21 Jan
The Good, The Bad And The Multiplex by Mark Kermode Recently read: listeners to the Friday afternoon Kermode & Mayo show on Five Live will be familiar with much of the content in The Good, The Bad And The Multiplex - it’s essentially just an extended written representation of some of the rants Mark goes into on radio, covering 3D, foreign films, cinema etiquette and more. Most of the chapters are entertaining enough, and the section on film distribution and US remakes is very informative, but it does drag in parts. At the end Mark gives special thanks to his editor, who I imagine had a very tough job on his hands, and helped make the book as readable as it is.

The Good, The Bad And The Multiplex by Mark Kermode

Recently read: listeners to the Friday afternoon Kermode & Mayo show on Five Live will be familiar with much of the content in The Good, The Bad And The Multiplex - it’s essentially just an extended written representation of some of the rants Mark goes into on radio, covering 3D, foreign films, cinema etiquette and more. Most of the chapters are entertaining enough, and the section on film distribution and US remakes is very informative, but it does drag in parts. At the end Mark gives special thanks to his editor, who I imagine had a very tough job on his hands, and helped make the book as readable as it is.

22 Dec
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Recently read again: this must be the fourth or fifth time I’ve read my favourite book, and it’s still as fresh and forceful as ever. Yossarian is a WWII pilot desperately trying to avoid being killed and make sense of the world around him, while his friends get blown to bits, make plans to murder their superiors and hide out in the woods waiting for summer. Brutal, absurd, comic and tragic in equal measure. As Joseph Heller said: “When I read something saying I’ve not done anything as good as Catch-22 I’m tempted to reply, ‘Who has?’” “It takes brains not to make money,” Colonel Cargill wrote in one of the homiletic memoranda he regularly prepared for circulation over General Peckem’s signature. “Any fool can make money these days and most of them do. But what about people with talent and brains? Name, for example, one poet who makes money.” “TS Eliot,” ex-PFC Wintergreen said in his mail-sorting cubicle at Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters and slammed down the telephone without identifying himself. Colonel Cargill, in Rome, was perplexed. “Who was it?” asked General Peckem. “I don’t know,” Colonel Cargill replied. “What did he want?” “I don’t know.” “Well, what did he say?” “‘TS Eliot’,” Colonel Cargill informed him. “What’s that?” “‘TS Eliot’,” Colonel Cargill repeated. “Just ‘TS-‘” “Yes, sir. That’s all he said. Just ‘TS Eliot’.” “I wonder what it means,” General Peckem reflected. Colonel Cargill wondered, too. “TS Eliot,” General Peckem mused. “TS Eliot,” Colonel Cargill echoed with the same funereal puzzlement. General Peckem roused himself after a moment with an unctuous and benignant smile. His expression was shrewd and sophisticated. His eyes gleamed maliciously. “Have someone get me General Dreedle,” he requested Colonel Cargill. “Don’t let him know who’s calling.” Colonel Cargill handed him the phone. “TS Eliot,” General Peckem said, and hung up. “Who was it?” asked Colonel Moodus. General Dreedle, in Corsica, did not reply. Colonel Moodus was General Dreedle’s son-in- law, and General Dreedle, at the insistence of his wife and against his own better judgment, had taken him into the military business. General Dreedle gazed at Colonel Moodus with level hatred. He detested the very sight of his son-in-law, who was his aide and therefore in constant attendance upon him. He had opposed his daughter’s marriage to Colonel Moodus because he disliked attending weddings. Wearing a menacing and pre-occupied scowl, General Dreedle moved to the full-length mirror in his office and stared at his stocky reflection. He had a grizzled, broad-browed head with iron-grey tufts over his eyes and a blunt and belligerent jaw. He brooded in ponderous speculation over the cryptic message he had just received. Slowly his face softened with an idea, and he curled his lips with wicked pleasure. “Get Peckem,” he told Colonel Moodus. “Don’t let the bastard know who’s calling.” “Who was it?” asked Colonel Cargill, back in Rome. “That same person,” General Peckem replied with a definite trace of alarm. “Now he’s after me.” “What did he want?” “I don’t know.” “What did he say?” “The same thing.” “‘TS Eliot’?” “Yes, ‘TS Eliot’. That’s all he said.” General Peckem had a hopeful thought. “Perhaps it’s a new code or something, like the colours of the day. Why don’t you have someone check with Communications and see if it’s a new code or something or the colours of the day?” Communications answered that TS Eliot was not a new code or the colours of the day. Colonel Cargill had the next idea. “Maybe I ought to phone Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters and see if they know anything about it. They have a clerk up there named Wintergreen I’m pretty close to. He’s the one who tipped me off that our prose was too prolix.” Ex-PFC Wintergreen told Cargill that there was no record at Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters of a TS Eliot.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Recently read again: this must be the fourth or fifth time I’ve read my favourite book, and it’s still as fresh and forceful as ever. Yossarian is a WWII pilot desperately trying to avoid being killed and make sense of the world around him, while his friends get blown to bits, make plans to murder their superiors and hide out in the woods waiting for summer. Brutal, absurd, comic and tragic in equal measure. As Joseph Heller said: “When I read something saying I’ve not done anything as good as Catch-22 I’m tempted to reply, ‘Who has?’”

