2005
Notebooks are sent out with the book group books, for members to record their
comments, a selection of which are posted here. The grading (1* being the least
popular, 5* the most) is awarded as a result of the general feedback from group
members.
Armstrong, Lance It‟s not about the bike – my journey back to life
The astonishing and life-affirming story of an athlete at the top of his game only
to be diagnosed with testicular cancer.
From a tough background in Texas, Armstrong entered the world of
professional cycling and won the world road racing championship. He had a
promising career ahead of him, his sights very firmly set on winning the Tour de
France, the bike race which takes place over several days, famous for it‟s
gruelling intensity.
However, in 1996 he was struck by testicular cancer. By the time he visited a
doctor, the cancer was advanced and had spread to his lungs and brain. This
book charts his treatment and progress with graphic detail: the chemo, the
surgical procedures, every single X-ray, IV drip or unfortunate side effect is
documented. His astonishing commitment to training, his triumph in going on to
achieve his ambition and win the Tour de France, and his positive attitude to all
he had to overcome, is an inspiration to us all.
Aberlady
Very inspiring and interesting as we seemed to walk through his life with him.
Attenborough, David Life on air
Sir David Attenborough must surely be one of the best-loved figures to grace our
television screens, and he certainly has one of the most familiar and reassuring
voices. It is easy to hear this voice, as he tells the story of how he managed to
turn his youthful passion into a highly satisfying and successful career. He has
managed to bring the wonders of the natural world into millions of homes
around the world with an inimitable endearing style. Over 100 photos associated
with the huge range of programmes he has been intimately involved with are
included in “Life on Air”, a fascinating personal story of our times. He says that
he knows of “no pleasure deeper than that which comes from contemplating the
natural world and trying to understand it.” Lucky for us then, that he is so
skilful in communicating that pleasure and understanding.
Atwood, Margaret Alias Grace****
A fictionalized account of a celebrated Canadian murder. Two immigrant
servants, James McDermott and sixteen year old Grace Marks, were accused of
the brutal slayings of their employer and his mistress, in 1843. Both the accused
were found guilty and sentenced to death but Grace‟s sentence was commuted.
She was confined to Kingston penitentiary, spending some time in the Toronto
mental asylum. Margaret Atwood introduces Simon Jordan, a young
psychologist, who has been asked to assess Grace‟s mental state so that an
application for pardon may be made on the grounds of insanity. Dr Jordan
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listens to Grace‟s story with a mixture of disbelief and sympathy. As he draws
her towards the day of the murders, an event she claims not to remember, he
grapples with the question that haunts the novel – is Grace an innocent victim of
circumstance or a vicious murderer?
North Berwick evening
Enjoyed by group but somewhat ambiguous. We don't know if Grace was guilty or
not.
Knowsley Park
We agree with North Berwick - even at the end we didn't really know if she was
guilty - the events of that day when murders took place remain a mystery
Port Seton evening
The ending really didn't go with the style of the rest of the book.
Gullane
Loved the enigmatic ending.
Much better for re-reading as so much in it that I missed first time around. Superb,
heart-rending and illuminating.
Dunbar
Well written and compelling read. Insight into Canadian life at the time. Some of the
group struggled to finish.
A common view is that Grace achieved what she wanted after all these years.
Berendt, John Midnight in the garden of good and evil****
William Dalrymple was quoted in the Scotsman as saying that this book was “the
best book I have read this year … funny, gripping, full of fabulous characters
and beautifully written, although it describes itself as a non-fiction novel it is, in
fact, as good a travel book as I have read in a decade.”
The book is an account of a killing in a mansion in Savannah, Georgia, in the
heart of the American South, in the early hours of 2nd May 1981. Was it murder
or self-defence? The unpredictable twists and turns of a murder case are
interwoven with a first-person account of life in the Old South. It is part
National Geographic style exploration of a foreign and unusual culture, that of
Savannah, and part crime thriller.
This book expertly brings the character of Savannah and its people to life. One
reviewer commented that he had never in his life wanted to visit anywhere as
much as he had wanted to visit Savannah after reading this book. In fact a very
vibrant tourist trade has built up with coach loads of tourists clamouring to visit
what some have described as “the most beautiful small city on earth.”
Do let me know if anyone decides to take a trip there as a result!
Ormiston
The characters came alive well - difficult to believe some of them were real
North Berwick lunchtime
Savannah is an exotic setting. The pace is uneven but suits the development of the
story. Loved the cool New Yorker narrator.
I never want to get involved with the Savannah justice system (almost a contradiction
in terms!)
East Linton
Full of delicious gossip!
Dunbar
Excellent, very evocative, memorable characters - all round good fun.
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Knowsley Park
The characters were great fun - particularly the Woman of a thousand songs and
Chablis the transvestite. Would certainly encourage a visit to Savannah!
Gullane
Good that preface explains how the book came about. 'Story' only begins in part two.
Enjoyed the descriptions of the characters and their crazy lives.
Marmion
Mixed opinions - personally I felt it had too many characters, too many parties and
bridge clubs etc. Yes, a bit exotic but I would not have persisted if I hadn't been
reading for the group.
I enjoyed this a lot, but I like travel books and all the little anecdotes they involve. It
made me want to visit Savannah with all it's idiosyncrasies and it's beautiful buildings
Coelho, Paulo The Alchemist***
The magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who dreams of
travelling the world in search of a worldly treasure as fabulous as any ever
found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and from
there into the Egyptian desert. Along the way he meets many spiritual
messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver, a well-read
Englishman and an alchemist, who believes that if a metal were heated for many
years it would free itself of all its individual properties and what was left would
be the “Soul of the World.”
This story is firmly rooted in the traditions of ancient tribal storytelling,
entertaining an audience while incorporating folklore, magical realism,
spirituality and moral values.
This is a truly inspiring and thought provoking book; in the words of one
member of staff, “really makes you consider life‟s journey in a surprising and
unexpected way.”
Port Seton evening
Really gave food for thoughts - I hope I find my treasure when I visit the Pyramids!
Musselburgh
Enjoyable read but not overly impressive or life changing (as the cover suggests). Our
lives were not transformed by this - a bit disappointing!!
East Linton
An adult fairytale
North Berwick lunchtime
Quite readable but we can't understand why it became an international bestseller.
Too much sermonizing - found it irritating - but I'm too old for sermons!
Haddington
Deceptively simple but actually very complex, exceptionally readable and enjoyed by
all.
North Berwick evening
Found this a trivial and superficial book. The philosophy is one of total selfishness -
abandon all responsibilities (e.g. his sheep) and help other only if it benefits you in
order to pursue an ambition.
But some of us enjoyed it - mildly - it was an amiable little fable - a little fey and
without much depth.
Eskside
Very readable but ultimately disappointing. Why do the answers to life, the universe
and everything always come down to God!!??
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- because humans haven't found a better answer yet - I found it enjoyable!
Knowsley Park
A great little book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some truly inspirational words. Maybe
not life changing, but certainly thought provoking. But hey, 27 million copies sold -
speaks for itself.
Dolan, Chris Ascension day**
On a dull March afternoon, three people are seen to rise off the streets of
Glasgow into the clouds: a young woman, a bedraggled youth and an older
woman who has the modesty to hold her skirts around her feet as she rise. Are
these genuine ascensions, or just a trick of the light?
