Circus of Wonders - Elizabeth MacNeal

 59%

17.06.24

Proper literary fiction, this - meticulously written*, carefully layered and a bit depressing. The settings were well researched and vividly described, as was the complex plight of those who were 'different' in Victorian times. But the characters never really came alive, and most of them were so passive that their actions didn't seem to be conscious decisions.

*Although perhaps the editor got distracted three-quarters of the way through, when endless comma splices and a general lack of gerunds became very distracting.

The Kingdoms - Natasha Pulley

 70%

08.10.21

This was extraordinary. Flawed and confusing but still, overall, extraordinary in a good way. Pulley's engaging writing style and the complex, well-researched plot unexpectedly combine to produce a refreshing take on that hoary old genre: time-travelling historical speculative fiction.

The Rose Code - Kate Quinn

 

54%

09.09.21

On the one hand, day-to-day wartime life at Bletchley Park was well researched and fascinatingly portrayed. On the other, the story was so awkwardly written to be almost unreadable at times. From the weird American phrasing and unconvincing dialogue to cringingly rendered characters to the rather tedious plot (such as it was), it didn't crack the code for my idea of an excellent novel. 

The Dictionary of Lost Words - Pip Williams

 48%

20.08.21

You'd think I'm the ideal audience for this novel - I've studied, lived and worked in Oxford and work with words now. But the story was so dull, the characters so two-dimensional, the dialogue so unlikely, and the author so keen to show off her conscientious research and ruminations on the nature of words that I just didn't care.

Note: I'm might also start keeping count of books where women become pregnant after having sex once. Spoiler: It's most books with unmarried female protagonists, especially when they're set in the past.

New label: pregnant first time

City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert

 57%

23.05.21

This is a superficial book masquerading as a superficial book with hidden depths. It starts out engagingly enough, reviving a well-researched lost world, but loses its focus when most of the main characters are forgotten and new, less interesting characters take their place.

The Late Mrs Prioleau - Monica Tindall

56%
18.12.19

I don't think the narrator was supposed to be so unsympathetic but otherwise a rather enlightening dive into history.

Crooked Heart - Lissa Evans

69%
15.06.19

Now, this is more like it. A sequel (prequel?) to the equally entertaining Old Baggage, juggling the same mix of humour, strong characters, social history and unusual take on a well-worn trope. And the unexpectedly sentimental last page floored me because I'm an old softy.

A Skinful of Shadows - Frances Hardinge

71%

12.04.19

Now, this is more like it - a (mostly) well written, (mostly) well edited, exciting, convincing, involving fantasy novel set during the surprisingly underused English Civil War. And, of course from this author, a lot of meaty subtext on everything from gender to power to politics. Mostly fabulous.

Old Baggage - Lissa Evans

69%
14.02.19

Who cares if there's not much plot when there are so many strongly drawn characters, and such a vivid sense of place? It is indeed the 'delight' that the cover promises, at least when it's not bogged down in pathos and foreshadowing.

The Zig Zag Girl - Elly Griffths

59%
31.01.19

I wondered what Griffiths' 'other' series was like. It was quite different, not just because of its 1950s Brighton setting, and the characters lack the baggage of their Norfolk counterparts in this first book. A pleasant enough read, but not particularly memorable.

A Clash of Kings - George RR Martin

61%
31.03.16

How odd. After enjoying the first book so much, the second one made so little impact that I forgot to review it for a month. It's more of the same, but sillier and grimmer and with even less resolution. And so many kings (and queens)! If any land needed to be a republic, it's this one.

A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin

72%
21.02.16

It's an unpromising mix of things I don't usually choose to read: dodgy sex, graphic violence, tedious politics, suffering innocents and superfluous adjectives. It didn't end properly, there were too many names, and one story arc remained totally detached from the rest. But it's also clever and well constructed with fascinating, three-dimensional characters and [sighs in resignation] I couldn't put it down.

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

75%
18.06.15

Several years ago, a radio dramatisation of this made a big impression on me so I'm not sure why it's taken so long to actually read it. And it is, of course, brilliant. Endlessly complex and multi-layered but at heart a tale of love, loss and friendship (oh, and religion; there's plenty on religion), it's one of those books that make you wonder why other, less accomplished, writers bother.

The Slaves of Solitude - Patrick Hamilton

70%
30.06.14

Sarah Waters recommended this 1947 classic so of course it was good. Its influence on her work is clear in its merciless dissection of daily life, the carefully chosen words, the nuances of communication, the well-drawn characters who may - or may not - get what's coming to them. And, as a chronicle of the tedium and deprivation of the war years, it is unusually vivid.

John Saturnall's Feast - Laurence Norfolk

50%
07.04.14

More historical servants, this time carrying out their well-researched duties during the English Civil War. I was lured by promises of luscious food descriptions but actually they're not particularly memorable, and neither are the characters. Or the plot. What was it about again?

The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway

61%
26.02.14

The suffering of the people under siege in Sarajevo is almost incomprehensible and this book does a good job of recreating its horrors, provoking me into further research on atrocities not so long ago and not so far away. But doesn't work as a novel; you can almost see the interview transcripts that inspired the rather bland characters. Does it matter? It does if you're passing it off as a work of fiction. This is more education than art.

The Thirty-Nine Steps - John Buchan

58%
20.09.13

The Scottish landscape vies with the enigmatic Richard Hannay to star in this unlikely woman-free adventure story of ridiculous disguises and lucky coincidences. It is what it is, and it is a thriller of its time - enjoyable as long as you don't think about it too hard. [The cover of my copy was much cooler than this but I can't find it.]

Waiting for Sunrise - William Boyd

65%
15.07.13

Ah, William Boyd's adventure stories masquerading as literary fiction, where men are defined by their quickness of mind and women by their breasts (I never knew there was such a variety). It's compelling, escapist reading, even if the plot(s) and characters don't stand up to scrutiny. Title was apt, though - the leading man does indeed spend a lot of time waiting for sunrise.

Spies - Michael Frayn

69%
11.11.12

Normally, I hold boldly to the view that life's too short to read a book twice, but exceptions can be made. Reading group choices, for example - life is not too short to chat about books with your friends over a nice cup of tea. In any case, I first read this 10 years ago and, despite thinking it really rather good, I remembered almost nothing about it. And yes, I still think it's really rather good and yet... painstakingly structured, deeply evocative, nuanced, an hilariously painful account of childhood confusion... and yet... the emotional depth is somehow lacking, the semi-surprise ending a little hurried. Or perhaps my older self is just harder to please.

The Glass Room - Simon Mawer

53%
11.11.11

Grand Designs is one of the few TV shows I watch. This was Grand Designs with added sex and politics, which was a promising pitch before I read it. Not so much during. The constant heavy-handed metaphor became wearying before the house was even built, so it was really quite annoying after 200 pages of the juxtaposition of light and darkness, public and private, plain and beautiful against a backdrop of war and peace. The historical context was well created but the characters never really came alive. Maybe the house was the hero, but, without Kevin McCloud, there was no passion in the interpretation.