These recent reviews have been written by reading groups and other library users. You can read or print earlier reviews from the links on this page.
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Book Reviews January 2012
Lynne Reid Banks, The L-Shaped Room
The group found the book sociologically interesting. It was very much of its time: the depiction of a house and its characters, the casual racism, anti-Semitism and sexual politics belonging firmly to the 60’s. However, the plot stretched plausibility, in the main character’s rescue by an inheritance, and the style was naïve.
From: Market Drayton Library Reading Group
Alan Bradley, Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
This book provoked a very lively discussion, despite the majority of members not liking it. It was not clear whether the target audience was adults or children, as the book falls between two stools, being both a detective novel and a children’s adventure story. It is actually very cleverly written, ostensibly by an 11 year old girl, but with good insights into character and a wry sense of humour. There are a couple of inconsistencies because the author did not know England in the 50’s.
From: Community Care Reading Group
Arnold Bennett, Anna of the Five Towns
The introduction to this book says that its ‘strength …lies in its sincerity and freedom from pretentiousness’ which is probably true. It wasn’t an easy read and the first part of the book and the character of Anna were difficult to accept. Again the introduction says that Bennett ‘could not yet feel’ as he did in later novels and he didn’t really write about Anna’s feelings in a convincing way, although a young woman in her circumstances would probably have behaved as she did.
The best part of the story is probably the last chapters, the inquest and Anna’s attitude towards Willie. She is compassionate but she is also realistic; she is kinder than her father but she leaves it too late to stand up to him and she has certainly absorbed some of his values. The inquest paints a picture which is still familiar, people attending out of curiosity rather than sympathy. Anna has a shock and tries to make amends but the damage is done.
Henry is much easier to understand. He’s practical and not sentimental; he sees the Price family in much the same way as Anna’s father although he isn’t as harsh. What about the author’s attitude to religion and Christian ideas? He seemed to be quite cynical about them. He portrays Henry as a man with an eye to the future though he leaves it until late in the book to confirm that his love for Anna is closely tied up with her personal wealth. Perhaps he is hinting that in time Anna will have exchanged one tyrant for another?
Mr Tellwright is very convincing, but the he is almost wholly bad, only slightly redeemed by his attitude towards Agnes when he is angry with Anna. Evil characters are easier to draw; he is reminiscent of Soames in ‘The Forsyte Saga’. – totally confident that he is right and determined to have his own way. Perhaps a late Victorian stereotype?
From: Grinshill Reading Group
Frank Cottrell Boyce, Framed
A very visual, humorous book; the group were unanimous in their enjoyment of it.
From: Craven Arms Reading Group
Joseph Boyden, Three Day Road
This was a difficult book for us to read with any lightness of
spirit. The over-lengthy and extremely graphic descriptions of brutal
events during the first World War upset many of us, and made for a
depressing story. On the positive side it was interesting to learn about the
part the Canadian Indians played during this conflict. Our discussion
centred around grandfathers, uncles, and great-uncles who lost their lives
during this war, rather than round the writing techniques and style that the
author employed.
From: Highley Reading Group
Jonathan Buckley, So He Takes the Dog
The group were pleased by the way in which the author developed their knowledge of the victim of murder from chapter to chapter. The fact that the identity of the murderer was never discovered, and that the detective didn’t ‘get the girl’ perhaps reflected, in part, real life. They would like to read more from this author.
From: The King Reading Group
Gabriel Chevalier, Clochemerle
The group were slightly bemused and perturbed as to whom this book would appeal to in this day and age. No doubt, in 1936, it was appreciated for its farcical observations of human nature, especially those of rural France at this time. The group discussion was interesting and thought provoking. The female perspective on the book did create consternation; one member was affected so profoundly by anger that she did not and would not finish the book. The general feeling within the group is that we would not recommend this book. However, we believe that someone would enjoy it. It was very clever in parts. On the other hand, one member would like it removed from the list altogether!
From: Oreton Owls Reading Group
Tracy Chevalier, Fallen Angels
The group enjoyed the book and had a lively and interesting discussion on it, centring on the different and varied characters. An important issue was the lives of women, rich and poor, in the early 20th century. The suffragette movement was well described and informative. The group have also read ‘Virgin Blue’ by the same author, and discussion took place about the differences and similarities between the two books.
