Reading Challenge 2024

1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10
4. Hitler's British Traitors - Tim Tate - 4/10
5. 1984 - George Orwell - 7/10
6. Big Beacon by Alan Partridge - Steve Coogan et al - 6/10
7. The Third Man - Graham Greene - 5/10
8. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart - 10/10
9. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - 7/10
10. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - 8/10
11. Lamentation - C J Sansom - 8/10

I read the first two Matthew Shardlake novels many years ago. I skipped to this one, the sixth, set in the last year of the reign of Henry VIII.

Catherine Parr's religious manuscript "Lamentation of a Sinner" disappears and Shardlake is employed by the queen to find it and return it to her, lest it falls into the wrong hands and is used for any number of malign purposes.

Numerous religious factions are competing for supremacy, the main threats being a return to Rome, and movement towards more radical evangelical beliefs. Various courtiers are suspected of stealing the manuscript, and there are suspicions of numerous alliances and conspiracies, as palace advisors compete for the king's favour, or political influence.

There are those wanting the queen exposed as a heretic, disloyal to the king, and others wanting the manuscript published as it will strengthen their claim to be the true religion. Both outcomes will damage the queen in the eyes of her husband.

Shardlake whittles down his list of suspects until one remains, and the final denouement delivers an unexpected twist.

This is a very good historical mystery, with believably constructed characters and story developments. Recommended, if this is within your sphere of interest.

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Unsure if this is the right thread for books and stuff, seems a good one though

I just finished Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, the 2023 Booker Prize winner about fascism in Ireland. This is a very good book, but not a pleasant read. It's quite grim, and doesn't let up. The prose may be considered a bit awkward by some, there are no quotation marks for dialogue and long sentences but, for me, it adds to the confusion, the dread and adds to the book, instead of being a pointless add on gimmick.

It really makes you think about life, the world we live in, and when/if this situation ever came to our shores, how it could simply creep up on us and the world would leave us to it.

4.5/5
 
shemnel said:
Unsure if this is the right thread for books and stuff, seems a good one though

I just finished Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, the 2023 Booker Prize winner about fascism in Ireland. This is a very good book, but not a pleasant read. It's quite grim, and doesn't let up. The prose may be considered a bit awkward by some, there are no quotation marks for dialogue and long sentences but, for me, it adds to the confusion, the dread and adds to the book, instead of being a pointless add on gimmick.

It really makes you think about life, the world we live in, and when/if this situation ever came to our shores, how it could simply creep up on us and the world would leave us to it.

4.5/5
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Thanks for the review @shemnel. Sounds like an interesting book that, and one I would definitely consider reading.

You're always welcome to post book reviews here. That's what we're about in this little sub-community, and we quite often pick up a book after reading a review, or following a recommendation. The book I'm currently reading was suggested on this thread.
 
  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
  3. A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
  4. A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman – 8/10
  5. Tomorrow's Children – Daniel Polansky – 3/10
  6. The Mobster’s Lament – Ray Celestin – 8/10
  7. Priest of Crowns – Peter McLean – 9/10
  8. Get It On: How the ‘70s Rocked Football – Jon Spurling – 9/10
  9. The Effigy Engine – Scott Lynch – 7/10
  10. The Ferryman – Justin Cronin – 8/10
  11. Catch a Wave – Peter Ames Carlin – 8/10
CatchAWave.jpg
This book is about Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. I decided to read it because after a bit of general research, it seemed like the Beach Boys had a fascinating history. Plus, I knew I was in good hands with the author, having previously read his book on Bruce Springsteen.

Catch a Wave certainly delivers for the period between Brian Wilson’s birth and the Beach Boys heyday. The parts about the music that influenced Brian growing up, his upbringing with brothers Dennis and Carl, and his overbearing father, Murry, all provide a great background to the Beach Boys myth.

The book is framed around the legendary album, Smile. After the success of the single “Good Vibrations” and the Pet Sounds album, Brian wanted to take the band’s sound in a new direction, but the others, fellow founder and cousin Mike Love in particular, were none too keen. The recording sessions for the album fell apart and it wasn’t until 2004 that a newly recorded version was released.

All of this had a devastating effect on Brian and following his retreat into the background to concentrate on recording (as opposed to performing), his mental health suffered, and plied by drugs, often by the increasingly wayward Dennis, he became a lost soul. Dennis’ own troubles, including his dubious dealings with Charles Manson, which he never seemed to get over (and who would?), leading to his untimely drowning at the age of 39, are also covered.

I was laughing at one point at the level the author was going to in analysing the lyrics of Brian’s songs. Great though some of the music is, most of the words are run-of-the-mill love songs, in my opinion.

