Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An engaging tale of what it is to be an "icon" - how much you have change about yourself, hide about your life, and what you're prepared to do to stay an icon. Think the concept would have worked just as well had it been the "five husbands" of Evelyn Hugo rather than seven (at least two of the husbands could have been amalgamated into one). Plus, it's bad timing for Jenkins Reid to have her book on the market when Stuart Turton has released "The Seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" - it's very easy to confuse the two books even though they're completely different plot wise

View all my reviews

Review: Coming Up Trumps: A Memoir

Coming Up Trumps: A Memoir by Jean Trumpington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

On the surface, you'd think there wasn't much to enjoy about a posh die-hard Tory (Thatcher was a hero of hers) looking back at very privileged life. But, there's actually an awful lot to enjoy. It provides an insight into a different world. One where you hop from job to job, party to party, where you can always find a gaggle of friends no mater where you end up - basically because you're rich and have the right connections. In fairness to Trumpington, she never denies she was privileged; she just embraced the opportunities that came her way. Still, it is an eye-opener to how the "other half" live.

Interestingly while she shameless name drops throughout the book, she downplays her own achievements. She implies she was at Bletchley because she had the right accent (which may well be true) but you suspect it's also because she was a very bright woman.

Overall, you get the impression that while she probably wasn't the most empathetic of people, she was honest. You might not like what she had to say but at least you could guarantee she'd say it to you rather than behind your back.

View all my reviews

Review: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this years and years ago when I was about 10 or 11 (I might have been even younger), so I decided to re-read it on the suspicion that I hadn't got most of the jokes the first time round. Needless to say, I was right - there are many, many jokes you don't pick up until you're adult (and have gone through being 13 3/4 yourself...).

The biggest surprise is that Adrian isn't as big of a pillock as I thought. Obviously, he's an idiot but no more so that your average socially inept teenager. Plus, most of the characters are pillocks - even the beloved Pandora says some cringeworthy things.

There are some digs about Thatcher and other events of the time that I just about get the reference to (I was one at the time that the book is set to be fair). But, it's surprising (and disturbing) how many parallels we can draw with our current political climate.

View all my reviews

Review: Little

Little by Edward Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although this fictional biography of Marie Tussaud (the Madame of Madame Tussauds) is well written and compelling, it's frustrating. Tussaud is often portrayed as a victim. If she's not being downtrodden by a harridan of a stepmother (though, technically, her landlady), she's being neglected by her boss/pseudo father. Tussaud went through some turbulent times to become the founder of a now world-famous museum. If there was one thing she wasn't, it was a victim. She was a survivor. Therefore, I would have preferred Carey to focus less on how awful things were for Tussaud and instead look at how gritty and determined she must have been. Plus, there's countless references to how ugly she was (sigh). Why do male authors get so fixated by the appearance of their female characters. Could they not write a female character who was plain but so charismatic that it didn't matter? Oh I forgot, my bad, it's only men who get to be plain but charismatic isn't it?


View all my reviews

Review: The Book of Forgotten Authors

The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fascinating review of once-popular authors who are now, as the title suggests, largely forgotten.

I nearly didn't buy it as I thought it was bleeding obvious why they were forgotten - they just didn't have the genius of Dickens & Austen etc. To some extent that's true but also it's because world events got in the way or their own self-destructive tendeincies did. A surprising number may be forgotten but their work isn't. Or rather the films/plays their work inspired are still widely known.

Overall, a great read for book lovers. Personally, I don't think I will seek out any of these authors. But, I do have a new-found appreciation for what happens to authors after their books leave the bestseller lists.

View all my reviews

Review: Equal Rites

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this first instalment of the Witches triology.

Granny Weatherwax is a great character - a witch whose greatest power is her death stare. Being quite fond of giving what my friends call "the look", I loved that Weatherwax can get pretty much anyone to do what she wants by giving them a hard stare.

The numerous puns were fun too as were the digs at male misogyny.

I am not in huge rush to read the other books in the trilogy but I'd definitely pick them up if I saw them.

View all my reviews

Review: Bernard Who?: 75 Years of Doing Just About Everything

Bernard Who?: 75 Years of Doing Just About Everything by Bernard Cribbins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The words "national treasure" are banded about a lot these days but Cribbins is certainly deserving of the label - the book's tagline is certainly accurate; he really has done everything (from being paratrooper, playing a serious role a Hitchcock film, to narrating the Wombles).

Most of all, he seems to be a genuinely nice man. He rarely has a bad word to say about any of the seemingly countless number of "names" he has worked with. Despite acknowledging Peter Sellars became "a prick" after becoming famous in Hollywood, Cribbins highlights that Sellars was good to him and was "a genius".

The book loses its way a little bit towards the end. Wasn't that interested in Cribbins' charity golf or cricket matches with his famous chums to be honest (to be fair, Cribbins does make a point of keeping it brief because he knows that people won't be that interested).

All in all an interesting read of man who is quite happy to take on whatever work came his way.

View all my reviews