“It takes brains not to make money,” Colonel Cargill wrote in one of the homiletic memoranda he regularly prepared for circulation over General Peckem’s signature. “Any fool can make money these days and most of them do. But what about people with talent and brains? Name, for example, one poet who makes money.”

“TS Eliot,” ex-PFC Wintergreen said in his mail-sorting cubicle at Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters and slammed down the telephone without identifying himself.

Colonel Cargill, in Rome, was perplexed.

“Who was it?” asked General Peckem.

“I don’t know,” Colonel Cargill replied.

“What did he want?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, what did he say?”

“‘TS Eliot’,” Colonel Cargill informed him.

“What’s that?”

“‘TS Eliot’,” Colonel Cargill repeated.

“Just ‘TS-‘”

“Yes, sir. That’s all he said. Just ‘TS Eliot’.”

“I wonder what it means,” General Peckem reflected. Colonel Cargill wondered, too. “TS Eliot,” General Peckem mused.

“TS Eliot,” Colonel Cargill echoed with the same funereal puzzlement.

General Peckem roused himself after a moment with an unctuous and benignant smile. His expression was shrewd and sophisticated. His eyes gleamed maliciously. “Have someone get me General Dreedle,” he requested Colonel Cargill. “Don’t let him know who’s calling.” Colonel Cargill handed him the phone.

“TS Eliot,” General Peckem said, and hung up.

“Who was it?” asked Colonel Moodus. General Dreedle, in Corsica, did not reply. Colonel Moodus was General Dreedle’s son-in- law, and General Dreedle, at the insistence of his wife and against his own better judgment, had taken him into the military business. General Dreedle gazed at Colonel Moodus with level hatred. He detested the very sight of his son-in-law, who was his aide and therefore in constant attendance upon him. He had opposed his daughter’s marriage to Colonel Moodus because he disliked attending weddings. Wearing a menacing and pre-occupied scowl, General Dreedle moved to the full-length mirror in his office and stared at his stocky reflection. He had a grizzled, broad-browed head with iron-grey tufts over his eyes and a blunt and belligerent jaw. He brooded in ponderous speculation over the cryptic message he had just received. Slowly his face softened with an idea, and he curled his lips with wicked pleasure.

“Get Peckem,” he told Colonel Moodus. “Don’t let the bastard know who’s calling.”

“Who was it?” asked Colonel Cargill, back in Rome.

“That same person,” General Peckem replied with a definite trace of alarm. “Now he’s after me.”

“What did he want?”

“I don’t know.”

“What did he say?”

“The same thing.”

“‘TS Eliot’?”

“Yes, ‘TS Eliot’. That’s all he said.” General Peckem had a hopeful thought. “Perhaps it’s a new code or something, like the colours of the day. Why don’t you have someone check with Communications and see if it’s a new code or something or the colours of the day?”

Communications answered that TS Eliot was not a new code or the colours of the day.

Colonel Cargill had the next idea. “Maybe I ought to phone Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters and see if they know anything about it. They have a clerk up there named Wintergreen I’m pretty close to. He’s the one who tipped me off that our prose was too prolix.”

Ex-PFC Wintergreen told Cargill that there was no record at Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters of a TS Eliot.

