chesilbeach

Britain gave railways to the world, yet its own network is the dearest (definitely) and the worst (probably) in Western Europe. Trains are deeply embedded in the national psyche and folklore - yet it is considered uncool to care about them. For Matthew Engel, the railway system is the ultimate expression of Britishness. It represents all the nation's ingenuity, incompetence, nostalgia, corruption, humour, capacity for suffering and even sexual repression. To uncover its mysteries, Engel has travelled the system from Penzance to Thurso, exploring its history and talking to people from politicians to platform staff. Along the way Engel ('half-John Betjeman, half-Victor Meldrew') finds the most charmingly bizarre train in Britain, the most beautiful branch line, the rudest railwayman, and - after a quest lasting decades - an Individual Pot of Strawberry Jam. "Eleven Minutes Late" is both a polemic and a paean, and it is also very funny. Review: I had really high hopes for this book - a mixture of train travel, quirky characters and the nostalgia of the railways as a British institution. A promising start gave me everything I was looking for, but unfortunately, it didn't last. After a few chapters, the narrative took a must stronger turn towards this history of the railways and diverted away from the people and places of the journey. I stuck with it, but it gradually got drier and drier, and I actually ended up putting it down for three months. I eventually decided I wanted to finish it, and starting it again, the history continued for quite a while, but the last couple of chapters looking more at the state of the railway today along with the conclusion of the authors journey, made me glad I made the decision to continue. I liked the authors writing style, it was just the depth of railway history that I found hard to take, as the blurb did not reflect the content making me feel a bit cheated. I would have been much happier to have read a book that concentrated mainly on the story of the journey with a bit of history thrown in, but I got the reverse felt which was rather dry and lacking in character.

Can she get me a job doing that? Sounds like heaven

Hey Von! (back)

Finished The Killing Dance this evening. Written a couple of reviews, and will try and get through a few more (only 10 behind now!) before retiring for the evening with next book which will be Runaway by Meg Cabot.

Title: Eleven Minutes Late Author: Matthew Engel Publisher: Pan Books Rating: 2/5 Synopsis (from waterstones.com): Britain gave railways to the world, yet its own network is the dearest (definitely) and the worst (probably) in Western Europe. Trains are deeply embedded in the national psyche and folklore - yet it is considered uncool to care about them. For Matthew Engel, the railway system is the ultimate expression of Britishness. It represents all the nation's ingenuity, incompetence, nostalgia, corruption, humour, capacity for suffering and even sexual repression. To uncover its mysteries, Engel has travelled the system from Penzance to Thurso, exploring its history and talking to people from politicians to platform staff. Along the way Engel ('half-John Betjeman, half-Victor Meldrew') finds the most charmingly bizarre train in Britain, the most beautiful branch line, the rudest railwayman, and - after a quest lasting decades - an Individual Pot of Strawberry Jam. "Eleven Minutes Late" is both a polemic and a paean, and it is also very funny. Review: I had really high hopes for this book - a mixture of train travel, quirky characters and the nostalgia of the railways as a British institution. A promising start gave me everything I was looking for, but unfortunately, it didn't last. After a few chapters, the narrative took a must stronger turn towards this history of the railways and diverted away from the people and places of the journey. I stuck with it, but it gradually got drier and drier, and I actually ended up putting it down for three months. I eventually decided I wanted to finish it, and starting it again, the history continued for quite a while, but the last couple of chapters looking more at the state of the railway today along with the conclusion of the authors journey, made me glad I made the decision to continue. I liked the authors writing style, it was just the depth of railway history that I found hard to take, as the blurb did not reflect the content making me feel a bit cheated. I would have been much happier to have read a book that concentrated mainly on the story of the journey with a bit of history thrown in, but I got the reverse felt which was rather dry and lacking in character.

Don't worry, poppy, I'm a bit behind with my reviews, and I've read 10 books since this one, and I've enjoyed them all in varying levels! I actually don't mind reading underwhelming books, as it just reinforces my love of the good books when I find them

Nights ...

School ...

Lots of short books. 10am or 10pm?