There are five main characters in Chris Dolan‟s remarkable new novel. William,
a retired Glaswegian living the good life in South Africa, his only trouble being
his very openly naturist (and septuagenarian) neighbours; Cannibal, who knows
nothing but contemporary Glasgow and inhabits a twilight world of half-
deserted housing estates and children‟s homes; the unfortunately named Paris,
living as she does in Glasgow; Morag, who turns out to be William‟s letter-writer
and then Glasgow itself, remembered still in William‟s imagination as the old
shipbuilding centre of the world, and the magnet which draws all characters
inexorably together.
Longniddry
I thought the author showed deep understanding of the difficulties young people have
in the process of maturing.
Very well written but I did not really enjoy it. Parts, such as the cancer ward, were
absorbing.
North Berwick lunchtime
A Scottish picture of Glasgow written by a Scot. I found it a bit raw and language
(swearing), though integral to the theme, difficult to take. I know Glasgow well and
the districts described, but the characters in the hovel were not authentic Glasgow ....
or were they?
Gullane
Rather disappointing
Enjoyed this book - section about the teenagers was particularly well drawn
Brilliant - a great writer. Very real, conveying different worlds so thoroughly.
East Linton
Not enjoyable, disjointed
Musselburgh
Unmemorable - didn't flow well. Disjointed.
Dunbar
Some of us didn‟t` finish this book, one of us preferring to do the garden instead!
Those of us who persevered did wonder why. There was a depth to this book but it
evaded us all.
Eskside
A little confusing to start but comes together in the end if you persevere. Liked the
middle - good insight into the life of children outside society - good feeling for city
life.
Monday group
Nobody in our group enjoyed this book and some struggled to finish it.
We found some of the characters rather two-dimensional, however, the section about
the children form the children's home was written with depth and understanding.
4
Donovan, Anne Buddha Da****
The story of Jimmy and Liz and their 12 year old daughter Anne Marie, and
their journey of self-discovery, told in a refreshing, engaging style and with great
affection for the central characters.
Jimmy, a self-employed painter and decorator finds new meaning to life when he
encounters a Buddhist at lunchtime, visits the Buddhist Centre and comes over
“dead calm.” However his new found devotion to Buddha places a strain on his
marriage. He abstains from booze, gives up meat and tells Liz the pair of them
“won‟t be daein‟ it for a while.” She grabs her emergency pack of fags retorting,
“you‟d better think hard aboot the consequences. Ah have no intentions of
followin‟ your example.” And doesn‟t.
Those consequences – Jimmy‟s dossing down every night at the Buddhist Centre,
missing the highlights of AnneMarie‟s life as she and her mate record a CD,
Liz‟s sexual independence – shape the plot of a skilfully told novel in which there
is foolishness but no badness.
North Berwick evening
We all liked this fairy story of a book. We sympathised with all the characters and
found it funny, sad, moving, thought provoking etc. We loved the Glaswegian
dialogue too.
Haddington
Dialect OK. Disappointing lack of detail re. Buddhism. End bit hackneyed.
Port Seton evening
Language very real and alive. Good feeling factor.
Longniddry
This was a thoroughly enjoyable and naive story which perfectly captured the way a
family can carry on normally when one of their number takes off in a completely
different direction in search of inner peace.
Eskside
One member thought it was a teenage novel written in dialect. She would have
enjoyed a little more suspense.
All members like the front cover. May the happiness never end!!
Dunbar
An interesting dip into Buddhism. Ending was a bit too tidy.
Gullane
I loved this book - a bit of an unreal happy ending, but it could happen, eh?
I laughed out loud at times.
BBC
"The voices sang to me and yes, I don know 'Salve Regina'" said our west coast
member. Others found the dialect too distracting. Provided a thought provoking
discussion on dialect. Light hearted. Nice story.
Mary's movers and shakers
Our Geordie member found dialect limiting in terms of audience but enjoyed it.
We wanted to hear the daughter's CD
Dubus 111, Andre House of sand and fog***
Scotsman review by Campbell Armstrong (author)
“Far and away the best novel I read this year was The House of Sand and Fog,
the story of a former colonel in the Shah‟s army who has settled in California
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after the rise of the Ayatollah and longs to keep up appearances of former
grandeur. Encumbered by a wife accustomed to the finer things of life, the
colonel – a deftly drawn character whose exotic background illuminates this
novel – keeps up two low-paying jobs and decides to dabble in Californian real
estate as a means of restoring his lost dignity. What follows is a brutal account
of a man in conflict with a system he can‟t understand and having to deal with
Americans who don‟t understand him. It‟s a tragedy, beautifully handled by
Dubus.”
Kathy, a recovering alcoholic, separated from her husband, fails to open a series
of letters from the tax office. The State seizes her house and it is sold to Behrani,
a formerly wealthy Iranian Air Force officer, who had thrived under the regime
of the Shah, only to have lost everything during his country‟s revolution. He is
willing to use what‟s left of his family‟s life savings to buy the house, at what
turns out to be a bargain basement price at a country auction.
Kathy has now lost nearly everything in life, including the one thing that has
kept her somewhat anchored, the house she inherited from her father. She has
an ally in Sheriff Lester Burden, a married man with children, who believes she
has lost the house due to a bureaucratic error, and, smitten by Kathy,
determines to help her get the house back, the pair of them willing to stop at
nothing to achieve this goal.
Dubus tells his tragic tale from the viewpoints of the two main adversaries,
Behrani and Kathy. To both of them, the house represents something more than
just a place to live. For the colonel, it is a foot in the door of the American
Dream, for Kathy, a reminder of a kinder, gentler past.
The House of Sand and Fog is an exceptionally well written and brilliantly told
story of two people whose destinies become intertwined through a simple twist of
fate. It is the story of what happens to them and to those who love them, when
their respective worlds collide in a climactic and tragic ending.
Longniddry
Would make a very good soap opera - full of drama!
Ormiston
Once I got through the pain barrier it was alright!
Haddington
I found this book totally absorbing - a slow-burner turning into a cliff-hanger! Can't
wait to see the film.
Oh dear, oh dear. I thought this went really well to begin with then went down hill
and ended up so sand with not even the tiniest glimmer of hope. Would not
recommend it.
Port Seton morning
Found this a very absorbing read. Could not even guess what road it was taking so
had to read on. Found the description of people and place quite good but too long
winded. I did like the Colonel, such a mixed personality.
Lester, who started of as a gentle, caring person turned into a bully. Thought Kathy
would surely smoke herself to death. Unsatisfactory ending though.
Musselburgh
Easy reading. The main male Iranian character was believable but found no sympathy
with other characters.
Dunbar
Group thought it was very well written even although we didn't all like it. It evoked a
very dark mood in some of us and we found our sympathies divided - the Colonel was
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complex and Kathy's weaknesses and inability to face reality caused the whole
tragedy.
Not the right book group
Unnecessary sexual references. Smoking addiction hard to understand. Wouldn't
really recommend it.
Knowsley Park
This book kept us interested. Very sad ending, a little too awful to be believable. An
interesting plot.
BBC
Interesting - even compelling. Characters were tragically weak. Musing on human
weakness, bullying and abuse of power. We knew it was all going to end badly -
agreed the book had a more satisfying ending than the film.
Eskside
Characters are well pictured and pull one into the story. None of us had finished it but
we are keeping it to do so and that says a lot.
