Has anyone read the "The New York Trilogy" by Paul AusterI got it when I was off on a 'good reading' kick and it had high recommendations. I first read it and although found it a bit tedious, convinced myself that it was good and a deep book about innate knowledgeI read it again recently and it's absolute total utter shite.
Has anyone read Stephen King's new book 'Fairy Tale'? I'm 100 or so pages in and fuck all has happened really. Extremely slow burner but going to persevere as he usually doesn't let you down.
Fairy TaleI was away recently on holidays somewhere Dutch, and I searched out and paid for the hardback of this in English, on a day trip to Utrecht. The following day, I started and finished it. Now, I had a good armchair, a lake view, plenty of cigarettes and beer and a wife mostly willing to leave me alone but still. I can't remember the last time I did that, if ever. Not for a book of more than 500 pages, certainly.It's a thumper. I saw someone on the twitter machine comment with desperation that there was "no good place to stop". There are echoes of The Hunger Games, King's own The Long Walk and 11/22/63 or Neil Gaiman's Stardust. There are strong whiffs of Narnia about the place, there are evil Kings and good but cursed Princesses, disfigured but kind loners, wicked dwarves and royal insects. The story starts with our almost adult hero dealing with loss, grief and danger in the real world before going to a different sort of reality, and there's a faithful dog who is actually a big thread in the tale. I suspect King had an old dog in the house when he was writing this, and I had one at home being minded by my college age son, so it was plinking a lot of strings for me.As I've said before in this thread, King can be a bit hit and miss. I went through a phase of not finishing a couple of his books, I just wasn't that bothered, but this one I fucking devoured. He also tends to start big and trail off somewhat but this one keeps going like a train all the way to the finish. His best in a while.
I know this thread is dominated by fiction but for those of you who like history and want to see it written from the perspective of those who lost, this is a fantastic book, the peasants revolt, the 1536 'Pilgrimage of Grace' uprising, the general strike, Peterloo and the Chartists, the English Civil War. It just makes you realise how this country has remained in the hands of the establishment by good luck and fortune and how much, over the years, the masses have been controlled and conned.Frank Mclynn writes in a detailed but really accessible manner, well researched every time
I’ve just started Robert Harris’s “Act of Oblivion”, about the manhunt for the regicides of Charles I. I like all his books, but much prefer his historical novels which are well researched yet very accessible. If you haven’t read them I very much recommend his Cicero trilogy and his book about the Dreyfus Affair.
I really like his WW2 books too. There was one I read recently though that I found a bit lightweight & clunky: Conclave. Just didn’t seem to be his usual standard.
Enjoyed Conclave as it was a pretty quick, easy read but agree it wasn't as meaty as his usual. Munich I thought was a bit phoned-in as well. Really looking forward to AOO though.
Robert Harris's Fatherland was one of the best books I read, I loved Archangel as well.
Two really superb stories, with believable characters and solid enough research to lend verisimilitude to the alternate histories proposed...
Too true, Fatherland terrified me.
Sad news - Hilary Mantel, author of the Wolf Hall trilogy, has died aged 70.
Just finished China by Edward Rutherfurd and loved it. His books are usually vast, sprawling epics set over hundreds or even thousands of years, akin to James Michener. This one is a bit different and is set from the opium wars to the Boxer rebellion, roughly 60 years.
Really enjoyed the Flashman book set during the Taiping Rebellion, Flashman and the Dragon. Would the above be a good choice for someone who followed Flashy's (s)exploits up the Yangtze?
Bit hard to say. It's very different to Flashman but there is a character in that rebellion. The story is about 4 or 5 people and their families over time. Flashy would have liked one of the ladies. Theres interesting parts about feet binding, eunuchs and Brits invading and being twats.
Flashman is different to most everything, fair point. I find the time period fascinating from a historical perspective. How's Rutherford's background research? Never read anyof his stuff, although have read some Michener.
Mrs has bought the Richard Osman book (1st one). Worth a read?
Reading act of oblivion by Robert Harris. About the hunt to find two regicides who fled England after the restoration of the monarchy.It’s really quite dull to be honest. I somehow don’t care about the hunter or the hunted
It’s an enjoyable whodunnit. It’s very Osman …. Lots of discussion of biscuits and cakes..
It's OK. Apparently his 2nd and 3rd are better but not read those.For anyone who likes mystery, other than a lot of Agatha Christie, I found Anthony Horowitz to be a great mystery writer. His Hawthorne murder books are great and so is his stand alone ones (Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders).
