brookworms - reviews (11)

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What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn (6.05)  9 of us met on 21^st July to discuss this curate’s egg.  We liked the neat ending – though felt it was well SIGNPOSTED – and the entrance examination scenario – which we hadn’t seen coming! Green Oaks was a character in its own right, and we all liked the “behind the scenes” views, and the customer vignettes.  The rather miserable lives of the staff were captured in all their frustrating bleakness.  We were surprised that it had been a prize winning book (on the long list for the Orange and Booker prizes as well as winner of the Costa First Novel Award) as it seemed to be 2 tales, not tied together in a tight enough knot.  Loneliness seemed to be a strong theme throughout the book.  We felt that the authoress had probably used up all her autobiographical experience and wondered what a second book would contain.  When we thought about the title, which seemed odd to start with, we felt it was a very good one.  What was Lost?  A girl, a monkey, a father, a brother and a son – possibly more.    

      read Amazon's review

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (7.5)  Our highest scoring book so far. We found the book quite inspirational and left us wanting to know more – what is happening now?  Some of us were disappointed that the climbing part of the book was over so quickly and others found the narrative style somewhat annoying, rather like an overlong Sunday supplement, and we would have liked better maps.  Greg Mortenson has an amazingly charismatic personality, humility and good communication skills but we thought his rather disorganised control freakery and bouts of depression must be hard to live with and would have liked to hear some thoughts from his wife.  We thought that she would have been more involved in his work, and it was rather left to us to assume that they had made a mutual decision about her running a “normal” home for their children – she seemed rather the “silent heroine” of the book. 

Many parts of the book astounded us, such as Greg’s kidnapping, the handing over of the 12 rams, and the boy sent downriver on a raft for an education.  We take education so much for granted in the UK, we forget that, for some, it is a life or death matter.  Comparing the cost of US missiles to that of education was another eye opener.  We thought the emphasis on educating girls that seemed to grow with the charity was really sensible in terms of the benefit to the wider community, and thought Greg was right to have turned down covert government donations.         read Amazon's review

The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom (6.21)    We gave this book a score that was surprisingly high given the ensuing discussion.  It was considered irritating and inconsequential and Israel Armstrong was described by various Brookworms as self deluding, a complete jerk, odious, self deprecating and having a complete lack of initiative.  We weren’t surprised that Gloria didn’t return his phone calls, being surprised that he had ever caught a Gloria in the first place.  Linda Wei was a good, if rather unattractive character – we all felt we had met someone like her somewhere.  We thought Ian Sansom tried rather too hard to be funny, and it felt like the first book in a series, introducing characters who were never followed up.  We felt a continuity checker would have been useful, to iron out details such as Israel’s total lack of money which didn’t stop him ordering drinks in the pub.  As a group, we had understood two different versions of the ending – resulting in some confusion and a re-reading of the last couple of pages.  I’m surprised this hadn’t been spotted and ironed out before publication.  I think that what saved the book, and resulted in its higher Brookworm score, were its “laugh out loud” moments – such as the burning of Israel’s clothes and the range of inappropriate T-shirts he was forced to wear.        read Amazon's review

Mrs Shakespeare: The Complete Works by Robert Nye (4.19)  We awarded this book our lowest scoring so far.  It was a mercifully quick read, but despite that, several of us thought that it felt like an expanded short story and was hence too long.  The style of the writing we found both clever and irritating, but it did sound like a real voice.  Those of us who were Shakespeare-philes picked up some of the play references, such as the yellow stockings, but the rest of us felt the wind as they passed over our heads and were conscious of our ignorance.  Apparently Shakespeare’s sexual ambivalence is documented, but a third of the book spent in bed seemed a tad excessive to us.  However the author may have been suggesting that their “play” was the inspiration for Shakespeare’s own plays.  The references to his patron, the black lady and the Shakespeares’ children and family circumstances were all interesting, as were the Elizabethan historical details, but there seemed too few of these.     read Amazon's review

I enjoyed this review from “A Customer” on Amazon:

Nye at his best is sparkling, witty, and brilliant (see his "Falstaff" and "Merlin").

But this is different.

It relates Mr Shakespeare's plays to his sex life.

As if written by Anne Hathaway.

Who is not very literate.

Which conveniently pads the book out.

A short book, made long.

Like this.

By making every sentence a new paragraph.

