Author: Chris Cleave
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A real treat., 2010-08-24
This brilliant book describes exactly the misery and frustration caused by the UK's immigration system, specifically our chronic inability to differentiate between free-loaders from abroad who are just looking for the UK benefits system to kick in to their personal profit, and those who have a genuine need of sanctuary in that being returned to their homeland would mean their probable death. It is written in the language and thinking of a female immigrant from Nigeria caught up in a system she has no chance of understanding, where her own aspirations are ignored, and where fear and intimidation are the result of any contact she has with authority of any kind. The book is heart-warming, funny, emotional and beautifully written, a real treat.

Author: David Mitchell
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Brilliant Book, 2010-08-31
This book is an absolute joy to read. It's one of those books you want never to end. In fact, I think he could have carried on for a good few more chapters. Wonder if the publisher/editor told him to stop. There's no better way to put it than he writes beautifully. Strange though it may seem I am finding it harder and harder to find fiction where the writing is excellent. Lately it seems it's the Russian greats and David Mitchell. Not that much to live up to then... If he is not awarded a major literary prize soon the world is a very unfair place.

Author: Clare Morrall
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The Man Who Disappeared - or, the Man Who Went Away for a While, 2010-08-18
A man/husband/father/bread winner takes off and no one knows where he has gone, the family are left picking up the pieces and the mother, who had enjoyed living as a home keeper, has to find employment to keep her family's head above the water, suspicions are raised about the integrity of the father and we see how the family cope with his loss and the way that other people look down upon them because of the accusations against the father.

So far so good and I did think that this would be a fast paced book which would intrigue the reader, however, although I did enjoy the story itself, I did think that so much more could have been done to develop the characters and make one emphasise/relate to them or even like them.

Also the writing style at the beginning of the book slightly annoyed me; it seemed as though Clare Morrall was more used to taking meeting notes than writing novels as many paragraphs seemed to be in the style of bullet points rather than flowing narrative, however, this style of writing does not happen so much once the middle of the book is reached.

The above said, Clare Morrall does make the reader think about just how much we know about those we choose to spend our lives with and what we would do if faced with similar circumstances. For this reason, and for the fact that it is a good idea, I have decided it is worth 3/5 stars. The writing style at the start of the book, the fact that I didn't particularly like the main characters and the way that more could have been done with the story itself lets this book down.

Author: David Mitchell
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Whoa!, 2010-07-22
Whoa.

I'm starting to wonder if David Mitchell is actually human. In this book he talks about the Iraq War and imaginary weapons of massive destruction causing wars. And it was written in 1999!

Ghostwritten is a novel told in nine separate stories, all of which interweave and interlink in startling ways. But it is not the interlinking that is most impressive. It's the purity of each story. It's stunning.

One story is about a soul that has come untethered from its blody and transmigrates into other souls around the world in search of its origin. As you catch glimpses of each life it possesses you are left with nothign but a sense of wonderment and awe. The conclusion of that story, in particular, almost made me cry.

But all the stories are incredible and full of heart - from a Japanese cultist to an Irish particle physicist on the run from American businessmen to a woman living on a holy mountain to a fragile art thief in Petersburg.

The final story, though is perhaps the most awesome. Although not as emotional as the rest (in my mind) it is extraordinary. An A.I has taken control of the world's computer and weapon systems (this all interlinks with earlier stories) and is trying to save humanity but is confilcted by its own laws, two of which come into direct contradiction. Here David Mitchell starts looking at the frailty of man and the mentalness of power and it's written entirely in dialogue.

A massive, sprawling, wonderful full book that is in love with stories and people. AWESOME

Author: Gavin Pretor-Pinney
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Always remember to keep looking up..., 2010-07-26
On one particular afternoon, not so long ago, my father came home, joyfully clutching onto a small, blue book. "What's that?" I asked. "It's a guide to cloud-spotting," he said, sitting down and immediately opening it to reveal the book's treasures. "That sounds worse than train-spotting," I said (sorry, train-spotters), blissfully unaware that later, I would have read the book from cover-to-cover, and become an avid cloud-spotter.

This book is not simply a "here is a cloud, isn't it nice. Here's another cloud; it's better than the previous one etc"-type guide. It shows you the different types of cloud (as you would expect), cloud-formation (why it is that shape, why there is always a cloud on a sunny day etc), cultural references to clouds (such as sixteenth-century cloud pornography... no, really) and more. As for the narrative style, it is very easy to follow, shows the touch of light-hearted humour, and simply radiates enthusiasm. Basically, I find Gavin Pretor-Pinney to be a good author. The book is designed to combat 'blue-sky thinking', and I believe it has succeeded in doing so.

