Willoyd's Reading Log 2013

[willoyd]

Forever X by Geraldine McCaughrean ***

Certainly a plot line with a difference! The Shepherds are on the way (yet again) to spend their summer holiday in a caravan in Mr Shepherd's parents' back garden, when they break down. The nearest habitation, in the depths of the Lake District, is a B&B called Forever X', specialists in Christmas themed holidays. They're forced to stay whilst the car is repaired, and things get decidedly out of control....

 

McCaughrean is a consistently good story teller, and Forever X is no exception. It's a slim book, just over 100 pages, aimed at the cusp of the YA/children's market, and overall it works, with plenty packed in. However, for some reason, I never felt 100% pulled in. But then, I'm not the target market. I would, though, seriously consider reading this to my class (Year 5, age 9-10), as I think they'd thoroughly enjoy it.

 

Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford ****

One of Nancy Mitford's lighter concoctions, very much in the style of PG Wodehouse, with perhaps just a touch more attitude. It took a while to get going for me, but once established, it bounced along very energetically. Just the sort of book to read at Christmas, as long as you're allowed to sit and enjoy!

Edited December 29, 2013 by willoyd

[poppyshake]

I've always fancied reading that particular Mitford at Christmas and I enjoyed the extract from it that was included in Round the Christmas Fire .. perhaps I'll manage it next year I like the sound of Forever X too  

 

I had better not adopt your system of rating books according to how much they stick with you .. all mine would get 1   Even those I've really enjoyed I have to hammer home by frequent re-readings   

 

Great Christmas books .. hope you enjoy reading them Willoyd   

[willoyd]

I had better not adopt your system of rating books according to how much they stick with you .. all mine would get 1   Even those I've really enjoyed I have to hammer home by frequent re-readings 

I suffer from that a fair bit too! No, with The Yellow Lighted Bookshop it was a bit different to that. Whilst I enjoyed it at the time - easily readable, pleasantly entertaining - in hindsight it all felt a bit trivial, never really getting teeth into anything, and was eminently forgettable, in that there wasn't anything I particularly wanted to take away with me (it's frustrating when there is, but you still can't!). Three out of six still represents a solid, enjoyable read (it is the biggest category of books that I've read), and there are plenty of good books in that category; it just didn't have that bit extra to make me want to put it in a higher one.

 

Great Christmas books .. hope you enjoy reading them Willoyd

 

Thanks! I've just finished The Courier's Tale - review to come later - but it was a good one! Not to everyone's taste - as the Amazon reviews suggest - but I was enthralled.

Edited December 30, 2013 by willoyd

[willoyd]

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper ******

This has been on my shelves for sometime, having read the first volume in the series, Over Sea, Under Stone a while ago. I've kept meaning to follow on, but it's been one of those things I've never got around to, especially as OSUS was good, but not that good. Then The Dark is Rising was included as the Buckinghamshire choice for the County Challenge, and Christmas loomed (it's set at Christmas) - well, now as as good a time as any!

 

All I can say is that I'm really annoyed I didn't read this earlier as it's an absolutely gripping read. Cooper does a superb job at interweaving the normal every day life of Will Stanton and his large family (he's one of 9 children) in their build up to a snowy Christmas with the mythical disaster that's building up in the background, and which then bursts into the forefront of Will's life when he discovers on his eleventh birthday that his ancestry means that he is one of the Old Ones of ancient English mythology, readying themselves for the fight between The Light and The Dark. I was particuarly struck by the brillantly atmospheric opening chapters - doom-laden has rarely been better portrayed! - a foundation upon which Cooper kept the tension building through to the very end. All in the bucolic setting of the Thames Valley around Dorney!

 

I'm not normally much of a fantasy fan - Lord of the Rings is about the only one I've ever got particularly excited about - but a number of factors came together to make this really work for me. The way it's feet are so firmly planted in ancient English mythology, that interweaving of normality and fantasy, and the reality of the setting all contributed to making this come alive for me in a way that fantasy so often fails to do. Difficult to really describe why, but I absolutely loved it. 6/6 stars.

Edited December 30, 2013 by willoyd

[pontalba]

I've started The Lighted Yellow Bookshop a few times, haven't gotten very far either time.  I had high hopes.  Nice review.

 

I'd be interested to hear about the new translation by Tom Holland of Herodotus, Willoyd.

[willoyd]

I'd be interested to hear about the new translation by Tom Holland of Herodotus, Willoyd.

I'm planning to get stuck into it early in the New Year.

[willoyd]

Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliff ***

This was the first publication in the series of Slightly Foxed Editions. It's very much a no-nonsense account of Rosemary Sutcliff's youth, right through to early adulthood. She writes in a straightforward, direct manner, and the work exudes honesty - you really do feel that you're seeing the world as she saw it at the time. Her story has a particular edge given the disability she developed having contracted Still's Disease; she does not make a huge thing about it, but the impact it had on her life and on people's attitude to her was obviously profound. However, this is certainly no piece of mis-lit, rather the opposite in fact as this is one of the most positive memoirs I can recall reading, finishing on a huge upbeat as she achieves her first publications.

[willoyd]

The Courier's Tale by Peter Walker *****

The courier is Michael Throckmorton who first appears both in this book and in history in the service of Reginald Pole, cousin to Henry VIII, son of the last Plantagenet, Margaret Countess of Salisbury, and possibly the leading English Roman Catholic of his generation, rising to the status of cardinal, and getting to within a whisker of the Papacy. As a result he's effectively exiled by Henry, attainted traitor and subject to multiple assassination attempts, only making something of a comeback in England during the reigh of Queen Mary.