6  
5 Sep
A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway Recently read: Hemingway’s well-known understated style suits this tale of wartime romance well - the protagonist becomes just as disillusioned with fighting as he is enamoured with his nurse. Wikipedia puts it like this: A Farewell to Arms works on two literary levels. First, it is a story concerning the drama and passion of a doomed romance between Henry and a British nurse, Catherine Barkley. Second, it also skillfully contrasts the meaning of personal tragedy against the impersonal destruction wrought by the First World War. Hemingway deftly captures the cynicism of soldiers, the futility of war, and the displacement of populations. Although this was Hemingway’s bleakest novel, its publication cemented his stature as a modern American writer.

A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Recently read: Hemingway’s well-known understated style suits this tale of wartime romance well - the protagonist becomes just as disillusioned with fighting as he is enamoured with his nurse. Wikipedia puts it like this:

A Farewell to Arms works on two literary levels. First, it is a story concerning the drama and passion of a doomed romance between Henry and a British nurse, Catherine Barkley. Second, it also skillfully contrasts the meaning of personal tragedy against the impersonal destruction wrought by the First World War. Hemingway deftly captures the cynicism of soldiers, the futility of war, and the displacement of populations. Although this was Hemingway’s bleakest novel, its publication cemented his stature as a modern American writer.

27 Jul
Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky Recently read: Dostoevsky’s tale of murder and moral ambiguity took me two months to finish - at times it felt like as much of a struggle as Raskolnikov’s own. Perfect summer reading if you’re in the mood for a lengthy reflection on conscience and morality. From Amazon: Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption.

Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Recently read: Dostoevsky’s tale of murder and moral ambiguity took me two months to finish - at times it felt like as much of a struggle as Raskolnikov’s own. Perfect summer reading if you’re in the mood for a lengthy reflection on conscience and morality. From Amazon:

Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption.

1  
1 Jun
The Remains Of The Day - Kazuo Ishiguro Recently read: powerful and poignant tale of unfulfilled love and dedication to service. Won the Booker prize in 1989 and is also available as a film. From Amazon: The novel’s narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second world war, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him—oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer. Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking, beautifully crafted novel—namely, Stevens’ own ability to allow some bit of life-affirming love into his tightly repressed existence.

The Remains Of The Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

Recently read: powerful and poignant tale of unfulfilled love and dedication to service. Won the Booker prize in 1989 and is also available as a film. From Amazon:

The novel’s narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second world war, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him—oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer. Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking, beautifully crafted novel—namely, Stevens’ own ability to allow some bit of life-affirming love into his tightly repressed existence.

4  
31 May
The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett Recently read: the greatest hard-boiled detective story of them all…? Watch the film as well if you’ve got time. Amazon says: The Maltese Falcon (1930) set the standard by which the private eye genre is judged. Sam Spade is hired by the fragrant Miss Wonderley to track down her sister, who has eloped with a louse called Floyd Thursby. But Miss Wonderley is in fact the beautiful and treacherous Brigid O’Shaughnessy, and when Spade’s partner Miles Archer is shot while on Thursby’s trail, Spade finds himself both hunter and hunted: can he track down the jewel-encrusted bird, a treasure worth killing for, before the Fat Man finds him?

The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett

Recently read: the greatest hard-boiled detective story of them all…? Watch the film as well if you’ve got time. Amazon says:

The Maltese Falcon (1930) set the standard by which the private eye genre is judged. Sam Spade is hired by the fragrant Miss Wonderley to track down her sister, who has eloped with a louse called Floyd Thursby. But Miss Wonderley is in fact the beautiful and treacherous Brigid O’Shaughnessy, and when Spade’s partner Miles Archer is shot while on Thursby’s trail, Spade finds himself both hunter and hunted: can he track down the jewel-encrusted bird, a treasure worth killing for, before the Fat Man finds him?

4  
29 May
Nobody’s Child - John Robinson Recently read: encouraging true story from one of the workers at The Message. John Robinson had the worst possible start in life, taken into care at only four months, John was left in abusive foster homes for most of his childhood. Yet today he has found hope and is working in Manchester with the Eden Bus Ministry with children who are as deprived and unloved as he was.

