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Haddon,
Mark – Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time
****1/2
Brilliant
detective story and diary as written by a teenager with Asperger syndrome (autism).
The “author” Christopher Boone starts his journal as an attempt to find out who killed his neighbour’s
dog though, whilst unravelling this, he discover much more important information about his father and mother…
Haddon’s
novel is funny and touching. It superbly captures Christopher’s condition
showing his kindness and intelligence and also his fastidiousness and helplessness.
An excellent beautifully written story, probably aimed at teenagers but also well worth the attention of any caring
adult.
First published: 2003
Read by me:
22.6.06-5.7.06
Hardy,
Thomas – The Well Beloved (New Wessex Edition)
***1/2
After
a holiday around Weymouth it only seemed apt for me to read a novel by the most famous author from the region. The Well Beloved is mostly set on the “isle” of Portland.
It tells the story of the native-born, famous sculptor Jocelyn Pierston who falls in love with young ladies from three
generations of the same Portland family.
The idea of the “curse” of the well-beloved travelling from mother
to daughter after some wanderings in-between is an interesting one, albeit quite disturbing in a modern context though Hardy
treats it with subtlety and sensitivity.
As expected, his prose is excellent though I found the novel to sag, in a
literary and emotional sense, in the second third of the book when the 40 year old Piertson falls for the 20 year-old Avice
the second. It does however pick up with the more benevolent intentions of the
59-year-old protagonist in the final part of the triptych.
As well as the superior, more cohesive whole novel first published
in 1897, the new Wessex Edition also interestingly includes significantly different passages taken from the original
1892 magazine version of the story. Like most classic old novels, The Well
Beloved is quite difficult going at times for the modern reader but ultimately well worth pursuing. Especially if you’ve just returned from a break near the Isle of Slingers…
First published: 1975 (New Wessex Edition)
Read by me: 27.8.06-24.9.06
Hawks, Tony – Round Ireland With A Fridge
***1/2
Read just after spending our first Wedding Anniversary in Dublin, Round Ireland With A Fridge
is a humorous, travel book by the popular comedian. Tony Hawks wakes up after
a wild night's drinking to find a scrawled piece of paper next to him from a friend.
The note is a wager, challenging Tony £100 that he cannot hitchhike around the coast of Ireland in a month…whilst
carrying a fridge.
Rather than discarding the paper and cutting his losses, Tony decides to take up this absurd challenge
and this book is the story of his adventures. Helped by some invaluable publicity
and support from a leading Irish radio show, his bizarre and quite pointless journey (after all, the fridge cost him over
£100!) captured the hearts of the fun-loving Irish people and he had a great time.
Round Ireland With A Fridge is a good
read for anyone about to visit or wanting to capture the spirit of the Emerald Isle though Tony’s prose doesn’t
flow quite like the Irish literary greats. As with most travel novels, there are also times when it feels like he’s
trying too hard to think of something funny to write. Still it’s entertaining
and enlightening more often than not and is well worth reading.
First Published:
1998
read by me: 4.11.05-30.11.05
Heatley, Michael
- John Peel: A Life In Music
****
A Life In Music is essentially
a fans’ biography of the great man without direct interviews with the major players in his life. Consequently
it’s mostly a cut-and-paste job which is fine though the 80s and 90s in particular are largely a list of great bands
to whom Peel gave a break rather than any insight into the man himself.
Clearly a fan, Heatley’s book is well researched
from secondary sources and deserves the praise of all list-makers for including Peel’s Festive 50s from 1976 to 2003
as an appendix. This slimmish volume is well worth reading though any real fans will also want to read
Peel’s eagerly awaited Margrave Of The Marshes autobiography as well.
First published: 2004
Read by me: 27.4.06-11.5.06
Hornby, Nick
– A Long Way Down
****1/2
Thought provoking novel about four strangers
who find themselves on the roof of a block of flats on New Years Eve. Rather
than jumping from this notorious suicide spot, they all come down and form a sort of informal self-help group as they try
to rebuild their lives. The four – a disgraced TV presenter, tragically
sad middle-aged single mother who has devoted her life to her disabled son, failed rock star and fowl-mouthed teen –
have little in common but form an unspoken bond.
Hornby’s novel is excellent in that it is moving at times and offers
some hope without lapsing into sentimentality – everything is not resolved at the end. Bringing up plenty of other thought
provoking issues as it proceeds, it is a real page-turner. The flow is aided
by its format with each of the four telling the story in turn for a few pages at a time.
Very effective as is the whole story. A superb novel.
First published:
2005
Read by me: 13.4.06-26.4.06
Hornby, Nick - How To Be Good
A-
A powerful departure by Hornby, How
To Be Good is written in the first person by a woman doctor of about 40 whose husband suddenly changes from being bitter and
cynical to positive and very benevolent following a visit to his soon-to-be guru. His subsequent actions test how good and
caring so called liberal adults really are in a novel which is funny in places but more often, thought provoking with some
excellent lines. It takes a while to get into this rather different Hornby story, written for and about people approaching
middle age, but it ultimately succeeds triumphantly. A very thought provoking book with a very powerful, depressing ending.
Fantastic.
First published: 2001
Read by me: 5.10.02-28.10.02
Hussain, Nasser
– Playing With Fire: The Autobiography
*****
I
always find it fascinating to read the autobiographies of England cricket captains as they have such huge influence on and
off the pitch. It’s interesting to hear the thought processes behind their
decisions and the usually revealing pen portraits of their fellow cricketers.
Nasser Hussain’s autobiography has
plenty of these revelations but even more, it provides a huge insight into the roots behind the determined, sometimes hot-headed
temperament of England’s most successful captain for years. Clearly crucial
to Nasser’s development was his obsessive but loving father who relentlessly pushed his son as a cricketer. With some of his old man’s steely determination rubbing off, Hussain’s rise and superb career
were as much due to his character as his talent as he was not as phenomenally naturally talented as some of his cricketing
peers. What comes through in his well-titled autobiography is passion and controversy
but also a great tactical brain and an acknowledgment of mistakes made.
Playing With Fire also includes evidence
of the politics at play in international cricket with Chapter 1 piecing together the shameful way the England team were treated
by the various cricket authorities and UK government over the controversial matches in Zimbabwe in the last World Cup. Nasser records his detailed version of events and provides the definitive account
of his career in this brilliant sporting autobiography.
Originally published: 2004
Read
by me: 27.5.06-22.6.06
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