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Tuesday September 30, 2008
Books in September
- The Knitting Circle Anne Hood
I chose this book for its title of course, and I did enjoy it very much, although the nub of the tale is very sad indeed, made all the more so by the knowledge that it is the author's own experiences of grief that we are reading about. However, this is a feelgood novel about female friendships and the path to recovery from loss - mostly bereavement - and very well written, given the grim little histories that each of the characters reveals as we move along. The only thing I was less keen on is the idea that knitting is therapy and that a circle is some kind of support group for the mentally ill - of course, it is therapeutic and so on - I'd just be worried to have it thought that this is all it is - as if, now they are all feeling better, they can stop all this silly knitting stuff.
Ann Hood has her own website about her books, her biography, and with a blog. - Buried Mark Billingham [Read by Paul Thornley]
A disturbing but thrilling tale from Mark Billingham - his 6th book. Perhaps (thankfully) a little less overtly gruesome than previous efforts; I am thankful for this because even though he seems to be able to make the distasteful more palatable, I worry when I find myself interested in books about sick subjects.
It occurred to me that the hero of this series, Tom Thorne, and the whole setting of the books in London, is the antithesis of Inspector Morse. Thorne is vulgar, drinks lager, and works in the less appealing police premises in North London. Both Thorne and Morse share a general lack of success with women, but I understand that this is a necessary plot device for detective heroes - reference the spin-off Lewis no longer having cosy wife and family. Though perhaps Barnaby and Wexford demonstrate that this is not a universal truth. - Saturnalia Lindsey Davis [Read by Christian Rodska]
This is all about "Christmas" - with all the usual problems of lists of presents, co-ordination with relatives, and huge supplies of traditional food. The main difference is that instead of just having to cope with one or two days it lasts from December 17th through to the New Year - heaven forbid....
"Yo, Saturnalia!" - I'm looking forward to it already...
Posted by Christina at 9:42 PM. Category: Books of the Month
Comments
Oh, no, he drinks lager -- worst of all! :)
Posted by: Cathy in Va. on October 3, 2008 1:12 AM
Now I have to defend my comments - even though you are smiling.
Morse: dreaming spires, real ale or a good claret, Times crossword, Opera and the classics.
Thorne: Hendon and the North Circular, lager, pub quiz trivia, country and western music.
Simply opposites.
[Though I have to say I'd rather date Morse - but on the other hand I do drink those little French lagers...].
One of my favourite episodes of Morse is Happy Families from 1992, which not only stars Gwen Taylor - who, I may have mentioned, is a great actress - but explores a theme that interests me greatly, namely the tabloid view that intellectual aspiration is not for 'ordinary' people, and that a passion for books and music is made to sound like a vice.
Posted by: Christina on October 3, 2008 10:02 AM
Someone who can enjoy both the fancy and the simple and hearty might be the most fun of all. Will stick with the real ale and claret, though! (And I do agree with you on not liking anti-intellectual attitude.)
Posted by: Cathy in Va. on October 8, 2008 2:25 AM