I like to justify my new hobby with the words, "I want to know the likelihood of it raining...", but really I guess I just love clouds.

Author: Siri Hustvedt
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A compelling read., 2010-08-31
The story the narrative of which is through the eyes of an ageing man is utterly convincing and it is hard to realise that the Author is a woman.

The tale ranges through love,despair,betrayal and ultimate acceptance of something which is alien to the warm and humane people portrayed in this book. The descriptions of totally abstract works of art which uses everything from paint to collage and sculpture is astounding. One could see the work through the writer's eyes. An amazing book,beautifully and sympathetically written. It stays in one's mind and imagination for a long time.

Author: Natasha Solomons
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So charming, 2010-08-24
Jack and Sadie Rosenblum move to England just before the start of World War II, their little girl in tow and big dreams in their heads. In Jack's head, at least, as he longs to be a proper Englishman. On arrival in England, Jack receives a checklist of ways to become English. Jack fails to recognize the nuances of the said list and instead decides to conform to everything as though it were a requirement, marking him out as a foreigner just when he wants to fit in. Meanwhile, his wife Sadie wants to cherish her roots, and daughter Rose becomes a genuine native. When Jack reaches the final item on his list - joining a golf course - he struggles to find membership as a German Jew, and embarks on a quest to build his own golf course in a small rural town.

This book was completely charming in just about every way. Natasha Solomons writes in a wonderful, easy to read prose style but conveys the very true difficulties of adapting into a new society. Perhaps it's unlikely that a man would conform to a list in order to fit in, but Jack uses the pamphlet as guidelines and doesn't ever get close enough to English people in order to learn otherwise. They shut him out and treat him as a bit of a dummy, but again, he can't pick up on those nuances - and when he does, they hurt so much that he simply ignores them. It's enough to break your heart.

I loved the relationships in this novel, particularly when Jack and Sadie move out of London and try to fit in a country town. They're still outsiders, true, but it's a little bit different when you're the only outsiders and don't have your own community to rely on. The reactions of the townspeople to them are vastly interesting, as are those with their London friends who occasionally come for a visit. This part of the book seemed remarkably true to life for me; obviously, no one discriminates against me quite so much, but I have seen nationalities band together and form friendships based on nothing but their similar backgrounds; if you're the only foreigner, attitudes and behaviors change.

Finally, I loved the culinary threads woven throughout the novel. It's so true that food is a clear link to heritage; smells and flavors remind us of certain times in our lives as nothing else does. I wanted to try everything that Sadie made for myself; it's so evocatively described that I could almost but not quite taste it. The food also made clear how Sadie felt in ways that the prose by itself couldn't quite express, adding another layer on to the cultural isolation of the family and her character in particular.

Truly, Mr. Rosenblum's List was a delightful book. It warred with my emotions and is surprisingly sad in parts, but it's a remarkable depiction of the immigrant experience and manages to be a fantastic story besides.

Author: Irene Sabatini
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Brilliant!, 2010-07-06
I just loved this book. I thought it was beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyable. It was great to read about a period of time that I was not overly familiar with. Buy it!!

Author: Gavin Pretor-Pinney
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The Cloud Collector's Handbook, 2010-07-26
Fun, informative little book. It sits neatly in my camera bag, you never know when you'll spot an interesting cloud!! Perfect camping companion for lazy afternoons sat outside my tent :)

Author: David Mitchell
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Revolutionary or gimmicky?, 2010-08-30
One of the characters in Cloud Atlas, Robert Frobisher, is a composer, and he describes his work - entitled Cloud Atlas - like this:

"In the 1st set, each solo is interrupted by its successor: in the 2nd, each interruption is re-continued, in order. Revolutionary or gimmicky?"

This is an apt description of the format of the book, and for me, the answer is revolutionary, marvellous and pleasing. As intricate as mirrors within mirrors, I wanted to stay with each subsequent story. I drew diagrams to sort out in my head how each was inter-related, and marvelled at the complex, interwoven themes, references and motifs.

This must be the cleverest book I've read. So disappointed to have finished it, though I slowed up as much as could when I realised with dismay the end was approaching. Impossible to say more without spoiling a huge treat if you are about to start reading.