Faber, Michel The crimson petal and the white***
Set in Victorian London, this is the story of a well-read prostitute named Sugar,
who spends her free hours composing a violent, pornographic screed against
men. She believes she can make a better life for herself and allows herself to be
taken up by wealthy perfumer, William Rackham, becoming his mistress and his
children‟s live-in governess. She devours the diaries written by Rackham‟s
increasingly unhinged wife Agnes, in order to learn more about the family and as
a possible aid to her desired ascent through the strata of 1870‟s London.
At the heart of this ambitious historical novel lies a modern morality tale about
class, gender and sexual politics, coupled with the compelling struggle of a young
woman to lift her body and soul out of the gutter.
North Berwick lunchtime
A modern day Dickens observing life
There are distasteful passages but it is a wonderfully written book that come to totally
engage the reader.
North Berwick evening
When I saw there were over 800 pages of tiny print and having read the blurb on the
back, I decided not to bother.
Found it voyeuristic with an arch self-conscious style and did not persist
"Disgusting!"
Port Seton evening
Rather graphic.
A fascinating picture of the different facets of Victorian life. Unfortunately the
graphic descriptions put some people off. Worth the effort though.
Knowsley Park
Only two of us finished but we both loved it and felt it would make a great film.
Gullane
A very male fantasy - jolly Victorian prostitutes on every street corner!
Felt annoyed a lot by his style and over-indulgence in sexual language at every
possible turn!! However, it's a good read and intriguing, once I'd got over my
annoyance!
Eskside
7
An intriguing look at the layers of Victorian society from an interesting point of view.
An unusual narrative style which was at once annoying and fascinating. The ending
was disappointingly abrupt - was the author planning a sequel?
Dunbar
Graphic but not pornographic. Suffers from focusing too much on dysfunctional
families and individuals. Needs to be edited.
Frazier, Charles Cold mountain****
Inman was not expected to survive a horrific neck wound. Somehow, in dreadful
conditions, he manages to care for himself but knows that as soon as he is fit
enough to fight he will be sent straight back to the battlefields of Virginia. He
resolves to leave behind the broken and dying soldiers and climbs out of the
hospital window, intent on returning to his love Ada Monroe, even if he has to
walk home. So begins Inman‟s epic and painful quest for home and the life he
had before the Civil War.
Frazier‟s account of Ada‟s struggle for survival at Blue Mountain and Inman‟s
journey across the devastated lands of the South result in a harrowing but truly
memorable love story.
Ormiston
It struck cords with what's happening today all over the world - the way the effects of
war spill over into so many other aspects of life.
North Berwick lunchtime
A beautifully written and well paced story. It contains poetic description of American
countryside, wildlife etc. I enjoyed the interweaving of subsidiary stories with the
main themes. The growth of Ada and her relationship with both Inman and Ruby is
well drawn.
Musselburgh
Beautifully written but extremely gruesome - too difficult for some to stomach.
Knowsley Park
Great story, beautifully written. The contrast of the details of rural life against the war
'stories' is very poignant.
BBC
We all hated this book. Long winded, tedious and too many long plant descriptions.
One of our members fell asleep reading this in the bath! Stereotypical male American
author. Writing style did not evoke empathy with characters.
Gullane
I loved this book - the atmospheric descriptions of the country, the gradual building
up of the story, the development of the characters - fantastic!
I like his writing very much, and will go back to read his short stories etc. Really
brilliant!
Marmion
We all really enjoyed this book. Some members found the beginning challenging but,
once involved, everyone appreciated the visceral nature of the prose. Definitely an
anti-war book, with lots of accurate but unobtrusive historical detail. A real sense of
landscape and place, well drawn and involving characters.
Galloway, Janice Clara**
Clara Schumann is best known as the widow of Robert despite the fact that she
was herself a child prodigy as a pianist who went on to have her own
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international career in European concert halls in the latter half of the nineteenth
century.
During her early life she was subject to the demands of others; first of her
controlling father, whom she had to sue in order to marry Robert, and then of
the composer himself, whose own demons exerted control not only over his own,
somewhat unstable life, but also of hers. In Clara, Janice Galloway has taken
this period to produce a rich and compelling fictionalised account of her life.
Living with Robert was by no means easy. He had to have silence when he was
working; he was inconsistent in his behaviour, often blaming her for small
infractions over which she had no control. She had no life of her own and yet,
despite having eight children to look after, continued to give concerts regularly
as she was the primary bread-winner in the family.
Unappreciated and unrecognised by the public, Robert became frustrated and
depressed, eventually admitting himself into an asylum where he died in 1856,
aged 46, leaving Clara, at the age of 37, a widow with the eight children to
support.
The ill-starred love story of Clara and Robert Schumann is as romantic as the
music of the composer and his contemporaries, but Janice Galloway keeps this
novel on a factual level as much as possible, without attempting to recreate the
passionate feeling of their love or their music.
Ormiston
An enjoyable and informative book. Clara's life was so different from ours - she
endured so much (all these pregnancies) and controlling men but she still had her own
life as an artist. She wrote and played beautifully. The writing was good and the way
the words appeared on the page at times was very effective. She suffered for her art.
Enjoyed by all.
North Berwick
A good story spoiled by the telling - the style plodding and earnest, too slow-moving
and long-winded, told rather obliquely. What a mistake to end the story with
Schumann's death, half way through Clara's life. Janice Galloway has yet to learn that
one salient detail can often reveal more than ten pages of laboured prose.
East Linton
North Berwick has said it so well I could not do any better.
Eskside
Have to agree with North Berwick. If you want to write a poem, write a poem! Style
didn't lend itself at all to a biography.
Gullane
Brilliant book. I really enjoyed her detailed and vivid prose style - in fact I learned a
lot about how her "musical training" equipped her for the difficult life to come.
A very gentle, slow read. A bit of a struggle at times but I feel the prose style suited
the story.
Dunbar
Hard going, far too dense, pretentious, type setting. hard to take in too much. We were
also very disappointed to find that the author defined Clara's life by the men in it!
What happened next?
Ghosh, Amitav The glass palace***
Beginning in 1885 with the British invasion of Mandalay and the capture of the
Burmese King and Queen, Amitav Ghosh has crated a monument to life in
colonial central and Southeast Asia. The story follows three generations from
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three different families, spanning 100 years and three continents. Yet, despite its
epic scale, the story succeeds on focussing intimately on the characters‟ lives and
personalities. There‟s Raj Kumar, the Indian peasant who makes a fortune
through teak and his wife Dolly, the breathtakingly beautiful maid of the
Burmese royal family; Uma, the Indian widow who becomes a champion for
Indian independence after her liberating time in the USA and Matthew, also
heavily influenced by American values and ideals, who makes a life in his half-
native Malaya as a rubber plantation owner. They and their progeny all suffer
during the Second World War, as soldier, refugee or evacuee, discriminated
against because of the colour of their skin. Ghosh‟s focus during the war period
is from the viewpoint of Indian officers in the British army.
The journey this lavish novel takes us, from one glass palace in the lush and rich
Burma of the 19th century to another glass palace in repressed and impoverished
Myanmar, is satisfying and informative. Not since Vikram Seth‟s “A suitable
boy” have images of India been so vividly and lovingly recreated.
North Berwick lunchtime
Because I lived in Burma for 2 years, I could judge the authenticity of the fact and
fiction. The facts are most interesting and well described - teak forests, rubber
plantations, river traffic, Rangoon markets. All a very enjoyable memory and read.
