Fireside Reading

The clocks have gone back, the ghosts have flitted among us and returned to their thinly veiled otherworld, the Guys have gone up in a slightly anachronistic blaze of political glory and it’s time make a hot chocolate and curl up in the warm with a good book.
Below is a list of some of the books I have read in the last few months – an eclectic, even disparate selection – recent releases, old favourites and modern classics, fiction, non-fiction and poetry Some I bought from the 3 for 2 table, some I picked up from charity shops, some were gifts, some sounded so first-rate I ordered them from Amazon. In return for these recommendations, I’d be interested to hear what other people have read and loved (or loathed) and also what they thought of any of the books below.
In order of reading, starting with the most recent:
• WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS? Kate Atkinson knows that you can explore the deeper side to life and literature via the crime novel. An exciting array of characters and a gripping, richly layered plot. (UK 2007)
• David Mitchell’s CLOUD ATLAS is a masterly attempt to weave several stories together through time and space. I enjoyed this more and more as I read into the book. The links are clever, but more importantly, the stories are thrilling, absorbing and full of remarkable characters. (UK 2004)
• Delphine De Vigan NO AND ME This has been translated from the French – a slender crossover novel for young adults and teens as well as proper grownups. The voice is young, innocent, vibrant. The story flags a bit in the middle, and the ending was a teeny bit disappointing, but it is a lovely story of a 13 yr-old whose life – and that of her family – is changed when she meets a homeless girl. (France 2007)
• Siri Hustvedt WHAT I LOVED. This featured on Radio 4’s Book Club. I had never heard of this US author, but I was impressed with her flawless narrative voice (male) and the scope of her timescape. The story’s plot is structured unconventional – not exactly Hollywood material – but the depth of character development is stunning, and she does that sooo difficult thing; discuss and describe fictional visual art on the page. (USA 2003) )
• THE WILD PLACES by Robert McFarland is a rare treat; a piece of non-fiction written with a poet’s eye. McFarland chooses to explore wilderness landscapes of the British Isles with madcap pluck and a deep understanding of the natural world. Into this mix, he blends a knowledge of science and history with little snippets of his own memories. Betwitching. (UK 2007)
• Hilary Mantel WOLF HALL. I’ve followed Mantel’s career with interest since reading her very first book 20 or more years ago. That was brave and original. Wolf Hall is simply stunning. If you don’t know much about the mid-Tudor period, you will if you read it. But if you do know a lot about that period, you will be even more impressed, as she constantly takes situations recorded in history and reinterprets them as fiction, making them fizz with colour and raising debate. I was fascinated by the ending – rushing to my ‘Kings and Queens of History’ to check certain dates. I’m still not sure if she’s saying what she seems to be saying, but it’s certainly staying in my mind as the most enigmatic ending…up there with Basic Instinct…(UK 2009)
• Iris Murdoch A FAIRLY HONOURABLE DEFEAT I used to read every Murcoch as it appeared in the bookshops; I re-read this one recently to see if it had changed in my eyes and mind. Actually, I was surprised at how much I ‘missed’ the first time round and knowing the end (which I won’t spoil for you) didn’t matter at all, especially as I could not remember it perfectly. I understood more of her philosophical insertions on second reading, and clearly saw how she was ‘puppet master’. Murdoch was always my first love as an author and did not lose her currency as the count of books went up and up. If you’ve never read one of her books, choose from the early to middle period, as the later period is heavy and deteriorates, understandably towards the very end of her life (UK 1970)
• Kate Williams ENGLAND’S MISTRESS. Subtitiled The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton. Williams wanted to write a definitive biography of Nelson’s mistress after she discovered her personal letters during doctorate research. She was still very young when the book proposal was accepted, but this doesn’t show; the writing is mature yet fresh. I loved the way she tells us about the life and times of Emma; the slum world of her childhood, the great monarchic houses of Europe when she lived abroad, the facts on childbirth when she was having her first baby, and the art world, because she was painted time and again. Nelson comes in late on, but then dominates the canvas. I soaked up every word, and felt I knew the 18C better as a result. (UK 2006)
