willoyd
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Posts posted by willoyd
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Main reading for Christmas Day was Charles Dickens's The Chimes, last read on the same day exactly 10 years ago. Rated it a bit higher this time, 4 stars (vs 3 last time). Very much in the Christmas Carol mould, even if not quite at the same level - for instance the characters aren't as well developed.
Also read some more of George Mackay Brown's Christmas Stories - a collection of his Christmas writings. A little bit samey read as a book, but some classically beautiful GMB writing. Will probably finish tomorrow. Acquired some great reading for Christmas, as noted on my thread.
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#29 Mississippi: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner ******
I approached this book with some trepidation: Faulkner's reputation as a 'difficult' author is positively fearsome, but I needn't have worried. It's told through a multiplicity of narrators - each chapter recounted by a different character - so even though every one is 'unrelialble', or at least sees events through their own eyes - a rich and detailed picture is built up rather like a patchwork embroidery. The result is one of the most brilliant reads I've had in ages - totally engaging, immersive, full of character, humour and a strong sense of time and place. Not in terms of pure geography or history, but as a microcosm - you feel you are there with the characters as and when it all happens. Just loved it from start to finish, and the finish is a stonker, literally the very last line. More, please!
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Just finished my 30th book on my tour round the USA: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner for Mississippi. Approached it with a certain degree of trepidation as had heard all sorts of things about Faulkner (and this book) being 'difficult' etc. Shouldn't have worried - this was absolutely superb from start to finish (the very last line!). The first 6 out of 6 star fiction this year, slotting in there right at the end!
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On 12/23/2022 at 1:11 PM, Madeleine said:
About to start my 3rd book, which has snow on the cover, it's a British Library Crime Classic so I hope it's better than last year's Christmas offering which was dire, and I abandoned halfway through!
Hmmm. Yes, I wouldn't even go there - most of the ones I've tried have been just so. A brand/series I firmly steer clear of.
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Book #15: Closely Watched Trains by Bohumil Hrabal for Czech Republic *****
Review to follow
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Two more books completed in the past 24 hours. The first was a long-term project: Samuel Johnson, A Biography by John Wain, started a couple of months ago, but which I've put aside on occasions. Nothing to do with its quality, simply to do with other books needing to be read within time limits, and a desire to pace myself so that I could absorb it as fully as possible. In fact, it turned out to be excellent, a solid 5-stars. It was recommended to me by the curator I met at Dr Johnson's house in Gough Square, who suggested it as his favourite of modern biographies. I then found a decent hardback copy the very next day in Judd Books on Marchmont Street, so grabbed it! Very glad I did too.
The second was a superquick novel: Closely Watched Trains by Bohumil Hrabel, a slim 84 pages, and my choice for the Czech Republic in my Read Around the World, which I read in one sitting this morning. Superb it was too, another 5-star read.
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3 hours ago, France said:
Amanda had her DNA tested to see if she was her father's daughter. I don't care about Connie Willis's anomalies either or about Hilary Mantel's use of modern speech in the Wolf Hall, but was driven crazy by Philippa Gregory putting 21st Century thinking into the head of a 16th century girl in the other Boleyn Girl.
It's a few months since I read it, and I don't have my copy any more, so thanks for putting me straight. Yes, a distinct anachronism. It's the sort of thing I would normally pick up, being the rather pedantic reader I am, but missed that one (and several others by the sound of it when I've gone away to read up on them!). I was lucky enough to have got wrapped up in the book, so suspect that's why - even though they're pretty glaring! I enjoyed it a lot, but can so empathise with how things worked out for you.
BTW, I agree on Philippa Gregory - I felt the same with a couple of her other books I've tried with book groups - not an author I'm going to persist with.
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4 hours ago, France said:
I had heard so much about Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, but DNA testing in 1961? I the book has absorbed me enough I can overlook those, not here though
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it a DNA research project she was working on, rather than DNA testing? But yes, plenty of anachronisms.
