Ruth

Thank you I feel your pain about your tbr though! I keep seeing books I've read and loved, and thinking I'd love to read them again, but then a whole pile of new books look at me reproachfully! I hope you like it. I loved Bel Canto, but somehow State of Wonder didn't sound as interesting, but I found it on sale very cheap so thought I'd give it a go, and I was surprised by how drawn into it I was. Hope you like it this time Thanks I really hope you like State of Wonder. I was actually quite surprised by how much I liked it, even though I had enjoyed her previous book.

I'm a bit late to the party I know, but I was wondering if anyone else was watching this? We've been watching since the first series, and it's really compelling. Very dark and very funny too. Can't help wondering how it's going to turn out for them all.

I finally saw the film last week. I loved it I've never had thoughts one way or the other about Leonardo DiCaprio, but I am a big Robert Redford fan, and a big fan of Toby Stephens, who played Gatsby in other versions....but honestly, I thought Leo was the best Gatsby yet. And the colour, the flamboyance, the energy of the film - it was just brilliant. Oh, and I far preferred Cary Mulligan as Daisy to Mia Farrow. I love the book, and as we all know, sometimes film adaptations can be a let-down, but this one certainly was not.

Ooh yes, I'd love to know what you thought of Cloud Atlas. The reviews I've read suggest that it's a book you either love or hate. I've picked it up in the bookshop a few times, but not got around to actually getting it yet

State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett The elusive Doctor Annick Swensen has been living amongst the Lakashi tribe in the tangled waters of the Brazilian Rio Negro River, where the women are able to get pregnant and give birth right until the end of their lives. Dr Swensen is conducting research regarding their fertility and how whatever enables them to reproduce into their 70s, can be used for a fertility drug in the Western world. But nobody has heard from Dr Swensen for a long time, nobody can contact her in her remote destination, and when scientist, Doctor Anders Eckman went out there to find her and determine how the research was coming along, all that came back was a curt letter informing them that he had died and been buried there. His colleague Marina Singh is dispatched there to find out what happened to Anders, and to ascertain the progress of Dr Swensen’s work. Reluctantly she goes, and what she discovers changes her whole world. I had previously read Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett, and had loved that book, so although the synopsis of State of Wonder did not interest me as much, I wanted to read it….and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There is something about Patchett’s writing – it is so descriptive and evocative, without being ‘flowery’ – and her characters are so utterly believable, that I could not help but be drawn in. The book is written in the third person, but from Marina’s point of view, and I liked her a lot. She was a sympathetic character – far more so than Dr Swensen, who (intentionally, I’m sure) was written as undoubtedly brilliant, but headstrong and blunt to the point of rudeness. The story is detailed and so much happens, and I was carried along by all of it. The ending was not what I expected, and not really what I wanted (I don’t think it’s giving anything away to say that it is somewhat downbeat), but it worked. Overall I really enjoyed this, and will be certainly be looking out for more books by Ann Patchett.

Thank you, you lovely people . I would totally recommend it - it really moved me, and even now I keep thinking about it. Janet, I must admit in the first few pages, there was so much information and so many names being thrown at me that I wondered how I would get on, but I found myself totally absorbed. It's definitely on my favourites list now, and I know that I'll be reading it again.

