman has written a decent thriller here. It is easy to get into and is a real page turner. All the action is sandwiched into a period of not much more than a week. It is easy to imagine it as a Hollywood movie, may be that is where its true roots lie.
I do have one minor gripe. There seemed to be far too many typos and spelling mistakes in the manuscripts. No doubt this is not Mister Gorman's fault, but if I were him I would be having a word with my publisher. It did become irritating and after a while I was looking out for the next one, rather than concentrating on the story.
That apart, I liked it a lot and would read more of Mister Gorman's work. If you like Lee Child's stuff I think you would enjoy this one too. Recommended.
Reunion by Fred Uhlman - Book Review
This isn't so much a novel as a novella, and a brief one at that being just 93 small pages in length. But don't let that put you off for this is a superb read.
It opens in 1930's Germany in a smart senior school where 15/16 year old boys, young men, are making friends, ostensibly for life. How were they to know that so many lives would be cut so tragically short?
After a hesitant beginning the shy Hans Schwarz becomes pals with the more confident and aristocratic Konradin. Hans comes from a Jewish background and that factor eventually invades their friendship.
This period of history has been chronicled a million times, and rightly so for there are lessons there that resonate down to the present day. All the characters are sharply drawn and memorable and for the most part, decent human beings. So where did it all go so wrong?
The book also contains a two page introduction written by the late and much missed Arthur Koestler, and that is well worth reading on its own.
Reunion is beautifully written and easy to read, and this is certainly a book for anyone who can't abide the huge tomes that so often dominate the bookstores. It isn't a new book either, but don't let that put you off because it is a very memorable one, and a story that lives long in the memory.
Jeffrey Archer wrote of Reunion: "I wish I had written this". He certainly is not alone in that, not least from your correspondent.
Reunion is published by Fontana books on ISBN: 0006151647 and is available from most internet bookstalls.