It all depends, as you say, on whether one is prepared to overlook them. Sometimes I am (as here, and as with some superb anomalies in Connie Willis's time travel books), other times I'm not (I remember ripping Terry Hayes's thriller "I Am Patriot" to pieces because of the mistakes).
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Finished two books in quick succession in the last 2 days: first of all was Michel the Giant, An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie, which I've reviewed on my thread. This was the 14th book on my Read Around the World, my choice for Togo. A fascinating read. 5 stars.
This was followed by Booker short-listed Treacle Walker by Alan Garner. This was the Christmas book for one of my book groups, and a very odd one it is too. Really not sure what to make of it. Some (most) of the writing isutterly compulsive reading, other aspects just didn't work for me, disintegrating frm the childlike to the childish - unfortunately this included (focused on) the action climax. I could have (probably have!) completely missed the point. Looking forward to discussing this, and need to read the reviews in depth, as struggling to understand why the raves, but in the meantime, will give it the benefit of the doubt, and 4 stars.
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Book #14: Michel the Giant, An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie for Togo ******
My second non-fiction book for my Read Around the World, this one for Togo, but still a 'modern classic'; or, at least, one deemed worthy of the Penguin Modern Classic imprint. And I cannot disagree! As a teenager, the author, brought up in a traditional Togolese family, develops a near obsession to visit Greenland, to such an extent that he runs away and, over several years, makes his way up the west African coast into Europe and then, finally, sails from Denmark to Greenland. I say 'finally', but whilst his life in Togo occupies a couple of fascinating chapters, his life en route, although occupying several years, takes up only a couple of dozen pages.
The main focus of the book is a searingly honest (or so it feels) account of Kpomassie's time spent in the country. Many Greenlanders have never seen a black person before, never mind one who towers some 8 inches or so above them. It's a real eye-opener, and not for the faint-hearted - to a 'soft' Westerner, this is a completely alien culture. In fact, it seems, with some of his comparisons, that Kpomassie's own upbringing has far more in common than our own - although some of the sexual freedoms and his experiences with food (much of it eaten raw) definitely take him by surprise! The word 'raw' feels appropriate for much else of his experience too - not least the relationship between man and dog, where the latter are as much a threat as a friend.
However, as much as his preconceived ideas may have been largely washed away (much of life was more squalid and less exotic than he anticipated), and however alien life might have been, it's obvious that Kpomassie remained in love with the Inuit and with Greenland as a whole throughout his stay, and since. I loved his descriptive writing, and his openness as to his feelings and emotions, with all his faults (he's a human, and no saint). I suspect that much, if not most, of his account is of its time (the 1960s), and wonder how much of the culture and life remains, but it is no less interesting and relevant for that, given the state our world is in today. A thoroughly immersive real, all too real on occasions! -
Michel the Giant, An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie *****
My second non-fiction book for my Read Around the World, this one for Togo, but still a 'modern classic'; or, at least, one deemed worthy of the Penguin Modern Classic imprint. And I cannot disagree! As a teenager, the author, brought up in a traditional Togolese family, develops a near obsession to visit Greenland, to such an extent that he runs away and, over several years, makes his way up the west African coast into Europe and then, finally, sails from Denmark to Greenland. I say 'finally', but whilst his life in Togo occupies a couple of fascinating chapters, his life en route, although occupying several years, takes up only a couple of dozen pages.
The main focus of the book is a searingly honest (or so it feels) account of Kpomassie's time spent in the country. Many Greenlanders have never seen a black person before, never mind one who towers some 8 inches or so above them. It's a real eye-opener, and not for the faint-hearted - to a 'soft' Westerner, this is a completely alien culture. In fact, it seems, with some of his comparisons, that Kpomassie's own upbringing has far more in common than our own - although some of the sexual freedoms and his experiences with food (much of it eaten raw) definitely take him by surprise! The word 'raw' feels appropriate for much else of his experience too - not least the relationship between man and dog, where the latter are as much a threat as a friend.