The fiction and characters interweave and grow with the years - the story of an
extended, believable family moving between Burma, India, Britain and America - as I
did. Altogether a very good story.
Ormiston
We enjoyed the descriptions of palace life compared with life outside. The discussion
about who the soldiers should be fighting for was very thought provoking.
Musselburgh
It seemed as if the characters had been sandwiched into historical facts. Very
educational - obviously well researched.
The author was trying to piece too many historical events together with one family, so
came across as too stretched.
Not the right book group
We all found the historical and social detail fascinating - position and loyalties of
Indian soldiers and status of women in Burma. Beginning was a little slow and ending
a little contrived but otherwise a compelling read.
BBC
We are a divided group on this one. Some of us loved it, the historical facts, the
generations and movements of people ... others were frustrated that the characters
could have been further developed. We did all enjoy the historical aspects. But what
about the false teeth?
Eskside
A bit of a plod.
Haddon, Mark The curious incident of the dog in the night-time*****
A recent winner of the Whitbread Award.
Christopher Boone is 15. When he discovers a dead dog on his neighbour‟s
lawn, obviously murdered (because a garden fork was sticking in it) he decides to
solve the crime and write a book about it. Christopher will emulate his hero
Sherlock Holmes, the great logician. Christopher can relate to logic above all
else because he suffers from Aspergers syndrome, a form of autism. He is a
remarkably compelling narrator. He has a photographic memory, is a
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mathematical genius, can name every country in the world and its capital city
but can‟t understand, or relate to, other human beings. As he delves deeper into
the mystery of the dead dog, and his search for his missing mother, he finds
himself in the completely illogical world of adult relationships and his necessary
routine of order and logic begins to disintegrate. The agony Christopher suffers
when things are not „just so‟ is utterly convincing, especially as one can easily
identify with the adults around him who are left totally confused, frustrated and
in despair of Christopher‟s actions and reactions.
This is a very remarkable and deeply affecting book.
Haddington
I loved this book. It made me want to run out in the street and shout you must read
this book. I have now bought a copy and am reading it again. I've researched the
author who is a lovely guy. I really identified with Christopher.
A great book, made me really think about how Christopher saw the world in a
completely different way. Thoroughly recommend it.
Brilliant! I loved this book, it was both insightful and funny and dealt with a serious
subject very well.
I enjoyed this very much, a fascinating insight into a different mind. Highlights the
importance of truth and teaching structure/coping strategies to overcome fear and
show possible ways forward.
Port Seton morning
An interesting insight into Aspergers.
North Berwick lunchtime
This is a very readable book. Very unusual. I could not put it down. Christopher
became such a loveable little boy. i just wanted things to become right for him. I am
amazed that the author had no experience of Aspergers himself - very clever!
Longniddry
I enjoyed this book so much I read it twice. I don't know how true it is - I thought
people suffering from this syndrome were much more detached from the ordinary
world.
Four of us read this book twice, we enjoyed it so much.
Musselburgh
Real insight into this disorder. Interesting character comparison between Christopher
and his hero, Sherlock Holmes. We wondered what will become of Christopher.
East Linton
Fascinating study - was the author's experience firsthand? An excellent read.
Not the right book group
We all loved it - insightful and sometimes very funny
Dunbar
We wondered about Christopher's mother - childlike writing style and dysfunctional
behaviours - was there a link with Christopher's difficulties?
Queen Margaret Uni
Everyone enjoyed this book and our discussion revolve around the following issues:
Symptoms of Asperger Syndrome
Exactness of description of the syndrome
The pressures of single parenthood
The connection with the „Sherlock Holmes‟ genre
Characterisation
We also watched an interview with Mark Haddon on Sky Arts Book show, which is
available on Youtube – just type in Mark Haddon in the search field
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Nonchalant group
This is a teenage book group and interestingly the girls did not enjoy this as much as
all the adult groups have. They thought it was easy to read. I however, who am not a
teenager – sadly, loved it! (staff member)
Hoeg, Peter Miss Smilla‟s feeling for snow***
One winter evening the neighbour's six-year-old son falls to his death from the
apartment roof in Copenhagen. Accidental death, say the police, but Smilla
Jaspersen, a resourceful, tenacious and bloody-minded Greenlander, knows the
boy well; moreover she has a feeling for snow - and those last footprints tell her a
tale... Her investigation starts in Denmark and leads to the Arctic ice cap as
Smilla doggedly homes in on her quarry. What is unique about this novel is
probably the central character. Smilla Jaspersen has a passion for geometry and
is one of the world's leading experts on ice. She is also on the wrong side of
thirty, single, unemployed, and extremely lonely. She is a fascinating heroine.
Part murder mystery, part philosophical meditation, Høeg's novel is wonderfully
atmospheric, with the awesome immensity of the northern ice and sea made
blindingly real.
North Berwick lunchtime
A remarkable book, unlike any other I've read in a long time. Smilla Jaspersen is a
'one-off' character, lonely, complex, fascinated by mathematics, compassionate and
with a unique understanding of snow, which leads her doggedly to challenge the
official version of her young (6 years old) neighbour's death.
Longniddry
Part mystical, part mystery, a most unusual book, beautifully written. Well worth the
read - and a second read to pick up on all the little details. A very atmospheric book -
do read it!
North Berwick evening
Rather a struggle and very confusing. The basic story line wasn't really that
interesting and incredibly far-fetched. A lot of the detail was interesting but rather out
of place. I got very confused by who all the characters were. It would have helped if
they'd translated the chunks of German instead of assuming you understood them.
Found it quite riveting at first although a bit technical and so many characters! Later I
lost the plot altogether, loved the main character though.
When I first read it I hated it because I read it as a crime novel and it is a rotten crime
novel. I re-read it as a story of a woman caught between two very different cultures
and found it very interesting and readable.
Musselburgh
Varied verdicts on Miss Smilla. We queried why she was so motivated to investigate
this crime and we felt that the story-line trailed off towards the end. We also found
Miss Smilla a cold character that we could not warm to and this affected our liking of
the book to some extent, although it was generally enjoyed.
Ormiston
None of us managed to finish this and found the story rather 'bitty.' The plot was too
complex with many twists and turns but the changes of gender were interesting and
cultural aspects intriguing.
Gullane
I really enjoyed this book. Gripping up to the final page!
12
Started very well: half way through the plot got too complex for me and I lost track.
Brilliant in lots of aspects, still not sure I completely believed that Smilla could really
exist....I learned a lot about Greenland etc
I enjoyed the sense of place
I loved the details about food and clothes and ice patterns. I would like to know more
about Greenland.
Dunbar
Fascinating - well worth reading! Bit of a tangent at the end but all in all a page
turner.
Led to lots of insights into Danish colonialism!
BBC
Really well written - beautiful language - but quite harsh and violent in terms of
character and plot.
Knowsley Park
Promising start but interest waned due to difficult language and unfamiliar names.
Aberlady
Loved the book, though found the ending disappointing. Fabulous descriptions of
Greenland, snow and ice.
Complicated characters - very interesting! Overall a good book - highly
recommended!
Monday group
We all had mixed feeling about this book. We found it gripping but complex and
wondered about the author and his ability to fully understand a woman‟s mind. Smilla
seemed to have a deep understanding of what to us seemed very masculine interests
and comprehension. We were rather bemused by so many characters – perhaps the
unfamiliar names had something to do with it. We enjoyed the story – but it was
rather a challenge!
