Daren
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A complex book to review and rate - and if you intend to read I would suggest steering clear of many of the reviews which contain a spoiler to the twist which occurs at the very end of the book. I won't mentioned the twist again, other than to say it is polarising to readers.
The author is a journalist for the Financial Times, and his book is set where he grew up in West London, popular with middle class Indian & Pakistani families. Hounslow is the specific setting where the protagonist and narrator of the novel Jas lives. He has been recently accepted into the company of Hardjit, Amit and Ravi who live a Rudeboy lifestyle while re-sitting their A levels they all failed the year prior. They drive suped-up cars provided by their parents, they have a sideline in unlocking mobile phones, and spend most of their time preening and posing, talking themselves up and distancing themselves from their parents behaviours - typical youth I guess, within an Asian twist.
People are always trying to stick a label on our scene. That's the problem with having a fuckin scene. First we was rudeboys, then we'd be Indian niggas, then rajamuffins, then rajastanis, Brit-Asians, fuckin Indo-Brits. These days we try and use our own word for homeboy and so we just call ourselves desis, but I still remember when we were happy with the word rudeboy.Anyway, whatever the fuck we are, Ravi and the others are better at being it than I am. I swear I watched as much MTV-base an Juggy D videos as they have but I still can't attain the right level of rudeboy authenticity. If I could, I wouldn't be using poncey words like attain an authenticity, innit.
A complex book to review and rate - and if you intend to read I would suggest steering clear of many of the reviews which contain a spoiler to the twist which occurs at the very end of the book. I won't mentioned the twist again, other than to say it is polarising to readers.
The author is a journalist for the Financial Times, and his book is set where he grew up in West London, popular with middle class Indian & Pakistani families. Hounslow is the specific setting where the protagonist and narrator of the novel Jas lives. He has been recently accepted into the company of Hardjit, Amit and Ravi who live a Rudeboy lifestyle while re-sitting their A levels they all failed the year prior. They drive suped-up cars provided by their parents, they have a sideline in unlocking mobile phones, and spend most of their time preening and posing, talking themselves up and distancing themselves from their parents behaviours - typical youth I guess, within an Asian twist.
People are always trying to stick a label on our scene. That's the problem with having a fuckin scene. First we was rudeboys, then we'd be Indian niggas, then rajamuffins, then rajastanis, Brit-Asians, fuckin Indo-Brits. These days we try and use our own word for homeboy and so we just call ourselves desis, but I still remember when we were happy with the word rudeboy.Anyway, whatever the fuck we are, Ravi and the others are better at being it than I am. I swear I watched as much MTV-base an Juggy D videos as they have but I still can't attain the right level of rudeboy authenticity. If I could, I wouldn't be using poncey words like attain an authenticity, innit.
A quick novella, coming in just under 100 pages of Richard Hannay on the run!
Published in 1914 and set in the same era, pre-war Britain, it is recognised as the origin story of all espionage thrillers.
What can be said that has not already about a book rated by 39000 GR readers and reviewed by over 3000? No real need to outline the plot, but I will say the German plot that was exposed was complicated enough that I never really grasped it, but the book so short that it was east to move on from that detail to watching Mr Hannay change disguises every chapter and stumble upon unlikely circumstance after crazy coincidence!
While it was a bit dated, with some racial and class distinctions identified, taken in context it was a fast, amusing and clever enough novella, which I am glad I read.
I picked up my paperback edition along with a copy of Hannay's second adventure, the slightly longer Greenmantle, which I might just crack on with now, since I developed a taste and the Thirty-Nine Steps was over so quick!
3.5 stars, rounded up.
——-
Book #2 Greenmantle
A quick novella, coming in just under 100 pages of Richard Hannay on the run!
Published in 1914 and set in the same era, pre-war Britain, it is recognised as the origin story of all espionage thrillers.
