The Migrant (Paul Alkazraji): This is our next Bloke’s Books book. The novel is set in the Balkan
Peninsula at a time when Greece was struggling with the aftermath of its debt
crisis and austerity and in a world featuring “fascist populists, callous sex-traffickers and
violent anti-austerity riots” - in which an English pastor, based in Albania,
sets out to “rescue” a “vulnerable 19-year old from the Athenian underworld”. I’m
afraid I really didn’t like this book at all. I thought it was poorly written
and I frequently found the writing style laughably appalling. I thought the
plot was flawed (or, at the very least, made me question why so many people
were unreasonably put in danger in order to ‘justify’ the plot); I found it
exasperating when characters paused and prayed at various stages (I should have
realised that “Instant Apostle” is a pioneering
publishing house “seeking to bring new and existing authors to the market”
and that they publish books “written from a Christian perspective”)(much too
‘evangelical for my liking!). I thought it was poorly edited (if at all) and it
seemed that the writer was desperate to impress his readers that he’d put in
his research – to the extent that descriptions were frequently far too detailed
(and massively unnecessary). I was SO pleased when I finished the book.
The Honjin Murders (Seishi Yokomizo): First published in serial form in 1946,
this murder mystery novel, set in a Japanese village in 1937, is the first Yokomizo
book I’ve read. It features a young, somewhat scruffy-looking, amateur
detective by the name of Kosuke Kindaichi (now regarded as Japan’s most famous
fictional detectives) who arrives on the scene to solve a seemingly impossible
crime. The book takes the form of the classic crimes novels of the 1920s-40s –
with meticulous detail, blind turns, red herrings, dubious alibis and an
ingenious (if rather ridiculously-complicated) plot. Enjoyable and entertaining
nevertheless.
Carry On, Jeeves (PG Wodehouse): I succumbed to the prospect of (yet)
another Jeeves+Wooster book… this one (first published in 1925) is a series of
short(ish) stories and observations supposedly from the hand of Wooster (except
for the final one – penned in the words of his gentleman’s gentleman). They’re
all very predictable… about the hallowed world of the moneyed aristocracy and privilege
(which, naturally, includes an Oxbridge education despite the apparent lack of
intellect). It’s all painfully familiar – with Jeeves coming to the rescue
whenever Wooster or his friends require an excuse to break an engagement (of the
impending marriage kind); or salvaging honour from an ill-advised business
venture; or avoiding the wrath of an ancient aunt (always aunts!) or whatever.
It all makes for light, hilarious, entertaining reading (Wodehouse has an
absolute gift for dialogue and descriptions) – a very welcome relief from today’s
world of political sleaze and disease.
111 Places in Bristol (Martin Booth): This guidebook takes you off the
beaten track and identifies 111 quirky, strange and beautiful places to visit
in Bristol. I was probably familiar with (or at least aware of) perhaps 90 of
those included. A rather lovely reminder of places I need to re-visit or
re-discover in our lovely city.
Like last
year, the number of books I read in 2021 was somewhat less than in recent years
(64… compared with 74 and 94 in 2020 and 2019). Probably something to do with
different routines and, of course, time being swallowed by our house move.
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