The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce by Paul Torday

Wilberforce is a computer geek who turns his teenage hobby into a multi-million-pound software business, working long days and spending the nights at home alone with a takeaway. By his 30s, he is rich and successful but restless and bored. When he stumbles into a local wine shop and is befriended by the smart, sophisticated owner, he finds everything that he has been missing: a father figure, a new obsession, interesting friends and a woman to love.

Torday tells the story in four sections, each describing a different year, but he has chosen to reverse the chronology. The book begins with Wilberforce as a befuddled drunk, staggering around Mayfair, drinking 250 units of alcohol every week. His wife is dead, his friends have deserted him and he is losing his grip on reality, regularly slithering into weird hallucinations about a kidnap in Colombia.
By the end of the novel, Wilberforce is a hopeful young man, embarking on a new and thrilling phase of his life. He's never drunk much except Diet Coke and the odd beer, but now he's learning how to taste wine. For the first time in his life, he's made some friends and even entered the charmed circle of the ridiculously wealthy. He feels sure that he's on the brink of great things.
This is the complete antithesis of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, its dark take on addiction does not produce many light-hearted moments.  At the end of the book I found myself disliking Wilberforce for wasting his life in such a manner which I guess was a result of being completely drawn in by the story. 

Very readable

The Fire Gospel by Michael Faber

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Theo Griepenkerl is a scholar of ancient languages and is resigned to a life of obscurity.  Then on an artefact-finding mission to Iraq he ‘rescues’ some Aramaic scrolls from a bombed museum and smuggles them home to Canada.  What his translation reveals is the work of a scribe called Malchus: an early Christian and contemporary of Christ himself.  The scrolls give a frank eyewitness account of the Crucifixion which could have incendiary implications for the faith of millions and Theo now has a publishing sensation to promote.

This is a great little book, a combination of theological satire and book-world farce and Faber does not hold back on stirring things up.  It’s funny and thought-provoking as we follow Theo on a rollercoaster ride as a newbie author with a publishing sensation on his hands.  At the same time we are treated to the warts and all writings of Malchus.  It’s a celebration of human fallibility.

Highly recommended.

The Hopeless Life of Charlie Summers by Paul Torday

Hector Chetwode-Talbot, Eck to his friends, has left the army and is slightly at a loss as to what to do next, when he is approached by an old army pal, Bilbo Mountwilliam.  Bilbo runs an investment fund company and persuades Eck to join the company as a 'greeter'.  All Eck has to do is supply the contacts with entertainment and large G&Ts and then the fund managers will do the rest. Soon Eck is able to buy himself a luxury sports car and a decadent flat in the city.

It is on a golfing trip to France with his friend Henry Newark that Eck first meets Charlie Summers, a fly-by-night entrepreneur who is hiding out in France after a 'misunderstanding with Her Majesty's Customs and Revenue'. Charlie's latest scheme is to import Japanese dog food into the UK.  Henry casually mentions that Charlie should 'look us up' if he is ever in Gloucestershire. Not only does Charlie Summers look Henry up, he arrives with his suitcase, intent on staying with the Newarks and relaunching his dog food business in their area.

Torday’s novel contrasts dog food and fund management and in the end they both come out smelling rather ‘off’.  Charlie and Eck both have to make decisions about their ethics when it comes to making money and have to suffer the consequences.  The book is a comfortable read but the underlying message is unmistakeable and lives up to its predecessor “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”

Recommended

Anzac Fury by Peter Thompson

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Anzac Fury commemorates the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe when 8900 Anzac prisoners of war captured in Greece and Crete were released from captivity.

In 2010 it was exactly 70 years since the 2nd AIF arrived in the Middle East to begin their extraordinary adventures in battles against the German and Italian armies in North Africa, mainland Greece and Crete prior to the outbreak of the Pacific War. Anzac Fury tells the riveting story of how the legendary Anzac Corps was reformed in the heat of battle during World War II to fight a powerful and merciless foe. Dramatically combining personal memories with combat action, it gives voice to the experiences of young Australians and New Zealanders who were sent on Churchill's orders from the victorious battlefields of Libya on a disastrous mission to Greece and Crete. A companion volume to the author’s 2008 publication Pacific Fury, this book celebrates the Anzac spirit of sacrifice, mateship, courage and endurance.

In my view this is a much better book than Pacific Fury. It’s more emotionally engaging, I think because it deals with a specific campaign and this allows Thompson to include a lot more detail from a lot more of the participants from both sides. As a consequence the story flows better and I had a better grasp of the issues.

Highly recommended

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Pacific Fury by Peter Thompson

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Pacific Fury is written from a (mostly) Australian perspective and the book brings to life the barbarity, sacrifice and the bravery of the Pacific War, from Pearl Harbour to Kokoda to Hiroshima.  This account places Australian voices and action at the heart of the struggle and recreates the battles of land, sea and air that they were involved in.

Pacific Fury is a valuable general account of an enormous and complex subject, the Pacific War and Australia’s part in it.  It also lays to rest the slurs and smears from US and British leaders about the quality and bravery of the Aussie fighting men and women.

Now, while epic in its scope, I believe that Pacific Fury would have been better served with some severe editing of the accounts of the Americans involvement which tended to dissipate the Australians contributions.

Recommended (especially if you like military history)

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Surface Detail by Iain M Banks

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‘The New Culture Novel’
Surface Detail begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.  It begins with a murder.  And it will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself.  Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit. Prepared to risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is at a price, and to put things right she will need the help of the Culture.  Benevolent, enlightened and almost infinitely resourceful though it may be, the Culture can only do so much for any individual. With the assistance of one of its most powerful - and arguably deranged - warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure which side the Culture is really on. A war - brutal, far-reaching – is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead, and it's about to erupt into reality.
Iain Banks is one of my favourite SF writers and Surface Detail is one his best Culture novels yet.  I think this quote sums it up nicely "...what sets this book apart is the quality of the writing and the depth of the author's imagination. Amongst all the mayhem, Banks raises some interesting questions about identity, death and the whole point of Hell."  I found Surface Detail absolutely engrossing.
A Must Read

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What The Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

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What The Dog Saw is the third book that I have read of Gladwell’s and in it he presents nineteen researched and provocative essays, each with a narrative that leads to a thought-provoking analysis. The explorations here delve into subjects as varied as why some people choke while others panic; how changes meant to make a situation safer — like childproof lids on medicine — don't help because people often compensate with more reckless behavior; and the idea that genius is inextricably tied up with precocity.

In each essay, he offers a glimpse into the minds of an array of fascinating characters. What The Dog Saw is organized into three categories:

Part One contains stories about what Gladwell calls "minor geniuses," and what drives them and why they get the results they get.

Part Two demonstrates theories, or ways of organizing experience. For example, "Million-Dollar Murray" explores the problem of homelessness — how to solve it, and whether solving it for the most extreme and costly cases makes sense as policy.

In Part Three, Gladwell examines the predictions we make about people. He writes about how educators evaluate young teachers, how the FBI profiles criminals, how job interviewers form snap judgments. He is candid in his skepticism about these methods but fascinated by the various attempts to measure talent or personality.

These are a sampling of the stories that Gladwell wrote the formed the basis of his previous two books, ‘The Tipping Point” and “Blink’.  And again it’s a fascinating read as the author presents a topic, explains how it works and then examines its success or failure in the real world.  What The Dog Saw is thought provoking at its best.

Highly recommended.

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