The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker

English: the forests in new hampshire in autumn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is the author (and book) that has been touted as the new European bestseller in the vein of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

Written by Swiss author Dicker and set in America, it has garnered lots of accolades even before being translated into English. So what’s it all about?

Thirty-three years ago , fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan is glimpsed fleeing through the woods, never to be heard from again. According to the plot that was the day Somerset, New Hampshire lost its innocence.

Today Marcus Goldman, successful young novelist is visiting Somerset to see his mentor, Harry Quebert, one of Americas most respected writers, to find a cure for his writers block. But Marcus’s plan ends when Harry is implicated in the cold case murder of Nola Kellergan.

As the national media  convicts Harry, Marcus launches his own investigation, following a trail of clues through Harry’s books, the backwoods and beaches of New Hampshire and the hidden history of Somerset.

I found his to be an interesting read and compelling as the various plot turns unfold using interesting and different ways of treating the storyline. For example scattered through the book are tips that Marcus received from his mentor about how to write – each of which gives a hint of how the next section of the story will unfold.

I did feel though that the author’s ‘voice’ was somewhat naive which maybe attributable to the translation.  Overall though an extremely readable and enjoyable book, one of those that you look for any excuse to pick up (hide to read, if you will!).

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God Is Not Great (How religion poisons everything) by Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In this book Hitchens even-handedly skewers most of the major religions of the world and also many of the well known religious figures, contemporary as well historical.

To quote the Sydney Morning Herald “This easily the most impressive of the present crop of atheistic and anti-theistic books: clever, broad, witty and brilliantly argued”.

 His primary target are the three major mono-theistic religions in the world with the major target being Christianity. And just reading the chapter headings gives some insight into his arguments. (and I wish I could articulate an argument as succinctly as Hitchens does – any argument).

For example: Chapter Three - A Short Digression on the Pig; or, Why Heaven Hates Ham. Hitchens browses over fish on Fridays before moving onto Judaism and Islamic hatred of pigs and managed to bring in a discussion on Animal Farm and its banning in all Muslim countries and the irony thereof.

And; Chapter Nine – The Koran Is Borrowed from Both Jewish and Christian Myths

Then; Chapter Thirteen – Does Religion Make People Behave Better

 And lastly; Chapter Sixteen – Is Religion Child Abuse?

I think you get the idea.  Hitchens argues against religion and for a secular life based on science and  reason, and calls for a renewed enlightenment based on the proposition that the proper study of mankind is man, and woman. And further that we no longer depend on a few heroic souls but that today  it is within the reach of the average person.

Read this, or not, it’s your choice.

Highly recommended 

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Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Thomas Cromwell, chancellor of Henry VIII (Photo credit: lisby1)

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe oppose him. The quest for the petulant king’s freedom destroys his advisor, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey and leaves a power vacuum and a deadlock.

Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell the son of a blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a bully and a charmer. Cromwell has broken all the rules of a rigid society in his rise to power and is prepared to break some more as he picks his way deftly through a court where ‘man is wolf to man’. Pitting himself against parliament, the political establishment and the papacy he is prepared to reshape England to his own and Henry’s desires.

Mantel ‘s approach I found interesting as she delves into the thought processes of Cromwell as he copes with court intrigues, political manoeuvring and also personal disasters. We see through his eyes what life may have been like in Henry’s reign and also his thoughts about the part he played, his plans and schemes and his views on the historical figures of the time. I particularly liked his take on Anne Boleyn, who she was as person/character.

So it’s a large book and easy to read. If you are interested in history, politics and how life was lived in the time of Henry VIII this book is for you.

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The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

Een Goede raad (Photo credit: Djumbo)

I put off reading this for a while as I was nervous about how JK Rowling could make the transition from wizarding to writing ‘adult’ fiction. I’m happy to report that my fears have been allayed.

So, a brief overview of the book - when Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, and teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the Parish Council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen.

Well, in addition to my nervousness, the blurb on the dustjacket put me off for a little while but this is definitely worth the read. Rowling has assembled a large cast of characters, all clearly delineated and all fit in well to the design of the story.

 It's a book of discovery as we find out how each character interacts with others and it has a rising tension that culminates in a final tragedy that I never saw coming. This book shows that Rowling has moved out the shadow of the boy wizard and onto a broader stage befitting of her talent. This is definitely a good read.

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The Fault In Our Stars

Iodine-123 whole body scan for thyroid cancer evaluation. The study above was performed after the total thyroidectomy and TSH stimulation with thyroid hormone medication withdrawal. The study shows a small residual thyroid tissue in the neck and a mediastinum lesion, consistent with the thyroid cancer metastatic disease. The uptakes in the stomach and bowel are normal physiologic findings. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Fault In Our Stars

John Green

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Well, despite the grim topic, this is a celebration of life, warts and all.  It’s funny and yes it’s also sad but I found it uplifting.  It deals with a teenager with cancer just trying to live as normal a life as possible but at a higher level of emotional awareness.  But still just a girl, looking for a boy, wanting to go on dates, but limited in her choices.  I enjoyed this book immensely.

Must read.

Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman

Cover of Seven Types of Ambiguity

This 600+ page story is made up of seven sections which have at their core an impulsive act by which one of the main characters, Simon, attempts to win back the attention of his ex-girlfriend Anna, who has long since left him, moved on to someone else, married and had a child.  

Ten years after their relationship, Simon — an unemployed and directionless ex-teacher — can’t move on. And when he does make a move, his action has consequences for Anna, for her husband, for Simon’s psychiatrist, for Simon’s hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold girlfriend, and of course for Simon himself.  

Each of the seven sections is narrated by a different character and gives us a slightly different angle on the central story, and all these angles explore the ambiguities of human relationships. 

I found the book too long and sometimes pretentious and occasionally preachy.  But I still found a lot of it compelling and the long read was worth it in the end. 

Recommended

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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