However, as much as his preconceived ideas may have been largely washed away (much of life was more squalid and less exotic than he anticipated), and however alien life might have been, it's obvious that Kpomassie remained in love with the Inuit and with Greenland as a whole throughout his stay, and since. I loved his descriptive writing, and his openness as to his feelings and emotions, with all his faults (he's a human, and no saint). I suspect that much, if not most, of his account is of its time (the 1960s), and wonder how much of the culture and life remains, but it is no less interesting and relevant for that, given the state our world is in today. A thoroughly immersive real, all too real on occasions! -
Finished The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo - a book group read and also my book for Malaysia in my Read Around the World. Very entertaining yarn. 4(poss 5) out of 6. Now onto another book group choice, and also my book for Togo, Michel the Giant by Tete-Michel Kpomassie (his memoir of living in Greenland).
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Book #13: The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo for Malaysia ****
The second book from the Big Jubilee Read for one of my book groups, and something of a contrast to the other, A Grain of Wheat ( my Kenya read too) The latter was founded very much in the reality of colonialism. Whilst The Night Tiger is set in the 1930s, during the colonial period, there's a strong streak of magical realism in it that gives it rather more of a fantasy feel. Altogether a lighter book, but no less readable in its own way.
There are 2 strands to this novel, which are told alternately, and which gradually interweave more and more. Ren is an 11-year old houseboy tasked by the doctor he serves on the latter's deathbed with retrieving the doctor's amputated finger within 49 days of death, to ensure the doctor's spirit isn't left stranded in this world. In the meantime, Ji Lin is a young woman frustrated in her apprenticeship as a dressmaker when she wants to work as a nurse or doctor, who is also working as a dance instructor/partner (a rather less than polite job) to earn enough money to pay off her mother's gambling debts. She acquires an amputated finger in a vial from one of her clients....
At it's heart this is very much a yarn to be enjoyed. Providing a rather different twist, it is suffused with Malaysian/Chinese beliefs and myths, particularly in the dream experiences of Ren and Ji Lin, which appear to be all too closely mixed up with the real world. Also underlying the narrative are suspicions of supernatural influences, including were-tigers and some improbable events and coincidences. And then there is, of course, Ren's objective.
At 470 pages it's a longer than average read, and there was a point just before halfway when I wondered quite how the author was going to spin things out to fill the space, but that brief longeuse was quickly replaced by a positive gallop to the finish which had me enthralled. My one caveat was on the historical element: whilst this was set in the 1930s and certainly reflected some of the social mores of the time and place, it never really felt fully settled in that period. I can't quite place why, but whilst it all felt 'correct' (at least as far as my very limited knowledge goes), there was something intangible missing - it just didn't fully breathe it for me. Not a spoiler though, and overall a definite like!
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what the rest of the book group feel about it, particularly on that latter point (we have a writer of meticulous historical fiction in the group). Knowing me, I may well change my mind on some aspects after the discussion, but if I do, I'll edit and note the changes! -
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo ****
The second book from the Big Jubilee Read for one of my book groups, and something of a contrast to the other, A Grain of Wheat. The latter was founded very much in the reality of colonialism. Whilst The Night Tiger is set in the 1930s, during the colonial period, there's a strong streak of magical realism in it that gives it rather more of a fantasy feel. Altogether a lighter book, but no less readable.
There are 2 strands to this novel, which are told alternately, and which gradually interweave more and more. Ren is an 11-year old houseboy tasked by the doctor he serves on the latter's deathbed with retrieving the doctor's amputated finger within 49 days of death, to ensure the doctor's spirit isn't left stranded in this world. In the meantime, Ji Lin is a young woman frustrated in her apprenticeship as a dressmaker when she wants to work as a nurse or doctor, who is also working as a dance instructor/partner (a rather less than polite job) to earn enough money to pay off her mother's gambling debts. She acquires an amputated finger in a vial from one of her clients....
At it's heart this is very much a yarn to be enjoyed. Providing a rather different twist, it is suffused with Malaysian/Chinese beliefs and myths, particularly in the dream experiences of Ren and Ji Lin, which appear to be all too closely mixed up with the real world. Also underlying the narrative are suspicions of supernatural influences, including were-tigers and some improbable events and coincidences. And then there is, of course, Ren's objective.
