“Boy A” by Jonathan Trigell

“Boy A” by Jonathan Trigell won the 2004 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.

The subject matter of this book does not make for comfortable reading. Two boys are found guilty of murdering another child and become national hate figures. The child known in the court case as Boy A serves the sentence given to him and is released from prison with a new identity.

The book jumps between the present day as Jack (as he is now known) tries to cope with the outside world and the past, his time in various institutions, his family life and finally his crime. We are also given brief glimpses of other people’s perspectives on the events; including his father, his case-worker, his psychologist and his former friend Boy B.

The characters and their actions do not inhabit a black and white world. I did find present day Jack a bit too good to be true at time and the good deeds he was able to do a bit unbelievable, but at least the author didn’t offer easy excuses for his past. The conclusion of the book had an awful inevitability about it, but I was still quite surprised at how it came about.

Given its topic, its not something that you could describe as an enjoyable read but it was brave enough to tackle a difficult subject.

"The Gathering" by Anne Enright

"The Gathering" by Anne Enright won the Man Booker Prize in 2007.

My second Booker Prize winner in a week, and this one again left me indifferent. I really couldn’t see what all fuss was about. Admittedly I haven’t read anything else on the long or shortlist for 2007, but surely something better could have been found?

Veronica’s brother commits suicide, he had become a drunk, but the root cause of his problems may have been being abused as a child, by a man deemed to be in love with their grandmother. She is bringing his body back from Brighton to Ireland for a funeral with the rest of the family. Gradually details are revealed about the abuse, about death and ultimately about his life.

My problems with this book are ones which individually would not be such an issue, but collected together made it hard to really involve myself with the book. Firstly I did not warm to the narrator at all, but added to that I don’t feel that any of the other characters felt real enough. I struggled to remember which of the brothers and sisters were which, and who was dead and who was alive. It was mentioned that the brother who’d committed suicide was charming but nothing in the anecdotes about him revealed him as such.

The idea of a family coming together at a funeral is a well-worn path and I’m certain it has been done better than this many times before.

"The Sea" by John Banville

"The Sea" by John Banville won the Man Booker Prize in 2005.

Writers love using The Sea as a metaphor, a symbol and location. This isn’t even the first Booker Prize winner with the words “The Sea” in its title, (“The Sea, The Sea” by Iris Murdoch having also won this award).

Having lost his wife to cancer, the main character, an art critic, retreats to the seaside resort where he spent childhood summers. The book jumps between his recollection of these holidays and his wife’s illness. Nothing actually happens in the course of the novel. At one point he mentions what an eventful day a certain day had been, but it isn’t anything particularly dramatic. There is what I take to be a slight twist in the tale towards the end, but I’m not sure if perhaps I’d skimmed over some vital information earlier.

Despite the lack of action, it is not to say that I disliked this book. Compared to “Saturday” by Ian McEwan (which was long-listed for the same prize in the same year), another book where the reader is forced to spend a lot of time in the mind of a self-absorbed male, I found this one much more engaging. I don’t know whether I’d go so far as to actively seek out another book by John Banville, but the prospect wouldn’t send me screaming from the room.

"Last Orders" by Graham Swift

"Last Orders" by Graham Swift won the Booker Prize in 1996.

I saw the film version of Last Orders years ago at a screening at the London Film Festival and enjoyed it, so when I was looking for prize winning books to read, I thought this would be a good one to read.

Sometimes books written from multiple perspectives can be difficult to follow or at least disjointed, but this one pulled it off well. It helped, of course, that each chapter was headed with the name of the person, so you didn’t have to spend a paragraph trying to work that out!

The story involves a journey from London to Margate to scatter the ashes of Jack, a butcher. The group involved in this seemingly easy mission are his old friend Ray who he meet in the war, Vic the undertaker, former boxer Lenny and Jack’s adopted son, Vince with whom he’d had a difficult relationship. Jack’s widow Amy doesn’t join them on the journey but her perspective is also given.

It did start slowly, even for someone who already knew the basic premise from the film, but after not too long I was gripped and felt empathy for the characters and a real sadness for the wasted opportunities in their lives. In comparison with the film, as is often the case, the book is much bleaker – there is no obvious happy ending here, and despite scattering the ashes, they don’t automatically achieve resolution.

Highly recommended.

"Stuart: A Life Backwards" by Alexander Masters

"Stuart: A Life Backwards" by Alexander Masters was the winner of The Guardian First Book Award in 2005.

It is the true story of a erractic, ex-addict, ex-homeless man, Stuart Shorter, told by Alexander Masters.

As the title suggests, the tale is told in reverse, starting with Stuart in his sorry state in his 30s and working backwards to his childhood, with Masters attempting to piece together where it all went wrong. It isn't strictly told backwards as there are passages throughout the book from the latter part of his life surrounding his relationship with the author and the process of writing the book.

It is certainly a worthy subject, but I was left rather disappointed by the book itself, having read the lavish praise heaped upon it by various reviewers. My main problem with it was that there is a lot of Masters in there, and frankly I didn't like him. I found him rather irritating. I found it rather patronising to the subject that he thinks it is astonishing that he was found this homeless man with a personality and wants to share his story with the world. If Stuart was remarkable, then Masters fails to do him justice in this book.