• Marina Lewycka WE ARE ALL MADE OF GLUE. Having read her first book A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, I was keen to see if this one would suit me better. I find some of her writing a little predictable and rather dependent on poking fun at eccentric (usually foreign) characters. Well, she continues to extract comedy in this slightly distasteful way, and I didn’t find parts of this any more convincing that her first book, but it did make me laugh. A lot. (UK 2009)
• At the other end of the spectrum, THE SHIPPING NEWS, by Annie Proulx, a lyrical, textured novel that is relentlessly grim but so beautifully told – like all Proulx’s work – that it pulls you in and won’t let you go. (USA 1993)
• Clare Morrall THE MAN WHO DISAPPEARED. Having gained a shortlisted Booker place for Astonishing Splashes of Colour, Morrall has had to make do with being a TV book club ‘summer read’ with this one. But it is an interesting take on a crime novel, using solid psychology to endear us to the characters on both sides of the ‘criminal divide’. I enjoyed it at least as much. (UK 2008)
• CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN, Louis de Bernieres. I agree with most critics – an editor should have taken a massive red pen to this book to chop it into readable size. And although I admire alternative endings, this one seemed contrived to be as awful as possible…I just don’t think that’s cricket! However, its landscape is seductive and the characters wonderful. He does poke fun at the 1940’s Italian fighting machine, but that was probably fair game.(UK 1994)
• GOTHAM WRITERS’ WORKSHOP FICTION GALLERY (Bloomsbury) is a wonderful array of US short stories, each with a summary and author’s notes. There are old favourites and lots of new (to me) stories too. A definite must for the short story reader. (US 2004)
• William Trevor THE STORY OF LUCY GAULT Shortlisted for the Man Booker in 2002, I stumbled across this in a charity shop. But I can’t say I enjoyed it, despite the beauty of the writing. It is a gaunt (redolent of Gault) tale, which has an unhappy beginning, middle and end. Some of the set-up didn’t convince me and I didn’t fall in love with…or even like Lucy. I am now reading FELICIA’S JOURNEY, which is an improvment. (Ireland 1994)
• BIRDSONG, Sabastian Faulks most acclaimed novel attempts to reinvigorate the voice of the lost generation of 1st WW soldiers. It is unremittingly emotional – occasionally manipulative of the emotions, and there isn’t much attempt at plot – the war is the story, and that remains shrouded in vague truth. But a gripping read and in my opinion, Faulk’s best attempt at a novel. (UK 1993)
• Peter James, in SWEET HEART, seems to find it hard to get his female protagonist right. If a woman is desperate to get pregnant and has pregnancy symptoms, she’ll suspect she’s pregnant, periods or not. The crime is in the past and a little supernatural element creeps in. A mildly enjoyable fireside read.
• Jo Shapcott and Matthew Sweeney (Eds) EMERGENCY KIT. If you want a large anthology of recent poems, I’d recommend this one. It is disturbing and exuberant and renowned poets nestle between the covers with lesser-known. (UK 1994)
• Carl Hiaasen SKIN TIGHT. Billed as funny, and yes, LOL, but I could have done with a bit more ‘slowing down’, it is so fast paced that it lacks atmosphere at times. I did not like the end. I felt it tried to aim for black (gory) humour, rather than stick with the characterization of the ‘hero’. (USA 2003)
• Sarah Waters THE LITTLE STRANGER; don’t believe the critics, many of whom are saying Waters latest book is her first without a theme of lesbianism. They are just blind! This tense thriller/ghost story held me from first to last, and her male protagonist was well crafted. This is not my favourite Walters – for brilliant plotting that remains FINGERSMITH – for beautiful, detailed writing NIGHT WATCH – but it’s a good addition to the cannon. (UK 2008)
• THE UNCONSOLED. Kasuo Ishiguro remains one of my favourite contemporary writers, and this my favourite of his novels, all of which I’ve read. It’s a slippy book, disorientated in time and space and drenched in music. The book sank like a stone, which didn’t surprise me, its messages are subtle, and unlike the feted Ian McEwen, who can do no wrong with the critics, I fancy Ishiguro is less liked – and I do (secretly) wonder if that is because he is less English. His books are imaginative, inventive, strongly crafted and push the boundaries to the very edges. All Hail. (UK 1995)
• Ian McEwan, ATTONEMENT. Having pilloried him for being loved, I’d better mention that I’ve really enjoyed all his books, but especially this one for its breadth of vision. Keira Knightley does well in the film version, but best read the book first.
• • Ali Smith THE ACCIDENTAL An extremely competent novel with a stream of consciousness format that sucked me right in. I wasn’t completely convinced by the plot/setting – the idea that an odd girl wanders into a family’s holiday and stirs things up completely – but stranger things have happened, I’m sure. What I loved was the structure, style and masterful narrative techniques and the way the girl is cleverly used by the writer as a tool to understanding.
