February 2011 Archives

I'm glad I didn't let myself get put off by the endorsement from the author of "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian", as I enjoyed the satire of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and Dr Jones' own voyage of self discovery.

Amazon.co.uk link:
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday

The famous phantom pregnancy of Queen Mary I, as told by one of her husband's Spanish entourage. An interesting approach, but the Spanish, Catholic double remove made it feel too remote from the main events, exacerbated by Rafael's inability to understand the world in which he finds himself. In fact, it was hard to credit Rafael could get it quite so wrong....

Amazon.co.uk link: The Queen's Sorrow - Suzannah Dunn

A novel about growing up in Libya under Gadaffi. It's been on my bookshelf since I asked for it as a pre-Libya trip birthday present. Events in Egypt spurred me on. Worth reading for a sense of how life under a North African dictatorship is (was?) like if you don't toe the line.

amazon.co.uk link: In The Country Of Men - Hisham Matar

Another great modern crime novel from Kate Atkinson. Jackson Brodie finds himself enmeshed in three cold cases.... possibly four if you include his own.....

Excellent.

Amazon.co.uk link: Case Histories - Kate Atkinson

I've not read any of the Scarpetta series for a while, and picked this up for £1 in the staff booksale.

Scarpetta continues on from where Book of the Dead left off and there is just as much focus on friends and family as there is on the criminal foe. But the Kay/Marino relationship storyline isn't that convincing, and you can guess who did it quite early on.

Amazon.co.uk link: Scarpetta - Patricia Cornwell