Kneale, Matthew English passengers***
English passengers is an historical novel, set in the 1850‟s, which tells the story of
a voyage to Tasmania. There are two main stories: that of three eccentric
Englishmen who set sail for Tasmania to find the garden of Eden; the other of a
young Tasmanian aborigine and his tribe and their struggle against the invading
British.
The beautifully drawn characters include Illiam Quillian Kewley, the
irrepressible ship‟s captain from the Isle of Man who narrowly misses arrest at
every turn; Geoffrey Wilson, the self-righteous Yorkshire vicar who believes that
a literal interpretation of Genesis puts the Garden of Eden in Tasmania, and sets
out to prove it; Renshaw a botanist and Dr Thomas Potter, a racial theorist who
believes that his own success is proof of his high position on the chain of being,
with the Manx crewmen far below him and the aborigines just a step up from the
apes.
At the heart of the action is Peevay, who tells of a time 30 years previously when
a revolution was stirring on Tasmania. Over the years white settlers had been
encroaching on aboriginal land and relations had deteriorated into violence. The
kidnap and rape of Peevay‟s warrior mother by white seal hunters has led her to
seek revenge by waging a war against the whites. Peevay, previously abandoned
by his mother and now desperate to win her love, has joined her.
An engrossing tale of empire, race and seafaring, a worthy
winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year in 2000.
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North Berwick evening
Only real criticism is that (as is often the case these days) it is so unnecessarily long.
Points well made but plot devices (e.g. disposal of contraband) repeated too often.
Otherwise, a good and interesting book.
Irritating to read - short chapters - too many threads - it would have been a really good
read at half the length.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I enjoyed following all the different threads and found
the inability to dispose of the contraband very amusing. It was good to follow the
story from different viewpoints but I would really have liked to hear the Rev. Wilson's
wife's version of events!
Ormiston
Thoroughly enjoyed this - the use of different voices was interesting and it was good
to hear different viewpoints of the same events. The way the aborigines were treated
was dreadful - as specimens for others to experiment on. At least the bad ones got
their just desserts! The author managed to highlight the idiocy of some of the
characters in an amusing fashion!
North Berwick lunchtime
Difficult to read partly because of the size of the print, partly because the flow of the
story was/is unevenly spread over time, 1850-1870, and place, the ship and the land.
Each character has his own story and angle on the proceedings: the reader has to work
at linking up the events. The traveller's search for a Garden of Eden to find only a
cruel convict settlement presided over by an English Colonial officer and his wife I
found quite funny by hypocritical.
East Linton
Much food for thought, especially in terms of how Britain chose to treat "under
classes" i.e. aborigines and convicts. The impact of narrow minded, bigoted religion
also comes over as very condescending.
Lister-Kaye, John The song of the rolling earth – a highland odyssey
David Robinson, writing in the “Scotsman” judges Lister-Kaye‟s lyrical book
about his highland home and its‟ wildlife to be nature writing at its very best. He
reports that three years ago, one June afternoon, Sir John Lister-Kaye sat in his
boathouse, gazing at the view clear across the loch to the birch woods he had
created 25 years ago and started to write.
He didn‟t know then what shape his outpourings would take, all he knew was
that the words were coming thick and fast and if they turned out to form a book,
it would be one he had always been destined to write; the dam had broken. This
was to be not only the story of his own life, but also of his home at Aigas, near
Beauly in Invernesshire. For more than 25 years Aigas, the first field study
centre of its kind in the country has drawn people to the Highlands to study its
wildlife and ecology. This is a beautifully crafted book. He shares with us his
passion for nature and leaves the reader breathless at the breadth of its scope.
He describes with poetic, apt imagery a nesting swift, mating adders, a badger,
an otter, a wood wasp, the wood at night, frozen wrens, and the people in the
glen – the list is endless. This book is intensely satisfying, offering beautiful
prose and vivid imagery. The reader is left feeling that the author has let you
share his history and his home, and it‟s a privilege to have been invited in.
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Livesey, Margot Eva moves the furniture***
At Eva McEwen‟s birth, six magpies congregate outside the window – a bad
omen. That night her mother dies, leaving her with her aunt and heartsick
father – and a woman and a young girl no one else can see. Eva is a lonely girl,
brought up in rural Scotland. These mysterious figures, who regularly visit, have
a profound and ambiguous effect on her life. At times they appear to have her
best interests at heart, saving her from dangerous situations and offering her
sound advice, but sometimes their intervention seems less positive and more
possessive.
When she grows up Eva moves to Glasgow to become a nurse, working in a
burns unit during the second world war. Away from her childhood home she
hopes to escape the companions influence, but they continue to visit her and
meddle in her affairs, even ruining her relationships.
This is not a ghost story in the conventional sense. It is a moving exploration of
loss and loneliness – and the enduring power of love between parent and child.
East Linton
Well written and good descriptions, but not my type of book.
Mediocre
Longniddry
Very odd indeed – rather pointless
North Berwick evening
Totally unmemorable
We found the “companions” inconsistent – poltergeists to begin with then guardians
angels
Musselburgh
Easy to read – sentimental – sad
Haddington
This beautiful story made me cry – I have recommended it to all my friends
Loved it, perhaps because I come from the West coast, it was a wonderful description
of family life there. I found the “companions” comforting.
North Berwick lunchtime
I enjoyed this and so glad to read a novel by a Scots woman – more please. The
“guardian angel” idea was developed with flair. Quite sad, but not a tearjerker. Thank
you.
Gullane
I enjoyed the sense of place in pre war period. Not sure about the mystical elements,
but overall a very enjoyable read.
Cleverly constructed – I‟ll read her other work
Really enjoyed this – very well written. Particularly enjoyed the sense of history
throughout. I will be reading other books by her too
Dunbar
We all enjoyed the sense of place and family. Easy to read and compelling. We were
entranced by the pagan feel to the book, not a single mention of religion. This brought
a tear to all our eyes. We would recommend it
Knowsley Park
Beautifully written and very sad. We would all read more by this author
Eskside
The ending was a little trite and easily predicted too
Monday group
15
Quite enjoyable but not memorable. Felt there was scope to develop further some
characters e.g. the Jewish surgeon.
McCann, Colum Dancer
Dancer is a fictionalised account of the life of Rudolf Nureyev, the Soviet dancer
who defected to the West at the height of the Cold War; partnered Margot
Fonteyn and became ballet‟s first international male superstar. He was to
become as famous, or infamous, for his petulance, his lavish lifestyle, his
voracious sexual appetite and his tragic AIDS-related death as for his dancing.
The literary agent Giles Gordon, who died last year, wrote the following review.
“I loathe ballet in much the same way as I detest football. Thus I approached
Colum McCann‟s novel, Dancer, with apprehension, even though his previous
books promised a masterpiece. Dancer is a novel – I repeat, novel – inspired by
and about the life and death of Rudolf Nureyev, the great dancer who defected
from the USSR to the west in 1961 and did from AIDS in 1993. He was a
superstar, the David Beckham of his day. The novel is a verbal tour de force,
which is what literature should be. The prose dances, leaps and pirouettes as
Nureyev did. The biography is there but the life of the dancer, and especially his
relationship with Margot Fonteyn, is conjured, thanks to McCann‟s inspiration,
into another art form. The lush experience of reading Dancer is akin to
devouring a sumptuous meal. McCann turns terrible and triumphant biography
into urgent and compulsively readable fiction.”
