General Chat

Of books read in December. Set or otherwise. Ann Glos

44 Scotland Street Alexander McCall Smith 44 Scotland street is let as flats. This is the story of the people who live in those flats. Not a heavy book but very well written, McCall Smith understands his characters very well and makes them come alive for the reader. I found it an enjoyable book tor ead while not being too demanding. Pat, on her 2nd gap year, indecisive about where life is taking her works in an art gallery, she is accepted as a new tenant at No 44, she shares her flat with Bruce, impossibly narcissistic, handsome and a philanderer. Irene a domineering Mother pushing her child to be the genius she wants him to be. Five year old Bertie, her child, clever enough to be able to outwit her is in therapy, one of the reasons being he set fire to his father’s Guardian newspaper (while his father was reading it). Then there is Domenica, an older intellectual, sharp eyed observer of the occupants activities. Outside of the flat there is Matthew, owner of the Art gallery and Angus Lordie and his dog Cyril.. Witty and entertaining with believable characters.. A line I liked was: ‘The young rarely believe that they will not be able to get what they want, because there is always an open future. I may not be beautiful today, but I shall be beautiful tomorrow. I may not have much money today, but that will all change.’ I thought that was a very perceptive paragraph, and just how young people do think. What a pity we have to learn differently.

Snow falling on cedars by David Guterson. A fisherman from a Pacific island is found dead in his net. The book is a whodunit, was he murdered? If so by whom? There is unrest on the island, the time being post war, the inhabitants of the Island being both American and Japanese American. There is a flash back to Pearl harbour when all Japanese Americans were interned in camps and not particularly well treated. Feelings run high against the Japanese Americans. I found the first few pages tedious and wondered if I was going to get into the book. But once I got involved with the characters I found it difficult to put down and finished it in a weekend. Not the normal sort of book I would read, I tend not to read whodunits but I did enjoy this one.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens 980 odd pages which I couldn't have read without seeing the excellent BBC1 series! However, having seen the series I think made it better - I could picture all the main characters and hear them saying Dickens' words. If you watched but haven't read, you might be interested to know that Smallweed is involved much less in the book, and there are a few extra characters and a few little changes from the original. As usual I love Dickens' character's names and his descriptions of the London my ancestors would have known so well. This was written as a monthly(?) serial and my edition showed where the breaks were and you can see how exciting it must have been at the time. I think for Dickens that the plot is really fast moving, there is a lot of excellent dialogue, and it also covers quite a wide area of the country, which would have been interesting for readers of the time too. One other thing - having read the definitive descriptions of Lady Dedlock, Gillian Anderson portrayed her perfectly! I'm now reading 44 Scotland Street - also written as a serial, but published daily in the newspaper, so it is interesting to compare the two. Maz. XX

Thanks Maz, I have not read Bleak House and didn't see the series. However I like the Dickens I have read (Oliver and Great expectations to name a couple) and his descriptions are great. Ann Glos

The Linnet Bird – Linda Coleman India 1839 – Linny Giw, a respectable young wife and mother, settles down to write her life story. To outside appearances Linny is the perfect colonial wife: beautiful, gracious, subservient. But appearances are deceptive Linny, a child prostitute, becomes a colonial wife and adventuress. A fascinating, and reasonably well written book. It has whetted my appetite to find out more about the lives of the British women and children in India in the time of Victoria, and I can see me re reading The Jewel in the Crown There are graphic descriptions of the storms they weathered on their voyage to India from Liverpool. It made me stop and think, as no doubt children had to face such journeys when they were sent back from India to England for schooling, most of them being sent to boarding schools when they were 5 or 6. It also contains descriptions of the rounds of social calls made by those single women who went to India on the ‘fishing fleet’ with the sole intention of finding themselves husbands, having failed to do so in England. The social disgrace when one of the girls decided to marry a ‘half caste’. A twist in the tale at the end of the book made it even more interesting, but I won’t go into to that as I know others of you will be reading the book, and I wouldn’t want to spoil the story Dee xx

Sea Glass – Anita Shreve My thanks to Ann for sending me this book, which is quite different to the kind of book I have been reading recently and made a pleasant change New Hampshire 1929 – when Sexton Beeches proposes to Honora Willard, she lays aside his flaws as one might overlook a small stain on a beautifully embroidered tablecloth. But as the couple begin their new life in the house at Fortune’s Rocks, their love is about to be tested to the limit. For the Wall Street Crash has as little time for dreams as it does for the mill workers at nearby Ely Falls, who are readying for strike whatever the consequences. An unusual book to read, as the story is told through the eyes of the various characters. I found it odd at first, being more used to conventional chapters, but once I got into it I found it an interesting concept. Historically accurate, as far as I could tell, and therefore an interesting look at the social scene at the time of the Wall Street Crash

