Howards end is on the landing by Susan Hill

                     I first saw howards end on the landing in a daily bookshot from my twitter friend and blogger @robaroundbooks .The book tells the story of how Susan Hill decide to take a year away from buying books to work her way through some classics and books she’d never read .

                     the story starts on an autumn afternoon as Hill cleans tries to find a book and as she is comes across numerous old volumes long forgotten or dead as she puts it .This leads to a year of reading and not buying new books , as a self-confessed bookaholic myself that must have been hard ,but as Hill puts it you buy books move other books down the to be read pile or even sometimes on to a shelf never to be read .We are then taken on a quest as Hill decides to choice books ,along the way tells the story of her own life starting in Scarborough with its public library and boots lending library ,which reminded me of brief encounter where Celia Johnson talks of going to the boots library .Hill’s writing is warm full of antidotes of people she meet ,a touching last encounter with the great Bruce Chatwin before his sad dismiss .the chapters are short i picture it as being sat with hill in a comfy chair in a coffee shop every week as she told you the latest on her quest .This should be on every book lovers shelf it’s a wealth of knowledge and very entertaining along the way

I do not know if Edith Sitwell ever laughed possibly not .somehow that face was always haughty ,disdainful,solemn,watchful of expression,though the eyes might if flickered and glinted with amusement .so i was spared the humiliation of any sort of laughter when i replied to her question

quote from howards end …. when Susan Hill meets Edith Sitwell

 the cover is by peter dyer ,features lovely embossed and gilded leather volumes made up with the title of the book ,which is published by profile books

 

hadrian the seventh by fr. rolfe (baron corvo)

            Hadrian the seventh is the 1904 novel by the english eccentric Frederick Rolfe or as he styled himself Fr. Rolfe (baron Corvo ) .Rolfe spent most of his life fascinated by the catholic church and its workings ,trying on a number of occasions to enter the seminary to be come a priest hence he shorten his first name to Fr. Rolfe  to seem like a father.

            the story can be considered semi autobiographical ,bt maybe a dream life that Rolfe wanted  .It concerns George Arthur Rose a failing writer,chain smoker and cat lover who is whisked of to Rome ordained and ends up as the new pope as aa result of a deadlock on deciding who will be pope ,at that point rose becomes Hadrian the seventh of the title using the same papal name as the only other english pope .As the story unfold as he makes friends and enemies ,you get to see the workings of the church ,you ll laugh and cry as the story unfolds ,til the untimely end of Hadrian

    ”they brought him before the altar ;and set him in a crimson-velvet chair asking him what  pontifical name  He would choose

 ”Hadrian the seventh ” :the response came unhesitatingly ,undemonstratively  “

on becoming the pope from Hadrian the seventh

  This volume I read was republished by nyrb classics in 2001 ,the cover is a lovely soft focus photo of the papal glove with nyrb usual block in top third with title etc

 

Legend of a suicide by David Vann

                The legend of suicide is the first book by Alaskan born david vann ,the book had been round agents for a number of years before seeing the light of day ,thank goodness it did .the book itself is a novella and 5 short stories .Around the story of Roy and his father a failed dentist and fisherman ,the story is based partly on Vann ’s own life .

                 the story of Roy and his father is a one of the wilderness ,despair ,divorce ,failure and not giving too much away the ultimate climax .the way the stories are structured is the novella tells the main story of Roy and his father .The shorter stories are like a deluxe dvd  with those great extras that give depth and perspective to the main tale by describing the incidents leading to and during the main tale use different people as the narrates

                Vann’s writing is vivid with the words floating of the page engulfing you in roys world .The details are painted well with a light hand as Colm Tobin says one detail is enough to set the scene .

“they went inside and he pulled out the coals with tongs he had brought for the purpose and laid them in the pan ,then set a small grate over them that fitted down into the pan and pour a large handful of alder chips on top “

from sukkwan island ,as roy and his father smoke fish together .

