Bound to interest

Book title	Author	Synopsis	Recommended by
*22. Narrow dog to Carcassonne*	Terry Darlington	Terry and Monica Darlington are intrepid pensioners who made the surprising decision to sail their canal narrow boat 1600 miles across France and down to the Mediterranean, accompanied only by their whippet Jim. They took advice from nautical experts, who told them they would lose their boat, their lives, and indeed their whippet Jim. Narrow Dog to Carcassonne is a true story of high adventure in France, England, Belgium and out at sea, as experienced by two innocents and a reluctant dog. Breakdowns, floods, accidents, hangovers, vandals, dicks, trolls, aliens, gongoozlers, killer fish and the walking dead stand between our intrepid crew and their goal ~ the many-towered Carcassonne. I was given this book while staying at my daughter's home for Christmas and though promising not to start it until I returned home, I opened the book and that was it. My daughter and her family had a very quiet Christmas as I became engrossed in this very entertaining book. My pleasure was made more so because I have had many happy holidays on a narrow boat and had travelled on all the canals mentioned. The book is an excellently written, humorous story and I laughed out loud many times. His description of events were so well depicted that I could almost imagine I was there! If you want a well written, good read, do try this one and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.	Joan Hobbs (Recommended July 2007)
*21. The House by the Thames*	Gillian Tindall	Just across the River Thames from St Paul's Cathedral stands an old and elegant house. Over the course of almost 450 years the dwelling on this site has witnessed many changes. From it's windows, people have watched the ferrymen carry Londoners to and from Shakespeare's Globe; they have gazed on the Great Fire; they have seen the countrified lanes of London's marshy south bank give way to a network of wharves, workshops and tenements ~ then seen these, too, become dust and empty air. This fascinating book uses contemporary observations to bring the centuries and the people to life. It is a welcome instance of a history book that has the ability to raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Gillian Tindall has researched in great depth the history of Number 49 Bankside and the surrounding area. A highly scholastic work and, importantly, so very readable. Having been quite closely aware of the district, and enjoyed many pints in "The Anchor" tavern in Mrs. Thrale's bar, I was gripped by this very interesting work.	Bob Dwyer-Joyce (Recommended April 2007)
*20. The Life of Pi*	Yan Martell	After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains floating in the wild blue Pacific. The crew consists of a hyena, a zebra, a female orang-utan, a 450 pound Royal Bengal tiger and Pi a 16 -year-old Indian boy. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary pieces of literary fiction of recent years. I came across this fascinating story while on holiday, it was a leave-behind in the hotel where we were staying. I found it a tremendous read and one that I encourage you to try if you have not already done so. Sadly I was so engrossed that I read it far too quickly and now wished I had savoured it, like a good wine, on the palate.	*Bob Dwyer-Joyce* (Recommended November 2006)
*19. Remember me*	Lesley Pearse	If you’ve ever been curious about what it must have been like for the convicts who were shipped off to Australia then you should read "Remember me" by Lesley Pearce, a book based on a true story. Recently a television programme, "The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant", was aired, but as so often happens the programme did not do justice to the book ~ so much was glossed over. However, if you enjoyed the programme I urge you to read the book. Whilst doing so you can almost smell the stench of the hold on board ship and suffer the starvation and depravity along with Mary, a young girl from Cornwall who stole food because she was hungry. She was sentenced to death but was reprieved and sent to Australia. This is an enlightening story and a cracking good read.	*Hilda Bennett* (Recommended July 2006)
*18. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian*	Marina Lewycka	Two years after the author's mother died her 84-year-old father falls in love with a glamorous blonde 36-year-old Ukrainian divorcee. A voluptuous fluffy pink gold-digger with a proclivity for green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine. Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must put aside a lifetime of feuding to save their émigré engineer father from Valentina who will stop at nothing in her pursuit of Western wealth. As the story unfolds family secrets are uncovered and 50 years of Europe's darkest history is revealed which sends them back to roots that they would rather forget. This is the sort of book that, once started, one feels the need to read through to the end without putting it down. One of the most interesting and funny reads that I have had for some time, in fact I experienced the rare pleasure of laughing out loud on several occasions. Throughout the humour a darker shadow gradually gathers. A most satisfying and stimulating read.	*Bob* *Dwyer-Joyce* (Recommended May 2006)
