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Sunday September 30, 2012
Books in September
- Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
So this book (mighty tome) surprised me before I even opened it. When
I went to the library, I had some difficulty finding it, as it had been
misfiled under the author "Jonathan Strange". I further found
from the staff that it is classified "science fiction" - and yet was
recommended by Alison (not known for her affection for SciFi). When
I got home, it seemed George was well-familiar with it too.
I have really enjoyed reading it though it has taken me for ever (apparently
- probably due to the fairies if the book is to be believed). Despite
previously reading the short story collection, the content was unexpected
and very interesting, and I look forward to finding some more stories
by the same author.
- Not in the Flesh Ruth Rendell [read by Nigel Anthony]
It's such a pleasure to find all these newer Wexford novels (that I
never got round to reading) as audiobooks in the library. Ruth Rendell
may regard these as her bread and butter novels but they are well-written
and interesting to read - which is more than can be said for much published
detective fiction. That sounds like damning with faint praise doesn't
it? So to be clear - she is always excellent - no less so for being
a reliably high quality writer.
- Good as Dead by Mark Billingham [read by the author]
It's good to have the author reading his own words - who better than
he knows how the dialogue should be expressed. Sometimes authors do
not read well*, but Mark is a performer as well as a writer and thus,
excellent.
This book features a character who has so much back story that I suspected
she had appeared before, but I could not remember in which book. In
fact she was a key character in Mark's "stand-alone" thriller
In the Dark (where Tom Thorne appears really peripherally).
In the manner of Michael Connelly, creating your own crime universe
populated by a familiar set of characters but not always using the same
protagonist works really well. For the reader there is always that familiar
background, while allowing the author to explore a different character
or viewpoint; it provides a method of weaning readers off just the one
popular fictional hero. This also improves the writing** which must
get stale as it becomes harder to churn out best-sellers with little
new to say. Anyway - it has worked for me; I had immediately passed
over In the Dark, but now I am sure to go back and read
it.
* Often poets seem to read their own work rather oddly - there are obvious
exceptions like Roger McGough or John Cooper Clarke, but, again, they
are performers as much as poets.
** I think Connelly's recent Scarecrow was one of the best, and
I am very smitten by The Lincoln Lawyer which is now a series
of books.
- The Winter Ground Catriona McPherson [read by Hilary
Neville]
I was a bit puzzled by the artwork on the various covers of this book
- until I read it, and found that of course it really is all about the
circus. Again, a great picture of the era, with the circus backdrop
that provides a lot of interest yet cleverly avoiding it taking over
from the actual plot.
Having already exhausted my limited ability to add more to what I have
already said about this series, (apart from "they really are very
good - do read them"), I read some other people's opinions and
find not a bad word to be said - they really are....... you know...
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Posted by Christina at 8:28 PM. Category: Books of the Month