I love nothing better than a good read, and have found the invention of
the Kindle to be a godsend to me. It
means that in the many activities to which I ferry my kids, I can sling the
Kindle into my handbag, where it rattles around happily with the plasters,
sachets of Calpol, odd bits of loose change, a crumpled but clean tissue,
several very sticky Chupa Chups lollies, a biro without a lid and a
lipgloss. Out of this little haven it
emerges, at every possible moment – you know, the times you find that the most
annoyingly competitive mummy has set up her chair next to you at cricket
training, or when it is bucketing down with rain and you are in the car
watching your child sloshing around unhappily at football training or when you
have just half an hour of dance to wait for and so you are sitting in the corner
of the room unobtrusively. Often I wish
I could take it out during the actual matches, but that simply wouldn’t be
cricket (or football, or rugby… you get the gist).
But it is amazing how much you can read, when you put your mind to it,
and because I dabble in writing, it is one of the most common questions that I
get asked ‘What’s a good book to read?’ ‘What’s your recommendation for a
holiday/plane/recovery from operation book?’
Bearing this in mind, I have decided to write a couple of bi-monthly
reviewlets (I’ve coined this phrase as I would hate for them to be seen as
pukka reviews, but merely my take on the books, and not to be used against me…)
These books have not been forced on me by the authors, nor have they been given
to me, merely selected by me from the smorgasbord on offer at Amazon. I find it extremely difficult to abandon a
read – but on the odd occasion it has had to be done, and if it happens from
henceforth, I will be honest and tell you why…
The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak
Set in World War II Germany, it is a moving story of an orphaned German
girl who goes to live with a foster family, whose grown up kids have moved out
of home. I found it initially very
difficult to get in to, and this was probably because I started it at the
beginning of the Easter holidays and was dipping in and out of it. This is not a dipping in and out of
book. The storyline is fairly dark, with
some hilarious childhood moments – a bit like Anne Frank meets The Railway
Children. I was probably 20 or 30 pages
into it before I was totally hooked. And
you can see why it has been snapped up by Hollywood and is already into Oscars
territory. It is written in a concise
and matter of fact way, but every sentence is carefully positioned and well
thought out – from the pale seemingly insignificant characters like the Mayors
wife to the supposed cruelty of the foster mother, the vindictiveness of the
Hitler Youth and the gentle passiveness of a hideaway Jew. Events unfurl, and
as a reader you are powerless to stop it, and the narrator, who is Death, jumps
tantalizingly back and forward over timelines, pulling you unwillingly with him
as you desperately hang on for dear life (no pun intended). The children grow,
people die, villages are raised to the ground, and yet there is the human
capacity for hope that makes you switch off the Kindle at the end with tears
rolling cathartically down your cheeks.
Absolutely highly recommended – although possibly not for a plane read
unless it’s long haul and you can blame your puffy eyes on the travelling…
The P45 Diaries by Ben Hatch
Totally different in terms of style, but a great read nevertheless. This is from the view of a laconic and
slightly annoying 18 year old male who floats in and out of jobs, trying to
find and justify his way in life. I say
slightly annoying because there is a part of me that is like his frustrated and
recently widowed, heavily drinking father that wants to simply shake him and
tell him to get his s*** together. But
it is only at that point that our antihero (rather like a wannabe Citizen Smith he rants
against society) becomes more human, he falls in love, and we realise that
actually he is still coping with his grief, and that of his family, for his
deceased mother - with whom, it turns out through his diaries, he has a
poignant and close relationship. There is a very real and touching affiliation with his young brother whose struggle to come to terms with the changes in his family is reflected in moments of OCD.
Rather weirdly, I’ve actually done (and walked from) some of the dead end
jobs that he dips in and out of – the Ad Sales Company, the Financial Sales
Company, all replete with mantras and office characters. So true and so funny. And a priceless bit involving a trouser
press. There are elements that made me think of my own childhood, but knowing
teenagers now as I do from a mum's perspective, there was a distinct lack of use of mobiles and
social media, which was a little at odds with the present setting. That not withstanding, this book
is riddled intelligently with elements of both old and new -Death of a Salesman, Catcher in the Rye, Bread,
The Inbetweeners and Miranda. It makes
for both laughter and tears in equal force. It is a romping read and a great
book for your holiday! Highly
recommended.
Next time I will be reviewing The Expats by Chris Pavone and another (suggestions welcome).
Please feel free to comment!