Schindler's Ark, by Thomas Keneally Although officially classed as fiction, this book tells the very true story of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist, who during World War 2, saved the lives of some 1200 (officially, although the actual number may well be far higher) by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories. It is the basis of the 1993 film, Schindler’s List; having seen the film years ago, when I thought it was wonderful, I would like to see it again, as I believe that reading the book would make me appreciate it even more. I honestly don’t think that any review I could write would do this book justice, but nonetheless, I’ll give it a go! The book tells an incredible story of bravado, resilience and determination, under the most horrific circumstances. Keneally is almost at pains to point out that Schindler was far from perfect. He was a womaniser who seemed incapable of being faithful to his wife, he drank too much, and he was not above mixing with people who he didn’t like, simply because he could get something he wanted from them. This latter skill of course came into play to magnificent effect during his mission to save lives, which actually makes it an asset. And in fact, this just makes what he did, all the more heroic. It would have been easy for such a man – who counted SS members amongst his ‘friends’ – to use the war to his own advantage, and to profit from cheap labour, but the fact that he chose to save lives, even when it meant endangerment to his own, and when it certainly would have been easier for him to ignore what was happening, just makes the story even more magnificent. When someone is portrayed as a superhero, we expect them to do good things – that’s what their role is. But Schindler was not an obvious candidate for heroism. A hero is most certainly what he is though. Initially, Schindler just wanted to make money, but as the war proceeded, he saw for himself the horrors being committed against Jews, Poles and Gypsies. (The famous scene in the film where he sees a little girl dressed in red was actually based on a real event.) Although the people he employed were officially prisoners, he was kind to them, and the arbitrary beatings and executions which occurred in other labour camps had no place at Schindler’s premises. He also paid over the odds to ensure that his workers had adequate food and premises, even insisting that his workers were able to sleep on his site, rather than living in another camp and being marched to his premises by SS soldiers. Although he was supposed to only employ people with the necessary skills for the work, he also took on people who had no such skills, because he knew that otherwise, they would be killed. Towards the end of the story, when we come to the famous list of people who he moved to Brinnlitz, another supposed labour camp, he actually gives up all pretence at being in the business for money, deliberately turning out substandard artillery shells. His brazenness was in fact almost his undoing. The book gives details of individual cases and names specific people who Schindler helped, and pulls no punches in describing the sort of favours he did to ensure that he got what he wanted. There is a LOT of information given, and admittedly I sometimes had to check back to remind myself who someone was. However, all the information is essential to get the full picture. Despite being written as a novel, I was concerned that the writing might be a little dry (it is after all a true story, and I sometimes find that non-fiction can be less readable than fiction). In actual fact however, it was quite easy to read, and I found myself getting through huge chunks at a time. If this review has not tempted you to read the book, that’s my fault. Not only would I recommend this book, I would urge everyone to read it. It moved me to tears on several occasions, and at other times I had to put it down simply to digest the horror of what I had read. But it was totally, absolutely worth it. Simply wonderful.

Wow Janet, that is fantastic. So nice of him to take the time to do that...I like him even more now!

It is disturbing, but the actual details of what the sons do are not really too gory (although shocking). It was the reactions of their families which were more shocking. There's more of a sinister undertone, but it's really in Paul's narration, rather than the crime itself. It's a fantastic read, but I did feel afterwards that I needed to read something about the better side of human nature!

The Dinner, by Herman Koch Paul and Claire Lohman are meeting Paul’s brother Serge and Serge’s wife Babette at an expensive restaurant. The evening starts off normally enough, but it becomes clear that the meeting is more than just a social engagement. The teenage sons of the two couples have been caught on CCTV, committing a horrific offence, and while they have not yet been publicly identified, their parents have recognised their children as the perpetrators, and have met to decide what to do. Serge is concerned about the effect it will have on his own future, as he is a popular candidate to be the next Prime Minister, and all four are concerned about the futures of their sons. The premise of this book fascinated me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I felt that some parts were somewhat unrealistic. The story is narrated by Paul, who, it becomes clear, has significant anger management problems, which may be genetic, and which he may have passed on to their son Michel. As he described the restaurant with disdain (understandable at times), he also described the events that had led up to the discovery of his son’s crime, and talks about things in the family’s past. All four characters, with the possible exception of Babette, were to me, extremely unlikeable. Initially I liked Claire a lot, but towards the end of the book her actions become perhaps unbelievable, and certainly inexcusable. Neither she nor Paul seems particularly horrified by their son’s actions, and in fact seem determined to cover them up and excuse them by any means necessary. The over-riding thing that I noticed about the story was how many secrets the characters kept from each other, and even from the reader. This became clearer the further I read. The writing was insidious – it got under my skin and I genuinely found this book hard to put down; there is a kind of sinister undertone running through it. At first, the narration is innocuous – you might even say banal – with Paul talking about the things that irritated him about the pretentious restaurant they are eating in, but then things take a turn, and we are plunged into something much more shocking. I’m not sure that the ending was one I liked, but it was certainly one that I didn’t expect, and it is a book which I continue to think about. I can imagine that it may polarise readers, but I would certainly recommend it.

Thank you I must admit, I had it on my shelf for about two years, and wasn't inclined to pick it up really, but on a whim I decided to give it a go. It started fairly slowly, but then I suddenly realised that I was REALLY enjoying it! I hope you enjoy it too.