McEwan, Ian Atonement
We meet 13-year-old Briony Tallis in the summer of 1935, as she attempts to
stage a production of her new drama “The Trials of Arabella” not only to
welcome home her elder, idolised brother Leon, but also to win the attention of
the adults in the big country house. However her directorial ambitions are
abandoned when Briony witnesses an event that she does not understand and
soon secrets emerge that change the lives of everyone present.
McEwan is expert at exploring the depth of feelings and the intricacies of the
lives of a group of people, weaving the plot into a superb web that draws in the
reader until the last page, but even more, he is in his element writing about the
pleasures, pains and dangers of writing.
A thoughtful, provocative and at times moving book, revealing a poignant and
enduring love story which succeeds in generating feelings of love, hate and anger
in the reader.
Mankell, Henning The fifth woman****
Four nuns and an unidentified fifth woman are killed in a savage, night time attack in
an Algerian monastery. Months later in Sweden, the news of the unexplained tragedy
sets off a cruel vengeance for these killings. Meanwhile Inspector Kurt Wallander is
home from an idyllic holiday in Rome, full of energy and plans for the future.
Autumn settles over the province of Skåne, and Wallander prays the winter will be
peaceful. But when he investigates the disappearance of an elderly bird-watcher he
discovers a gruesome and meticulously planned murder - a body impaled in a trap of
sharpened bamboo poles. Then another man is reported missing and, once again,
Wallander's life is on hold as he and his close knit team work tirelessly to find a link
between these murders and those of the nuns. Inspector Wallander is quickly
16
becoming a very popular character: who could fail to be endeared by a policeman in
the midst of his thorough investigations who finds time to remind himself to book the
laundry room; worry about an over-stressed colleague and grieve for his recently
deceased father. If you haven‟t read any of these crime novels before, you‟re in for a
treat. One of Sweden‟s most successful exports!
North Berwick lunchtime
A superb read. The crimes, it must be said, are gruesome, but the development of the
story and the establishment of links is gripping. I can‟t wait to read the others by this
author, new to me. A good, work-a-day police procedural crime novel. The Swedish
“Ian Rankin” even to the daughter getting caught up in a crime her father is
investigating. I wonder which came first.
North Berwick evening
A Swedish detective of less complexity than Rebus. The setting teaches one
something about Sweden.
Henning Mankell, ever reliable, never humorous. The staff at the Ystad police station
have become old friends.
Musselburgh
Violent, gruesome crime but I felt that this took second place to the detailing of the
drudgery of police work. The characters were dour and the main man was a candidate
for a midlife crisis. Interesting insight into Swedish politics.
Ormiston
This book was thoroughly enjoyed by all who read it. The crimes were creative and
unusual. The characters were believable while the inspector was a rounded character.
Well thought out and structured, complicated crimes. Interesting insights into Swedish
culture.
East Linton
Interesting, if rather long-winded story which held my attention to the end. Would
like to read more books by this author.
An enjoyable read but too much repeated detail in places.
Gullane
I thoroughly enjoyed this: liked Mankell. Would never choose to read a crime novel
but would read more by him – very exciting. Excellent.
Tedious, boring read.
I enjoyed this too! I like the descriptions of Swedish life. I did find the car bits tedious
though. And he was a bit miserable. In fact, I can‟t think why I enjoyed it now!!
A good read. I like the main character and the way he struggled with life.
Fairly ordinary detective story with an uninspiring main character. It did illustrate the
tediousness of police work though.
Martel, Yann Life of Pi
After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on
the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old
boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan and a
450-pound Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Not what Pi had expected
when his zookeeper father had packed up his family and their menagerie and set
sail from India headed for a new life in Canada.
The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in recent
years. For 227 days the lifeboat‟s survivors drift through shark-infested waters,
while fighting hunger, the elements, each other, and Pi‟s overactive imagination.
17
Pi‟s story never drags, interspersed as it is with episodes of his practical struggle
to survive with rich, hallucinatory passages. Pi's story is so extraordinary that
when he finally makes it ashore, he offers a comparatively boring version of the
tale to two researchers, acknowledging that humans don't have much of a taste
for the miraculous. This played-down version makes Pi's true tale, thanks to
Martel's beautifully fantastical and spirited rendering, all the more tempting to
believe. Yann Martel's Life of Pi is a transformative novel, a dazzling work of
imagination and a triumph of storytelling.
Winner of the Man Booker prize 2002.
A thoughtful, provocative and at times moving book, revealing a poignant and
enduring love story which succeeds in generating feelings of love, hate and anger
in the reader.
Millington, Mil Things my girlfriend and I have argued about
Consistently funny and unerringly true, Millington‟s website-turned-column-
turned-comic novel is one of those reads that leaves you looking like an annoying
and mad person on the bus as you chuckle every five seconds.
Pel, an IT manager in a university library, finds himself also holding down three
jobs, dealing with Triads, a hidden Biblical-sized biological timebomb, ancient
skeletons, bribes and office politics.
“Dad lit” whimsy with machine-gun volleys of humour, a swift pace and a self-
deprecating sense of the absurd.
Moore, Tim French revolutions – cycling the Tour de France
Comic writer Tim Moore trades his ailing Rolls Royce for a bicycle in his quest
to pedal the route of the Tour de France, no mean feat for the fit, let alone a self-
described suburban slouch. The resulting 2,256-haphazard-mile journey, told in
Moore‟s dry and consistently self-deprecating style, makes this a very human
account of one of the most inhuman challenges in world sport. Along the route,
Moore includes plenty of historical anecdotes that show the many faces of the
Tour over the years and helps the uninitiated understand the frenzy that grips
France each July as the race meanders through incidental villages, over
mountains and finally, into Paris. All well as being an hilarious and brutally
honest account of an aspiring “giant of the road”, it is also a great travel book.
Aberlady
Hilarious
Morgan, Sally My place***
This wonderful autobiography tells the moving story of three generations of
Australian women. Sally Morgan was born in Perth in the 1950‟s and grew up
in suburban western Australia believing that her family were Indian. It was not
until she was at university that she finally found out the truth – that she was part
aboriginal. What started out as a tentative search for information about her
family turned into an overwhelming emotional and spiritual pilgrimage. Shame
and fear (even in the 1960‟s and 70‟s they believed their mixed-race children
would be taken from them) prompted her mother and grandmother to keep their
true identity secret. Sally‟s beloved grandmother would not even speak about
her past.
With characteristic courage and doggedness, Sally sets out to discover the
suppressed history of her family. She travels to her ancestors‟ lands in the north
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and uncovers the story of her mother, her grandmother and her great uncle.
Revealed is a terrible narrative of exploitation and degradation, of slavery, rape,
stolen children and poverty, and yet, by gradually allowing the voices of Gladys,
Daisy and Albert to take over, it becomes a testament to their fortitude and
resilience.
North Berwick evening
Worth reading for the recorded memories of the mother, great uncle and grandmother.
Otherwise run of the mill
A wonderful book. I love books about childhood, especially naughty children! The
stories of Arthur, Gladys and Daisy were very interesting. It‟s horrific to think that
women had their children taken away just because they had been fathered by a white
man. The woman probably had little choice in the first place. A very moving book
I loved the mother and the elderly relatives. Particularly interesting as I‟ve just seen
the film “Rabbit proof fence.”