Whilst the early lives of the Wilson family are covered well, and the heyday of the 1960s and early 70s is presented in detail, from 1980 onwards the narrative feels like long one extended highlights reel and not much of it is savoury. Band members suing each other, one incarnation of the Beach Boys, led by Mike Love, touring the same old set of songs year after year with not a thought for doing anything remotely original, the deaths of Dennis and Carl, and Brian’s torrid time at the hands of psychologist Eugene Landy.

In an interview with the author, Mike Love did make one good point: despite the advantage that Landy and his minions took of Brian, rinsing him for thousands, they saved his life and got him fighting fit again.

Having read this book, I come away feeling very sorry for Brian Wilson. He has basically been used and abused mentally for most of his life; first by his father, then by his bandmates and again by his psychologist. He was obviously mentally unstable to begin with, and his sudden fame pushed him towards a drug dependency, a situation that was either ignored or exploited by others. This book was written in 2006, and I read only recently that as he approaches end of life, Brian Wilson is once again under the conservatorship of others. A sad end to a life that produced so many great songs but could have probably been even greater if it were not for his various troubles.
 
BLS said:
Just finished the wolf hall trilogy,outstanding
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I've just started Wolf Hall ,having failed at the first hurdle in 2010 . Such a good novel . Can't help thinking of the 115 allegations when reading about Cardinal Wolsey.
 
Irvine Welsh - Ecstasy.

One of Welsh's earlier releases (1996), this collection of 3 short stories looks sideways at the drug/club culture of the early 90s. Welsh never shies away from gory details, and in this book sometimes he pushes those boundaries to really dark places. This is especially evident in the first story, in which a barely concealed nod to Jimmy Saville character (30 years ago!) rampages around hospitals and general debauchery takes place. In all, these stories are quite entertaining but only the last one has any depth, but even then nobody is particularly likeable. All in all a diverting 3/5.

Octavia Butler: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents

These near-future dystopian novels from the 1990s, the Earthseed series, are a skin-crawlingly realistic portrayal of America's near future. The first book Parable of the Sower (1993), set in 2024, sees the partial/total collapse of American society into corporate led communities and withdrawal of public services. The 'individual' is king, government is small to the extent of being completely ineffective and violence is rife. This is a chilling and prescient work from 30 years ago and is worth a read for any lover of the gerne, and in fact any reader full stop. 5/5

The follow-up, Parable of the Talents (1997), moves the story on 8 years and the nation is now calmer, but now enthralled to a Christian extremist president who whips up right wing mobs to target minorities and poor people in the name of God. War breaks out with those areas that accepted refugees and seceded from the US. This book is slower, a bit repetitive (the misery is endless) and not as interesting BUT the descriptions of a Trumpian leader using Christian fundamentalists to get the country into a state of fever are another triumph to Butler's societal prescience, brava to her once again. She uses phrases such as 'make America great again' throughout and the parallels to modern American politics are really astounding on occasion. Not as good as the first but worth reading, 3.5/5.
 
Paladin said:
I did the same with Wolf Hall, many years ago. Also saw your post on the other thread, with a picture of the extract.
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Thanks ...It's worth another try ... The trilogy should keep me company through the long , dark winter ahead.
 
shemnel said:
Irvine Welsh - Ecstasy.

One of Welsh's earlier releases (1996), this collection of 3 short stories looks sideways at the drug/club culture of the early 90s. Welsh never shies away from gory details, and in this book sometimes he pushes those boundaries to really dark places. This is especially evident in the first story, in which a barely concealed nod to Jimmy Saville character (30 years ago!) rampages around hospitals and general debauchery takes place. In all, these stories are quite entertaining but only the last one has any depth, but even then nobody is particularly likeable. All in all a diverting 3/5.

Octavia Butler: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents

These near-future dystopian novels from the 1990s, the Earthseed series, are a skin-crawlingly realistic portrayal of America's near future. The first book Parable of the Sower (1993), set in 2024, sees the partial/total collapse of American society into corporate led communities and withdrawal of public services. The 'individual' is king, government is small to the extent of being completely ineffective and violence is rife. This is a chilling and prescient work from 30 years ago and is worth a read for any lover of the gerne, and in fact any reader full stop. 5/5

The follow-up, Parable of the Talents (1997), moves the story on 8 years and the nation is now calmer, but now enthralled to a Christian extremist president who whips up right wing mobs to target minorities and poor people in the name of God. War breaks out with those areas that accepted refugees and seceded from the US. This book is slower, a bit repetitive (the misery is endless) and not as interesting BUT the descriptions of a Trumpian leader using Christian fundamentalists to get the country into a state of fever are another triumph to Butler's societal prescience, brava to her once again. She uses phrases such as 'make America great again' throughout and the parallels to modern American politics are really astounding on occasion. Not as good as the first but worth reading, 3.5/5.
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Excellent review . I've been recommended Octavia Butler by a couple of friends but haven't taken the plunge yet . This has prompted me to think again
 
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