            The cover is a clever design by dan funderburgh for penguin ,it has a clever detail which a first glance of the cover isn t obvious .the book came out this week on penguin

 

My 2010 book challenge -around the world in 52 books

Over the last few months i ve been weighting up how many books i d read from different countries and it didnt  seem a lot so i made my self a reading challenge so like philleaus fogg i m going round the world not in order but through 52 books each from a writer in a different country .I will start on 1 jan 2010 and finish before 31st december 2010 .Any suggestions welcome i ve about 25 books ready so need some ideas

 

part 2 of 4 reads of 2009

16. Fortress of solitude by Jonathan Lethem

i like this tale of two boys growing up ,a tale of comics and heros 9/10

17.The Graduate by Charles Webb

It was difficult to read this with out picturing the characters from the film ,but there was enough that wasnt  in the film to make it new ,tha writing was crisp and concise 10/10 a must read

18. Brief wonderous life of oscar wao by Junnot Diaz

the tale of a sickly boy growing up in the latino community a nice insight in to an area of american life i knew little about 9/10

19. Night train to Lisburn by Pascal Mercier

this is a great book a teacher takes a trip from  pre=”from “>fermany to Portugal meets many wonderful characters along the way  9/10

20.Clue to the exit by edward st aubyn

an earlier novel by the booker shortlist writer ,a tale of a writer who thinks he has six months to live a real page turner 9/10

21.What we talk about when we talk about love by Raymond Craver

this collection of short stories covers characters mainly in crisis whether divorce drink or drugs .as ever cravers write is beautifully sparse and to the point ,some of these were used in altmans short cuts 9/10

22.wild ducks flying backwards by Tom Robbins

a collection of his various writings a real mix of subjects but a lot of the classic robbins humour 8/10

23. A boys own story  by Edmund White

this is a classic coming of age tale a story of a boy coming to terms with his homosexuality in a harsh world 10/10 a must read

24.The honouary consul by Graham Greene

a tale of a drunk british civil servant that is comically kidnap 9/10

25. Brief history of infamy by Jorges louis Borges

a collection of beautifully imagined short stories from the amazing mind of borges 9/10

26. City of thieves by David Beinoff

i won this book and was so pleased i did it’s a new catch 22 ,it’s the tale of two thieves in Stalingrad sent on an impossible quest for some eggs or face death ,there is up and downs .I m sure at some point this will be a great film 10/10 a must read

27.Coming through slaughter by Micael ondaatje

A tale of a jazz man in the hey day of jazz in new Orleans ,the writing is experimental in places be this is only a short novel l so not enough to put you off reading it 8/10

28. The explorers by W Somerst Maugham

Maugham is one of my favourite writers the novel centers on Alec how has spent a long time abroad battling slave traders but then returns to london to face a battle of a different sort 10/10

29. In Xandu by William Dalrymple

follows marco polo route through the middle east dalrymple writing leaps of the page brings you the feel of the places along the route

30.Nocturnes by Kauzo Ishiguro

five new short stories all featuring nighttime and musicians in different locations 2 really struck a chord with me the tale of a aging crooner 10/10

 

a quick round up of reading from 2009 part 1 of 4 1 to 15

1.Dreams of my father by Barrack Obama 8/10

I wanted to read this to find more out about the new leader of the free world ,well written it paints a picture of a wise ,hardworking man that has fought to get where he is ,a good holiday read

2. Tears of giraffe /Good husband of zebra drive by Alexander  Mcall Smith 7/10

The beauty of these is the are easy to read in a day or two and the africa Smith describes is so colourful and reminds use of what England us to be like with good manners and a certain amount of innocence as well as a dollop of fun

3. Netherland by Joseph O’Neil 6/10

I was let down by this book maybe had set my bar to high for it and the fact i d have like more cricket in a cricket based novel

4. black swan green by David Mitchell 10/10

there is so much to love in this novel the setting brought back memories of my own childhood ,Mitchell paints the era so well