*17. Blood and Roses*	Helen Castor	Blood and Roses is an old tale told anew. Helen Castor has taken the thousand or so Paston letters and extracted from them a saga of that 15th Century Norfolk family, covering four generations. They slowly and painfully climb up the social ladder by land purchase, legal service to their superiors and judicious marriages. In an age when a claim to property could mean years of litigation and often physical intimidation, Margaret Paston, as wife, mother and widow, held the fort (almost literally at times), in Norfolk while her husband and sons were immersed in the Courts of London or engaged in the Wars of the Roses. Hence the voluminous correspondence, covering anything and everything, from attacks on disputed property to requests for lengths of cloth and ounces of spices from London.	Paul Byford (Recommended December 2005)
*16. Mr Golightly’s Holiday*	Salley Vickers	Having read Salley Vickers’ first book, the superb Miss Garnett’s Angel, I knew her second book would be as fascinating. Chosen as holiday reading, it was purely coincidental that I started it as I was travelling on a boat down the River Dart in Devon ~ the chosen background for the story. From the moment Mr Golightly ~ an international best-selling author ~ arrives in his old Morris Traveller in a tiny Dartmoor village intent on finding a little peace and quiet in which to bring his magnum opus up-to-date, the fun begins. I was enthralled as the village characters are introduced into Mr Golightly’s life, each one so cleverly drawn. However, a mystery lingers over our hero’s past although we know of Mr Golightly’s sadness over his only son’s death. The pace is quite fast and we quickly flip from laughter to pathos. I own up to not guessing the surprising twist at the novel’s end. So, like many readers, I immediately began re-reading the book ~ something I rarely do. This is a clever, thought-provoking novel.	*Sylvia Kent* (Recommended November 2005)
15. The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	This is an enthralling book which starts in Afghanistan prior to the arrival of the Russians and gives an insight into the way of life of an affluent Afghan family and the problems experienced with the changes in that country. Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to gain the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-flying tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him ~ for he always helps Amir ~ but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father's heart. Reading it one feels it is the story of the writer himself, with the difficulties he has as he grows to manhood in the shadow of his beloved but strong-minded father. It is a powerful story that will not be easy to forget.	Gillian Gibbs (Recommended October 2005)
*14. Chinese Cinderella*	Adeline Yen Mah	Anyone who read Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah will enjoy her book Chinese Cinderella, the secret story of an unwanted daughter ~ "After school was let out in the early afternoon, I waited with all the other first-graders by the school gate. One by one they were greeted and led away by their anxiously hovering mothers. Eventually, I was the only one left. Nobody had come for me." Her family considered her to be bad luck because her mother died giving birth to her, and her stepmother was cruel to her. Chinese Cinderella captures the pain and longing of a young girl as she tried to find the love and affection she craves. It is both heartbreaking yet inspirational, simple but profoundly moving. The book follows her life up to the age of 14 and although it is published in a "Puffin" edition, it is suitable for, and interesting to, adults and children.	*Jackie Towler* (Recommended July 2005)
13. The Time Traveller’s Wife	Audrey Niffeneger	This is the story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six and married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry was thirty! Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock resets and he finds himself suddenly in his past or future. Henry and Clare struggle to live normal lives as Henry continues to time travel. His experiences of his varying ages are not always happy meanwhile Clare accepts his comings and goings as part of her life.	Jane Dixon (Recommended June 2005)