At 470 pages it's a longer than average read, and there was a point just before halfway when I wondered quite how the author was going to spin things out to fill the space, but that brief longeuse was quickly replaced by a positive gallop to the finish which had me enthralled. My one caveat was on the historical element: whilst this was set in the 1930s and certainly reflected some of the social mores of the time and place, it never really felt fully settled in that period. I can't quite place why, but whilst it all felt 'correct' (at least as far as my very limited knowledge goes), there was something intangible missing - it just didn't fully breathe it for me. Not a spoiler though, and overall a definite like!
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what the rest of the book group feel about it, particularly on that latter point (we have a writer of meticulous historical fiction in the group). Knowing me, I may well change my mind on some aspects after the discussion, but if I do, I'll edit and note the changes! -
It's been a 'slower' year for me than most recently, with 54 so far (to the end of November) Maybe not quite as extreme as you @Hayley, and in previous years that would have been a very high count, but it's on track to be my lowest total since 2014. Maybe a reaction to last year, when I got up to an all-time high of 90 (and even broke 100 for the 12 months to the end of March!). I had intended to read fewer but bigger this year, but that's not really worked out either! It's been a funny year - seem to have been reading a fair bit, but just not getting 'into' books in the same way at times, and taking longer to read them. Have enjoyed some excellent work though.
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On 10/30/2022 at 9:56 AM, lunababymoonchild said:
I thought that I had around a thousand books too until I bought an app that I could scan them all into and hopefully keep track of what I own so the I didn't buy the same one. As a result I gave away many books that I knew I would not read and found that I didn't have that many.
Opposite way round for me! I started keeping a LibraryThing account (see my signature!), with my books logged on there, and found I had rather more than I thought - knocking on for 3000. That's now down to just over 2000 (with another 400 on the Kindle, although only 170 or so catalogued), the majority (around 1400) of which are unread.
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On 12/1/2022 at 5:12 PM, France said:
No, not just you Willoyd. I've got to the point where I can barely be bothered to look through the list as it's so likely to have nothing I'm interested in that I haven't already noted. I have much the same reaction to Richard and Judy's book club.
Just looked through the latest Richard and Judy list - looks dreadful. At least 2 writers I'd positively want not to read, and the rest look to just be more of the same. There used to be some good reading in these lists.
Going back through the GoodReads list, there are just 5 books I've either enjoyed or want to read:
Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus. Enjoyed this - although wouldn't really have classed it as historical fiction even if set in 1950s. A light, wet Sunday afternoon sort of read. Picked it up in a half price sale.
The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell. Looks interesting, and O'Farrell is usually a good read, even if not always up to the standard of Hamnet.
Violeta - Isabel Allende. Another interesting one, mainly because Allende pretty much always is.
An Immense World - Ed Yong. Heard a couple of episodes of this being read on Radio 4 - sounded fascinating, and have alrleady bought book to read (it was cheap through Amazon for Black Friday).
And There Was Light - Jon Meacham. Excellent reviews on a subject I'm very interested in (American Civil War/Lincoln history).
Only the Meacham was news to me though. The general fiction list looks really dull (these three fiction were all on the historical fiction page).
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Is it just me? (Probably!)
I've just been browsing the list of nominations for this year's Goodreads awards, and I was struck, yet again, as to how few of the nominations I'm remotely interested in reading. There are one or two, but every year this long list of books comes out, and every year I look down it for inspiration/ideas, and each time I come away thinking that virtually none appeal.
I appreciate it's an American dominated site (the "history" books are almost all American for instance), but even so, I would have expected more of interest.
As I said, probably just me, but curious to see if it is.
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Book #12: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak for Turkey ***
Warning: this review briefly discusses a few aspects of the book in its later stages. Not a true plot spoiler, but for those anxious not to know anything beyond the introductory blurb, it might have that effect (I worked on the basis that it wouldn't have affected my reading).