• Christopher Brookmyre A TALE ETCHED IN BLOOD AND HARD PENCIL – a very funny writer, although this novel had an overload of lowland dialect (UK 2000)
• FUGITIVE PIECES, by poet Anne Michaels, won many awards and is just a beautiful read…rather like doing a jigsaw of an Old Master. A story of the Holocaust, but rightly so, we shouldn’t forget. Michaels interlocks lives across cultures and generations. (Canada 1996)
• P G James THE LIGHTHOUSE – perhaps her finest, although I am yet to read her most recent. She has a slight ’60’s’ feel now, but – heck – no one can beat her great crime novels. (UK 2006)
• Andrea Levy’s SMALL ISLAND is now well thumbed, I’ve lent it to so many people. I loved the way she keeps this weighty story of immigration and changing landscapes light, while still being thought-provoking. She perfectly capturing the dreariness of fifties England, compared to the colour of the Caribbean (UK 2004)
• Frank McCourt ANGELA’S ASHES. Sorry, but I’ve got to churn out the cliche; the book is heaps better than the film that could not do justice to either the lyricism of the writer or even the true squalor of the living conditions. (USA 1996)
• In Booker winner THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS, Aurndhati Roy takes a joyous and tragic look at an Indian family through the eyes of 2 young twins. Its major theme of family connections is conveyed via clear prose and careful structure. (India 1997)
• Sara Paretsky KILLING ORDERS – a loved US writer of good crime, however, although her creation, VI Warshawski is delightfully flawed, Paretsky is also not flawless as a writer. (US 1999)
• What Paulo Coelho loves to do…what his readership love him for him to do…is craft fables. In VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE, he builds his story on the understanding that we don’t really value our lives until they are snatched from us. It also describes mental institutions in stark and bitter terms. My favourite Coelho novel remains THE ALCHEMIST, but this is a fascinating read. (Brazil 1998)
• Frances Fyfield, in COLD TO THE TOUCH, spares no quality in her writing – she is the natural successor to PG James, but in my opinion her characters are more realistic and I can identify with them more closely (UK 2008)
• I met Frances Fyfield and Mark Billingham during my week at Arvon. I really enjoy Mark’s appearances on Radio 4. But now, Thorpe’s on TV, too! In LIFELESS, he goes on the streets to solve the murders. (UK 2004)
• Having read all her books, most recently ON BEAUTY, I know that this one is my favourite Zadie Smith novel. It is expansive and mature, and resonant with great characters, a broad vista and a compassionate tone. (UK 2000)
• THE COLLECTOR by John Fowls. His first book, it has that controlled style and once-removed perspective that later brought us THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN. I do recommend it, especially if you enjoy books that use an unreliable narrator. (UK 1963)
• THE LINE OF BEAUTY, by Alan Hollignhurst. A writer I admire greatly, I immediately wanted to compare this with his earlier work FALLEN STAR. BEAUTY is a vast and heavy novel with wide, contemporary themes. Both books are filled with wit and sparkle, FALLEN perhaps a little more acidic. Both have graphic scenes of gay sex, but in BEAUTY, this feels better handled; the hedonistic life style is well described. I think of him as the Jane Austin of gay fiction.(UK 2004)
• HALF A YELLOW SUN. This is another panoramic novel, Chimananda Ngozi Adichie’s most challenging and expansive, it tells the story of the Biafran uprising using several perspectives, returning to the start of the story half-way through the book to present a further point of view. Very thought-provoking.(Nigeria 2006)
• Donna Tartt wrote THE SECRET HISTORY, a marvellous story of intrigue between pretentious students, which I very much enjoyed. She almost fell apart from the overwhelming responses, which were both good and bad and only produced THE LITTLE SISTER ten years later. This is also weighty and nicely written, but ponderously plotted and means less, I think. (USA 1992)
• There is only one way to read THE ENGLISH PATIENT by Michael Onjaatje. Read it – watch the film – read the book again. Then read all the really lovely, lovely bits again. My favourite is the candles in the church. (Sri Lanka 1992)
• THE DRUIDS, by Ronal Hutton. I’ll end with this academic tome, because, by the time you’ve finished it, you will never need to ask me about the Druids again, except, perhaps, the more recent question…why is Druidry now a religion? On second thoughts, please don’t ask me this as I have no idea of the answer
Nina Milton
http://www.kitchentablewriters.blogspot.com