50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Two

Wow at that New Yorker article.

1. Heartstone - CJ Sansom AKA Shardlake 5, thoroughly enjoyable. Richly detailed, complex, readable, what’s not to like.

Wowsers-that article!

13. my cousin Rachel On audio & thought it was great. Definitely more Daphne du Maurier to come this year.

Just started normal people by Sally Rooney & so far so good!

11 Take me with you when you go, by Stephanie Allen Early

Had high hopes for this as it sounded intriguing. Young Irish girl sent to live with rich sherry family in southern Spain during the 1950s.

Or possibly not, as the first irritation has her talking about going to the cinema with the Spanish family's daughters to see The Sound of Music, which was released in 1965. (She was only there for 2 years)

It didn't do what I expected it to, which was give some insight into life under Franco. So many books set during the civil war, or post Franco...but no. She didn't want to go, she whinges her way through the book, and doesn't really DO anything else. The premise for writing these memoirs appears to have been a bundle of "love" letters she comes across in later years from a man called Javier. These are interspersed throughout the book, dreadfully translated, and he comes across as an up himself bore. (bit like her tbf)

It's billed as a "charming coming of age memoir" but tbh, reads like self-indulgent self published twaddle.

V. disappointing.

17. Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne

Hornblower narrated by the Artful Dodger. A rollicking good read, but I can't say more for fear of it giving me the motions.

11 The Wife by Meg Wolitzer.
This has been well reviewed by WelshWabbit upthread HERE & I agree with Welsh & really can't add to her review.

12. Night Heron by Adam Brookes.
    The first in a China based spy trilogy. I'd read the other two some time ago but, for some reason, not this one. I really enjoyed it. It was well written with some interesting insights into modern China & moved at a good pace.

13. The Book of Dust by Phillip Pullman.
    I was so excited to find this on the shelves at the library. It's been on my wish list for ages as I loved His Dark Materials trilogy. But I was disappointed. It was very much a narrative & for the length of book little happened. I was left thinking: 'So, what now?' I will read the next two in the series when they come out but won't be rushing to buy them.

Satsuki, I've just read the article and I found it sad but fascinating - especially the insights into the world of publishing. I think I'll stick to being a librarian!

I think also you can’t underestimate the impact of working with someone that manipulative, especially if you have some vulnerability yourself, it could send people into mental health difficulties, not to mention how hard it must be for genuine hardworking people to find work in publishing. I couldn’t even think the things he said out loud about his own family. But I don’t really know what to make of it, it’s so unusual. I wonder if there was a real feeling he might present a danger at some point. The book is already a bestseller with a film version in the works, It will be interesting to see what happens to the future book though in the light of all this.

10. The Atlantis World by A G Riddle

Final part of his Atlantic trilogy. Lots of flashbacks to reveal why the Atlantean aliens have been messing around with humanities genetics.
I found it all rather underwhelming.

11 An Astronaut's Guide to Life by Chris Hadfield

Much reviewed on these threads, a good read exploring the reality of life as an astronaut - which inevitably is mostly spent on earth training, learning, and doing other jobs as part of the space programme.

prabook.com/web/chris.paling/3744838 suggests that Chris Paling is now a Radio 4 producer and freelance writer.

Muppet sorry to hear about your dog.

I read the article earlier - never heard of him or the book, but was horrified by all of the lies, and by his attempts to mitigate them.

Satsuki wow just read that article. I haven't read The Woman in the Window I'm not going to now!

Not sure to read breathing lessons or union street next

Feel like I've a lot of catching up to do!

1. Tombland CJ Sansom. The usual Shardlake fare. Was gripped at the start but my interest wained through the middle of the book. Felt soooo long, could have done with some more robust editing.

1. Angels in Disguise written by Victoria Clarke, girlfriend of Shane McGowan who believed she was having discourse with angels during a particularly bad time in her life and noted it all down. Found it a frustrating read at times but also life affirming and an interesting account into celebrity life in the 90s

On to The Stopping Places, an account of gypsy Britain. Only just started but its an interesting and easy read. Just been bought the latest Murakami for my birthday and can't wait to get my hands on it!