5. Spot of bother by mark Haddon 7/10

I was maybe a little let down after brilliant curious incident ,but was still funny in parts .a good story well told

6.Savage detectives by Roberto Bolano 9/10

I really loved this story so full of life and the adventures of these young poets round the world ,can t wait to read the tomb thats 2666

7.White tiger by Arivind Adiga 9/10

last years booker winner ,may i say a typical booker winner .set in modern india it opens up the underbelly of indian life of people on the edge and with a ruthless main character 

8.Gold by Dan Rhodes 9/10

Having read dan’s other books i really enjoyed this quirky holiday tale almost league of gentlemen goes to Wales

9.Veron god little by D B C Pierre 6/10

Another booker winner ,about a boy who goes on the run after a massacre , not a book i really enjoyed

10.The reluctant fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid 7/10

I don t know if you can call a book to short but this felt almost that great for 95 percent of book let down by clunky obvious ending

11 .The loneliness of the long distance runner by Alan Sillitoe 9/10

This is a gritty tale of a young man finding his way and sillitoe has a great way of describing nottinghamshire

12.ship fever by Andrea Barrett 7/10

A number of short stories mainly based round water and irish, it is a  ok read for a rainy afternoon

13. No1 ladies detective agency by A M Smith 8/10

I managed to read in just one night , as said before a easy read and well written

14. 100 years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez  9/10

a dreamy book full of dreams and loss and love in south america oh the beauty of it

15. Ghost Robert Harris 8/10

the first Harris in a good while i ve enjoyed ,you can see where the main characters are drawn from ,Harris at his best slightly tilting what might happen if ?

 

the glass room

yet another from this years booker shortlist ,this actually the first i read .the book is mainly set in the glass room a modernist house in the czech republic .i felt this work better as using a building as the main plotline for a book than alaa al awany the yacobian building . the story covers the peroid from the 30’s to modern day most of the action happening before and during the second world war .Maybe using the glass room is a good way at putting a spot light on the peroid and visualizing one small part of a large story like a magnifing glass .this was mawers eigth novel and shows a writer that is slowly growing in to a great writer

 

Summertime by J m Coetzee

This is one of the six books to make the booker shortlist .This is by two timer winner and nobel prize winner J M coetzee going for a hatrick of bookers . The premise of the book is a journalist going round interview former friends of coetzee in the seventies , and that coetzee himself is now dead .This could quite easily turn in to a piece ego massage luckily it dosen t as the person that comes through as coetzee through the interviews isn t always a likeable person ,it’s hard to learn anything new about the famous shy coetzee a man who tends not to talk about his fiction .this is the third of a trilogy of which the first two i ve not read ,so could only judge on this book which i found a little frustarting as the line between fact and fiction is blurred and can make the reader confused .maybe coetzee should have written a book about a fictional writer and a autobiography about himself

 

booker shortlist

yesterday saw the booker 2009 shortlist announced

A.S Byatt  the childrens book

Adam Foulds the quickening maze

J.M. Coetzee summertime

Hilary Mantel wolf hall

Sarah Waters the little stranger

Simon Mawer the glass room

    the list seems to have a lot of faction books this year and you could ask is coetzee really biography ,so far i ve read the glass room which i loved ,but to be fair am going to read the rest before saying who i want to win this year ,shame to see William Trevor miss the cut love and summer is a sweet book 50s ireland. i ve put a link to each writers wikiepdia page .

 

breath by tim winton

 

Is a book set in australia ,following the teenager piklet and his coming of age .a lot of the story surrounds water and surfing trying to catch the next big wave on dangerous breaks ala laird hamilton ,with his older friend loonie the local publician son that his strict paarents disapprove of  and sando a older surfer .as the tale unfolds the story takes a unexpect twist as piklets is left alone with sandos partner eva ,while sando and loonie abandon piklet to roam the world in search of breaks .this novel is fast moving and a true coming of age tale in the tradition of catcher in the rye or the graduate