Oh, that is a FUNNY film! It's a remake of a French film, Le Diner de Cons, which I've not seen, but which is also supposed to be very very good.

I'm going to see that next week. Glad you liked it. I loved the book - it's one of my favourites. The Redford film version was okay, and I watched the one with Toby Stephens as Gatsby the other day, which is also pretty good, but neither of them really do justice to the book, so I have everything crossed for the Baz Luhrmann one. I imagine that Luhrmann's flamboyant style will really suit the era and storyline. The last film I watched was Some Like It Hot, which is just fantastic, and you can watch it over and over again. I adore Jack Lemmon, but all three leads were so terrific in this.

I have just finished The Dinner, by Herman Koch, and I enjoyed it very much. (I also picked it for my face-to-face book club read this month, so I have fingers crossed that others will like it too!)

Annabel, by Kathleen Winter In 1968, in a small town in Labrador, Canada, Treadway and Jacinta Blake have a child. But they find that their baby has both male and female genetalia, and make the difficult decision that their child should have surgery. They raise him as their son and call him Wayne. Only Treadway, Jacinta and a friend named Thomasina know the truth and Wayne is not told. However, as Wayne grows, he discovers an emotional part of himself – his female character, who he calls Annabel, after Thomasina’s deceased daughter. As Wayne grows older, he and the three adults who share the secret are all affected in different ways, and each faces their own struggle to come to terms with the truth. When I started this book, I was not sure whether I would like it or not, but as I read on, it pulled me in, and I found compelled to read more about Wayne and his family. The writing is spare, and very beautiful in parts, with the loneliness that the four main characters each feel reflected in the remote and sparsely populated land where they live. Each character’s struggle manifests itself in different ways, as the book takes us through Wayne’s childhood, school years and beyond. In many ways, very little happens, but there is so much strangeness in the normalcy of their lives, contrasted with the unusualness of Wayne’s body. The story is haunting in parts, and I really felt that all of the characters were realistically and believably drawn; sometimes their behaviour seems questionable, but it’s hard not to wonder what any other ordinary person would do in their situation. It’s hard to believe that this was a debut novel – it was so emotive and yet under-stated, and treated Wayne’s condition (for want of a better word) with delicacy and compassion. A book which I would definitely recommend.

Driving Over Lemons, by Chris Stewart When Chris Stewart flies to Spain and on impulse buys a farm in the Andalucian mountains, he has no idea what he’s taking on. The farm has no electricity, no running water, no easy access, and to cap it all, the former who sold it to him does not seem prepared to move out any time soon. However, Chris and his wife Ana set about making the farm their home and their livelihood. This book tells the true story of Chris and Ana’s move to a different country and lifestyle and how they created their home out of the remote farm. This book is charming throughout. Chris is a thoroughly likeable narrator, and I really liked his wife Ana too. The way of life in the Andalucian mountains is amusingly and affectionately described, and there are a cast of wonderful characters, in the friends and neighbours who become part of Chris and Ana’s lives. Stewart is very self-effacing and happy to admit to mistakes made in the early part of the rebuilding process, and as hard as some of the tasks they set themselves undoubtedly were, he somehow managed to make the whole process seem extremely inviting. I wasn’t sure that this would be my kind of book, but I actually found it to be a gentle and sweet story, that was hard to put down.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did The cover is lovely, isn't it? All the books in the series have the same style of cover, and it was actually that that first attracted me to them. Thanks I really, really liked Animal Farm.

Death at Wentwater Court, by Carola Dunn In the first book in this series, set in the 1920s, the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple, junior reporter for Town and Country Magazine, is sent to Wentwater Court, for the first in her series of articles about stately homes. However, her visit turns into a murder investigation when a guest at the Court, Lord Stephen Astwick, is found drowned. Just about every member of the Wentwater family had reason to want Lord Stephen dead, and Daisy finds herself helping Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher, as he tries to work out what happened. Fans of cozy English mysteries should thoroughly enjoy this book – I found it delightful from beginning to end. Daisy herself is a loveable character; her tendency to stick her nose into matters could become annoying, were she not also extremely endearing. The rest of the characters consist of the Wentwater family and some of their staff, and DCI Fletcher and his two assisting Officers. They were all distinctive and the DCI was especially lovely – a fact not lost on Daisy herself! I had fun trying to work out who was responsible for Lord Stephen’s death, and there were enough twists to keep me guessing. The aristocratic way of life of the Wentwater family was well depicted, although there were a few turns of speech that struck me as a little contrived. This book was just so damn likeable though, that any little niggles paled into obscurity. This is not a dark or gritty story (despite the subject matter), and not really a book to be taken seriously, but I definitely enjoyed meeting Daisy, and look forward to reading further books in this series.