What can be said that has not already about a book rated by 39000 GR readers and reviewed by over 3000? No real need to outline the plot, but I will say the German plot that was exposed was complicated enough that I never really grasped it, but the book so short that it was east to move on from that detail to watching Mr Hannay change disguises every chapter and stumble upon unlikely circumstance after crazy coincidence!
While it was a bit dated, with some racial and class distinctions identified, taken in context it was a fast, amusing and clever enough novella, which I am glad I read.
I picked up my paperback edition along with a copy of Hannay's second adventure, the slightly longer Greenmantle, which I might just crack on with now, since I developed a taste and the Thirty-Nine Steps was over so quick!
3.5 stars, rounded up.
——-
Book #2 Greenmantle
John Buchan's follow-up book in the classic espionage series featuring Richard Hannay takes up when Hannay has recently returned to London following the Battle of Loos, and is called to meet with Sir Walter.
Asked to take on a mission to neutralise a potentially devastating plot by the Germans in the Ottoman Empire to inflame the Islamic Near East to jihad. Hannay is accompanied by American John Blenkiron and his compatriot from Loos Sandy Arbuthnot. In this story all three are ‘masters of disguise' and possess plenty of other skills necessary for such an unlikely undertaking. Along the way Hannay meets up with old friend Peter Pienaar, the South African Boer Scout.
The first third of the story follows Hannay and Pienaar as they make their way through Europe initially to Germany, then on to Turkey, where the original trio are to meet up. As we come to expect with Hannay (and Buchan) there are tremendous coincidences, great luck and lots of bravado en route, as long as some fantastical disguises!
Once in Turkey, the action really hots up and the story moves fast through various evolutions of turning all in sundry into enemies. The story culminates at the battle for Erzerum, at the Turkish/German and Russian front line.
The story is framed in the actual war setting, and the reality contrasting with the ridiculous is a nice touch. There are many references (some I understood, many went over my head) to battles and events of World War I - Gallipoli features heavily in mentions, there is plenty of British stiff upper lip ethos, and the larger than life characters. Given that when this book was published it was set in the current time, the audience would have had a more intimate knowledge of the setting and goings on, so there was perhaps less need to explain to the reader. While there is much that goes unexplained, and Greenmantle is somewhat of an enigma until near the end, it is without doubt a lot of fun.
For me this was a step up from #1 in the series, as it brought to it a complexity missing in the earlier book (and another 100 pages).
4 stars
—–
Book #1 The Thirty-Nine Steps
John Buchan's follow-up book in the classic espionage series featuring Richard Hannay takes up when Hannay has recently returned to London following the Battle of Loos, and is called to meet with Sir Walter.
Asked to take on a mission to neutralise a potentially devastating plot by the Germans in the Ottoman Empire to inflame the Islamic Near East to jihad. Hannay is accompanied by American John Blenkiron and his compatriot from Loos Sandy Arbuthnot. In this story all three are ‘masters of disguise' and possess plenty of other skills necessary for such an unlikely undertaking. Along the way Hannay meets up with old friend Peter Pienaar, the South African Boer Scout.
The first third of the story follows Hannay and Pienaar as they make their way through Europe initially to Germany, then on to Turkey, where the original trio are to meet up. As we come to expect with Hannay (and Buchan) there are tremendous coincidences, great luck and lots of bravado en route, as long as some fantastical disguises!
Once in Turkey, the action really hots up and the story moves fast through various evolutions of turning all in sundry into enemies. The story culminates at the battle for Erzerum, at the Turkish/German and Russian front line.
The story is framed in the actual war setting, and the reality contrasting with the ridiculous is a nice touch. There are many references (some I understood, many went over my head) to battles and events of World War I - Gallipoli features heavily in mentions, there is plenty of British stiff upper lip ethos, and the larger than life characters. Given that when this book was published it was set in the current time, the audience would have had a more intimate knowledge of the setting and goings on, so there was perhaps less need to explain to the reader. While there is much that goes unexplained, and Greenmantle is somewhat of an enigma until near the end, it is without doubt a lot of fun.
