50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fifth thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2020, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, it's not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here, the third one here and the fourth one here.

How're you getting on so far?

That sounds interesting. Am in the middle of A Favourite of the Gods at the moment, and really enjoying it.

That's a new one on me @Terpsichore will have a nose

mackerella like you I'm on a mission to catch up with my reviews; here goes:

37. Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth

I came to this book wrongly expecting it to be Scandi noir. It is Norwegian and it's very dark but not a crime novel, rather a long cry of pain and frustration from someone who was abused as a child and most of whose family have refused to believe her.

Having this experience denied by her mother and minimised by her sisters is causing continuing pain to Bergljot, and she revisits it constantly in all aspects of her life as an adult.

Bergljot's hurt is exacerbated by her parents' decision to favour the two younger children in their wills, since they have taken their parents' side and refused to accept what their father has done to Bergljot. Her brother is supportive of her however and the repercussions to him are also explored.

It's a convincing account, not at all prurient as the childhood abuse is not the focus of the book. Hjorth has stated that it is fiction, however there was some controversy at the time and her sister wrote another book to refute what she saw as accusations in the original.

A pretty hard read.

38. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

I haven't read AC's Vera books but I've enjoyed Shetland, both the books and the TV series. This is the first of her new Matthew Venn series, set in Devon with a main character who grew up in and later turned his back on a strict evangelical community. He's also gay. It was fine. I would read another.

39. The Birds of the Air by Alice Thomas Ellis

Coming back to review this three weeks after having read it, I couldn't remember a thing about it until Goodreads refreshed my memory. It's an account of a family Christmas and focuses on Mary, who has lost her only child and is at her mother's house over the holiday, joined by her sister and family. Her grief and how meaningless she finds the festivities, as well as her family's varying attempts - or not - to respond to her situation, is the central theme of this short novel.

It reminded me of Barbara Pym and Penelope Lively. Well written, but not my favourite sort of book as I prefer something with a wider scope. I did like Mary's mother's muttered "Forgive us our Christmasses as we forgive those who have Christmassed against us" though

@ that line biblio. I’ve definitely been Christmassed against in the past.

40. The Death of the Fronsac by Neal Ascherson

Based on the true and never fully explained sinking of a French warship in Greenock harbour in 1940, this explores the repercussions of this event on one family and their lodger, a Polish soldier who is continuing his war in the Scottish town.

It's a mixture of a spy/conspiracy story, a social history account of what wartime life was like particularly for women, and a sensitive exploration of a life in exile for someone who has effectively lost the country he grew up in.

Ascherson published this, his first novel, at the age of 84. He's 87 now. He was a journalist and historian and you can almost tell from his writing style. The wartime details are interesting, the plot rolls along and it works well as a fictionalised piece of history despite some of the characterisation not being entirely convincing.

A bit of a mixed bag; it's not great literature but I enjoyed it.

48 The Tale of Troy by Roger Lancelyn Green
Picking up on the Iliad, this filled in lots of backstory and lots of after story, including but not limited to the Odyssey. Really good no nonsense Greek mythology that puts all the pieces nicely into place.

49 First Term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
50 Second Form at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
51 Third Year at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
I think only one review is needed for these. I recalled very little of the plots even though I owned them all and would have reread them all many times. I have a hunch I must have preferred the St Clare’s series as I kept waiting for incidents which didn’t happen and characters who didn’t appear so I think I am mixing them up. This was easy reading but not, ultimately, the comfort and escape I wanted.

52 Until The End of Time by Brian Greene
Well this was a most perplexing book. Greene is a very talented physicist and a very gifted and eloquent communicator. And this book is absolutely captivating when he’s writing about physics - specifically the beginning and ultimate end of the universe.

The physics is lightly and deftly communicated and he tells a breathtaking account of the way in which stars and galaxies form and will eventually die, all because of the second law of thermodynamics.

Then there is the middle third of the book which is about us - how we evolved into thinking, creating, emotional beings, and what the implications of this are (spoiler - there’s no free will and we are all entirely subject to physical laws). I appreciate his points and largely agree with him but wish he’d stuck to the physics. Or at least, cut short the non physics stuff which was erudite and entertaining and well done but not really what I was expecting or wanting. If I want philosophy and linguistics and reflections on why we believe in gods and crave eternity I will go elsewhere next time.

36. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

Probably familiar to many of you - I had seen the TV adaptation but not read the book. It tells the stories of two young women; Anne Catherick and Laura Fairlie whose paths crossed briefly as children and who are both known to Sir Percival Glyde. There is a mystery to unravel (why is Sir Percival desperate to keep the two women apart) and the story is told by different narrators connected to Laura. Some strong characters (Laura’s sister, Marian and Percival’s friend, Fosco) and lots of obstacles along the way. I enjoyed this and would recommend.

43: The Last Train to Zona Verde - Paul Theroux

While reading my last Theroux (reviewed upthread) I realised I'd missed this somehow, and they had it on Borrowbox, so I nabbed it.