Nobody’s Child - John Robinson

Recently read: encouraging true story from one of the workers at The Message.

John Robinson had the worst possible start in life, taken into care at only four months, John was left in abusive foster homes for most of his childhood. Yet today he has found hope and is working in Manchester with the Eden Bus Ministry with children who are as deprived and unloved as he was.

1  
22 Apr
Death In Venice And Other Stories - Thomas Mann Recently read: close to celebrating its 100th birthday, Death In Venice is a classic tale of passion and madness - watch out for those beguiling young boys the next time that you visit the seaside. The “other stories” cover more repressed intellectuals thwarted by love. From Amazon: Death in Venice is a story of obsession. Gustave von Aschenbach is a successful but ageing writer who travels to Venice for a holiday. One day, at dinner, Aschenbach notices an exceptionally beautiful young boy who is staying with his family in the same hotel. Soon his days begin to revolve around seeing this boy and he is too distracted to pay attention to the ominous rumours that have begun to circulate about disease spreading through the city.

Death In Venice And Other Stories - Thomas Mann

Recently read: close to celebrating its 100th birthday, Death In Venice is a classic tale of passion and madness - watch out for those beguiling young boys the next time that you visit the seaside. The “other stories” cover more repressed intellectuals thwarted by love. From Amazon:

Death in Venice is a story of obsession. Gustave von Aschenbach is a successful but ageing writer who travels to Venice for a holiday. One day, at dinner, Aschenbach notices an exceptionally beautiful young boy who is staying with his family in the same hotel. Soon his days begin to revolve around seeing this boy and he is too distracted to pay attention to the ominous rumours that have begun to circulate about disease spreading through the city.

5  
22 Feb
The Collector by John Fowles Recently read: socially awkward, slightly insane Fred can’t get close to the girl of his dreams until he wins the pools and decides to kidnap her and keep her in the basement. Well written (from two different viewpoints), unsettling, hard to put down. The official editorially approved summary: Withdrawn, uneducated and unloved, Frederick collects butterflies and takes photographs. He is obsessed with a beautiful stranger, the art student Miranda. When he wins the pools he buys a remote Sussex house and calmly abducts Miranda, believing she will grow to love him in time. Alone and desperate, Miranda must struggle to overcome her own prejudices and contempt if she is to understand her captor, and so gain her freedom.

The Collector by John Fowles

Recently read: socially awkward, slightly insane Fred can’t get close to the girl of his dreams until he wins the pools and decides to kidnap her and keep her in the basement. Well written (from two different viewpoints), unsettling, hard to put down. The official editorially approved summary:

Withdrawn, uneducated and unloved, Frederick collects butterflies and takes photographs. He is obsessed with a beautiful stranger, the art student Miranda. When he wins the pools he buys a remote Sussex house and calmly abducts Miranda, believing she will grow to love him in time. Alone and desperate, Miranda must struggle to overcome her own prejudices and contempt if she is to understand her captor, and so gain her freedom.

17 Feb
Veronika Decides To Die - Paulo Coelho Recently read: Veronika doesn’t want to grow old and tries to kill herself, unsuccessfully. After playing the piano and staring at the moon in a mental home for a few days, she’s not so suicidal any more - but is it too late? Coelho seems to be aiming for deep and profound moments of enlightenment on every page, but only hits the mark every now and again. Still, better than missing it completely. The blurb on the back reads: Veronika has everything she could wish for - young and pretty, with plenty of attractive boyfriends, a steady job, a loving family. Yet Veronika is not happy and one winter’s morning she takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in the local hospital. There she is told that although she is alive, her heart is now irreparably damaged and she has only a few days to live… This story follows her through these intense days as she starts to question all her ideas about life. Soon she comes to realise that every second of existence is a choice we all make between living and dying. This is a moving and uplifting song to life, one that reminds us that every moment in our lives is special and precious.

