May 2007 Archives
An unexpected delight. I remembered thoroughly enjoying Cloud Atlas, and I'd not expected this earlier novel to use a simpler version of the linked stories theme, and I enjoyed it just as much.
Each chapter features a different genre, time and place, and largely separate characters - but there are just the occasional chance connections between people that link all of them together - although you probably don't realise the significance at the time. The result is a novel that illustrates the butterfly effect theory, although in this case it is hard to work out who is the butterfly and which (where?) is the tornado.
Amazon.co.uk link: Ghostwritten - David Mitchell
Quickly read over an extremely wet May Bank Holiday weekend in Walton, another loan from the caravan's "library".
As with The Secret River, this is a novel set at an interesting time, in this case the 1930s, tracing the lives of a British-American family whose fortunes revive from the depths of the Depression, a revival that many are unaware is spurred on by nations preparing for war. The story moves from an industrial setting in England-between-the-wars to a delapidated plantation house bequeathed by a distant relative, and a world of farming and society still very much the same as it had been 50 years before.
But it is not really a novel of economics and business. Rather it's a gently paced novel, where the characters take centre stage. It put me in mind of the kind of thing Anne Tyler might write, if she were to set one of her novels in this period.
Amazon.co.uk link: Mason's Retreat - Christopher Tilghman
If you liked the historical sections of Kate Mosse's Labyrinth, you will definitely enjoy this novel. It is set in the Languedoc at the time of the Albigensian Crusade and the persecution of the Cathars by the twin powers of the Catholic Church and the northern French nobility, notably Simon de Montfort - the former thirsty for souls, the latter for land and the power and wealth it would bring.
I haven't quite worked out why, but the love story part of the plot of this novel didn't irritate as much as it has done in other Elizabeth Chadwick novels I've read of late. Possibly because all the characters remained strong throughout, and the story didn't end when the guy got the girl.
Amazon.co.uk link: Daughters of the Grail - Elizabeth Chadwick
Another episode from early in Dr Kay Scarpetta's career, where she still smokes and hasn't yet settled into her relationships with Marino and Benton Wesley. What makes this novel all the wierder, for someone reading the books out of order, is the part Mark plays in the plot. In fact, not just the part, but his very existence is all rather strange, upsetting the balance between all the other, more familiar, characters.
Amazon.co.uk link: Body of Evidence - Patricia Cornwell
Amazon.co.uk list: Kay Scarpetta Collection (in order)
If you have any interest in the people, politics and history of Pakistan/Afghanistan/Iran/Iraq, or indeed of "Persian Rugs", then Christopher Kremmer's account of a decade long love affair with the region, its rugs and its people is a must-read.
A fantastic book - and a perfect read on long bus journey around Iran, with a bunch of people that included some fellow travellers to the Hindu Kush and the Khyber Pass.
Amazon.co.uk link: The Carpet Wars - Christopher Kremmer
Having enjoyed The Idea of Perfection I decided to try The Secret River, and found it an excellent read. Set in the late 18th/early 19th century, it follows the descent into poverty and crime of Thames waterboatman William Thornhill, culminating in Will's being transported to Australia, and fortunately (for him) his childhood sweetheart Sal and wife was allowed to follow.
The New South Wales section of the novel is a reflection of the London opening - seeing roles reversed and the family slowly but surely pulling themselves out of penury in this strange new land of heat and big skies. Their relationships with the local aborigine peoples of the Hawkesbury River provide a whole range of reflections - cultural, personal, political - not just between the native population and the European settlers, but between the incomers themselves, highlighting the range of approaches and opinions across the generations.
A good book. Strange reading it in Iran.
Amazon.coluk link: The Secret River - by Kate Grenville