304 pages Literary/Action & Adventure. How to describe a book that is unique? This is an absurdist fantasy, delightfully written and so enjoyable to read. The author cleverly engages us with his empathetic description of Beatrix’s life (the Bee of the title) in the circus, and her pragmatic acceptance of a life so unjust and …
Continue reading The Colonel and the Bee, by Patrick Canning: #BookReview.
183 pps Science Fiction/Post Apocalyptic Many readers make it a point of pride to express their dislike of science fiction. These same people probably proudly state their love of historical, romantic, thriller, literary, sensual, spy, legal, or indeed any other type of fiction. So, why the dislike of a genre that offers so much? I …
Continue reading Entangled Earth, by David Lea: #BookReview.
Travel/Italy 992 pages Until I’ve been to Italy, I can’t know the true value of this book. However, having read it in preparation, I can comment on what I’ve so far found. I’m off to Italy soon, visiting Rome, Naples and Pompeii, Florence, and Lake Maggiore, which is why I bought the general travel book …
Continue reading Lonely Planet, Italy: #BookReview.
I was recently given a chance to have my reviewing activity revealed in charts and diagrams. I thought it would be interesting, for me, and for my readers. Here's the link to the result on BookSirens.
Religion and Spirituality/Islam 156 pages Subtitled ‘Conversations, Questions, And Answers About Islam’, this slim volume is an introduction to the Muslim’s view of Islam. It’s also an attempt to separate the actions of extremists from the doctrines on which they base those actions. And an effort to educate non-Muslims in the way the religion is …
Continue reading What Would a Muslim Say?, by Ahmed Lotfy Rashed: #BookReview.
Biography/Medical Memoir 177 pages. I came to this extraordinary piece of writing via an unusual route. The village hall hosted a short dramatic presentation by ‘New Perspectives’ introducing the book using visual aids, a soundtrack and the skills of two actors to explain how the book came into being. Although that drama was flawed, it …
Continue reading A Fortunate Man, by John Berger, illustrated by Jean Mohr: #BookReview.
History 672 pages Art historian, philosopher, raconteur, academic, or proselyte? Simon Schama’s great tome carries elements of all these. One reviewer, quoted on the cover, adds ‘self-indulgent and perverse’, and I’ve no argument with those. There are undoubted instances of the self-congratulatory, ‘I know a lot more than you’, and the academic show-off in this …
Continue reading Landscape and Memory, by Simon Schama: #BookReview.
Contemporary Fiction 310 pages Subtitled, ‘Be Careful Who You Trust’, this piece of modern fiction is not the usual material I read. I dislike labels, but I do wonder if this is intended more for the ‘Women’s Fiction’ market. The story is well presented and the characters particularly well developed. I did have some difficulty …
Continue reading Befriended, by Ruth O’Neill: #BookReview.
Science Fiction 24 pages This science fiction short story looks at the threat imposed by over-reliance on technical advances without regulation. We live in a world where many things are possible. This book asks the question, ‘Just because we can, does it mean we should?’ I leave it to the reader to decide, after reading …
Continue reading The 93-E Contradiction, by Melodie Trudeaux: #BookReview.
Classics 208pps This classic of English Literature breaks all the rules of writing a novel; a bold step at the time of its creation. Viewpoints come and go, often without any real introduction, and sometimes within a paragraph. Passages develop and proceed, often without any indication of who we’re listening to in their internal dialogue, …
Continue reading Mrs Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf: #BookReview.
85 pps Thriller/Espionage. This short is written in typical ‘thriller’ style, however, it also gives the reader some meat on the bones of the characters, which is great. The depiction of North Korea is chilling, and reads as though the author has first-hand experience. The protagonist, Milton, shows some concern for those who help him …
Continue reading 1000 Yards, by Mark Dawson: #BookReview.
354 pps Genre Fiction/Political/Literary humour. Humour in any book is a gamble. We don’t all see with the same eyes. Whilst this novel rarely made me laugh out loud, I did smile and grin a lot, so it was a positive experience. That it managed this while dealing with such issues as government incompetence (this …
Continue reading Everybody Shrugged, by Walt Pilcher: #BookReview.
Subtitled ‘Beyond Mount Olympus’, this small book is a short introduction to the broad and complex area of the Greek Myths. A bold undertaking to attempt to condense centuries of myth and legend, featuring a myriad heroes, gods, goddesses, nymphs and satyrs, this slim volume does its best. Inevitably it is superficial and, at times, …
Continue reading Greek Mythology, by in60Learning.com: #BookReview.
393 pps Humour/Puzzles & Games/ Subtitled ‘The Noticeably Stouter Edition’, this book of humorously presented erudition is a gem. Clearly, a book to be dipped into, rather than read at one sitting, it is nevertheless addictive. Those who know the TV show, first hosted by the inimitable Stephen Fry and latterly by the equally unique …
Continue reading The QI Book of General Ignorance, by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson: #BookReview.
A truly gothic and demonic horror story. The narrator’s voice carries all the bile, disapproval, confidence and uncertainty of the youth well. This is a short but powerful read and one to produce nightmares if read too close to bedtime in a lonely place. The conflict of denial against the reality of the situation leaves …
Continue reading Simon Says, by Rachel McClellan: #BookReview.
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 