Veronika Decides To Die - Paulo Coelho

Recently read: Veronika doesn’t want to grow old and tries to kill herself, unsuccessfully. After playing the piano and staring at the moon in a mental home for a few days, she’s not so suicidal any more - but is it too late? Coelho seems to be aiming for deep and profound moments of enlightenment on every page, but only hits the mark every now and again. Still, better than missing it completely. The blurb on the back reads:

Veronika has everything she could wish for - young and pretty, with plenty of attractive boyfriends, a steady job, a loving family. Yet Veronika is not happy and one winter’s morning she takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in the local hospital. There she is told that although she is alive, her heart is now irreparably damaged and she has only a few days to live…

This story follows her through these intense days as she starts to question all her ideas about life. Soon she comes to realise that every second of existence is a choice we all make between living and dying. This is a moving and uplifting song to life, one that reminds us that every moment in our lives is special and precious.

1  
15 Feb
Fallen Star - Ian Barker Recently read: the only book I’ve ever read written by someone I know… so I am wholeheartedly recommending it. Especially the Celebrity Boarding School bit. From the back cover: FAMOUS: Celebrated. Acclaimed. Legendary. Illustrious. Popular. Notorious. Recognised. Renowned. Successful. Eminent. Prominent. Excellent. Having kudos. Being a star. The Fallen Boys were at their zenith when Zac’s luck ran out. How does the shock of being dumped from dazzling and conspicuous success into relative obscurity affect his fellow boy band members Karl, Ritchie and Leon? Accustomed to adulation, wall-to-wall glamour, sex and all the illusions of fame, the Boys find themselves in strange territory. No longer courted, with zero prospect of resurrecting the group, they find themselves facing harsh realities. Karl is driven to appear on chat shows and accept pantomime roles: all the PR exercises he previously spurned. Desperate for work he even auditions for a blue movie. Reluctantly, he participates in a TV reality series soon after he meets Lizzie Keating, daughter of an IRA bomber. Hormones and adrenalin surge as the challenges to their relationship surface: Karl’s father, ex-Army and implacable in his hatred for the Irish; Karl’s wandering eye; Lizzie’s refusal to play second fiddle to anyone. With gusto, humour and insight, Ian Barker entertains with this intertwined tale of discovering what is truly valuable in life.

Fallen Star - Ian Barker

Recently read: the only book I’ve ever read written by someone I know… so I am wholeheartedly recommending it. Especially the Celebrity Boarding School bit. From the back cover:

FAMOUS: Celebrated. Acclaimed. Legendary. Illustrious. Popular. Notorious. Recognised. Renowned. Successful. Eminent. Prominent. Excellent. Having kudos. Being a star.

The Fallen Boys were at their zenith when Zac’s luck ran out. How does the shock of being dumped from dazzling and conspicuous success into relative obscurity affect his fellow boy band members Karl, Ritchie and Leon?

Accustomed to adulation, wall-to-wall glamour, sex and all the illusions of fame, the Boys find themselves in strange territory. No longer courted, with zero prospect of resurrecting the group, they find themselves facing harsh realities. Karl is driven to appear on chat shows and accept pantomime roles: all the PR exercises he previously spurned. Desperate for work he even auditions for a blue movie. Reluctantly, he participates in a TV reality series soon after he meets Lizzie Keating, daughter of an IRA bomber. Hormones and adrenalin surge as the challenges to their relationship surface: Karl’s father, ex-Army and implacable in his hatred for the Irish; Karl’s wandering eye; Lizzie’s refusal to play second fiddle to anyone.

With gusto, humour and insight, Ian Barker entertains with this intertwined tale of discovering what is truly valuable in life.

5  
20 Jan
The Clocks - Agatha Christie Recently read: after a long hard day at work I enjoy a good Agatha Christie. Christie spotter’s checklist: a death in mysterious circumstances; someone who knows too much getting killed off; a small rotund Belgian. The official blurb: Master sleuth Hercule Poirot has time on his hands: four clocks, all set at 4.13, and all left at the scene of a murder. In the tidy sitting room, Detective Inspector Hardcastle examines the assembled witnesses for clues - a blind lady, a young secretary and an innocent passer-by. Poirot must find them first… but will he have time?

The Clocks - Agatha Christie

Recently read: after a long hard day at work I enjoy a good Agatha Christie. Christie spotter’s checklist: a death in mysterious circumstances; someone who knows too much getting killed off; a small rotund Belgian. The official blurb:

Master sleuth Hercule Poirot has time on his hands: four clocks, all set at 4.13, and all left at the scene of a murder.