It's funny really...I did thoroughly enjoy Gone Girl while I was reading it, but looking back on it now, it does seem like a lot of nonsense!

I really hope I didn't insult anyone. If I did, it was completely unintentional and I apologise.

Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell This book was published in 1949, and set in 1984, in a nightmarish dystopian world. Our ‘hero’ – and I use the word loosely, as Winston Smith is in many ways the complete opposite of a hero – works for the Ministry of Truth, where his job is to rewrite the past in order to support the governing body, Big Brother’s, version of the past. London is now part of Oceania, which is turn is one of the three superpowers in the world, the others being Eurasia and Eastasia. In Oceania, conformity is essential, not only in behaviour, but also in thoughts. Outwardly, Winston is compliant and obedient, but inside, he rebels against the world he lives in, and when he starts a relationship with fellow citizen Julia, both of them are risking their lives. I am in two minds about this book. Dystopian fiction is a favourite genre of mine, and I loved Animal Farm, also by Orwell, so I expected to thoroughly enjoy this. However, while it undoubtedly raised some scary but important issues, and certainly provided food for thought, I found myself plodding through it, and not always enjoying it. The third part in particular left me quite cold. That said, I would almost certainly recommend this book to others, because the points it raises, while exaggerated to a very extreme and unrealistic degree, are still matters which should concern us. Overall, it was a worthwhile read, but I would personally recommend a book such as The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood as a better novel in the genre.

I think the actual phrase is, "I could care less, but I'd have to try very hard." Makes more sense, but people shorten it, which completely changes the meaning. Also "gotten" is an old British word.

The Bridges at Toko-Ri, with one of my favourite actors, William Holden. Wonderful film

Harmless fun if you like that kind of book. My only problem with ChickLit is that it's very predictable, and that's why I don't read much of it. I don't think it does damage, because I don't think most people take it that seriously. It would come way down my list of things to worry about re negative stereotypes. Interesting question - I look forward to reading other people's opinions What are your thoughts on the subject VF?

Thanks It did have very mixed reviews in our book group, but those who liked it really liked it. I hope you do too. The Hypnotist, by Lars Kepler This book – one of many to emerge out of the Scandinavian crime genre – is the first in a series featuring Detective Joona Linna. Linna is investigating the brutal murder of a man, his wife and their daughter. The family’s son, Josef, has also been extremely badly injured, but the police need to speak with him to find out what happened, and possibly to prevent more bloodshed. Josef however, is in no condition to talk, and Linna decides to bring in Erik Maria Bark, a former hypnotist who, ten years earlier, swore that he would never practice hypnosis again. He reluctantly agrees to hypnotise Josef, but his decision leads to disaster, placing Erik and his family in danger. I’m not really sure what to think about this book. On the positive side, it was an easy read, with a sense of tension throughout. I did find myself changing my mind about what had happened, and it was only towards the end when things finally came together. I also really liked the Joona Linna character; he had a nice amount of heroism, balanced with a weariness brought on by the things he has witnessed in his career. However, I was somewhat surprised when the perpetrator of the initial murder as mentioned above, was revealed early on, and it became apparent that that murder was not in fact the focus of the story, but more the catalyst for the events that followed. There also seemed to be an unnecessary subplot, which muddied things slightly, and I felt that it could quite easily have been edited out, which might have tightened up the narrative somewhat. The story is all a bit fantastical as well – I always think that the best thrillers and mysteries are the ones which you could actually imagine happening, whereas this one stretched the boundaries of credibility quite often. I was quite surprised to find that the main character in the series was in fact Joona Linna, because for the most part of this book, he seemed a secondary character to Erik. (I actually felt quite ambivalent towards Erik (and his wife Simone.) However, maybe this explains why even though Erik featured more prominently than Joona, I didn’t feel as though his character was well developed. All in all, something of a mixed bag. I won’t be rushing out to buy the next book in the series, but because I liked the Linna character, I may well read further books at some point.