Review: A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book about a man living life to the full while under house arrest feels like pretty much essential reading in these times. Mind you, he does have the run of a posh hotel - so has a lot more space to kick about in than most of us at the moment.

Not too sure how tolerant I would be of the underlying message that friends and family that make our life rich rather than worldly experiences if I wasn't living in a lockdown situation. Not that it is a bad, or untrue, message, it is just that I suspect I would find it a bit simplistic if wasn't preoccupied by a pandemic. Do now feel the need to read something a bit more cynical.

But if you need a feel-good book to get you through not being able to leave the house, you could do worse than pick this up.

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Review: Glass Town

Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Girl, Woman, Other

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Each of Evaristo's 12 characters are well drawn, from the (on the surface) uptight Shirley to the non-binary Morgan. They are all believably flawed yet sympathetic individuals in their own ways. Some of the male characters come across as a bit one dimensional but that actually makes for a refreshing change to the gazillion of books out there that have one-dimensional female characters.

Not going to say anything about the book's examination of what it means to be a black woman in Britain because, well, I'm not black. Therefore, I don't really have the right to say anything other than I probably need to listen more.

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Review: Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really struggled to get through this - in fact, I skipped the penultimate chapter. Part of the issue is that it's a series of short stories (with Olive as the interconnecting theme) rather than a straightforward novel. I found keeping track of the different characters hardgoing at times (wasn't always clear if there were two characters with the same name or one character at different time points).

That said, I can't fault the writing or how well drawn the characters were. Even if a character only featured in one chapter, they were fully realised.

Oliver herself is difficult to be around. She is deeply unlikable at times but, to be fair, also relatable. So relatable that I'm not absolutely sure that I won't find myself picking up the sequel (Olive Again).





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Review: Leonard and Hungry Paul

Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think this was a noble attempt to do something different - to focus on how two ordinary, unambitious men (Leonard and Hungry Paul) can live fulfilling lives in their own way. Hungry Paul, in particular, was an interesting character. There is some implication he suffered brain damange at birth but otherwise no real explaination for why he is the way he is (a simple soul living a simple life).

However, as has been noted in other reviews, the problem with books about ordinary lives is that ordinary lives are a bit dull. Grace (Hungry Paul's sister) was a well-rounded character but her stress about her upcoming wedding was just boring to be honest. I would have preferred Hession to spend more time on her fears about having to look after parents (and Hungry Paul) in the future and what that would mean for her life than on how how the wedding planning was affecting her relationship.

Also while I didn't mind some of the farcial elements, I did balk when Hungry Paul sets up a "quiet club" in which people are meant to sit in silence for an hour. This is portrayed as a thought-provoking concept but, erm, the Quakers have been practising silent worship for more than 350 years now. So, not exactly a new idea.

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Review: The Lost Girls Of Paris

The Lost Girls Of Paris by Pam Jenoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great bit of hokum that's very much "inspired by" rather than "based on" true events. While there really were female operatives of the SOE and 12 didn't come back, this account of what happened does seem a tad implausible - veering into melodramatic Allo Allo "I wll say this only once" territory at times. Particularly unlikely is that a plucky American widow is the one to unearth their fates.

So if you want understand more about the female operatives of the SOE, read one of the books that Jenoff (who, to be fair, doesn't prevent to have written anything other than a work of fiction) recommends. If you want an enjoyable, engrossing, second world war drama, read this.

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Review: The Familiars

The Familiars by Stacey Halls
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If I could give this three and a half stars, I would. It's a good, well-plotted book. Fleetwood is a likeable, believable heroine. She does comes across more like a 30-year-old than a 17-year-old, but she's probably the equivalent of a 30-year-old today in terms of her stage in life (married and pregnant).

However, I think Halls is slightly going over old ground. Jeanette Winterson has also written about the Pendle witch trials (The Daylight Gate) and, to be honest, did a better job of it. Though comparing Halls (a first-time writer) to an established writer of Winterson's calibre is unfair; of course, Halls is going to pale by comparison.

Therefore, The Familiars is a decent read and is best judged on its own merits without comparison to earlier works. Few stories are that original anyway and somebody, somewhere will have got there first. It's just Halls' bad luck that someone was Winterson.

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