I feel that there is an element of false naiveté – I doubt if any intelligent young
Australian was that ignorant in the „70‟s
Visit in the north rather incoherent
Musselburgh
I enjoyed reading about the journey to the north and about the stories of the great
uncle and the grandmother. This has introduced me to issues I would like to learn
more about as I know nothing about the situation of aborigine people
Ormiston
Thoroughly enjoyable and easy to read. We thought the use of different voices helped
to tell the story. . Surprising that the heroine knew so little about what happened to
aborigines at that time
North Berwick lunchtime
Interesting in the light of recent “native” advancements in the commercial world of
today i.e. not ashamed of native roots, but proud of heritage
East Linton
Did not like the main characters very much but as I have no daughters or
granddaughters not much experience of families!
A very interesting book with an insight into how aborigines
are treated
Port Seton
One reader found it didn‟t progress quickly enough so lost interest – the grandmother
should have told the secrets sooner, or at least given hints
Others enjoyed it very much and appreciated the situation of the Australian aborigines
and of the half-castes at that time
Gullane
Moving, fascinating story about discovery. Found the gradually uncovering of Sally‟s
past gripping and disturbing
Brilliant, revealing
Not the right book group
We all enjoyed this and learnt a lot about the horrors of life in Australia for the native
people – quite shocking and very recent! Takes a while to get into, but well worth
persevering
Eskside
Highly readable and interesting insight into several generations‟ feelings about their
heritage. Found the change of narrative style irritating, but the uncle and mother‟s
stories fascinating. The typeface was dreadful – enough to give you a headache
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Pearson, Allison I don‟t know how she does it
Journalist Allison Pearson‟s speciality is in perfectly judged, lethally accurate,
and very humorous observations of human behaviour. Her novel, based on her
weekly Daily Telegraph column, is, according to her publishers, “a comedy
about failure, a tragedy about success.”
The heroine, Kate Reddy, spends her life dealing with nagging guilt and the
impossible demands put on the modern working woman in an effort to “have it
all,” career, relationships and marriage.
Picturing Kate bashing Sainsbury‟s mince pies with a rolling pin in an effort to
supply her daughter with “home baking,” (giving the pastry that crumbly,
freshly made look) to take to school was enough to convince that here was a
character worth reading, and caring, about.
Sebold, Alice The lovely bones
“I was 14 when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.”
So begins this haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, which explores the
themes of loss and mourning from the perspective of Susie Salmon, brutally
raped and murdered on her way home from school one snowy December day,
the latest victim of a serial killer.
Susie relates the awful events of her death, as well as keeping watch over her
grieving family and friends, the killer and the sad detective working on the case.
As her family disintegrates in their grief: her father embarks on a search for the
killer, her mother withdraws, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring and
her little brother builds a fort in her honour, Susie struggles to adjust to the
strange new place in which she finds herself.
Shenk, David The forgetting
A literary and scientific examination of Alzheimer‟s disease and the race to find
a cure. Alzheimer‟s is fairly uncommon for those in their 40‟s and 50‟s but 10%
of the 65-plus population suffers from it and 50% of the 85-plus age group.
Shenk‟s book is an account of the scientists who are working to cure the disease
and to understand the links between biology and consciousness. The book is
punctuated with personal accounts of famous Alzheimer sufferers – Ronald
Reagan, Willem de Kooning and Jonathan Swift – as well as many less famous
victims.
Shenk‟s narrative reads like a well-written biography. Each chapter begins with
a short introduction, written by sufferers and carers, which allow us a powerful
insight into the minds of whose whom Alzheimer‟s has touched.
An extraordinary and thought provoking journey which manages to integrate
such topics as genetic engineering, ancient history, psychology and literary
works, encouraging the reader to think about Alzheimer‟s in a much wider
context than they may have done before.
Shreve, Anita The pilot‟s wife
After 16 years of being married to a pilot, Kathryn thought she would be able to
handle any situation, but nothing could have prepared her for the late-night
knock on her door and the news of her husband‟s fatal crash.
20
Things become even worse when the plane‟s black box is recovered, and Jack is
deemed to be responsible for the crash. As well as trying to cope with her grief,
Kathryn attempts to clear his name, searching for any and all clues to the hours
before the flight. As she unearths disturbing facts and rumours, each discovery
forces her to realise that she didn‟t know her husband of 16 years at all. She is
torn between her desire to know the truth, and her instinct to protect her
husband‟s memory. Eventually she is forced to test the truth of her marriage,
and has to face the revelations about the many secrets he had kept from her.
The use of flashbacks and action, style of language and character development
combines to make this a compelling, absorbing and tensely paced novel.
Simpson, Joe Touching the void
This is, quite simply, the best non-fiction book I have ever read. It is a
compulsive and enthralling read. Even if you are not interested in
mountaineering or climbing books I don‟t think you could fail to be gripped by
such a tale of personal courage and fortitude.
In 1985 Joe Simpson and his climbing partner Simon Yates, had set out to
conquer the, as yet, unclimbed western face to the Siula Grande peak in the
Peruvian Andes. Having successfully gained the summit, it was on the descent,
at about 19,000 ft. that disaster struck. Joe fell and hit a slope at the base of a
cliff, broke his right leg, ruptured his right knee and shattered his right heel.
When Simon reached him they both knew the chances of getting Joe off the
mountain were virtually non-existent, yet Simon insisted on attempting to lower
Joe down, inch by agonisingly slow inch.
After several hours, and about three thousand feet later, Joe dropped off an edge
and found himself dangling in space, about six feet away from the ice wall, too
far to reach with his ice axe, and 15 feet below the overhang. He was helpless
and Simon was being dragged inexorably towards the edge. The dark outline of
a crevasse lay waiting 100 feet directly below Joe.
What follows next is one of the most outstanding and dramatic accounts of the
human will to survive ever written. Just read it!
Smith, Ali Hotel world*
A heartfelt and introspective ghost story, Hotel World features five women
whose lives (and a death) overlap at the Global Hotel, a generic establishment in
an unnamed city in England. The novel begins with Sara, a 19-year-old hotel
chambermaid who bets the bellboy five pounds that she can fold herself into the
dumbwaiter, but when she does so, it plummets to the basement killing her
instantly. As her ghost tries to recollect what it was like to be alive we meet Else,
a homeless woman who sits and begs on the concrete in front of the hotel, Lise,
the depressed receptionist, Penny, a freelance advertising copywriter looking for
ways to curb her boredom and Sara's sister, Clare, in search of Sara's spirit.
Ultimately, this group helps Clare to come to grips with her sister's death and
one night all five women find themselves in the smooth, plush environs of the
Global Hotel, where the intersection of their very different fates make for this
playful, defiant, and richly inventive novel.
Port Seton morning
Not compelling or enjoyable. Gave up
Port Seton evening
Odd, strange and not liked
21
North Berwick evening
Divided opinions from “interesting and gripping” to “unreadable” and “difficult to
follow”
Very confusing
Ormiston
A real struggle – most of the group gave up. The blurb on the back contravenes the
Trades Description Act!
Knowsley Park
No storyline. Very difficult to get into. Two of the group read it, the rest of us gave up
after the first chapter!