And now for something totally different Merde Actually - Stephen Clarke Very different from A Year in The Merde, but a great book to read As it says on the back cover, A year after arriving in France, Englishman Paul West is still struggling with some fundamental questions. What is the best way to scare a gendarme? Why are there no health warnings on French nudist beaches? Is it really polite to sleep with your boss’s mistress? And how do you cope with a plague of courgettes? One of the more amusing passages is a description of a visit Paul West makes to Le Musee de l’Erotisme with an older woman. It had me in hysterics, and I am now planning a trip to Paris to see if the museum really exists Dee ;-))

Thank you for those Dee, I have now got the Linnet Bird and am looking forward to reading it. My DiL lent me a whole load of Agatha Raisin books but theya re very light weight so not worth reviewing here. i tend to read them in bed at night. A poor man's Agatha Christei (Miss marples). I am about to put a thread up for january suggestions, although there don't seem to be many people reading at the moment. still it might give the rest of us food for thought. (Well Dee, Maz and I anyway). Ann Glos

I am reading The Time Travellers wife...it looks very promising. my sister read it twice, so it has to be good

Can I add my penny worth please? As I was on holiday in Dec not been able to read the recommended books but read the following while in Malta The Journey by Josephine Cox Ben Morris has seen Lucy Baker and her daughter Mary many time visiting a grave in the local cemetery and he is intrigued by the inscription on the gravestone of Barney Davidson and tries to find out about it. He eventually meets Lucy and Mary and Lucy's story transports them back to the 1930s. The story tells of the love, loyalties, betrayals and heartbreak of Lucy's life and that of Barney, which is unknown to Mary. It is a likeable story, leaving the reader wondering what Lucy and Mary will do in the future, as there are other people alive who should be told the truth. The sequal is out in Feb 06 Norah

nice to see you two on here Lemon and Norah - the more the merrier!!! Nearly finished 44 Scotland Street - should be able to add mine tomorrow. Not got Linnet Bird yet, but it is ordered! Maz. XX

Thanks Norah, that looks good, another one for my list. Lemon you will see on the other thread that The time traveller's Wife is one of my suggestions for January so youa re ahead of the game!! Ann Glos

By the way Ann, I have still got Snow Falling on Cedars on my pile of books to read, I will get to it soon!! It must have been one of the first books put forward when Mike started the club. Dee x

Dee yes it was, I couldn't wait any longer for it to be chosen. well worth reading. Ann Glos

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith Haven't read anyone else's comments yet, so I may be on my own in my opinions! I was really looking forward to reading this as I have so enjoyed the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by the same author and thought I would feel the same about this. Oh dear, I couldn't have been more wrong lol!! I really am struggling to find a good word to say about it! I didn't like any of the characters and couldn't believe in them. They all needed a good slap and being made to join the real world! There really didn't seem to be much of a story, the only link all the way through was the painting and that was such an anti-climax in the end. In fact the whole thing just seemed to peter out at the end without us finding out what happened to anyone - not that I was that interested !! I didn't understand a lot of the scottish references as I don't know much about Edinburgh in general or scottish art/lit in particular. I really hate to be this negative, but I think this was better left as a daily serialisation in the newspaper - the whole thing for me is just not strong enough to be read as a novel. BUT BUT BUT if you have not read the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, please go and do so NOW cos it is brilliant !!!! Maz. XX ps - going to read the other reviews now and see if anyone else agreed with me!!

oh dear Dee - we have completely opposing views on that lol!!! oh well, it would be a boring world if we all liked the same things! Maz. XX

Maz, it was me not Dee which may explain it to you, I do tend to read slightly lighter books than you and dee. didn't find it gripping but i did enjoy it. In fact I preferred it to the No 1 Ladies detective agency books. As you say good job we aren't all the same (think about Cloud Atlas) and that is what this thread is all about. Ann Glos

Hi Ann and Maz I haven't read any Alexander McCall Smith yet. I have The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency in my to read pile though Dee xx

whoops!! shows how much I was concentrating! sorry Ann lol !!