 

It's a complex story, but the author manages to keep his hands on the reins very effectively whilst, as far as I can see, working hard to stick to keep to the historical truth (whatever that is!), basing much of his book on the physical record. There are a few minor instances where he uses writer's license to fill in - Throckmorton's private life isn't so well documented - and there's no doubt that he's using the book to provide a rather more positive interpretation of Pole's actions than some would credit him with, but, as a complete non-expert in this area, being previously barely aware of the Poles, I found the whole work fascinating. The story wends its way through the maze of European religious and political manoeuvres moving from one extreme to another it sometimes seems in a matter of minutes, even seconds, depending on who was the latest to grasp or inherit power and influence. Throughout, the author manages to sustain a genuine feel of the time through his language and the settings and characters he develops. Throckmorton himself comes strongly to life, as do many of the prominent figures of the time, at least in their relationship to the narrator. However, it has to be said that his family, in particular his wives, do not, but then I think that was part of the point: they wouldn't do in the eyes of the sort of man Throckmorton was.

 

My knowledge of the Tudor period has, up to now, been fairly narrowly focused on politics in England itself. This novel has certainly expanded my horizons and given me some insight into the state of play on the European mainland at the time. It's been interesting following up on the real-life aspects of some of the leading characters, not least the Throckmortons themselves, surprisingly strongly embedded in the domestic politics of the time. Overall then, an enthralling historical novel, one which has got me wanting to learn more!

Edited December 31, 2013 by willoyd

[willoyd]

The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin ****

Colm Toibin puts a completely different slant on the story of the downfall of Jesus, as seen through the eyes of his mother. This is not the Mary of the New Testament, but one grief-stricken and confused, manipulated by those who want to promote Jesus as the new king, and those who want to make sure the threat he offers is snuffed out completely. It's remarkably short, barely 100 pages long, but it's packed with emotion - the description of the crucifixion was particularly heart-rending - and, for me, provides an alternative to the gospels that, with one or two minor caveats, has a strong streak of credibility running through it.

 

As to the story itself, Toibin sticks to the framework of the gospels - they are pretty much the only sources for it after all - but, as some reviewers complain, he diverges on some elements of detail. For me, this was part and parcel of Toibin working out how it would be perfectly possible for a completely different interpretation to be placed on what happened, and how easy it was for those recording the events to manipulate events to suit their ends. I was also intrigued by the slightly different character of Jesus that came through, although it was difficult to put a precise finger on this as Toibin (deliberately I'm sure) keeps him at a distant, more shadowy silhouette than fully formed character.

 

Almost inevitably, given the subject matter, this was bound to attract massively diverging opinions, some of them depending on the reviewer's belief structures. Personally, my only major complaint was that it was too short; reaching the end was almost a shock, as I felt I'd only just got into my stride, and into the stride of the narrative. This was exacerbated by the fact that it had taken me a few pages to get into the rhythm of Toibin's prose and the presence of Mary's watchers, not initially being able to fit them into my own story framework. Otherwise, a thoroughly intriguing take on perhaps the best known story in western civilisation.

Edited December 31, 2013 by willoyd

[willoyd]

The Matisse Stories by AS Byatt **

Three short stories based on three different paintings by Matisse. I have to admit that I'm not a short story fan, and these did nothing to change my mind. I particularly don't like those with a twist at the end - the story becomes all about the twist, with everything building up to that one 'clever' line. All the way through I kept asking myself the question 'What's the point?', but was never really able to answer. However, that probably says more about me and my impatience with this sort of book than about the book itself!

 

Byatt's prose is cool, liquid, highly readable, but with none of the characters being particularly likeable (with the exception of the mother and the cleaner in the middle story), I was never really that bothered, but there again that may have also partly been because I felt obliged to read a book that didn't really attract me. Not the best book to finish the year on, but at least I got it out of the way before the next book group meeting, where I hope my mind will be changed!

Edited December 31, 2013 by willoyd

[frankie]

The Yellow Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee ***

Subtitled A Memoir, A History, this is just that, a combined memoir and history of bookshops, mixing personal anecdote from Buzbee's own career in the trade with key moments in bookshop history. Very readable it is too, pleasantly enjoyable. Quite a few readers came to this through Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris, and I can only agree that if you like one then you'll probably like the other. Not an earth-shattering book, a bit too American-orientated for me to completely relate to, with an irritating last few pages profiling books shops that he particularly likes (thus out of date in seconds flat, and none that I'm even likely to visit) but certainly a cut above the average and worth, initially 4 stars, possibly 5 at the outside.

 

But then, thinking back on the book a couple of days later, I realised that virtually none of it had stuck. OK, a few snippets had (for instance the story of Shakespeare & Co.), but, on the whole, almost 100% of it had made no impression at all (unlike the Fadiman). Going back and browsing brought a few more snippets to the fore - oh, of course! - but sitting there thinking about it, I realised that this was a book that, for me, was completely inconsequential, particularly the memoir sections. Pleasant, readable, but ultimately quite forgettable. So really can't rate it higher than 3 out of 6.

Great review! A shame, though, that you found it so forgettable. Do you suppose it's the sort of book one would pick up again to read?

 

I forget, have you read Shakespeare & Co.?

[willoyd]

Great review! A shame, though, that you found it so forgettable. Do you suppose it's the sort of book one would pick up again to read?

I forget, have you read Shakespeare & Co.?

No, I haven't read Shakespeare & Co.

 

Good question about reading again. Not sure is my very useful answer! It's certainly not a book that I wouldn't pick up again, but I don't know any particular reason why I would, other than I know it was a pleasant way of spending a few hours. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just one of those books where I can't see any particular reason for writing it.

Edited January 1, 2014 by willoyd