After years of visiting Africa, where he's travelled extensively (and lived, for some years, in Malawi, as a young Peace Corps volunteer) Theroux - now 70 - set out on what he expected to be his last journey on the continent. The bulk of the book chronicles his experiences in Namibia and then Angola, which is difficult to reach for visitors, still shattered from years of devastating civil war, and wretchedly poor - despite all of which, its oil revenues are in the untold billions of dollars and a corrupt government (at the time of writing - there's been a change of president since but still the same ruling party) feathers its own nest while presiding over a population that scrabbles for the most basic of necessities.

This is an angry, often despairing book and, as ever, I found Theroux's writing compelling and opinionated. You pays your money and takes your choice with him: I read two reviews after I'd finished this; one that gave it high praise and one that absolutely slated it. I can see there can be criticisms but I don't agree with the drubbing it got - he tells it like it is and is righteously angry at the plight of the Angolans who live in the most desperate of conditions while their then-president (himself born in a slum) and his family amassed unimaginable wealth.

Basically, if you like Theroux's travel-writing it's worth reading, but this is very much a book full of doubt, melancholy, futility and pessimism. Oh, and he doesn't actually take the 'last train' of the title.

@PepeLePew

Your negatives about the physics book are what make me think I'd like it

Eine, do give it a go. He writes wonderfully and is very very good at explaining the physics in a way that is clear and inspiring at the same time. My slight grumpiness is that I wanted a book about the universe, and got one that was only half that. It really is me not him, I think.

Think it's about four weeks since I last posted and I have read/listened to...
16. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
The last of my pre-lockdown library books. Nine people gather for a very special health retreat that has promised to transform their lives. The plot is pretty daft - it wouldn't put me off reading more from Liane Moriarty but of the three I've read Big Little Lies is the clear standout.
17. How To Be Brilliant by Michael Heppell
Self-help book that I listened to on Audible - bought a couple of years ago and I really can't remember why! Narrated well by the author although it jumped around a bit in way that I suspect made more sense on the page where it was probably boxes inserted into the main text. The advice was fairly common sense, I found parts of it quite motivating to listen to and had a couple of moments of clarity to help with my professional review meeting at work, but there are 'assess where you are in your life' and 'write down you goals' tasks that I ignored as I was listening while walking/gardening/doing the dishes.
18. Normal People by Sally Rooney
Also on Audible, has also been there for ages, decided it was time to listen when there was loads about this novel on here at the time that the TV show was starting. I know this has split opinion on here and I can see both sides - I do think the characters are quite self-absorbed and agree with others that I didn't feel like I was the target audience age. The style of writing got on my nerves when I listened for short bursts but got into it far more when I listened in longer chunks and got really absorbed in it. I do think there are interesting observations about growing up and moving into adult life - there are events that the characters see as huge dramas but often quiet misunderstandings or things that aren't said are the tiny moments which change the path of a relationship. Overall I enjoyed it and would read more by the same author, but this seems to have had a lot of hype and compared to the best books I've read over the past couple of years it was a wee bit...dull.
19. Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Having seen this recommended, I bought it ages ago when it was a Kindle deal. I was massively over checking my phone/internet at the end of March when life felt like it was changing daily and it was following this that I decided lockdown would be a good time to look at my habits and get round to reading this. It has a mix of practical advice which made the concept seem relatable, beneficial and possible, and bigger, more theoretical sections around how social media operates and the human need for both solitude and social contact which I found really interesting, particularly during lockdown. I think there are elements of this book that will stay with me and I kind of wish I had a paper copy to make it easier to flick back to particular passages.
20. Airhead by Emily Maitlis
Purchased after seeing positive reviews on here, this was another Audible listen and it worked perfectly for doing the dishes - discrete chapters often 20ish minutes longer, each centred on a specific person, interview or issue from the author's journalistic career. Most of these interviews were for Newsnight which I don't watch (past my bedtime!) but I found it revealed a lot about TV journalism generally that I hadn't thought about before - the huge amount of research and preparation that goes into some interviews and the incredibly short notice that for others etc. I was expecting more of an autobiography but this is very much about professional experiences with minimal passing mention of Maitlis' past and present personal life. I think this was published last year and I can't help thinking that Brexit, Prince Andrew and Covid-19 have given a huge amount of material for a sequel.
Currently reading Dear Mrs Bird which Eine reviewed as 'undemanding' and 'pap' - I agree and it is suiting me very nicely this week as work drains my capacity to deal with anything more substantial.

116. Wicked by Gregory Maguire

This is the book that the musical is based on, and for those who don’t know it’s a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, telling the story of The Wicked Witch of the West. I have seen the musical twice and really enjoyed it, but didn’t like the book. The musical seems to pull out the good bits but the book buried those in lots of boring bits.

117. The Second Husband by Louise Candlish

I’ve enjoyed some of her more recent novels, but didn’t like this much. Kate is a divorced woman with a teenage daughter. Kate lets out part of her flat to a man who she ends up marrying within a few months and needless to say it all goes wrong. Sadly it’s obvious from the outset what will happen and the ‘twist’ (such as it is) happens halfway through the book and then the ending is just an anticlimax. I was expecting a further twist/big event but no. I will read more of hers as she seems to have improved as she’s gone on.