For me this was a step up from #1 in the series, as it brought to it a complexity missing in the earlier book (and another 100 pages).
4 stars
—–
Book #1 The Thirty-Nine Steps
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The format of this appealed to me - testing Aesop's Fables against actual scientifically studied animal behaviour. I found it well written, perhaps a little repetitive where certain experiments were relevant to more than one fable, and perhaps 50 pages longer than my attention span (due to the repetition?)
The format is consistent - a paragraph long fable - usually an explanation about the evolution of the relevant animal (sometimes relative to the evolutionary branching from man, or another animal), a study on the behaviour relevant animals, usually some other animal relevant to the behaviour - a summary of whether the fable is fact or fiction (incorporating a suggestion for a better fitting animal where appropriate.
The Crow and the Pitcher - We learn a lot about corvids (ravens, crows, rooks, magpies, jays etc) and their ability to problem solve.
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - This chapter focuses on wolves, but also sidelines into primates. This one covers an animals abilities in deception.
The Dog and its Shadow - We learn about dogs, mostly focusing on the domestic dogs and the ability of self-recognition.
The Ass Carrying the Image - This chapter studies donkeys (and to a lesser degree other equids) generally focused on donkey intelligence and cognition.
The Fox and the Crow - Foxes take centre stage here, and this is largely a chapter on debunking fox myths!
The Lion and the Shepherd - We learn about Lions and experimentation into animals that act with reciprocation (or those that don't).
The Monkey and the Fisherman - Primates are one of the most studied of animals, so as well as being referenced in many of the other chapters they take centre stage here, with a study of which animals engage in mimicry or imitation.
The Ant and the Grasshopper - I am sure you are picking up on the theme... grasshoppers and ants feature here, where the ability to 'future-think' or prepare for the future is studied.
The Hare and the Tortoise - Surely the most famous of the fables, the hare vs the tortoise, slow and steady wins the race etc, this gives us lots of facts around hares and tortoises and how it all pans out in a race.
An enjoyable pop-science book, well presented, easy to read (although a level of concentration is required when some of the more complex experiments are stepped through), and it mostly achieves what is sets out to do. If I was be be very cynical, maybe the premise is just a way to arrange a lot of interesting animal experimentation into a framework. But realistically it worked pretty well.
There was loads of good information in the book, too much to replicate here, but worth the read of these sorts of things are of interest.
4.5 stars.
The format of this appealed to me - testing Aesop's Fables against actual scientifically studied animal behaviour. I found it well written, perhaps a little repetitive where certain experiments were relevant to more than one fable, and perhaps 50 pages longer than my attention span (due to the repetition?)
The format is consistent - a paragraph long fable - usually an explanation about the evolution of the relevant animal (sometimes relative to the evolutionary branching from man, or another animal), a study on the behaviour relevant animals, usually some other animal relevant to the behaviour - a summary of whether the fable is fact or fiction (incorporating a suggestion for a better fitting animal where appropriate.
The Crow and the Pitcher - We learn a lot about corvids (ravens, crows, rooks, magpies, jays etc) and their ability to problem solve.
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - This chapter focuses on wolves, but also sidelines into primates. This one covers an animals abilities in deception.
The Dog and its Shadow - We learn about dogs, mostly focusing on the domestic dogs and the ability of self-recognition.
The Ass Carrying the Image - This chapter studies donkeys (and to a lesser degree other equids) generally focused on donkey intelligence and cognition.
The Fox and the Crow - Foxes take centre stage here, and this is largely a chapter on debunking fox myths!
The Lion and the Shepherd - We learn about Lions and experimentation into animals that act with reciprocation (or those that don't).
The Monkey and the Fisherman - Primates are one of the most studied of animals, so as well as being referenced in many of the other chapters they take centre stage here, with a study of which animals engage in mimicry or imitation.
The Ant and the Grasshopper - I am sure you are picking up on the theme... grasshoppers and ants feature here, where the ability to 'future-think' or prepare for the future is studied.
