March 2009 Archives
The latest instalment in Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive is a gentle cautionary tale about the grass being greener on the other side, and the power of forgiveness. But slowly told... Perhaps I've read too many tales featuring Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni and the apprentices of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Or maybe I've just grown more jaded!
Amazon.co.uk link: The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith
Exit Music is Ian Rankin's last track for DI Rebus's LP of working life. Set in the week running up to retirement Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke (or most often than not simply 'Clarke' suggesting that she'll soon be stepping into Rebus's solitary shoes) start off investigating the murder of a dissident Russian poet and end up untangling the investment strategies of the pre credit crunch Russian oligarchs, and the attempted murder of Big Ger Cafferty.
A sad swansong.
Au revoir Rebus.
Amazon.co.uk links: Exit Music - Ian Rankin
A gripping read, two tales running side by side occasionally converging around the Mysterious Bird of Ulieta.
The 18th century storyline focuses on naturalist explorer Joseph Banks and his fated love for a local woman from a non conformist family. In the modern day setting we have ornithologist turned taxidermist Mark (?) Fitzgerald lured into the search for the remains of Mysterious Bird of Ulieta, which soon turns into a quest to learn more about Joseph Banks and his elusive mistress.
If you know me, you'll know I have a strong dislike of birds... so to have enjoyed this novel as much as I did will tell you how good it is!
Amazon.co.uk: The Conjuror's Bird - Martin Davies
Set in Adirondacks at the start of the 20th century, A Gathering Light is based on the real life murder of Grace Brown by her fickle lover Chester Gillette.
Telling the tale from the perspective of local schoolgirl, Mattie Gokey / Mathilde Gauthier, Jennifer Donnelly shows us the lives of the farming communities around the lakes, the families who prosper and those that don't, contrasting with the wealth of the New York tourists who while away their summer at leisure in the local lakefront hotel.
There are other stories too - Mattie's and Weaver's yearning to continue their education and the personal and financial costs that brings, the influence of their teacher Miss Wilcox and the occasional unexpected glimpse of the struggles in what appear to be a safely privileged existence, the lure of the logger's life - bringing money at the risk of injury or death, and the porous nature of the US-Canadian border.
A very enjoyable read.
Amazon.co.uk link: A Gathering Light - Jennifer Donnelly
The book of the TV documentaries, except told mainly by David Vincent rather than frontman Dan. Based on visits to historical treasures and sites in the most war torn countries of the Middle East and Central Asia, it's dated now - but for me that made it all the more interesting. We learn of the local resistance to the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, both sides of the story of the looting of the National Museum in Iraq, the vulnerability of ancient sites in Iraq and the vicious and longstanding tugs of war over Israel's religious sites.
Amazon.co.uk link: Under Fire: People, Places and Treasure in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel - Dan Cruickshank and David Vincent
Suffused throughout with references to John Simpson's baby son, this autobiography-cum-collection of travel memoirs is a mixed bag.
I struggled at times with the mix of deeply personal autobiography (You can't begrudge Simpson's love for his family, particularly when he explains why becoming a father again was such an unexpected joy) and the slightly self righteous political commentary (possibly all the more galling because more often than not I find my self agreeing with John Simpson's view!).
The other irritation about the book was the repetition of certain events, often told as if for the first time.
For me, a bit more editing would not have gone amiss.
But Not Quite World's End is well worth reading despite both these elements, if simply to piggyback on John Simpson's years of experience of reporting on world affairs - he is not deterred by the powerful or the poor, and through forty years with the BBC has contacts and fixers galore, all of which means that he's able to share the detail and an analysis of important events in less well known or well understood parts of the globe - from Baghdad to Belgrade, from the forced relocation of Botswana's Kalahari Bushmen to the "disingenuous" use of intelligence material to persuade the British parliament to back the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Amazon.co.uk link: Not Quite World's End: A Traveller's Tales - John Simpson