From: Pontesbury Reading Group
Peter Ho Davies, Welsh Girl
This is a good read. Its portrayal of Welsh sheep was well done with a few interesting titbits of knowledge included, such as the fact that sheep inherit the ability to recognise the geographical boundaries of their grazing land. The characters are interesting, those of Esther the Welsh girl, and Karsten a German soldier being highly detailed and believable. A section of the book conveys the dullness of life in a prisoner of war camp, and there are familiar issues of pregnancy, pub banter and village life which could be thought too ordinary to write about. The episodes about Hess were well done.
From: Hyssington Reading Group
Isabel Fonesca, Bury Me Standing
This was a hard read, but very informative, and it provoked a lively discussion.
From: Craven Arms Reading Group
Margaret Forster, Keeping the World Away
The group do not regard this as representative of Margaret Forster’s best work. It is a collection of sketches of social relationships, tied together by a contrived device, and, although the concept is intriguing, the writing seems jaded. There is little to care for in the characters, which only leaves the descriptive narrative and the injection of real life history to redeem it.
From: Bayston Hill Reading Group
Alan Garner, Thursbitch
Despite this being a book actually difficult to enjoy, it provided one of the longest discussions the group have had, with lots of ideas and interpretations forthcoming. Comments were made about the difficulty in understanding the language, and several members thought a map would have been helpful. This is a thought provoking and challenging book.
From: Dovaston Reading Group.
Elizabeth Gaskell, Cousin Phyllis
The book was generally enjoyed though there was some concern about characters being vaguely drawn. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful picture of the rural life of the era, beautifully written. For such a simple tale, it was surprisingly compulsive reading.
From: Community Care Reading Group
Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm
Many of the group had previously read this book enthusiastically, and then were disappointed that it didn’t seem so funny the second time round. However, it was still enjoyable to most, who felt the parody of characters that had inspired Stella, including Mary Webb and DH Lawrence, made the book a good read.
From: Oakengates Reading Group
Philippa Gregory, White Queen
The group found this to be a book about sex and violence disguised as history, and very clichéd. They were disappointed by it.
From: Market Drayton U3A Reading Group
Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns
All agreed that the book was powerful, thought provoking and engaging. We gained lots of knowledge about the history and culture and beauty of Afghanistan. Much of it was new information and surprised us; the author (a man) portrayed wonderful insight into the difficulties for women and the friendship between two women. There are moments of great poignancy that led to interesting discussion. We would all recommend this book to a friend or reading club and especially because we were all stimulated to read more about the history and culture of Afghanistan.
From: Pontesbury Reading Group
Arnaldur Indridason, Voices
After finally getting to grips with the Icelandic names, and following an extremely slow start to the story, we thoroughly enjoyed this book. We were kept in suspense until the final pages and have all agreed we'd like to read more from either this author or other Icelandic writers. Most of us found it a good run-of-the-mill crime story, but one or two of us rated it as an excellent read.
From Highley Reading Group
Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon
This was an interesting and worthwhile read, which raised a lot of moral and ethical issues, as well as being a tear-jerker which provoked strong emotions.
From: Market Drayton Reading Group
Mark Mills, Savage Garden
We really enjoyed this book. The writer has filled his tale with intrigue, romance, art and social history. The characters are well-portrayed, and the story has interesting and dark undertones. Although some of us felt it had a slow start, overall we enjoyed the book...especially the happy ending!
From: Highley Pageturners
Gladys Mitchell, The Saltmarsh Murders
The group found the novel, written in 1932, very dated. It didn’t prove popular; the plot was implausible. Mitchell’s detective, Mrs Bradley, was not found to be sympathetic, and these views could explain why the author’s name goes unrecognised in the 21st century.
From: Cleobury Mortimer Reading Group
Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love
Our group had a lot of fun with this book, and we all enjoyed reading it. We thoroughly enjoyed castigating the aristocratic characters for their feckless, irresponsible and xenophobic lives, be they aesthetes or philistines. Nancy Mitford is a skilful satirist with a mischievous sense of humour, creating a very entertaining book, and an opportunity in a reading group meeting to explore the concepts of U and Non-U with much hilarity.
From: The Cox Reading Group
David Nicholls, One Day
Our group spent a long time discussing the merits of this book. We had all enjoyed reading it as it has a strong narrative drive, and is well written. We admired its structure, a brilliant idea of character development over a number of years, the plot hinging on the events of annual St Swithin’s Days. This is managed skilfully by the author, especially in developing character through growing maturity of language, thought pattern, behaviour and opinion. Our main issue, consequently, was why none of us really liked the book. Our conclusion is that we are simply not the target audience; we’re just too old!