The Hare and the Tortoise - Surely the most famous of the fables, the hare vs the tortoise, slow and steady wins the race etc, this gives us lots of facts around hares and tortoises and how it all pans out in a race.
An enjoyable pop-science book, well presented, easy to read (although a level of concentration is required when some of the more complex experiments are stepped through), and it mostly achieves what is sets out to do. If I was be be very cynical, maybe the premise is just a way to arrange a lot of interesting animal experimentation into a framework. But realistically it worked pretty well.
There was loads of good information in the book, too much to replicate here, but worth the read of these sorts of things are of interest.
4.5 stars.
I was impressed with this classic Sci-fi from 1953.
For hose who have read this book, there is an elephant in the room to identify, then move on from. If you haven't read this book, and like sci-fi, do so, but don't read this elephantine spoiler: There is no Kraken in this book. I was really looking forward to the time when the Kraken, who in my mind was controlling the sea-tanks and the pseudo-coelenterata (anemones and jellyfish are coelenterata) from deep within the ocean was going to came out and fight a final duel with mankind, but no...
So what impressed me? I think it captured an incredibly realistic response to a very unexpected world event. I believe human nature was captured very cleverly, and for the large part exposed human behaviours often at their worst. I enjoyed that Wyndham could effortlessly move from single events to a big picture and back without effecting the pacing (which was great) and without breaking the narrative too much. I enjoyed Wyndham's thoughtfulness around how the attacks took place, and around rising sea levels.
Another aspect I thought clever was making the main protagonist (but not his wife) quite dull, old fashioned and uninteresting, yet he really shines as being a good human being in spite of this. I personally found him quite funny in a very British way, especially his slightly off-beat relationship with his wife.
Although it got tiresome three quarters of the way through, the cold war aspect where Britain didn't trust Russia and Russia didn't trust Britain was amusing at first.
Finally, a note of the format of the novel. Divided into four sections - the first called Rationale, followed by Phase 1, 2 & 3. Rationale dumps the reader into the end of the story - although we have no idea what has gone before, where husband discusses with wife his intention to write a book about what has occurred. He outlines some concepts and is told categorically that the book shall be constructed around three phases; they discuss a kicking off quotation, where she chooses something obscure and he says he was thinking of Tennyson, about the Kraken - and that is what we get, on the page prior to Phase One.
I should add, this is a great cover. Looking through the many other editions, I couldn't see one I liked more. Very illustrative of the creatures encountered.
I will leave it there (unusual for my reviews, I know), and award 4 stars.
I was impressed with this classic Sci-fi from 1953.
For hose who have read this book, there is an elephant in the room to identify, then move on from. If you haven't read this book, and like sci-fi, do so, but don't read this elephantine spoiler: There is no Kraken in this book. I was really looking forward to the time when the Kraken, who in my mind was controlling the sea-tanks and the pseudo-coelenterata (anemones and jellyfish are coelenterata) from deep within the ocean was going to came out and fight a final duel with mankind, but no...
So what impressed me? I think it captured an incredibly realistic response to a very unexpected world event. I believe human nature was captured very cleverly, and for the large part exposed human behaviours often at their worst. I enjoyed that Wyndham could effortlessly move from single events to a big picture and back without effecting the pacing (which was great) and without breaking the narrative too much. I enjoyed Wyndham's thoughtfulness around how the attacks took place, and around rising sea levels.
Another aspect I thought clever was making the main protagonist (but not his wife) quite dull, old fashioned and uninteresting, yet he really shines as being a good human being in spite of this. I personally found him quite funny in a very British way, especially his slightly off-beat relationship with his wife.
Although it got tiresome three quarters of the way through, the cold war aspect where Britain didn't trust Russia and Russia didn't trust Britain was amusing at first.