*12. An Unfinished Life*	Mark Sprague	The author lives in Cody, Wyoming, where he draws on that area for his novel. On the cover notes An Unfinished Life is described as "a tremendously accomplished, elegantly written and paced tale of love and loss, the bonds of grief and blood and the complex turnings of the human heart" and "The writing is of considerable grace and beauty plus there’s a compelling tale." Mark Sprague’s writing conjures up pictures of the American mid-west where the tale of a 10-year-old girl and her widowed mother who is unlucky in the various men she has attempted to live with since her husband’s death, unfolds. This is a page-turner which illustrates with beautifully crafted words the lives of those living in a small town in the cattle country of America. Places with names like Sioux Falls and the Bighorn Mountains feature in this, the latest novel by this most eloquent of writers.	Brian Leith (Recommended April 2005)
*11. Diary of an Ordinary Woman*	Margaret Foster	This is a very absorbing life story. Any would-be writers amongst us will find it an ideal model. Millicent King, born in 1901, begins her diaries just before the First World War. She records the events she lives through as the middle member of a large family. They all become well-known to us as we hear about their lives. "Milly" is no ordinary character however. She trains as a teacher, then gives it up to become a private tutor in Rome. Later she turns to social work during the 1930s. In the Second World War she drives an ambulance through the streets of London. Without meaning to she falls in love a couple of times and is completely honest about this time of her life. You will travel through the twentieth century with her and notice the big changes that have taken place. I thought this a very gripping read ~ a book that is difficult to put down.	Mary Patterson (Recommended March 2005)
*10. The Sucker's Kiss*	Alan Parker	During the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, seven-year-old Thomas Moran becomes separated from his mother and sisters and eventually embarks on a career of pick-pocketing. He grows to manhood, travelling across America through Prohibition and the Depression, meeting Italian and Chinese gangsters, con-artists, corrupt clergy and speak-easy bootleggers, who all play a part in his destiny. In the course of his immoral life he meets and falls in love with Effie, whose father owns a vineyard, and it is this that gives him the chance to change his life. I found it a compelling story of low life America and well worth reading.	Geoffrey Spratt (Recommended January 2005)
9. Sputnik Sweetheart	Haruki Murakami	This book, which was translated from the original Japanese by Philip Gabriel, is an undoubted future classic. It is written in the first person by K, an admirer of Sumire, a young, rather hippie type girl, who falls in love; with, to her own astonishment, an older very sophisticated business woman called Miu. Sumire yearns to be, and believes she is, a future great writer but somehow she cannot realize her talent. She is given a job by Miu and travels with her and eventually in the course of this their relationship deepens. On holiday with her on a small island retreat, Sumire disappears completely, leaving all her possessions, and Miu calls in K to help her search for her. This is not a story about lesbians but is a beautifully written tale of human emotions; love and loss, happiness and unhappiness. In his search for her, K reads some of her recent writings, containing accounts of strange dreams she has had and an extraordinary adventure Miu suffered on a deserted Ferris wheel, amongst other things. It was a book I did not want to put down.	Geoffrey Spratt (Recommended October 2004)
*8. A Short History of Nearly Everything*	Bill Bryson	A great book in more ways than one, but don't be put off by its size or its title ~ Bill still writes in the easy, friendly and witty way he uses in his travel books. He begins with the creation of the Universe and goes through to the tendency of we humans to destroy it and in between meets with many a strange anomaly, an interesting fact or statistic, and a quirky human being. He took three years to research and write it. Do take a few hours to read it, you won't regret it.	Paul Byford (Recommended August 2004)
7. Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence	Dora Pilkington: Nugi Garimara	This is the true story of three half-caste Aboriginal girls, Mollie and her sisters Daisy and Grace, who undertook a trek of about 1,000 miles, walking across remote Western Australia. They were then aged 8, 11 and 14 years respectively and had escaped from a government institutional confinement for Aboriginal children, supposedly held there for "their Greater good". The children had been taken from their families in order to "westernise" them into the new white pioneer's society. They walked barefoot, without maps or provisions, hunted by native Police trackers and search planes. Doggedly they followed the rabbit proof fence, knowing that it would lead them to their home. The journey tells of the hardships and prejudices they had to encounter, and gives an insight into this dark period of Australian history.	Myra Bruce (Recommended July 2004)
