4th March 2023

Janice Hallett’s third novel takes her format - the novel equivalent of a found-footage film - on a new journey as we follow the writing of a true crime book, and the author’s interactions and investigations as she tries to uncover what really happened.

This one is a bit of a hybrid presentation compared to the first two - some is correspondence, emails and text messages, and some is transcripts of audio recordings.

Thanks to a delayed train journey, I got through the book in 48 hours. But it is that gripping and the format really helps make it incredibly readable.

The plot is darker than the previous entries right from the start. To the extent that I even had a bad dream that seemed to have been inspired by it.

Overall though another great story, and I’m looking forward to more from Hallett in the coming years.

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4th March 2023

“Cosy fantasy” is the term that has been coined to describe this novel, and it fits perfectly. This is the tale of a retiring D&D-style adventurer and her plans to start a new, less physically risky, venture.

It’s a lovely character-driven tale about friendship, and sets up a wonderful little world that definitely feels like it’s inviting me back for another visit in future.

I’ve already been searching for more similar low-stakes reading to add to my list.

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4th March 2023

Andrew Childs’ third Reacher novel takes us on an unusual journey to a prison, but not just for Reacher - but also for a bunch of other new characters whose motivations only become clear frustratingly slowly.

The writing style feels quite different from what I remember. It’s more bitty - there are a lot more point of view characters, and it was hard to keep track of them all, particularly while the narrative was trying to remain mysterious.

I think this has likely been the book that’s tipped me out of being a Reacher reader. A 30+ story series has been a good run, and kept me entertained over the past 13 years, but I think there’s so much more now I want to read that isn’t this. It’s fair to say my tastes change over time, so this may be more a reflection on me than on the books.

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25th February 2023

I recently read the biography of Terry Pratchett, in which it’s mentioned that as a young child he enjoyed reading Eve Garnett’s tale of a large working class family. And I remembered enjoying it, I imagine when read to me by my mum, as a small child (it was certainly her choice of a book she had known as a child - possibly even then her own original copy).

And so a second-hand 1975 copy very quickly made its way to my shelves, and then, once I’d finished the biography, into my hands and eyes.

The book remains delightful - there is surprisingly little to age it (although I realise it’s possible that between the 30s and 70s some editing might have gone on) in the style of language or the usual problems that early 20th century texts have. Perhaps there’s an element of sexism in the level of agency the boys control in their adventures, compared to those the girls experience.

But the book does, as I understand it sets out to, paint a picture of what working class life was like at the time - the professions and hardships of the parents, the daily happenings for the children, the cultural references, the challenges to overcome, and particularly the relationships with people of other classes.

I’ve very happily revisited this book - and have also obtained the two sequels, only one of which I read as a child.

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25th February 2023

The life story of Terry Pratchett, as told by one of the people who knew him the best, having been the only person there with him through much of the creative process.

Rob proves himself to be a really good writer here. You’d not expect less I suppose from someone with all that experience (as becomes clear in the book) of working with our era’s greatest storyteller.

There’s a happy balance between storyteller and subject, with Rob’s voice breaking through - especially for the parts he was present for - and interrupting with the traditional footnotes throughout.

And then the book becomes, as you might expect, terribly sad. It’s unheard of for me to cry at a book, but this one definitely brought me the closest.

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25th February 2023

Bob Mortimer is an extremely funny person to watch on television, so I thought that the idea of him writing a novel was definitely something that I’d like to read the output of.

The book is a tale of a lonely man who works for a legal firm, seeking companionship. Which doesn’t sound like the funniest setup, except that the man comes across very much as representing the young Bob Mortimer, with an imagination to match.

There’s an element of social awkwardness which could risk cringe, but I think the first-person presentation and that we are exposed to the internal logic of the narrator really reduces this.

The story is fine - but really feels like a vehicle for the funny moments, which start immediately with page two actually causing out loud laughter.

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22nd January 2023

This is John le Carré’s first Smiley novel, published in the early 1960s, and setting up a series that would continue for 56 years yet only contain 9 novels.

Smiley is a burnt-out member of the Security Service, having served pre-war, during WW2, and post-war. He’s just doing routine things, when something goes wrong.

Amongst other things, it’s a fascinating glance back in time - at surface level to pre-decimal coinage, and deeper into plot-affecting elements like the lack of constant mobile communication.

But it’s also a great mystery story, and an interesting first look at a character who feels like he shouldn’t be compelling, but nonetheless is.

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