September 2003 Archives

I had to persevere with this one, which is set in the Western Isles of Scotland at the turn of the 19th/20th Century. I did finish it, but I don't thik I'll be trying any more Elizabeth Know novels - they just don't have enough detail for me.

Buy it: Amazon link

This book is Mark Shand's tale of his walk along part the Brahmaputra river, which rises in the Himalayas and flows through Tibet before turning south into India and Bangladesh, where it flows out into the Bay of Bengal.

The tale takes you from the expedition's the genesis in a meeting with one of his explorer/adventurer heros, Charles Allen, to suffering altitude sickness in the Himalayas and 2 years of working relentlessly through British and Indian bureaucracy... and that's before he even starts his walk.

The epic is dented rather by the long Tibetan stretches of the river being made out of bounds to foreigners by the Chinese, but the tale changes tone and focus somewhat when the river walk does begin, high in the mountains of Assam, where Mark meets Bhaiti, who becomes his River Dog.

An enjoyable tale, with lots of characters and lovely photos in the centre section. Mark Shand does not mince his words or mask his emotions, particularly where bureaucrats or officials thwart his plans. At times he can come across as a rather arrogant, imperious Gentleman Traveller, but perhaps those are required characteristics if such travels in Asia are to succeed.

Buy it: Amazon link

Seeing as work's about to get rather stressful, I feel the need for some lighthearted easy reading... and Lisa Jewell always provides that! And Ralph's Party is set in Clapham Junction - that came as a nice surprise!

Two days in and I'm on Chapter 16... this isn't going to last out the weekend!

A few pages in, I realised that I'd read this novel before - but given that I'd not recognised it from reading the blurb on the back and leafing through a few paragraphs, it was no less enjoyable second time around.

The book tells the stories of X residents of Union Street, in working class Newcastle(?) not so very long ago. Each has their own story to tell, and the narrators are mainly women. Through these (fictional) women's stories, Pat Barker shows you childhood, rape, a backstreet abortion, childbirth and death and whilst there is a backdrop of poverty, their lives are not entirely without love or hope.

Buy it: Amazon link