In the tidy sitting room, Detective Inspector Hardcastle examines the assembled witnesses for clues - a blind lady, a young secretary and an innocent passer-by.

Poirot must find them first… but will he have time?

17 Jan
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky Recently read: dear friend, I read that book The Catcher In The Rye that everyone talks about. I think, through a series of letters, I could write an updated, more sensitive, less cynical, 1990s MTV-style version of it. If you have a crush on a girl you can’t have, and enjoy driving at high speeds at night while listening to the Smiths, you might like it. The official blurb: Charlie is a freshman, and while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run away from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

Recently read: dear friend, I read that book The Catcher In The Rye that everyone talks about. I think, through a series of letters, I could write an updated, more sensitive, less cynical, 1990s MTV-style version of it. If you have a crush on a girl you can’t have, and enjoy driving at high speeds at night while listening to the Smiths, you might like it. The official blurb:

Charlie is a freshman, and while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run away from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

3  
15 Jan
The Last Dickens - Matthew Pearl Recently read: Charles Dickens is dead, and his last novel is unfinished, so his American publisher travels to England to try and hunt down the second half of the manuscript. An enjoyable twist-filled thriller that’s tightly written and well-researched, though ultimately it’s impossible to escape the fact that 140 years on, Edwin Drood remains unfinished. The official blurb: 1870. Charles Dickens is dead. The final instalment of his last manuscript has vanished. The script was last seen addressed to the publisher whose fortunes depend on it. Since its sudden disappearance the only clue as to its whereabouts is a trail of brutal murders. With his livelihood - indeed his life - in jeopardy, Dickens’ publisher sets out to unravel the mystery. The trail leads him from bustling West End theatres, through grimy East End backstreets, into the fug of illicit opium dens, as the crime he hopes to solve ensnares him.

The Last Dickens - Matthew Pearl

Recently read: Charles Dickens is dead, and his last novel is unfinished, so his American publisher travels to England to try and hunt down the second half of the manuscript. An enjoyable twist-filled thriller that’s tightly written and well-researched, though ultimately it’s impossible to escape the fact that 140 years on, Edwin Drood remains unfinished. The official blurb:

1870. Charles Dickens is dead. The final instalment of his last manuscript has vanished.

The script was last seen addressed to the publisher whose fortunes depend on it. Since its sudden disappearance the only clue as to its whereabouts is a trail of brutal murders.

With his livelihood - indeed his life - in jeopardy, Dickens’ publisher sets out to unravel the mystery. The trail leads him from bustling West End theatres, through grimy East End backstreets, into the fug of illicit opium dens, as the crime he hopes to solve ensnares him.

11 Dec
Portrait Of A Young Man Drowning - Charles Perry Recently read: a brutal and direct account of a young man’s descent into madness as he rises through the ranks of a small-time gang, with a hat tip to James Joyce. Charles Perry’s only novel before his premature death. The official take: Opening as a pastiche of Joyce’s Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, Charles Perry’s only novel proceeds to tell the story of Harold, a young man who gets sucked into Brooklyn’s underworld scene, whilst trying to escape the control of his overbearing and suffocating mother. It is a riveting tale of compulsion and murder that is comparable in its inexorability to Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me. As Harold climbs through the Brooklyn gangster ranks and leaves behind his juvenile delinquent pals, he becomes increasingly possessed by paranoia and power. Caught in a whirlpool of street crime and Oedipal passion, the schizoid narrator is eventually driven by circumstances out of his mind.

Portrait Of A Young Man Drowning - Charles Perry

Recently read: a brutal and direct account of a young man’s descent into madness as he rises through the ranks of a small-time gang, with a hat tip to James Joyce. Charles Perry’s only novel before his premature death. The official take:

Opening as a pastiche of Joyce’s Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, Charles Perry’s only novel proceeds to tell the story of Harold, a young man who gets sucked into Brooklyn’s underworld scene, whilst trying to escape the control of his overbearing and suffocating mother. It is a riveting tale of compulsion and murder that is comparable in its inexorability to Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me.

As Harold climbs through the Brooklyn gangster ranks and leaves behind his juvenile delinquent pals, he becomes increasingly possessed by paranoia and power. Caught in a whirlpool of street crime and Oedipal passion, the schizoid narrator is eventually driven by circumstances out of his mind.

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