Have just read the New Yorker article, which, a) I am wondering if I can add to my total for this year and, b) was a whole lot more interesting than The Woman in the Window! Good find Satsuki!
*
17. A long way from home - Peter Carey.* I am worried I have done this one justice as it has the dubious pleasure of following a really cracking book. I also had to get it read for book club while I was really gazing longingly at lots of other book I would rather have read. Consequently reading it felt a lot like homework.
This was billed as the story of a married couple in 1954 who take off on the Redex Race, a round Australia road race, with their navigator Willie. It is much more than that and has lots to say about Australian immigration and the treatment of its Indigenous People. I should of loved it...but I didn't. Things felt fragmented, underdeveloped and the writing style was really uncomfortable. It felt disjointed and never really held me. Also there were far too many coincidences and chance meetings, and given the scale of Australia it just didn't hang together. Not terrible, not great. Homework done!

So book #13 is Elantris. High fantasy by Brandon Sanderson. I've loved everything else of his that I've read and so have high hopes. Elantris was a beautiful golden city whose people were gods. But something happened and Elantris fell. This is the story of what happened next. So far so good.

Pencilmuseum I'm sure Y is for Yesterday is the last book in that series. When Sue Grafton died her family said that now the alphabet ends in Y or something similar.

(Obviously the behaviour of DM as described in the article IS bizarre, but if he’s a compulsive liar for whatever reason it’s much more explicable. I struggle to understand why a woman who clearly knows there’s something iffy going on wouldn’t distance herself. I read Closed Casket and enjoyed it — with reservations — but I actually feel a bit uncomfortable about it now)

Also there is an insinuation that he copied the storyline from a film.

Eh, I don’t know. I’ve seen Copycat, and from what I gather about The Woman in the Window aside from the set-up, the similarities sound like they’re pretty tenuous. The ones listed in the article could well be coincidental, and a pretty massive reach on the part of the author of the article (although without knowing more about how the plot of the novel plays out... shrug).

The article did make me look askance at Sophie Hannah though. Am I the only one who thinks her behaviour seems even weirder?

Darn, Pencil , I was hoping that The Shooting Party would be worth the 99p!

Have been surreptitiously reading the Daniel Mallory article at work and got about 2/3 way through. A fascinating story though no doubt extremely hurtful to anyone who tried to help or support him through his "illnesses".

also re literary intrigue - have just seen Can you ever forgive me by Lee Israel for which I had high hopes but was underwhelmed. Richard E Grant was as good as ever but I found it hard to warm to Melissa McCarthy as Lee who was apparently bemused as to why she had an infestation of flies when she had loads of fossilised cat shit under her bed. Pets eh.

re A J Finn/D Mallory New Yorker article - I read that with some incredulity too but nothing would surprise me. The book was in the library so picked it up for a quick skim before I saw the article but wouldn't pay for it. I do begrudge the 99p I spent on the kindle version of The Shooting Party by Lucy Foley - yet another sketchily (shoddily I might say) written psycho thriller. Again, she has already sold the film rights (mentioned in her acknowledgements) & I expect they will lose half the characters as some add nothing to the plot or are so cliched as to be laughable. Snowy Scottish scenery always transfers well the to the big screen doesn't it? I also picked up for 10p in the withdrawn library stock Y is for yesterday by Sue Grafton. I don't think she made it to Z but her daughter might have finished off the last one. I stopped reading them mid-alphabet years ago as they were a bit groundhog day - I am waiting to see if her lovable geriatric landlord is still alive. Or perhaps it will be a close relative ...

I understand your feelings artemesia

Gosh, just caught up with the NY article. I really enjoyed the book, I had it down as a "superior" sort of psycho thriller, but I certainly look at it differently now.
Hmm.

Finn/Mallory's touch of the Walter Mitty does perhaps go some way to explaining why The Woman in the Window felt so poorly researched and lacked credibility - the man appears used to making stuff up on the hoof and blithely ignoring any suggestion that things don't hang together properly.