20. A Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell (1935) – This is centred on Dorothy Hare, who spends her days desperately trying to keep things together in a small, village parish, juggling creditors, difficult parishioners and local gossips; while her father the vicar prefers to live in his own patrician, fantasy-world. Then something happens that casts Dorothy out into the wider world where her perspective on life is fundamentally altered.

I’m not totally sure what to make of this one, although I found it pretty compulsive reading. It’s unbalanced and awkward, and at one point there’s a Joycean section that seems to have been pasted in from another kind of book altogether - although there’s a sense in Dorothy’s odyssey through English society that Joyce is an underlying influence. At one point in the novel Dorothy is shown reading Gissing’s The Odd Women - his exploration of female outsider figures - and Dorothy, a spinster with no money and no autonomy just one step away from genteel poverty, is very much in that tradition, as is the overall style/feel of Orwell’s narrative.

I got the impression that Orwell’s often aiming at satire here, which he doesn’t manage to pull off, despite the numerous amusing passages. What he does achieve is a vivid depiction of society in the 1930s, economic deprivation, stifling social conventions, and the sheer exhaustion of trying to make ends meet: one of the ways he does that is by drawing on his own experiences of hop-picking and teaching and making these part of his character’s journey. Sometimes his observations really irritated me– the descriptions of the gypsies she encounters for example – the cheery working-class figures are definitely stock ones! But despite all that, I ending up liking this one, particularly the sections on village life and Dorothy’s time teaching at an appalling, fourth-rate private school run by the hideous Mrs Creevy. Apparently Orwell loathed the novel and referred to it as a ‘potboiler’, I’m not sure if that’s a fair assessment but it is very similar to the kind of middlebrow novels of the same period that Persephone has been reviving, and since I like a lot of those titles perhaps that’s why I found this ultimately satisfying, even when I wasn’t totally convinced by it.

I've finished the Malory Towers books and moved on to Saint Clare's which I'm not enjoying anywhere near as much. I think, Pepe you're either an MT or a SC gal, and I seem to be on Team MT, mostly because I think there's a more interesting mix of characters.

21. An American Marriage - Tayari Jones Much reviewed on here already. The main event of the novel is highly topical right now. The ensuing twists and turns in various relationships (family, friends, lovers) are well told, even if the choice of format was a little unsteady throughout.

74. Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller

John Lacroix returns from fighting in the Peninsular War (had to look it up)

He is near death and suffering from PTSD, as he looks to the Highlands for respite, he is unaware that he is being chased by his past.

This book is so weird, an absolute oddity, I actually don't know what I'm supposed to make of it.

It has this brooding set up and I actually thought I was going to love it and you have this serious subject matter of wartime atrocity

And then he meets a group of siblings under the thrall of an unseen spiritual leader type and takes one to have an eye operation and the tone is just bizarre and it keeps referencing people riding cows and the whole interlude just doesn't fit and it all makes no sense then it just ends nowhere.

I actually have no idea what the author intended the reader to understand by it.

Anyone read it?

I just didn't get it

As ever, really enjoying the thread. Particularly intrigued by The Best We can Do and A woman of no importance.

27. Still Alice by Lisa Genova Alice is a 50 year old professor of psychology and linguistics at Harvard. She is an academic star, meticulous and a great teacher, and she is married with three almost grown up children. One day, out running, she forgets where she is. A pattern of memory loss is gathering, and she goes to see a doctor.

I raced through this, it's a pageturner. I haven't seen the film though many raved about it. But it's more like a fictionalised case report than a pure novel - there are clunky passages and a lot of exposition. It's incredibly humourless. Alice's symptoms fluctuate which is normal but sometimes unbelievably so. I can believe the film is probably better but this is a good read nonetheless.

I have read it and reviewed it eine. I actually liked it because it came after a run of poorly written books and he definitely has lovely writing style. ( I read it straight after The Hunting Party)

But, yes, I didn't get it! It was very nebulous. I often find that with books, though! And it leads me to skim them.

My excitement was based on The Peninsular War as a house at my school was named after Sir John Moore and a relative of mine fought in it. It's a not very impressive claim to fame!

Pepe and Eine - I've bought the physics book and will let you know how I get on!

My entire knowledge of the Peninsular War is based on Georgette Heyer and The Spanish Bride - which is another love story with alarming-in-retrospect content (soldier marries 14 year old orphan after the sack of Badajoz). It's actually based on a true and quite incredible story though, & Juana Smith as she became was obviously a remarkable woman.

This group was suggested to me by Facebook and I had to share it with the "popular with..." tag. Not so sure those two authors are bracketed together by all on here!

Eine - I've tried and failed to finish a couple of his, so can't help. They tend to 'look' like the sort of thing I'd like, but I don't like his writing.

I think it was Terpischore or TimeForAGandT who recommended the Mick Herron as I haven’t read anything by him. Sounds a cracking read though.

I really enjoyed Slade House, maybe because it was short and bits of Cloud Atlas. I don’t feel the need to rush to read anything else by David Mitchell though.

Welshwabbit that’s hilarious.

welsh