And also printed in italics.

You think I am exaggerating?

Read it and see.

It is erudite.

I suppose.

But dull.

Property by Valerie Martin (6.14)   A somewhat depressing and oppressive book set in Louisiana in 1828, full of unpleasant characters, enjoyed by more Brookworms than I had personally expected!  We weren’t sure exactly what “creole” meant – and from looking on-line it seems there is still much confusion about this word.  Originally it referred to New World slaves of African descent; I think at the time in which “Property” was set it meant “free people of colour”.  It then evolved to refer to any New World colonists, regardless of origin and nowadays a Creole is “anyone who says he is one”.  We thought the book well written – it must be hard to create all unsympathetic characters – and it was quite a quick read.  There were several very unpleasant scenes in the book, the death of Manon’s mother being most prominent, and we did not really understand the breastfeeding scene – we were sure it must be very symbolic – but we weren’t sure in what way!  Valerie Martin deserves credit for making us see how white “property” owners felt about their slaves – it is hard for us to believe that slaves were really thought of as not human.  We thought Sarah had pride and resourcefulness, whereas Manon drifted inertly through life without troubling her brain too much.  The heat almost radiated from the book.   

     read Amazon's review

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (7.13)   Our highest scoring book so far.  Jane described it beautifully as being like a good Belgian truffle, and I would think it would be the perfect book for Christmas afternoon, taking just over an hour to read.  Despite being such a slight book, we found quite a lot to talk about.  We discussed Alan Bennett’s affinity with little old ladies in general and wondered what the Queen thinks of this book, in which she is portrayed as a little old lady … with depth.  We liked her New Zealand digs at Sir Kevin and agreed that she couldn’t be expected to enjoy Jane Austen without appreciating the how the class system works – which, being at the top of the pile, she obviously couldn’t.  We could empathise with the book behind the cushion in the royal carriage and enjoyed Norman with his enthusiasm for gay literature.  We were pleased he got his degree, and delighted that Sir Kevin got his comeuppance.  The ending was a surprise to most of us, but a good one.   

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The Tree of Man by Patrick White (5.67)  8 of us turned up to discuss this book – and three hadn’t managed to finish it!  It was generally agreed to be a long, slow book about a family life that was essentially dull, with occasional flashes of drama.  The discussion was a little desultory, as there was nothing really controversial in the plot.  We did wonder about the way the children turned out, and put that down partly to the impossibility of communication in the Parker household. Those of us that had finished the book were glad that we had stuck with it.  It was a satisfying read, about characters so real it was hard to believe this was a novel, not a biography.  If you are wondering whether to carry on or not – do. 

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The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe (6.02)   Overall, despite some people giving this book a higher rating, it was felt to be rather contrived, with a few too many coincidences.  Some Brookworms got rather confused with the characters changing identities and the time shifts.  We loved the humorous sections such as the cat/sister burial near the beginning, but the team building at the doctor’s conference was slightly too true to life to be totally funny.  Overall we found it a slightly sad book with some unpleasant parts – such as the eye poking and the poor animals – but cleverly written and put together.  Somebody (Barbara Y?) recommended the same author’s “What a Carve Up” if you would like to read more of his books.

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The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (6.42)  We had an enjoyable “what if” type discussion about this book, agreeing that it was a quick and easy read, with an interesting but belaboured moral dilemma at its heart, but it was not a literary triumph and had a cop-out ending.  We felt Phoebe’s story was more interesting than Dr Henry’s misery - it almost seemed as if Dr Henry had handed his personal happiness to Nurse Caroline with the baby.  His life unravelled from then on, while hers became more complete.  Would Henry have told his wife had she not pre-empted him with the memorial service? Dr Henry had an artistic gift himself in his photography – why was he so set against his son’s musical career?  We discussed whether the loss of a baby she was not even expecting would have really caused Norah so much unhappiness, and whether Henry should have told her she had had another baby in the first place.  Maybe that was unavoidable, but we decided it was the lie he told, rather than her loss, that coloured the rest of their lives.                     read Amazon's review

Morality Play by Barry Unsworth (6.85) A descriptive account of a mediaeval “CSI” - Crime Scene Investigation. We were really plunged into the cold and poverty from the first page, and considered ourselves lucky to be living in our comparative luxury now.  How many of us ever really worry about starving?  We talked about the feudal system, and how a villager would be punished for running away and about the Black Death of 1348 with its consequent depopulation and travel restrictions.  The idea that a play could be anything other than religious in those days was tantamount to blasphemy.  Our knowledge of this period was sadly lacking and only now can I say definitely that Richard II was King at this period – the last of the Plantagenets.  It was definitely a worthwhile read – reflected in its Brookworm Score above.

