March 2005 Archives
I can never decide whether I love or loathe books like this.... whichever, envy plays a large part! Whilst having spent almost 2 years backpacking might sound enough for some, I've not come close to spending the time that Louisa Waugh has done in 'living the dream'. After travelling east on the Trans-siberian express for a second time, she spent two years living and working in the Mongolian captial, Ulaanbatur, before heading out to the remote western province of Bayan-Olgii to work as an English teacher.
This book is Louisa Waugh's account of the 9 months she spent in and around the nomadic township of Tsengel (which means 'Delight' in Mongolian), home to Muslim Kazakhs, Mongol Halkhs and Altai Tuvans. In it, she tells of the people she met, the friends she made and the understanding she gained in this far flung part of the world, as well as providing marvellous descriptions of the drudgery and delights of daily life surrounded by the amazing beauty of the mountainous steppe.
More photos would have been good though, and don't let the whimsical title put you off!
Buy it: Amazon link
A Christmas present from Phil selected from my Wishlist, this slim novel continued the crime theme I'd started with Cabal.
Set in mediaeval London, half of the book's attraction was that the action takes place around where I live, and many of the street names and places remain in place in the 21st century. Peter Ackroyd tells a tale of religious and political intrigue, with each chapter advancing the plot from the perspective of a different character. Cleverly done, making for an easy read. But then I'm biassed by the location, in terms of both in time and place.
Buy it: Amazon link
Another Aurelio Zen mystery that has appeared at the Gyford's Walton library, and a more attractive read than the more autobiographical books I'd bought with me.
A good detective/crime read, as usual, but with more focus on Aurelio's private life, giving more of an insight into the man to go with the mysteries he investigates. There were overtones of The Da Vinci Code, with a secret society within one of the ancient orders that emerged at the time of the Crusades..... but this novel is nothing like as complex. With the action taking place solely in Rome/the Vatican City, the focus is more on the workings of Italian/Vatican police and security forces, and those who control them, than the Cabal itself.
Buy it: Amazon link
I tried to get into this, but the traumas of the new job meant that this travelogue just didn't hit the right spot for a relaxing bed time read - the main factors conspiring against it both stem from its being written in the ?1930s? - the narrative style and the relaince on physical geography descriptions are both hard to get to grips with.
I'll try again sometime when I'm more relaxed.
Buy it: Amazon link
I suddenly unearthed a treasure trove of travelogues in the Barbican library, and this was the first one I tackled, purely on the basis that I'd just returned from Indian and could/should have some views of my own against which to judge Mark Tully's analysis.
That said, my week in northern India only allowed me the slightest exposure to Indian culture and customs, nothing on a par with Mark Tully's years of experience borne of living and working as a journalist there.
The book is a dry read, but the arguments are well put and are accompanied by anecdotes that illustate the issues and events under discussion, from corruption, to poverty, to belief.
I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to try to understand how India is today, how it got there, and what its options might be for the future. You don't have to visit to experience the frustration!
Buy it:Amazon link