Finally, a note of the format of the novel. Divided into four sections - the first called Rationale, followed by Phase 1, 2 & 3. Rationale dumps the reader into the end of the story - although we have no idea what has gone before, where husband discusses with wife his intention to write a book about what has occurred. He outlines some concepts and is told categorically that the book shall be constructed around three phases; they discuss a kicking off quotation, where she chooses something obscure and he says he was thinking of Tennyson, about the Kraken - and that is what we get, on the page prior to Phase One.
I should add, this is a great cover. Looking through the many other editions, I couldn't see one I liked more. Very illustrative of the creatures encountered.
I will leave it there (unusual for my reviews, I know), and award 4 stars.
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Ejnar Mikkelsen was a Danish arctic explorer and writer who lived from 1880 to 1971. This book covers his (frankly amazing) expedition to East Greenland from 1909 to 1912.
It took me some time to warm to Mikkelsen, his attitude and his writing were brusk (I had to check my definition of this seldom used word: Abrupt and curt in manner or speech; discourteously blunt) and he had an air of cruelty in dealing with his sledge dogs which put me off side. I understand the realities that dogs are generally making a one way voyage when an expedition involves them, but it seemed an unnecessarily uncaring way to present various situations.
Nevertheless, as the reader I worked this out with Mikkelsen and came to understand he was a driven and focussed man, who was as rough around the edges, and wasted little time with the sugar coating of a statement.
In short, his expedition was established in order than he could recover the diaries of members of a previous expedition who had perished - thus his expedition needed to succeed where the previous had failed and the explorers had died - presumably from lack of food and exposure. It became an immediate reality and realistically a likely outcome for Mikkelsen and his companion, and really this story is an ‘against the odds' survival story.
As a companion, Mikkelsen has to find, in the middle of nowhere a replacement for his planned companion, Jorgensen, who succumbs to terrible frostbite and the amputation of toes on the initial sledging attempt to locate the dead men and lay in stores for the return journey of their larger expedition. Iver Iversen, mechanic on the ship ask if he might join this initial expedition and then becomes Mikkelsen's number two for the primary expedition. Both men are aware of this risks involved in this remote place.
P50
“Elsewhere in the world of man a sprain was an easy thing to cure, but here it was a mortal hurt, not only for the one who suffered it, but also for his companion who would have to wait till the other had recovered and could put his weight on that foot before he could continue. There was nothing he could do, if one of us met with the least accident; there was no help to be had, however badly we needed it, not refuge to be found: either we both got through, or we both died and became as still and frozen as everything around us.”
Ejnar Mikkelsen was a Danish arctic explorer and writer who lived from 1880 to 1971. This book covers his (frankly amazing) expedition to East Greenland from 1909 to 1912.
It took me some time to warm to Mikkelsen, his attitude and his writing were brusk (I had to check my definition of this seldom used word: Abrupt and curt in manner or speech; discourteously blunt) and he had an air of cruelty in dealing with his sledge dogs which put me off side. I understand the realities that dogs are generally making a one way voyage when an expedition involves them, but it seemed an unnecessarily uncaring way to present various situations.
Nevertheless, as the reader I worked this out with Mikkelsen and came to understand he was a driven and focussed man, who was as rough around the edges, and wasted little time with the sugar coating of a statement.
In short, his expedition was established in order than he could recover the diaries of members of a previous expedition who had perished - thus his expedition needed to succeed where the previous had failed and the explorers had died - presumably from lack of food and exposure. It became an immediate reality and realistically a likely outcome for Mikkelsen and his companion, and really this story is an ‘against the odds' survival story.
As a companion, Mikkelsen has to find, in the middle of nowhere a replacement for his planned companion, Jorgensen, who succumbs to terrible frostbite and the amputation of toes on the initial sledging attempt to locate the dead men and lay in stores for the return journey of their larger expedition. Iver Iversen, mechanic on the ship ask if he might join this initial expedition and then becomes Mikkelsen's number two for the primary expedition. Both men are aware of this risks involved in this remote place.
