I read this book twice; as soon as I reached the end I started it again. The story flits between past and present and is narrated by different characters. Sometimes the same segment of the story is told by different characters. On the first reading I was kept wondering what the connections are between the past and the present. On the second reading, knowing how things turn out, it was delicious to discover all the clues left by the author en route. There is so much stuffed into this book: memories, happenings in the present and loads of characters. An added bonus is that the book is set in Cambridge and the area surrounding it; most of the places mentioned are familiar to me.

This is the first Kate Atkinson novel that I’ve read. I was impressed at how well the characters, particularly the females, are written. They all seem so real, possibly with the exception of Julia who is completely OTT. They are of all ages and temperaments and I was glad to read a book about women and it is definitely a book about women, in spite of the main character being male. I loved KA’s liberal use of echoes between different characters, which adds further connections between the interweaving plot strands. A few examples: Baking and knitting are done by both Michelle and Josie (after she took up with David). Brodie and Caroline independently don’t believe in ‘The One’ and think even if such a person existed they might never find them. Rosemary and Theo both have a favourite among their children.

So this book certainly held my attention, right through till the end. However, as a mystery, I don’t think it’s as good as some of the others I’ve read and loved, e.g. Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris and even The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams. Case Histories isn’t particularly atmospheric so I wasn’t able to get completely lost in it, though I think it will lend itself well to the TV adaptation, which I look forward to watching. The only other downside was that I wasn’t satisfied with the conclusion to two of the three cases. One seemed highly improbable, the other seemed like a a bit of a cop out. Apart from that, a decent read and I hope to watch the programme if it’s repeated.

(11th in 2012)

This is a deeply unpleasant story. It’s about an alcoholic, drug-addled sex maniac. His sexual encounters and his neglect of his son after his wife’s suicide are simply awful. But there is something compulsive about the writing that kept me turning the pages and completing the book in a weekend. Cave takes the reader on a horrfic, unreal rollercoaster ride. The slow bits are those narrated by Bunny’s son and they are touching and heartbreaking. The book reminded me of Irvine Welsh’s Filth: a depraved journey in which, to the relief of the reader, the protagonist finally gets what he deserves.

The book has its own website and the Guardian interviewed Cave about the audiobook version to which he wrote a soundtrack. The audiobook sounds very interesting but, for now at least, I think I’d like to leave Bunny for something a little less horrible.

(10th in 2012)

I finished reading this book while sitting at the bar last night. Like Cold Mountain, The Sisters Brothers is set in America in the 1800s, only a little earlier (1851) so it seems natural to compare the two books. The Sisters Brothers is also something of an odyssey with lessons learned along the way but on a much smaller scale than in Cold Mountain. The mood is lighter too. Not that there aren’t some humourous moments in Cold Mountain, but there is less continual hardship and hunger in The Sisters Brothers.

This book is very easy to read. The story is fast-paced and swept me along with it. There are a few wonderful, thought-provoking passages which slowed me down a little. I think Cold Mountain trumps it in terms of scale and atmosphere but The Sisters Brothers is just as satisfactory a tale.

(9th in 2012)

I picked this up in the library because I had seen it reviewed on The TV Book Club. It is very easy to read and the references to modern middle class life are quite funny. But, although it passed the time, I can’t recommend this as a good read. Apart from all the mentions of blood it feels like it’s written for children, albeit older ones. It’s unconvincing somehow. Seems silly to be saying that since it’s about vampires, but The Time Traveller’s Wife is convincing and time travel is a fantasy too.

EDIT: Just found out it is in fact for teenagers from the Guardian’s review.

(8th in 2012)

This book starts off unpromisingly. I went back to the beginning a few times because I kept losing interest during the first chapter, abandoning the attempt then forgetting what I’d read when I picked it up to try again. But after the first couple of chapters the protagonist starts to have interesting adventures which held my attention.

It also took me some time to get used to the language which is of the time the book is set in: 1865. Although I had to look up many words at first, I remembered their meanings when they appeared again. Then my reading flowed and I was transported back in time. It was so enjoyable that I wouldn’t mind reading it again. It’s a story of adventure, friendship, hardship, love and nature. It is something of an epic.

There is a lot more to the book than the language and the plot. There are recurring themes, symbolism and so on but I didn’t look into those aspects in much detail this time around. The Guardian book club examined the book and there are some good notes on the novel here.

(7th in 2012)

Read this in just a couple of days. I admit that it’s a novella so not lengthy but, even so, the plot sprints along making it difficult to put down. Dark, delicious and very British, I loved it. My only criticism was that the ending seemed very slightly unbelievable but it is still a most splendid read.

(5th in 2012)

I finished reading Cosa Nostra tonight. Given my affection for mafia-based entertainment (The Sopranos, Scorcese’s films, The Godfather Trilogy etc.) I was very much looking forward to discovering the truth behind it. Although the content of the book was interesting, my enjoyment was marred for the following reasons:

1) I frequently had to look up the meanings of words, most of which don’t occur in everyday language. Every time this happened it disrupted my flow.

2) I had to keep looking up places that were mentioned on Google maps. There are maps at the front of the book but places aren’t easily located or even present on them, as far as I could tell.

3) There are so many people involved that it’s difficult to remember who they all are. Worse still – and this isn’t the author’s fault – everyone seems to be called Giuseppe or Antonino! I had to makes notes on who was who as I went along, otherwise I got utterly confused.

4) It isn’t in strict chronological order. Where stories overlap then it’s fair enough but the author sometimes goes back and forth over the same few years. I can see that this is necessary as there are so many interwined stories – the history of the mafia is complex – but again, I couldn’t make sense of it without making notes.

I have to admit that finishing the book is a relief. I got halfway through without making notes and then had to start again because I was too confused to continue! In summary, this book is a bit too much hard work if you’re after escapism or entertainment. If you want to think and learn then by all means read it, but not without a cup of tea and a notebook.

(4th in 2012)

I bought this book on a whim. It subsequently languished untouched on a bookshelf for years. I finally picked it up about two years ago and read almost to the end. But, for reasons I can’t recall, I abandoned that attempt, even though I remember enjoying it.

This time I read it from start to finish in four days. It’s very good indeed. The language is wonderful and, in contrast to When God Was a Rabbit, a great pleasure to read. It does contain many lesser known and old words so I was constantly looking things up. This did slightly detract from the pleasure, because it disrupted the flow but I was still glad of the opportunity to increase my vocabulary.

The book is set in 1666. ‘Balthasar Embriaco, a Levantine merchant, sets out on an adventure that will take him across the breadth of the civilised world..’ It is written in diary form. This gives the book a very human perspective but plenty of history is included, though not in an overt fashion. For a person such as myself, who knows very little history, it’s a fine way to be educated. There are lessons to be learnt about religion, fear, wars, racism and more which are relevant today. But it’s not all heavy; there are hilarious moments which made me laugh out loud such as when the protagonist scorns numerical values (p76) and when he says ‘I’ve been in business all these years and I still can’t tell a pimp from an outrages father!’ on p82.

Balthasar’s Odyssey is rather unique amongst the books I have read. It is erudite but not inaccessibly so. I would thoroughly recommend it.

(3rd in 2012)