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On Becoming a Fairy Godmother by Sara Maitland (6.09) We had firstly to decide whether this book  really qualified as pornography!  Surprisingly there were very varied reactions to the different stories.  I thought “Why I became a Plumber” a perfect short story, but it left others unmoved. “Sailing the High Seas” was our next favourite – but some of us found it upsetting that her husband let her go. “Sex with a Saint” revolted some people, while others found it interesting and imaginative.  Did the author see herself as the “Sybil”?  Was Robin Hood really Peter Pan and Maid Marion Wendy?  We felt the legendary women tales made us look beyond the image to a real woman.  All in all, together with a hefty dose of sex, these short stories opened our eyes to the variety to be found in women’s lives, loves and emotions.  This was one of those books that improved upon discussion – and now we can prove it.  At the beginning of the evening it scored 5.59 on our new system, and at the end of the discussion it scored 6.09.

                                                        read Amazon's review

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld  (5.91)  A thriller based on Freud’s 1909 visit to New York when he was 53.  11 of us turned out to discuss this, at our 100^th meeting – complete with champagne and canapés!   We enjoyed the detail of the period and liked the characters.  Our knowledge of psychoanalysis was rather sketchy, but gathered that pre Freud, people were just categorised as mad, and that his methods did “cure” people.  We were quite antagonistic to him, Jung and their theories and thought that the psychology rather got in the way of the story.  We felt the book was rather Wilkie Collins crossed with Indiana Jones, and thought that a film could well be on the cards, particularly with scenes such as the horse and the crane, and the escapade in the caisson.  We felt that it had succeeded as a Richard and Judy book as it was not too “girly” and we did wonder about the cover – with its strong similarities to “The Book of Fathers” and “Shadows of the Wind”.  What are they trying to convey? We felt the author was rather showing off his knowledge – particularly with all the Hamlet references.  We wondered about the point of the “triumvirate” as we were expecting them to play a bigger part in the book, and when we got down to minutiae, we thought there was a misprint at the top of page 382!                      

                                                                                                                            read Amazon's review

Keeping Mum: A Wartime Childhood by Brian Thompson  Many of us hadn’t heard of the author before, but apparently he has written 4 novels as well as writing for the stage, radio and television.  Some of us felt Mr Thompson was rather smug about his achievements and was possibly affecting not to have worked for his 10 A’s at O level.   On the other hand, he most probably did suffer low self esteem as a child and was trying to recreate that feeling.  He did give a credible child’s eye view of the events in his life, particularly its randomness.  The intervals with his aunt, his grandparents and at boarding school probably were as unexplained to him then as they are to us now.  We would have liked to know what was wrong with his mother (manic depression?) but we loved her dance with the headmaster.  Given his parents’ perceived attitude to him, it was amazing that he achieved anything, though his father was obviously a very intelligent man, but not good at family life!  We were somewhat surprised that there was a younger brother.  We liked his grandparents, and felt they were the most “real” characters in the book, and we liked his relationship with his girlfriend.   

Some of us would read the next part of his autobiography, but others (including me) rather ungenerously felt the tale had been unnecessarily split up in order to make the punter pay twice - why the wide line spacing?  We did not find much humour in the book – as is often the way with books the review describes as “funny”.  We did find it an interesting, although quick, read.  It recently won the Costa Book Awards Biography Award – and no – you shouldn’t need to drink Costa coffee to keep you awake while reading.

We did worry about the boy on the front cover – whose neck appears to have just broken.

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The Book of Fathers by Miklos Vamos  A Hungarian epic which provoked some mixed reactions.  First of all, for the benefit of any future readers – read the authors note at the back of the book AT THE BEGINNING.  Fortunately, Gill read our copy first and told me, otherwise I would have found it very frustrating to have discovered Mr Vamos’ astrological plan after I had finished the book.  In case you are interested, here are the signs of the zodiac, their Hungarian equivalents and the appropriate “father”.  I leave it to those who know about these things to work out if the each character’s personality matches their astrological sign.  The first paragraph of each chapter shows the season for that sign of the zodiac – and the surnames all translate as “star”. 

