I Just Reviewed A Great Book

We're staying in the caravan this week and have a little more time than usual for reading. I heard a couple of weeks ago that John Harding had published a sequel to the excellent Florence & Giles which I enjoyed a couple of years ago so I ordered it in hardback immediately as I didn't want to wait for the Kindle edition. It arrived just in time for us to bring it with us to Scotland and I finished reading it at the weekend. Here's the review that I posted on Amazon.

An Excellent Thriller With Just One Disappointment

When the man claiming to be Dr John Shepherd arrives at a mental hospital for women on an isolated New England island in the 1890’s we share his horror at the inhuman treatments provided for the patients by his new employer, the martinet Morgan and his sadistic female sidekick O’Reilly.

The Gothic building set in parkland provides a perfect backdrop for sinister goings on with plenty of creaking doors and dark corridors inhabited by a silent presence as Shepherd settles into his psychiatric role. He offers a benevolent moral treatment to the enigmatic Jane Dove (“the girl who couldn’t read” of the title) in an attempt to prove to Morgan that there is an alternative to the hospital’s wicked and tyrannical remedies.  

The author creates an extremely evocative picture of the stark and grim institution especially as the winter chill sets in and the novel has the true feel of a period piece with a nod to The Brontes (particularly Jane Eyre), Poe and Henry James. The reader becomes enthralled in the Shakespeare loving and highly literate narrator’s story and, little by little, discovers more about his true nature.

Although billed as a sequel to the wonderful Florence & Giles, the novel stands on its own. I would certainly recommend that you read the prequel as it is quite excellent but it would make little difference if you read it before or after reading this.

Although billed as a literary thriller, it is not verbose or wordy but is written in a clear, concise and urgent style that grips you and compels you to read on. It is a thriller of the highest order.

And the one disappointment in my review title? It’s the disappointment that I have finished the book and will struggle to find something as engaging to read next.

In Praise Of Modern Family (Again)

We sat down in front of the telly last night to catch up with the stuff we’ve got on the SkyPlus which is almost full of things we’d love to have seen and will probably never get around to. One that most definitely doesn’t fall into that category is Sky1’s Modern Family, which has been amongst our favourites since it launched. We’re now into Series 3. By this time even the greatest sitcoms have usually started to flag; not Modern Family. Episode 10 of the series is the family’s Christmas which is being celebrated a week early due to problems getting everyone together on the big day. From the opening pre credit scene around the swimming pool to the final post credit scene at home, this was perfect television. I can’t reveal the plot for fear of spoiling it for others who have it saved. All I can say is that Christmas came early for us too and I can’t remember watching anything with so many laugh out loud moments; the writers crammed in more in thirty minutes than many Hollywood blockbuster comedies achieve in two hours.

And it’s not even as if the show has one stand out star like Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart or  Will Smith; even the smallest character got at least one big laugh in this episode and the rest got plenty. And it’s also not even as if all the comedy is the same. There are elements of slapstick and farce as well as great lines and brilliantly observed situations. The actors are universally excellent from the patriarch Jay (Ed O’Neill), his glorious Latino wife Gloria (Sofia Vergera), very gay son Michael (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his even gayer partner Cam (Eric Stonestreet) but my favourite is the hapless Phil (Ty Burrell) an eternal optimist who always does everything to make things right and inevitably makes everything anything but – a bit like me really. “Down with the kids” Phil’s classic interpretation of WTF (Why The Face) sums him up in a nutshell – wonderful. The kids are all outstanding too. If you haven’t seen Modern Family, treat yourself to a box set for Christmas and lift your family out of the great depression that was 2011.

No Orange Wednesday for us this week; just not enough time week as we’re preparing a tea party for Marion’s mum and we’ve got four old ladies and old man coming round to join us. We’ve just roasted this turkey crown and we’re going to use it to make turkey sandwiches, (which are always the best food bit about Christmas for me). The fridge is absolutely packed so I imagine that our guests will be going home with their usual goody bags that will do them for another couple of meals as they don’t tend to have enormous appetites at 80 plus.