A book group choice, and whilst not my original choice for Turkey, it fitted neatly enough. The premise was interesting - the main protagonist Leila, having just been murdered, 'lives' through the first 10 minutes 38 seconds of her death with her dying brain each minute experiencing sensations that in turn evoke key instances of her life (the idea was apparently based on a scientific paper that reported brain wave activity in a body for that period post-death). Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that this was just a 'different' way of telling a fairly standard story, the life of a girl growing up in an increasingly repressive Muslim household and how she 'escapes' and lands up working as a prostitute in Istanbul, complete with religious fanatic father, repressed mother, a sexually abusive uncle etc etc. All pretty predictable, and little different to so many other similar narratives (even if the story deals with important issues). The second half experienced a complete change of pace as Leila's friends (the story of how they became so having been told as part of the first part) work to honour her and ensure that she receives an appropriate burial (she's scheduled for a virtually unmarked grave in a pauper's cemetery). The narrative descends into virtual slapstick, and the ending was near farcical (in the literal sense). Whilst in some ways more interesting than the highly predictable first section, the juxtaposition of the two sections jarred - it almost felt like reading two different books that had been roughly stuck together
Overall, this was an OK if rather underwhelming read. It certainly left me wondering why the rave reviews and the Booker shortlisting. I think I'll probably land up reading another book to count towards Turkey, as I'm really not sure how representative this is, but it'll do in the meantime. -
Finished 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak. Ultimately, didn't quite live up to the early promise. 3 out of 6 stars - an OK read. Not sure of what's next.
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10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak **
Warning: this review briefly discusses a few aspects of the book in its later stages. Not a true plot spoiler, but for those anxious not to know anything beyond the introductory blurb, it might have that effect (I worked on the basis that it wouldn't have affected my reading).
A book group choice, and whilst not my original choice for Turkey in my Read Around the World, it fitted neatly enough for my 12th book in that project. The premise was interesting - the main protagonist Leila, having just been murdered, 'lives' through the first 10 minutes 38 seconds of her death with her dying brain each minute experiencing sensations that in turn evoke key instances of her life (the idea was apparently based on a scientific paper that reported brain wave activity in a body for that period post-death). Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that this was just a 'different' way of telling a fairly standard story, the life of a girl growing up in an increasingly repressive Muslim household and how she 'escapes' and lands up working as a prostitute in Istanbul, complete with religious fanatic father, repressed mother, a sexually abusive uncle etc etc. All pretty predictable, and little different to so many other similar narratives (even if the story deals with important issues). The second half experienced a complete change of pace as Leila's friends (the story of how they became so having been told as part of the first part) work to honour her and ensure that she receives an appropriate burial (she's scheduled for a virtually unmarked grave in a pauper's cemetery). The narrative descends into virtual slapstick, and the ending was near farcical (in the literal sense). Whilst in some ways more interesting than the highly predictable first section, the juxtaposition of the two sections jarred - it almost felt like reading two different books that had been roughly stuck together
Overall, this was a rather underwhelming read. It certainly left me wondering why the rave reviews and the Booker shortlisting? -
On 11/27/2022 at 11:26 PM, Hayley said:
I was thinking of reading Thackeray’s The Rose and the Ring. Although it’s a children’s book, the satire was clearly intended for adults. Maybe something like that?
Thanks Hayley. Certainly worth a thought.
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Need to think about the second one - pretty much renounced children's books when I gave up primary teaching, and in no hurry to go back! The only exception in the last 5 years has been Paddington (!) otherwise need to find a 'grown up' children's book. Might reread The Dark Is Rising which was superb. Have to think about the rest as well.
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5 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said:
Ach, I bought it anywayI don't think you'll regret it - on my shortlist for non-fiction book of the year.
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Willoyd's Reading 2022
in Past Book Logs
Posted · Edited by willoyd
As ever at this time, reading and completed books coming thick and fast. Will add some reviews in the near future, but in the meantime, a list of titles in the past week:
Treacle Walker by Alan Garner **
Shortlisted for the Booker, and a book group choice for January. It's many years since I read any Garner, and my reading has moved significantly away from their myth and legend based fantasy - from fantasy of any sort in fact - so I'm probably not the best person to rely on for a review. However, I did read The Dark Is Rising a couple of years with much pleasure (a full 6-stars), so there may still be a soft spot for this style of novel.
Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed some of the initial magical-mythical elements, and the atmosphere created around Treacle Walker himself; the idea of a magical world oozing into our 'real' one was classic Garner, as was the precision and depth of description. But as things progressed, so they started to feel increasingly wobbly, and the 'coming to life' of the comic book characters, Stonehenge Kit and Whizzy the Wizard, proved the final straw - for me they were just thin, frenetic and out of place, although seen through the eyes of a child who believed in them, maybe they wouldn't have been? Whatever, any sense of suspense or tension instantly evaporated, and things just all came over as rather silly. I'm sure - I absolutely know - I missed much, but for me this never really hung together, and ultimately just felt a bit of a mess. Maybe the length was a factor, too rushed? Maybe not - I don't think those cartoon characters, and their comic book behaviour, would have ever really worked for me.
Samuel Johnson, A Biography by John Wain *****
Having tried several times to read the 'original' biography of Dr Johnson, the one by James Boswell, and failed miserably each time - I find it utterly unreadable - I asked the curator at the Dr Johnson House in London what biography he recommended. He suggested this one. A few hours later I was browsing one of my favourite second-hand bookshops in London (Judd Books in Marchmont Street), and lo and behold, there it is on the shelves! I grabbed it, and am very glad I did too. Whilst not a true 'academic' biography (as I was 'warned'), or perhaps because it isn't, it's a highly readable but noticeably knowledgeable narrative which carried me along absolutely enthralled to the very end. Wain certainly brings the humanity of Johnson out, and I really felt I got to know him as a person, warts and all. It did everything I could ask of a biography - leaving me feeling well satisfied, but wanting to know yet more.
Closely Watched Trains by Bohumil Hrabal ****
My book for the Czech Republic in my Read Around the World. Writing this a few months later, all I can say is that I know I really enjoyed the book at the time, found it utterly readable, and yet I can now remember barely a thing about it. Ooops! It's such a short book, I feel I really need to reread it and see why I thought what I did. To be returned to!
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner ******
My book for Mississippi in my Tour of the USA. I approached this book with some trepidation: Faulkner's reputation as a 'difficult' author is positively fearsome, but I needn't have worried. It's told through a multiplicity of narrators - each chapter recounted by a different character - so even though every one is 'unrelialble', or at least sees events through their own eyes - a rich and detailed picture is built up rather like a patchwork embroidery. The result is one of the most brilliant reads I've had in ages - totally engaging, immersive, full of character, humour and a strong sense of time and place. Not in terms of pure geography or history, but as a microcosm - you feel you are there with the characters as and when it all happens. Just loved it from start to finish, and the finish is a stonker, literally the very last line. More, please!
The Chimes by Charles Dickens ***
Very much in the mould of Christmas Carol, although this time the revelations in the Christmas 'dream' sequence serve a slightly different purpose, and an enjoyable read, but perhaps by its very nature of being in that same mould, it doesn't pack quite the punch or have quite the same sense of drama and depth. Glad to have got back into reading some Dickens though after an all-too long layoff.
Have also had an excellent 'haul' for Christmas: two books from my wishlist (The Golden Mole - Katherine Rundell; Wild Fell - Lee Schofield), and a fascinating collection of 12 second-hand books put together by my better half, themed around the months of the year:
The January Man - Christopher Somerville
Summer in February - Jonathan Smith
The Ides of March - Valerio Massimo Manfredi
April Lady - Georgette Heyer
Five Days in May - Andrew Adonis
Four Days in June - Iain Gale
July's People - Nadine Gordimer
August is a Wicked Month - Edna O'Brien
See You in September - Joanne Teague
October Sky - Homer H Hickham
The Coincidence of Novembers - Patrick Nairne
A Week in December - Sebastian Faulks
I've only read three of those authors before (Somerville, Heyer, Faulks), so there's some really new material and some very interesting prospects to explore!