P50
“Elsewhere in the world of man a sprain was an easy thing to cure, but here it was a mortal hurt, not only for the one who suffered it, but also for his companion who would have to wait till the other had recovered and could put his weight on that foot before he could continue. There was nothing he could do, if one of us met with the least accident; there was no help to be had, however badly we needed it, not refuge to be found: either we both got through, or we both died and became as still and frozen as everything around us.”
This was an interesting one - I had clearly not read the blurb before starting as I was getting major deja vu, thinking that I was sure I hadn't read this before, but aspects of it were familiar. Turns out I read a book called [b:The Galapagos Affair 12402623 The Galapagos Affair John Treherne https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328818208l/12402623.SY75.jpg 4461199], which was written way after the fact, but used this book and another from another island inhabitant as source material. I didn't enjoy that book much (2 stars), but I didn't review it at the time.I have somewhat jumped ahead though. Some vague spoilers below, but I have stayed away from the good stuff!In August 1932 the author and her husband, along with this son (her stepson) landed on Floreana, an island in the Galapagos Island group. They were a German couple who longed for a simpler life, and managed to arrange their staying there with the Ecuadorean government. There were another two people on the island, also German. He was an eccentric nudist vegetarian doctor, named Friedrich Ritter and a supposed disciple Dore Strauch, who were there without their respective spouses and have a complex and frictional relationship! They were, can you believe, not the most strange occupants as the self-styled Austrian Baroness Wagner de Bosquet turned up not long after, with three (German) men in tow and began requisitioning things and taking goods and gifts left for the Wittmer's!I don't think I can explain the plot of the above more than to say people die in circumstances that vary depending on who tells the story, others disappear without trace. The book mentioned above tries to untangle the web, but this book tells only the Wittmer's version of things.But more than these bizarre interactions, this is the story of this intrepid family starting (literally) from scratch, clearing scrub to plant vegetables and living in a cave while building a house from timbers cut from the available trees, and just finding a way to survive. They couple are genuinely very hard working, share all their trials and tribulations not being selective about sharing the things they did wrong or failed at, but equally celebrated their successes.Written from her diaries and not published until 1959 (in German, translated and published in English in 1961), it covers a huge timespan, as they couples son (the eldest of their two children born on the island) is married at the end of the book in the late 1950s.Famous visitors include the US President at the time Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thor Heyerdahl. Over the years the couple made strong connections with Americans from Multi-millionaire yacht owners to the military who used the Galapagos as naval and surveillance bases in the pre-war years, but thankfully they were recognised as not supporting the Nazi regime and were very well supported through the war years.There was loads going on that I haven't mentioned, and this was a really engaging read. The translation was obviously done well, as the flow of the narrative was maintained throughout.The one thing not addressed in this book is the damage done by settlers life on this island - but more than them by the cattle, pigs and dogs introduced (before these settlers) on one of the most remarkable island groups in the world.I thought this really interesting for a wide range of reasons!4 stars
This was an interesting one - I had clearly not read the blurb before starting as I was getting major deja vu, thinking that I was sure I hadn't read this before, but aspects of it were familiar. Turns out I read a book called [b:The Galapagos Affair 12402623 The Galapagos Affair John Treherne https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328818208l/12402623.SY75.jpg 4461199], which was written way after the fact, but used this book and another from another island inhabitant as source material. I didn't enjoy that book much (2 stars), but I didn't review it at the time.I have somewhat jumped ahead though. Some vague spoilers below, but I have stayed away from the good stuff!In August 1932 the author and her husband, along with this son (her stepson) landed on Floreana, an island in the Galapagos Island group. They were a German couple who longed for a simpler life, and managed to arrange their staying there with the Ecuadorean government. There were another two people on the island, also German. He was an eccentric nudist vegetarian doctor, named Friedrich Ritter and a supposed disciple Dore Strauch, who were there without their respective spouses and have a complex and frictional relationship! They were, can you believe, not the most