I hope that we will get to the pictures again before Christmas as I quite fancy the new Sherlock Holmes. I loved the last one and the new one has got even better reviews from the critics so I hope that it gets to FACT or Vue next week. We’ve seen so many films this year that it’s hard to say which was my favourite. If pushed I would probably have to go for Submarine – one of the few feel good movies of the year, although A Separation, Of Gods And Men and Cave Of Forgotten Dreams were all memorable.

I’m struggling to read The Slap. I usually fly through novels in a couple of days but this one has really slowed me down. I don’t know if it is all the different characters or the Australian slang that’s making me struggle but I’m persevering as Marion’s got it saved on the SkyPlus and doesn’t want to watch it while I’m still reading the book (Kindle says I’ve got 50% left). Books that were a pleasure to read this year were The White Woman On The Green Bicycle and Florence And Giles both of which I strongly recommend.

Some Recommended Reading

I've managed to find time for a fair bit of reading lately and, as usual, I've enjoyed it immensely. The books I have chosen are fairly mainstream so you will probably already be aware of them but in case you aren't I can recommend all of the following.

This American tale of two social misfits is narrated by one of two brothers who inhabit a large mansion on Fifth Avenue New York close by Central Park. Both brothers are disabled. Homer, the narrator is blind whilst his brother Langley, a victim of mustard gas, becomes a compulsive hoarder. Their story spans the decades from before the Great War to Vietnam and beyond and is a compelling insight into two liberal and eccentric lives lived on the fringes of society. The book is poignant, touching and sympathetic with the blindness of the narrator giving an extra dimension to the piece. Incidentally, on looking for a photo for the blog I discovered that Homer & Langley Collyer existed and many of the events in the novel did happen although the author E.L Doctorow has shifted their time frame as both died in 1947.

Aravind Adiga's "The White Tiger" was always going to be a hard act to follow but the young Indian novelist has more than lived up to expectations with "Between The Assassinations". The novel is set in the fictional Indian city of Kittur between the assassination of Indira Ghandi in 1984 and Rajiv Ghandi in 1991 and, rather than following a single character or family, the book is effectively a series of short stories each charting an inhabitant of that filthy, corruption wracked city. The poor country boy, the rich private school boy, the businessman being screwed by corrupt officials, the tragic low castes, the misguided communist are but a few of the colourful array of characters vividly portrayed. All have their own story but just once or twice we might see them in the background of another's. Is that one perhaps riding by with a block of ice to deliver? Adiga's writing is sharp and vibrant and you can't just see Kittur, you can smell it.

I loved "A Short History Of Tractors In Ukranian" and always look out for Marina Lewycka's latest novels. Like "Tractors" "We Are All Made Of Glue" is a book that is a joy to read insofar as it is beautifully written and a complete page turner. In a similar vein to her first novel, Lewycka deals with old age and "foreigners" creating an unusual relationship between an old bag lady and her young female narrator. The story is both funny and sometimes sad with some serious undertones about race and religion but, whilst it is difficult to put down, I felt a little let down with its conclusion. It has to be a must for any aspiring writer as an object lesson in how to write for your readers.

Another American novel with two names in the title, I was attracted to Florence & Giles by the comparison on the cover to "The Turn Of The Screw" ( the film of which gave me childhood nightmares) and indeed there are many similarities to Poe's classic - the gothic mansion, the spooky lake, the stern governess and a young boy and girl. This is a very modern novel full of suspense, horror and psychological trauma with an exciting almost whodunnit underlying story and a quirky voice from the young female narrator Florence who revels in creating new words to add to the language in the way that Shakespeare did - and some of those new words are quite excellent. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone looking for something slightly offbeat and a step away from typical horror or thrillers.

Finally here's something a little different. Lent to me by daughter Sarah's partner Duncan ( a keen diver) this book charts the history of diving from the ancient Greeks to today using a mixture of both historical documentary and interesting anecdotes from the author's own experience. By including those essential anecdotes the book is entertaining as well as being highly informative and a must for anybody with any interest in either the sport or the deep oceans.