Reading Challenge 2024

[stoneblue]

6/23 The Trees - Percival Everett



This is a strange book. I picked it up in Waterstones a while back and purchased it on the strength of what I read on the back cover! The book was long listed for the 2022 Booker Prize and has won a number of other awards.

The story starts with a series of brutal murders in a town in rural Mississippi. At each murder scene there is a second dead body of a black man holding the dismembered testicles of the murder victim in his hands. A couple of MBI (Mississippi Bureau of Investigation) detectives come to investigate but soon very similar murders are happening all over the country.

I didn’t know whether I was reading a (comedy) thriller, a supernatural/zombie thriller and in the end I’m not really sure!

It's an easy read, most chapters are only a couple of pages long and it features a load of interesting characters, one a real person whom you will have heard of towards the end.

If satire is your thing, go for it!

 

[threespires]

Okay, I'll go first....

Spoiler: Act of Oblivion - my observations

Act of Oblivion was my suggestion for the “group read”. I chose this book for several reasons, first the fact that historical fiction is one of my favourite genres, secondly Robert Harris is an author whose books I enjoy having read several. Additionally, I have an interest / fascination with history, particularly the period 1500-1700 - sadly I was unable to study history at secondary school so perhaps I am trying to make up for it.

What I am looking for in a good book of historical fiction, whilst accepting that it is a work of fiction, is an authentic feel for time and place and possibly to learn something new about the period. I am not sure that I completely felt that with this book.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but it didn’t wow me. I would award it 6 or 7/10 at best.

I think the nature of the plot may have been part of the reason for this. The author was trying to craft a story around a series of real events and whilst there were many characters and a lot of detail, the plot moved very slowly. I felt it a little drawn out and the book overly long.

For me, Nayler’s pursuit of the regicides wasn’t a thrilling one and I didn’t feel any real jeopardy. The story was a little repetitive……hideout, discovery, then move on.

Also the ending seemed a little contrived, a bit too Hollywood for me!

I will be interested to read and discuss what others thought.

Spoiler: Comments

It did feel a bit that all the research he did on the regicides time in America and making that as accurate as he could meant that he spent less time on trying to make what was a protracted and often long distance pursuit more thrilling. Perhaps there should have been more than simply the Nayler character in the pursuit element of the storyline?

 

[stoneblue]

Spoiler: Comments

It did feel a bit that all the research he did on the regicides time in America and making that as accurate as he could meant that he spent less time on trying to make what was a protracted and often long distance pursuit more thrilling. Perhaps there should have been more than simply the Nayler character in the pursuit element of the storyline?

Spoiler: Comments

If you want to try some more historical fiction I would recommend, in order

C J Sansom - Shardlake series (but probably not the last one)
S J Parris - Bruno Giordano series
Rory Clements - John Shakespeare series

I have read Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall but found it heavy going if I’m honest.
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As for Act Of Oblivion I didn’t really engage with the characters. Not knowing the details of the regicide I was hoping that Naylor wouldn’t succeed but perhaps his character was the weakest of all because he was the fictional character among the main protagonists whereas there was probably some source material for Goffe and Whalley to build characters upon.

I enjoyed the first part of the book, which they spent with the Gookins but my enjoyment diminished as the hunt started.

 

[threespires]

Spoiler: Comments

If you want to try some more historical fiction I would recommend, in order

C J Sansom - Shardlake series (but probably not the last one)
S J Parris - Bruno Giordano series
Rory Clements - John Shakespeare series

I have read Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall but found it heavy going if I’m honest.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for Act Of Oblivion I didn’t really engage with the characters. Not knowing the details of the regicide I was hoping that Naylor wouldn’t succeed but perhaps his character was the weakest of all because he was the fictional character among the main protagonists whereas there was probably some source material for Goffe and Whalley to build characters upon.

I enjoyed the first part of the book, which they spent with the Gookins but my enjoyment diminished as the hunt started.

Thanks for the recommendations. I read the first four Shardlakes when they came out and enjoyed them. i have the others but just haven't got round to reading them yet. Have you read his book Dominion, very different to Shardlake but I enjoyed it.

I think my wife might have a couple of the S J Parris books, I'll have to have a look.

I agree Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies were hard work at times but overall worth it. Not read the third one though.

 

[richardtheref]

Today finished Voices by Arnaldur Indriason

Good solid Nordic crime. 4/5

 

[waspish]

Finished Joe Abercrombie The Blade Itself it’s was so good for 3/4 of it but went weird last 1/4 not sure going to start book 2 of the 3 yet..

Am going back to the Courtney’s must of of read book 13 10 years ago or more!


Wilbur smith

GOLDEN LION

He saw his father executed in battle. He spent his youth avenging that death. And now Henry 'Hal' Courtney is a man with a ship – and a family – of his own.

But fate has not finished with Hal. On a voyage along the eastern shore of Africa, a powerful enemy abducts his wife, the fearless warrior Judith… and with her, Hal's unborn child. For Hal, a man all too familiar with loss, there is only one way forward: He must track his nemesis across desert and ocean, through the slave markets of Zanzibar and the dangerous waters of the coast, in pursuit of the woman he loves, the child he sired, and the glorious destiny that awaits him.

Bursting with action and suspense, heroism and heartache, this unforgettable novel proves once more that Wilbur Smith is the world's greatest adventure writer.