Synopsis (from waterstones.com): The nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan gather in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother Liam. It wasn't the drink that killed him - although that certainly helped - it was what happened to him as a boy in his grandmother's house, in the winter of 1968. His sister, Veronica was there then, as she is now: keeping the dead man company, just for another little while. The "Gathering" is a family epic, condensed and clarified through the remarkable lens of Anne Enright's unblinking eye. It is also a sexual history: tracing the line of hurt and redemption through three generations - starting with the grandmother, Ada Merriman - showing how memories warp and family secrets fester. Review: This book is essentially about how the unreliable narrator, Veronica Hegarty, tries to make sense of and come to terms with, the death of her beloved brother. Through her own imagined history of her grandmothers life and how she came to meet and marry her grandfather, and the gradual revealing of an incident she witnesses when just a young child, Veronica takes us through the history of her family. I didn't enjoy this book much at all. Although she's meant to be unreliable as a narrator, Veronica's almost infatuated imagining of Ada's relationships made the story pointless for me. Her fantastical recounting of her grandmothers sexual encounters told as if relating actual events felt like a waste of time, and when the revelation of the incident is eventually told, it had long ago been guessed by this reader. None of the characters were properly fleshed out for me, and I think that was the main failing. If I could have believed more in the various members of the Hegarty family, I could maybe have invested more in Veronica's story and tried to understand her story, but as it was, they were all just names on paper. There were some good points though, and I did chuckle a couple of times during the final few chapters when the gathering of the title actually takes place, and the members of the family come home for their brothers funeral. There are some nicely observed moments of the various brothers and sisters, but it was so close to the end of the book, that it was too late to make sense of them as individual characters. One of my other reading group members felt completely the opposite to me, and thought that it was a beautiful, honest description of a large family. She comes from a large family herself, and could identify with the various bonds and connections within the family hierarchy, so maybe I didn't have the same sympathy with the characters coming from an only child family, but part of me says that it is the authors responsibility to make me believe and empathise with the situation, and not to feel alienated from it. I wouldn't be looking to read any further books by this author, but having said that, if I was given another of her books to read for a book group, I would probably give her another chance. This book won the Man Booker Prize in 2007, but I think when it was announced, it had sold less than 3000 copies (I think it was as low as 260ish copies when it was first longlisted, but that's just from memory), so it really must have been an outsider to win the prize.

I adore To Catch a Thief! Jewel thieves, fabulous cars, the South of France, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, beautiful fashions - what more could anyone want!

Title: The Gathering Author: Anne Enright Publisher: Jonathan Cape Rating: 2/5 Synopsis (from waterstones.com): The nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan gather in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother Liam. It wasn't the drink that killed him - although that certainly helped - it was what happened to him as a boy in his grandmother's house, in the winter of 1968. His sister, Veronica was there then, as she is now: keeping the dead man company, just for another little while. The "Gathering" is a family epic, condensed and clarified through the remarkable lens of Anne Enright's unblinking eye. It is also a sexual history: tracing the line of hurt and redemption through three generations - starting with the grandmother, Ada Merriman - showing how memories warp and family secrets fester. Review: This book is essentially about how the unreliable narrator, Veronica Hegarty, tries to make sense of and come to terms with, the death of her beloved brother. Through her own imagined history of her grandmothers life and how she came to meet and marry her grandfather, and the gradual revealing of an incident she witnesses when just a young child, Veronica takes us through the history of her family. I didn't enjoy this book much at all. Although she's meant to be unreliable as a narrator, Veronica's almost infatuated imagining of Ada's relationships made the story pointless for me. Her fantastical recounting of her grandmothers sexual encounters told as if relating actual events felt like a waste of time, and when the revelation of the incident is eventually told, it had long ago been guessed by this reader. None of the characters were properly fleshed out for me, and I think that was the main failing. If I could have believed more in the various members of the Hegarty family, I could maybe have invested more in Veronica's story and tried to understand her story, but as it was, they were all just names on paper. There were some good points though, and I did chuckle a couple of times during the final few chapters when the gathering of the title actually takes place, and the members of the family come home for their brothers funeral. There are some nicely observed moments of the various brothers and sisters, but it was so close to the end of the book, that it was too late to make sense of them as individual characters. One of my other reading group members felt completely the opposite to me, and thought that it was a beautiful, honest description of a large family. She comes from a large family herself, and could identify with the various bonds and connections within the family hierarchy, so maybe I didn't have the same sympathy with the characters coming from an only child family, but part of me says that it is the authors responsibility to make me believe and empathise with the situation, and not to feel alienated from it. I wouldn't be looking to read any further books by this author, but having said that, if I was given another of her books to read for a book group, I would probably give her another chance.

I'm read about a third of The Killing Dance this morning.

I've just been listening to them in the car! (I love Brand New Eyes - great summer driving music ) Now back home and have Sympathique by Pink Martini

At The Indie Disco - The Divine Comedy

Yup, sorry Kylie, it's true. There's something about her voice I find intensely irritating, and it just grates on me constantly, which is why I have to hit the mute button whenever I hear her start to sing (OH says I never move quicker than I do when reaching for that remote control )

I loved this weeks as well! It was an old school Doctor Who story but written in a contemporary way, and made me cry too . Next weeks looks fantastic: - how much fun must the designers have had with those sets , written by Richard Curtis, and Bill Nighy's in it!!!

Not me, sorry. We refer to the mute button on our remote controls and radios as the Katie Melua button, because as soon as she starts to sing we hit that button. But, hey, as my mum would say, it'd be a boring place if we all liked the same thing

Mirrors of the Unseen - Jason Elliot

Hello Will!

Arm ....

Hi Erin!

Hello Fiona!

Friends, waiting for Doctor Who ...