Dunbar
Most of us gave up after a few chapters. No-one like the book – even those who read
it to the end. Too tedious, rambling, bizarre, very put-downable. Would not have paid
for the privilege of reading this and not encouraged to read any of her other books
Eskside
Easy book to get into, although not one to doze off with as bits of it are slightly
surreal. Nevertheless an enjoyable read. Couldn‟t quite see why others had struggled
with it so much – a bit of perseverance and it all more or less links up in the end
Gullane
I found the style a barrier to reading beyond page 4
Oh dear! Very disjointed and difficult to read.
Irritating, won‟t be reading more Ali Smith
Mary‟s movers and shakers
7out of 9 thought hard to read, in fact 6 didn‟t finish
2 out of 9 enjoyed it – found it very perceptive, well observed and interesting
descriptions
Smith, Dodie I capture the castle
“I write this sitting at the kitchen sink,” writes 17-year-old Cassandra
Mortmain. So begins this novel about love, sibling rivalry and a bohemian, but
noble, existence in a crumbling castle in the middle of nowhere.
She lives there with her schoolboy brother Thomas, older sister Rose, fadingly
glamorous artist‟s-model stepmother, who wafts about communing with nature
in a state of semi-undress, loyal servant Stephen and the man to whom they owe
both their isolation and poverty – Father. The author of one enormously
successful experimental novel and a minor cause celebre, he has since suffered
from writer‟s block and is determined to drag his family down with him, as they
all cheerfully admit that their earning capacity is nil.
Their home is the dilapidated and bewitching Belmotte Castle in Suffolk. The
family were drawn to it like moths to a flame. Father declared he would have it
if it took his last penny, which it did. Gradually the family breathe life into the
ruin, dispatching chickens from the kitchen and undoing much of what the
Victorians did to it. Their existence seems to be taken up with the basics: paying
the rent, buying milk, keeping their feet warm, and attempting to have baths in
this ancient home, whose character and personality conspires against them.
Their romantic world is turned upside down when two young American men and
their mother, the Cottons, arrive at the castle. They are the heirs to the nearby
Scoatney Hall, and have come to take up residence. The Mortmains are drawn
into the wealthy social world of the Cottons, a world of ease, money and leisure,
represented tantalisingly by the two brothers Neil and Simon. However, in a
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series of events that are totally unpredictable, Cassandra and Rose begin to
wonder whether such wealth might actually take the pleasure out of things.
A memorable and nostalgic evocation of a time and place peopled by endearing
characters.
Trigiani, Adriana Big stone gap
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap
is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria
Mulligan is the town‟s self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five year old pharmacist
whose highlight of the week is the arrival of the Bookmobile.
As the local pharmacist she‟s been keeping the townsfolk‟s secrets for years. She
lives an amiable life with good friends and lots of hobbies until the fateful day in
1978 when she suddenly discovers a scandal in her own family‟s past and is
shaken by the realisation that she‟s not who she always thought she was.
With an unforgettable cast of characters and a heroine with an extraordinary
story to tell, all living in this quirky little town, Big Stone Gap is an entertaining,
feel-good debut.
(And it has a mobile library in it!).
Welsh, Louise The cutting room * AND *****
this has been a great choice for book groups – such divided opinion. Felt compelled to
give two ratings! Having read some of the comments in the notebook, I felt compelled
to attach the following “warning” when it went out - Trina
“do try the Louise Welsh. Many book group members have found the sex scenes
offensive but Louise Welsh is being hailed as one of the most exciting new talents to
grace the Scottish literary scene for a long time”
Welsh gives Glasgow more than a touch of the shadowy noirish atmosphere of
Edinburgh‟s literary visions in her multi-prize-winning story of an antiquarian
auctioneer pulled into an underworld of depravity and murder. The suitably
moody Rilke is a cynical forty something, gay, dissolute and self-destructive,
called to a mansion in Hyndland and paid to clear it within a week. Suspicions of
something amiss become confirmed when he discovers hidden photographs of
what looks like a cult sacrifice from the 1940‟s. His curiosity about them turns
him into a private investigator on the track of an ominous compulsion. As
stylish, gripping and decadent a view of Glasgow‟s genteel antiques trade as
you‟ll ever find.
A warning here that one of Rilke‟s sexual escapades is described in harsh detail,
and some may feel uncomfortable that the main character spends his spare time
looking for chance encounters in the park or gents toilets, yet this is a fresh and
original novel with an unexpected and surprising twist towards the end. Let me
know if anyone guessed it.
A compelling first novel.
North Berwick evening
Only two of us managed to finish this as we all found the sex scenes highly offensive
and also somewhat irrelevant to the plot. A good story although somewhat confusing.
We‟d like to meet the author to see how she researched her subject!
East Linton
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Very depressing. Interesting to have a female author write with seeming authority on
gay sex!
A most unpleasant story – sleazy and squalid
Read under protest
As a wonderful writer – this was awful
A horrid book with horrid characters
Haddington
Courageous first novel. Gothic view of Glasgow. Interesting idea and quite original.
Did she use the consensual sex scenes as a comparison to the abuse shown on the
photograph?
Port Seton evening
A thoroughly unpleasant main character. Very much a seedy side of Glasgow.
Totally disliked and revolting. Found it pornographic, although we felt compelled to
finish it to find out what happened. Very black, no colour in this book. We were
drawn in by it, which could point to it being well written?
Eskside
Bloody good reading if you like to smell the stale smoke, cheap perfume and beer
breath of real life. If you‟re out for a happy read – don‟t touch!
Agree – bit of a damp slog through Glasgow in the rain. Some gripping bits but a bit
too 21st century for me – I like my stories to conclude neatly and it cheesed me off
that Rilke is less of a detective and more of a sleazy bloke who happens to bumble
form one pool of Guinness to the next, just in time to get a vague hint of what might
have gone on. Easy read though.
Ormiston
Half of the group finished this –those who did enjoyed the description of Glasgow,
the auction housed and the characters. Some felt it was too explicit in some places and
although the ending was a real twist it was rather unconvincing. Would read another
novel by this author as overall felt it was well written and would be interesting to see
how she deals with another subject
Mary‟s movers and shakers
As a group we did not enjoy the sex descriptions. Couldn‟t see link between sex
theme and main theme. A general feeling that the plot was dark, hero unlikeable and
that it opened windows that we didn‟t really want to see through. The denouement at
the end confuse some people, however it created lots of discussion
Knowsley Park
Very grey, dark picture of Glasgow but most of us agreed worth the read. Although
Rilke not a very likeable character (unless you like dissolute and promiscuous!) he
had some qualities – perhaps righteousness? Look forward to more from Louise
Welsh – will her 2nd novel be as good?
Dunbar
Our group was surprised by some of the more extreme comments of the other groups.
While we felt the plot was not as strong as might be, the characterisation was
involving and we all felt we wanted to know more. It encouraged us to discuss how
the plot had been constructed and we felt perhaps the author intended us to see the
book as such a trigger
Gullane
I found this a compelling read, really riveting, evocative of Glasgow, will read her
next book.
I loved this – unputdownable!
Can‟t wait to read this having listened to all my friend‟s comments!
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BBC
Diverse views, compelling, dark, depressing, beautifully written, come together at the
end bringing it up to date.
Longniddry
I enjoyed the plot but didn‟t see the necessity for the sexual dimension. Some of our
members were more astute and could make the connection
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