6. Eats, shoots, and Leaves	Lynne Truss	How often, as we have gone about our daily lives, have we squirmed at the misuse of punctuation in advertising notices ~ in particular the apostrophe which has a life of its own and pops up in the most unlikely places, though at other times seems to be on holiday when it should be in there doing its job. This book is a study of the intricate subject of punctuation in our language. It is a book that stimulates the old grey matter, as well as providing much amusement. The title refers to the feeding habits of the panda which eats shoots and leaves.	Brian Leith (Recommended June 2004)
5. To the Edge of the Sky	Anhua Gao	If you "enjoyed" Wild Swan then I am sure you will feel the same about this book. Growing up in the harsh ideology of communist China, Anhua suffered appallingly and witnessed innumerable horrors and shocking inhumanity with her life torn apart by the whims of the state. Moving, sometimes shocking, but always compelling this is the tale of someone who, against unbelievable odds, survived and finally found happiness, here in Britain ~ the land on the edge of the sky.	Evina Montgomery (Recommended May 2004)
4. Where there's a Will	John Mortimer	Published in 2003, this book is a delightful read, ideal for the bedside or to pick up and peruse in and idle moment. Written almost as a series of short essays, it deals with a wide variety of subjects, from Shakespeare to Sex, staring with the legacy he received from his father (the house, and the advice "advice is perfectly useless"). He is scathing about much of the Government's new legislation, such as making outdoor sex a crime and foxhunting, and he has something acute and witty to say on many aspects of life today, also reflecting on such things as art, getting drunk, children and the companionship of women. Beryl Bainbridge described his work as "Warm, shrewd, and comforting musings," and Fay Weldon remarked that it was "Charming, intelligent, cheerful, mellifluous, gossipy and wise." I have no argument with any of that.	Geoffrey Spratt (Recommended April 2004)
3. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency	Alexander McCall Smith	The author won the first Saga award for wit at the 2003 Folkestone Literary Festival (admittedly the author has to be over 50!), and two Booker judges special recommendations. Reading the book I felt a great sense of relief at the imperturbable good humour of the author ~ most modern humorous books use such unpleasant situations and nasty people that I can't feel any amusement. The stories are set in Botswana, a country and its people that the author knows thoroughly and loves. They are focused on Mme Ramotswe, who has decided to set up as a lady detective in her own locality. She is not really another Miss Marple ~ she does not intend to become involved in crime. Each book in the series contains several stories told with benign amusement and admiration. The "traditionally built" heroine (who has no difficulty finding dresses of adequate dimensions) is well-informed, intelligent, courageous, good at judging character and full of common good sense and good humour. The books Morality for Beautiful Girls and Tears of the Giraffe continue the account and there are others to come. Really nice to read and nails can remain unbitten.	Tony Holmes (Recommended March 2004)
2. Looking on Darkness	Andre Brink	The back cover describes it as: A novel of stature that explores our cancerous condition more persistently than any other novel has done before and without the benefit of an anaesthetic." The words controversial, strikingly effective, banned and critical acclaim also appear but not the word "enjoyable". Yet it is so well written and gives so graphic a picture of South Africa in the times of apartheid that it must surely rank amongst the classics in the future. It tells the story of Jacob Malan, a black boy born on a farm in the middle of the last century, who is sent t school by his "Baas", after being discovered reading a "borrowed" book and becomes imbued by a burning desire to become an actor. the difficulties of pursuing such an ambition are brilliantly illustrated, as are Jacob's feelings as he tries to make his way against the oppositions and encouragements he encounters. The whole atmosphere of a clack man, living in the South Africa of those days is perfectly reflected in the boy's progress to manhood, growing up in what was originally a slave environment. It presents a very clear and surprisingly fair picture of the treatment of blacks by their white masters, though no punches are held and the struggle of the blacks for justice and the recognition of their humanity becomes increasingly bitter as the book progresses.	Geoffrey Spratt (Recommended January 2004)
1. Schott's Original Miscellany	Ben Schott	This book is precisely what it says it is ~ a collection of the most bizarre facts that include such detail as a history of the hat tax, the first class dinner menu for the Titanic the night she sank, famous last words, and many, many more. It is a book that contains something about which each of us could say "I didn't know that" ~ whether we would have wanted to or not is another matter!	Brian Leith (Recommended December 2003)