His story is a tragic one (the issue of his childhood abuse was handled well) and there were moments of humour in there (the farcical nature of the British justice system raised a wry smile) but it didn't deliver the emotions promised by the cover reviews.

Book Review: "Saturday" Ian McEwan

I persist in reading the novels of Ian McEwan, although I'm not sure I actually like his work. I think I like "The Cement Garden" and "Black Dogs", I can't remember much about "Amsterdam" and "Endearing Love", and I thought "Atonement" was over-rated.

It took me three attempts before I finally finished "Saturday". I felt hugely satisfied upon completing it, not because I enjoyed it, but because it felt like an achievement to have stuck with it.

The book forces us to spend a day in the company of Henry Perowne, a successful neurosurgeon with a beautiful clever successful lawyer wife, a beautiful talented poet daughter and a beautiful talented musician son. It isn't written in the first person, but we see and hear what Henry does and are subjected to his thoughts and detailed observations.

Unfortunately, Henry isn't much fun. I've nothing against unlikeable central characters, but this one is a smug, humourless sort, and his family aren't much better. I found myself hoping that something really bad would happen to the lot of them. Something does happen, but it isn't bad enough and they still emerge with their self-satisfaction in tact.

Of course, McEwan is a great writer so it isn't all bad. There are a few passages that drew me in and gave old Perowne a glimmer of humanity, for example his recollection of how he met his wife and his visit to his mother's care home. But for the rest of the book, I don't care about him or want to be part of his world.

Book Review: "Flowers for Algernon" Daniel Keyes

I'd never even heard of this book until two weeks ago when I saw it mentioned on someone's All Time Favourite list. I liked a few of their other choices so thought I'd give this ago. I bought a copy online for 33p plus postage.

The simple story is about Charlie, a 30-something man with a low IQ but desparate urge to improve himself. He is chosen for experimental surgery to make him more intelligent, a procedure that so far has only been done on animals. The surgery is a success, Charlie becomes a genius, but doesn't gain emotional intelligent to match his knowledge. Then the other successful recepient of the surgery, a mouse called Algernon starts to behave oddly so Charlie sees his fate to come.

It is beautifully written, and incredibly moving. I read it in one train journey and was close to tears by the end.

This was written in the 1960s and was considered a work of Science Fiction, but then in a weird coincidence, I read an article in the Sunday Times magazine about the trend for taking "smart pills", drugs designed for people with ADHD or nacrolepsy that are now being taken by people without these conditions for their brain improving powers. Unfortunately the article wasn't that in-depth (it was in the Style section!) and the pharmaceutical company refused to comment on their use for outside of their original use. But I wonder if anyone is testing the possibilites of using them to make people cleverer?

On a personal note, I've often thought that I'd be happier if I was stupider. Not that I'm a genius, but I do tend to over-think everything and I've wondered if my life would have been easier and happier I was different.

Book Review: "She's Come Undone" Wally Lamb

This book was the first book that I received through the website ReadItSwapIt. I swapped a copy of "A Child in Time" for it. I wasn' that interested in it, but I was just so pleased that someone wanted to swap something with me that I didn't like to say no. The book arrived and the picture of a lady's dress on the cover put me off, so it remained on my shelf until this week.

I have started frequenting the forums of ReadItSwapIt and there was a thread on there about reading your earliest unread swap. I posted that mine was "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb and someone replied that it was very good and pointed me to a whole thread praising it.

So on Sunday, I dug it out from behind a row of other books. I read the first page and was confused as to why I'd not given it a go in the first place. The first page was great - I'd obviously not got passed the cover before.

It is the tragic, but often funny tale of Dolores Price. It starts in the 1950s with the day her family get their first television, and follows her life through difficult teenage years, mental breakdown and recovery, marriage and adulthood until the 1980s. It was at time traumatic, and Dolores wasn't the most sympathetic character in places (sometimes you just wanted to give her a good shake), but it was compulsive reading. I particularly liked the way that television was a constant throughout her life and its trails.

All in all, I'm glad I dusted it off and finally got round to reading it. I hope that my other great unreads will be as enjoyable.

Review: "The Uncommon Reader" Alan Bennett

My first Handbag Book Club Book. I procured a copy quickly through ReadItSwapIt and took it with me for a day out at the Sanctuary Spa. I was half way through it before I even arrived at the spa, so decided to by another book in the WH Smiths in the station to see me through the day. The bookworm in me was back!

I'd never actually read any Alan Bennett before. I had enjoyed the "Talking Heads" series on television when I was younger though, so assumed that I wouldn't have a problem with his writing (unlike my OH who has taken against him based on the "Cracker under the Sofa" episode).

"The Uncommon Reader" is a very slight book, a novella I believe it is called. I liked the premise. The Queen becomes an avid reader which causes problems for her position as the monarch. However, the book didn't quite go in the direction that I'd imagined. I'd envisaged her getting revolutionary ideas, having her mind opened up to republicanism, feminism and all sorts of other isms that aren't becoming for a Queen.

But, this was Alan Bennett, and he isn't a satirist. Gentle humour is much more his thing. It is more about the joy of reading itself, and it was a great way to re-ignite my love of books. I had a vague plan to try to follow the Queen's reading, but I'm not sure I will pursue this.

I would have been very interested to read a short story by other authors, taking the same starting point and seeing where it goes. I'm thinking someone like Will Self could produce something very different.