 

[RobMCFC]

1. Cunning Folk – Adam L.G. Nevill - 8/10
2. Bad Apples – Will Dean – 7/10
3. The Winter Road – Adrian Selby – 6/10
4. The Dark Place – Damian Vargas – 9/10
5. Act of Oblivion – Robert Harris – 7/10

@stoneblue @threespires

Rather than quote spoilers in spoilers, I thought I'd tag you both to say that I enjoyed reading your comments and I'll put mine in here.

Spoiler: Act of Oblivion

I pretty much agree with what you both said.

First of all, I think Robert Harris is an excellent writer. This is only the second book of his I've read, but I'll definitely be reading more, starting with The Second Sleep, as recommended by stoneblue last year. He knows how to put a good story together and keep you interested in reading what happens next.

It no doubt helped that I pretty much knew nothing about Oliver Cromwell and the Civil War, and I made sure that I didn't read anything about Whalley and Goffe until after I'd finished Act of Oblivion. I wanted to keep going to see what their fate was.

You are correct - the book is never boring whilst you are reading it, but in retrospect, you look back and think that they spent most of the book hiding, moving to a new place and then repeating the cycle. It probably was like this for them but given that there was some fiction at work here, maybe Harris could have added a few more interesting diversions in the plot.

What I did like was the way he portrayed the two regicides as different characters: Goffe full of fire and brimstone and self-righteous belief versus Whalley who had more doubts about what they had done and where they had ended up. They weren't prisoners but they both came to understand the prison that they'd created for themselves was every bit as real, even Goffe in the end. I thought the psychological side of things was really well handled.

As for the end. Well, it was pure Hollywood. As you’ve said, Nayler setting off because he was bored with life in Paris didn’t ring true. Throwing a character off the boat on the Atlantic crossing seemed to be part of the Hollywood ending, and then the biggest cliché of all was Frances shooting him when the reader was supposed to believe that it was in fact Goffe who had been shot. The last 5 to 10% felt rushed and let down everything that had come before.

Still, there were other benefits: I learned a lot about Cromwell, Charles I and the Civil War thanks to the way that Whalley’s writing was presented – maybe that was the point of this plot device. Also, the descriptions of the Great Fire of London were well handled.

So not a perfect book, but I’d say that it was a very good choice for our first communal read. A 400+ page book that was never dull, which it could have been in the hands of a lesser author.

 

[threespires]

1. Cunning Folk – Adam L.G. Nevill - 8/10
2. Bad Apples – Will Dean – 7/10
3. The Winter Road – Adrian Selby – 6/10
4. The Dark Place – Damian Vargas – 9/10
5. Act of Oblivion – Robert Harris – 7/10

View attachment 70871

@stoneblue @threespires

Rather than quote spoilers in spoilers, I thought I'd tag you both to say that I enjoyed reading your comments and I'll put mine in here.

Spoiler: Act of Oblivion

I pretty much agree with what you both said.

First of all, I think Robert Harris is an excellent writer. This is only the second book of his I've read, but I'll definitely be reading more, starting with The Second Sleep, as recommended by stoneblue last year. He knows how to put a good story together and keep you interested in reading what happens next.

It no doubt helped that I pretty much knew nothing about Oliver Cromwell and the Civil War, and I made sure that I didn't read anything about Whalley and Goffe until after I'd finished Act of Oblivion. I wanted to keep going to see what their fate was.

You are correct - the book is never boring whilst you are reading it, but in retrospect, you look back and think that they spent most of the book hiding, moving to a new place and then repeating the cycle. It probably was like this for them but given that there was some fiction at work here, maybe Harris could have added a few more interesting diversions in the plot.

What I did like was the way he portrayed the two regicides as different characters: Goffe full of fire and brimstone and self-righteous belief versus Whalley who had more doubts about what they had done and where they had ended up. They weren't prisoners but they both came to understand the prison that they'd created for themselves was every bit as real, even Goffe in the end. I thought the psychological side of things was really well handled.

As for the end. Well, it was pure Hollywood. As you’ve said, Nayler setting off because he was bored with life in Paris didn’t ring true. Throwing a character off the boat on the Atlantic crossing seemed to be part of the Hollywood ending, and then the biggest cliché of all was Frances shooting him when the reader was supposed to believe that it was in fact Goffe who had been shot. The last 5 to 10% felt rushed and let down everything that had come before.

Still, there were other benefits: I learned a lot about Cromwell, Charles I and the Civil War thanks to the way that Whalley’s writing was presented – maybe that was the point of this plot device. Also, the descriptions of the Great Fire of London were well handled.

So not a perfect book, but I’d say that it was a very good choice for our first communal read. A 400+ page book that was never dull, which it could have been in the hands of a lesser author.

Agree with all of that and it was definitely a good choice to kick us off. Whatever misgivings I had about certain aspects of the book certainly wouldn't put me off reading more of his work.

 

[bennyboy]

Act of Oblivion.
Nothing more to from the reviews add but I really liked the book.
Thought the pace of the hunt was good bar the rushed ending where it all got a bit silly with the Nayler and Frances crossing the Atlantic part.Then the ending with Goffe,Frances and Nayler again silly and rushed.
A shame because the story was a good cat and mouse chase until then.
Hopefully i can follow up the story with the book Killers of The King by Charles Spencer in the coming weeks as i found the subject of the book fascinating and British history is not usually my thing.

 

[ob]

Spoiler: Act of Oblivion

I really enjoyed it although like others thought parts but rushed and others repetitive. I would give it 7 out of 10 and it wouldn't put me off reading other of his work. On a side note I work at various locations in London which include Banqueting house, Tower of London and Hampton court palace. There were days I was sitting reading it in these places and could imagine them in the same room, walking round the same gardens or cobbled streets