From: The Tidy Group
Tim Pears, Blenheim Orchard
The book provoked a long discussion, mostly dissecting the reasons for
everyone’s dislike of it!
From: Dransfield Reading Group
Poetry Anthology, Being Alive
This was found to be a thought provoking and interesting collection of poems. Members of the group who had previously been wary of poetry enjoyed hearing them read out loud. The group would certainly recommend this for other groups.
From: Orleton Reading Group
Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
Everyone should read this book! It's the story of one young German
soldier's experiences in active service at the front during the first World
War. It could just as easily have been written by a British soldier since
they all shared identical horrors, privations, fears, and anxiety. The story
is deeply moving and full of insight, highly emotional, and not for the
faint-hearted. It is so beautifully written one could imagine oneself being
there at the writer's side. We could easily understand that any soldiers
lucky enough to come home alive would be profoundly affected by their
experiences, as would their families and friends. Superb reading!
From: Highley Pageturners
Marilynne Robinson, Home
The group unanimously disliked this novel. The majority failed to finish it. The characters were neither strong nor well-drawn, the story had little grip and went nowhere.
From: West Felton Reading Group
Jack Sheffield, Teacher Teacher
The group found this to be a good, enjoyable read.
From: Shifnal Reading Group
Owen Sheers, White Ravens
A book highly rated and strongly recommended by our group and a
modern interpretation of an old Welsh Mabinogion story - summary at the end.
It can be read with this in mind, or as a comment on a couple of events and
how they affected people in the 20th century: WW2 and ravens in the Tower of London and the foot and mouth epidemic. This is a short, but intense read,
superb writing (as one would expect from a poet) and a good basis for
thought and discussion.
(And if you like this there is his novel Resistance set not a million miles
away in the Black Mountains and just released as a film.)
From: Shrewsbury Wednesday morning Hobbs Room Group
Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle
The group found this to be a light and pleasurable read, with a strong fairy tale element, only one character, Cassandra, seeming real. The ending is unexpected but realistic.
From: Market Drayton U3A Reading Group
John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley
Those who liked this book appreciated the humour and quirkiness of it, and the anecdotes about Steinbeck’s dog, Charley, who accompanies him on his travels in the USA. People also enjoyed some of Steinbeck’s profound insights into human existence. Others, however, had reservations about the book.
From: The Fermor Reading Group
Sue Townsend, Number 10
Although some members enjoyed reading this book, it was, on the whole, rather a disappointment, and not to be recommended to other groups. Despite providing some chuckles, other parts were found to be depressing.
From: Cleobury Mortimer Reading Group
Anthony Trollope, The Warden
The group was divided in response to the book; some found it heavy going and only read parts of it; one member, on the other hand, liked it so much that she requested the next book in ‘ The Chronicles of Barsetshire’ series. We all found that there are clear parallels between Trollope’s England and our own. These are evident in church, media and society’s response.
From: Pontesbury Reading Group
Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger
The group would definitely recommend this book though not everyone liked it. The ending is a little flat. One interesting theory was that the doctor was the catalyst, killing Caroline because of his obsession with the house.
From: Dovaston Reading Group
Oscar Wilde, The Portrait of Dorian Gray
Some of the group found the book ‘turgid’, but others were pleased to have either re-read it or have finally got round to reading it. It was obviously an attempt to dramatise the thoughts and mind processes of the author. Whilst not the favourite read this year for the group, it was profitable to compare the book with the film directed by Oliver Parker. The conclusion drawn was that the book was more palatable.
From: Read and Feed Reading Group
Esther Woolfson, Corvus: A Life With Birds
It was a group meeting where we laughed a lot as we read out our favourite amusing parts of Woolfson’s account of more that 20 years of sharing her Aberdeen home with a variety of uncaged birds, the star being Chicken, the rook. The topics ranged wildly ( too much so, in the opinion of some members) from insights into caching; comparisons of different species’ wing structures; theories about navigation during migration; the attitudes of the author’s daughters to the various birds; the misrepresentation of doves in art; the birds of famous people (Mozart’s ‘ A Musical Joke’ based on starling calls). We agreed that this was not a fast read, and only 3 of the 9 members attending the discussion were whole-heartedly in approval, Woolfson comes across as a deeply thoughtful individual, capable of sharp satire. She loves language, and she communicates her deep respect for the birds who share her space.
From: Molsom Reading Group