Aires (Mar 21 - Apr 20)            Kos                   Kornel (Czuczor)

Taurus  (Apr 21 – May 21)         Bika                  Balint (Sternovszky)

Gemini  (May 22 – Jun 21)         Ikrek                Istvan (Stern)

Cancer  (Jun 22 – Jul 22)         Rak                   Richard (Stern)

Leo (Jul 23 – Aug 21)                Oroszian           Otto (Stern)

Virgo (Aug 22 – Sep 23)            Szuz                 Szilard (Berda)

Libra (Sep 24 – Oct 23)            Merleg              Mendel (Berda-Stern)

Scorpio (Oct 24 – Nov 22)        Skorpio              Sandor (Csillag)

Sagittarius (Nov 23 – Dec 22)   Nyilas               Nandor (Csillag)

Capricorn (Dec 23 – Jan 20)     Bak                   Balazs (Csillag)

Aquarius (Jan21 - Feb 19)         Vizonto             Vilmos (Csillag)

Pisces (Feb 20 – Mar 20)          Halak               Henryk (Csillag) 

We felt each story had to be taken separately, but you could then see the connections to past events.  Our memories were collectively not up to remembering all the characters in such a sweeping saga – but basically, they all seemed to have pretty miserable lives.  We weren’t sure why the ability to see into the past seemed to die out as the tale neared the present day, but looked as if it was likely to reappear powerfully in the 13^th son.  We understood that the ability to see into the future seemed pretty random, and felt that knowing the future was more of a curse than a blessing.   

The Hungarian language was a main theme of the book and the author had tried to use the words and grammar of the period in each chapter. 

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Walking Ollie by Stephen Foster   We felt that Stephen Foster was a bit of a “lads” writer; he has also written a book on football.  We suspected the book had started as a newspaper article and grown.  We all found “Walking Ollie” a quick read, amusing, and we appreciated a couple of “laugh out loud” moments.  However, the severity of Ollie’s problems came as a bit of a surprise and we wondered what had happened to him as a puppy.  One of the best things about owning a dog is that they are always overjoyed to see you, so having one that cowers away must be awful.  We did wonder to what extent the author’s own problems were transmitted to Ollie, an idea which was not explored in the book.  Ollie seemed pretty normal with the author’s wife, who significantly fed him (and presumably the author too!)  The evening then turned to a discussion on dog psychologists, vet’s bills, and general doggy anecdotes - which was all pretty irrelevant for the non dog owners amongst us.

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The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch   I think we were all slightly disappointed with the book which seemed to promise a lot at the beginning but not to deliver at the end and we probably wouldn’t recommend it to a friend.  We liked the marine biology part – though some of us felt there was a bit too much of it.  Miles was an interesting and surprisingly mature character – despite his size – he was treated as an adult by Florence, who gave him rather too much responsibility for a young teenager.  The judge and restaurant both considered him reliable. We felt that people wanted to believe in mystical explanations for events and lost interest when a more mundane reason presented itself.  We have also seen quite enough of teenage male angst after this and “Maybe a Miracle”.  We would like to visit Olympia where Jim Lynch lives and the book is set, maybe on our Brookworms World Tour!                                              read Amazon's review

A Woman in Berlin - a diary kept by an anonymous woman journalist during the occupation of Berlin by the Russians in 1945.  We were expecting a more harrowing, depressing book, but were uplifted by the strength and humour of the author.  This book was originally published in 1954 but was considered to “besmirch the honour of German women”.  The author did not wish the book to be republished until after her death (2001).

 We felt it was a valuable book.  We found it entirely credible that an intelligent, mature, well-travelled woman, a writer by trade, would have found writing such a diary a way to get though a physically and mentally traumatic time.  The truth of the book was evident to us in the detail.  The author had an amazingly positive and practical attitude to life.  Starvation was worse than rape.  We had a long discussion as inevitably we wondered how we would have acted under similar circumstances, and how we would have coped afterwards.  Karen pointed out that denial is a well tried and tested coping strategy!  We discussed the dividing lines between rape, sexual collaboration and prostitution – but could not draw conclusions – nor pass judgements.   

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