First published 2015. Peirene paperback, 2019, translated by J Ockenden, pp 124, c. 33,000 words. This is a fine example of how few words can be perfect. One might feel short-changed by such a slim volume being sold by Peirene for 20% over the odds for a ‘normal’ length paperback, but in this case the […]
Snow, Dog, Foot — Claudio Morandini Read More »
First published 1999. Penguin paperback, 2000, pp 336, c. 120,000 words + maps, index, notes and photographs. This is a real-world tragedy, the story of a unique culture, centuries in the making, slowly fractured by great-power rivalry and then utterly dismantled by fanaticism and political greed. Hilton studied Chinese at university up to post-graduate level
Search for the Panchen Lama, The — Isobel Hilton Read More »
First published 2004. Orbit paperback, 2005, pp 534, c. 170,000 words. Don’t expect anything much about mathematics or even mathematicians, despite the title. There is a formula somewhere in here but it’s a McGuffin – of no interest. What we do have is a comprehensive history of the entire galaxy (and beyond) from the bang
Algebraist, The — Iain M Banks Read More »
First published 1994. Flamingo paperback, 1995, pp 239, c. 80,000 words. A group of environmentalists sets off to a small pacific island to stop a French nuclear test and to save the albatrosses there. They are led by Dr Barbara, a charismatic woman, and the story is largely told from the point of view of
Rushing to Paradise — J G Ballard Read More »
First published 1960. Penguin, paperback, 1971, pp 208, c. 66,000 words. This is one of Greene’s ‘Catholic novels’ where characters discuss and are driven by, at least in part, their faith or lack of it. By the end, Greene seems to be saying that the degree of faith someone has is not correlated to their
Burnt Out Case, A — Graham Greene Read More »
First published 2005. Abacus, paperback, 2006, pp 326, c. 100,000 words. McCall Smith is a prolific author (who has currently had published twenty-two books, plus four spin-off children’s books) is best known for his The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, those lightly charming stories set in contemporary Africa that present such a positive and
44 Scotland Street — Alexander McCall Smith Read More »
First published 1910. House of Stratus, paperback, c.2003, pp 454, c. 200,000 words. This is the first of a four-book series concerning the life of Edwin Clayhanger and his family. It is a big book, and like many of the period, particularly those of French authors such as Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac, it
Clayhanger — Arnold Bennett Read More »
First published 1960. Penguin, paperback, c.1998, pp 188, c. 66,000 words. What a delightful story this is. A simple tale of a girl growing up in rural Ireland and eventually moving to the big city of Dublin. It’s not preachy or dismissive of rural life and the people who live there, but one can feel
Country Girls, The — Edna O’Brien Read More »
First published 2007. Little Brown, paperback, 2007, pp 390, c. 120,000 words. This is another classic Banks contemporary novel closely observing a small group of people, in this case a family who are owners of a games business. The company was founded in the nineteenth century producing a board game called Empire!, with similar playing
Steep Approach to Garbadale, The — Iain Banks Read More »
First published 1965. Fourth Estate, paperback, 2011, pp 233 (+7 pages of commentary), c. 72,000 words (main text). The opening page develops a surreal, trippy atmosphere by the use of unusual adjectives, adverbs, similes and metaphors, piling one on top of another. I feared that this would make the book hard reading, but in Ballard’s
Drought, The — J. G. Ballard Read More »