strange occupants as the self-styled Austrian Baroness Wagner de Bosquet turned up not long after, with three (German) men in tow and began requisitioning things and taking goods and gifts left for the Wittmer's!I don't think I can explain the plot of the above more than to say people die in circumstances that vary depending on who tells the story, others disappear without trace. The book mentioned above tries to untangle the web, but this book tells only the Wittmer's version of things.But more than these bizarre interactions, this is the story of this intrepid family starting (literally) from scratch, clearing scrub to plant vegetables and living in a cave while building a house from timbers cut from the available trees, and just finding a way to survive. They couple are genuinely very hard working, share all their trials and tribulations not being selective about sharing the things they did wrong or failed at, but equally celebrated their successes.Written from her diaries and not published until 1959 (in German, translated and published in English in 1961), it covers a huge timespan, as they couples son (the eldest of their two children born on the island) is married at the end of the book in the late 1950s.Famous visitors include the US President at the time Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thor Heyerdahl. Over the years the couple made strong connections with Americans from Multi-millionaire yacht owners to the military who used the Galapagos as naval and surveillance bases in the pre-war years, but thankfully they were recognised as not supporting the Nazi regime and were very well supported through the war years.There was loads going on that I haven't mentioned, and this was a really engaging read. The translation was obviously done well, as the flow of the narrative was maintained throughout.The one thing not addressed in this book is the damage done by settlers life on this island - but more than them by the cattle, pigs and dogs introduced (before these settlers) on one of the most remarkable island groups in the world.I thought this really interesting for a wide range of reasons!4 stars
Well, I never saw that coming. That's a twist - well done Roddy Doyle. This is why I enjoy your books - that, and how fecking Irish they are, how Dublin they are, and your dialogue. Nobody does Dublin-esque dialogue like Roddy Doyle.
Victor Forde is fifty-four, and has been asked to leave his house by his wife. He moves back to the neighborhood of his childhood. He starts going to the local pub for a couple of pints in the evening. And there he is cornered by a man, Fitzpatrick, who claims he went to school with him - but Victor can't remember him. But Fitzpatrick seems to know a lot about his school years. Victor certainly doesn't like him, but he is aways around on the periphery of his day to day activities.
So the novel is a slow reveal, it flashes back through Victor's life - the Christian Brothers run school (memories of one particular Brother - who couldn't keep his hands to himself), how he met his beautiful and successful wife (although they never got around to getting married), his career in journalism and writing. And it is cleverly crafted. There are layers of information, and there are gaps - some gaps are filled in due course, others are not. Then, there is the ending.
It has been a while since I have ready a Roddy Doyle novel. Too long, and this one was excellent, although it is sad and dark, (and deals with some sexual abuse, so consider that if that is triggering for you as a reader). As another reviewer put it, you don't realise how clever the writing is until the end.
4.5 stars, rounded down.
Well, I never saw that coming. That's a twist - well done Roddy Doyle. This is why I enjoy your books - that, and how fecking Irish they are, how Dublin they are, and your dialogue. Nobody does Dublin-esque dialogue like Roddy Doyle.
Victor Forde is fifty-four, and has been asked to leave his house by his wife. He moves back to the neighborhood of his childhood. He starts going to the local pub for a couple of pints in the evening. And there he is cornered by a man, Fitzpatrick, who claims he went to school with him - but Victor can't remember him. But Fitzpatrick seems to know a lot about his school years. Victor certainly doesn't like him, but he is aways around on the periphery of his day to day activities.
So the novel is a slow reveal, it flashes back through Victor's life - the Christian Brothers run school (memories of one particular Brother - who couldn't keep his hands to himself), how he met his beautiful and successful wife (although they never got around to getting married), his career in journalism and writing. And it is cleverly crafted. There are layers of information, and there are gaps - some gaps are filled in due course, others are not. Then, there is the ending.
It has been a while since I have ready a Roddy Doyle novel. Too long, and this one was excellent, although it is sad and dark, (and deals with some sexual abuse, so consider that if that is triggering for you as a reader). As another reviewer put it, you don't realise how clever the writing is until the end.
4.5 stars, rounded down.