LinkedIn, a professional networking site where I spend some of my spare time, has an interesting option called "Reading List", which allows you to select a book and post a comment on it. I found that a great new way to suggest books to people, so I thought I would transfer some of those "teaser" reviews to this blog. A word of warning, though - I have very different tastes, so I pick all sorts of books......read on !
1. Beyond Desire by Pierre La Mure
Perhaps the saddest part about the writings of this brilliant biographer-novelist is that you can't find his books anywhere: they're either out of print, or they're not in stock - which is a tragedy indeed, because few narrators have managed to bring the past of great people to life the way he has. This novel is about Felix Mendelssohn's relentless search for that definitive Bach composition, the Passion of Our Lord According to Saint Mathew, and his efforts to make it available to the world. A gripping narrative, told with infinite skill, that will make you yearn to read it again, just after you've turned the last page.
2. The Chosen One by Sam Bourne
Gone are the days when the President of the United States was a hallowed figure, making a guest apppearance at the tail end of the book - these days, he has been brought down to the level of a mere mortal, and occupies a large chunk of the book. In this taut thriller, Sam Bourne, a gifted writer who is just about four books old, takes us through the innards of the Presidency and its frailness. A compelling read.
3. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The world waited a long time to get another Jules Verne, and couldn't cope with the one that arrived. Had it not been for Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton might have sunk without a trace - which would have been a tragedy of enormous proportions......concepts such as those described in "The Andromeda Strain", "Westworld", "Sphere", "The Terminal Man" and, of course, "Jurassic Park" will not be seen again as the output of a single mind. The films, although brilliantly made (some of them directed by Crichton himself), capture only a small part of the complexity of the original. Read this book first, but if you don't like dinosaurs, choose from the array of subjects available from Crichton's collection.
4. Twisted Tales from Shakespeare by Richard Willard Armour
5. Shout at the Devil by Wilbur Smith
Do I hear agentle snore or two ? Right, then - I'll leave the other reviews for later !
1. Beyond Desire by Pierre La Mure
Perhaps the saddest part about the writings of this brilliant biographer-novelist is that you can't find his books anywhere: they're either out of print, or they're not in stock - which is a tragedy indeed, because few narrators have managed to bring the past of great people to life the way he has. This novel is about Felix Mendelssohn's relentless search for that definitive Bach composition, the Passion of Our Lord According to Saint Mathew, and his efforts to make it available to the world. A gripping narrative, told with infinite skill, that will make you yearn to read it again, just after you've turned the last page.
2. The Chosen One by Sam Bourne
Gone are the days when the President of the United States was a hallowed figure, making a guest apppearance at the tail end of the book - these days, he has been brought down to the level of a mere mortal, and occupies a large chunk of the book. In this taut thriller, Sam Bourne, a gifted writer who is just about four books old, takes us through the innards of the Presidency and its frailness. A compelling read.
3. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The world waited a long time to get another Jules Verne, and couldn't cope with the one that arrived. Had it not been for Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton might have sunk without a trace - which would have been a tragedy of enormous proportions......concepts such as those described in "The Andromeda Strain", "Westworld", "Sphere", "The Terminal Man" and, of course, "Jurassic Park" will not be seen again as the output of a single mind. The films, although brilliantly made (some of them directed by Crichton himself), capture only a small part of the complexity of the original. Read this book first, but if you don't like dinosaurs, choose from the array of subjects available from Crichton's collection.
4. Twisted Tales from Shakespeare by Richard Willard Armour
Richard Armour takes humour to a new level altogether - and for those who have read Shakespeare (even if it is only for the school final exam), this is a classic revisitation of his plays. The style is very different - each play is summarised in a few pages, with piquant illustrations; and the summary ends with a series of rhetorical questions that are more hilarious than the summary itself. Richard Armour has written a slew of such books - other memorable ones include "It All Started with Eve", "It All Started with Columbus" and "The Classics Reclassified". Long out of print, these books are almost impossible to find at a retail outlet - I had to get them in the second-hand mail-order market in the US. Richard Armour is a must-read for all those who thought that P.G. Wodehouse was the last word in humour and sarcastic takes.
5. Shout at the Devil by Wilbur Smith
You haven't really understood what the word "elemental" means until you've read Wilbur Smith - he makes the earth, the sea, the sky, the wind rear up and slap you so hard in the face that you're still recovering from the shock, years later. A compelling storyteller who builds an epic in 500 pages, combining the complexity of human depravity, the starkness of an Africa squeezed bloodless by war, and the intricate web of human interrelationships, in a collection of words that leaves you breathless with wonder, pain and longing. This is one of his better books - other masterpieces are "Hungry as the Sea", "Eagle in the Sky", "Gold Mine", and "The Diamond Hunters". But to experience the definitive Wilbur Smith, read his Sean Courtney Trilogy - "When the Lion Feeds" / "The Sound of Thunder" / "A Sparrow Falls"
Do I hear agentle snore or two ? Right, then - I'll leave the other reviews for later !
No comments:
Post a Comment