Category: Recommended books

HHhH by Laurent Binet

Translated from the French by Sam Taylor

Five words from the blurb: mission, assassinate, Nazi, novelist, truth

There has been a lot of hype surrounding this book, but it is all justified. HHhH breaks the mould, creating a new genre that will change the way you look at non-fiction and lead you to question the accuracy of everything you read.

The book tells the compelling story of two Czechoslovakian parachutists who were sent to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the chief of the Nazi secret services. Dropped near Prague in 1942 the pair spend months plotting the event, relying on the support of a secret network of people. The book also charts the rise of Heydrich, explaining the important role he had in the creation of the Nazi death camps.

Throughout the book the author explains the research he did to obtain each fact and ensures that nothing is ambiguous. To retain the gripping narrative style Binet frequently makes things up, but every time he does so the passage will be followed by one that explains exactly which parts were fabricated:

That scene, like the one before it, is perfectly believable and totally made up. How impudent of me to turn a man into a puppet – a man who’s been dead for a long time, who cannot defend himself. To make him drink tea, when it might turn out that he liked only coffee. To make him take the bus, when he could have taken the train. To decide that he left in the evening, rather than the morning. I am ashamed of myself.

I loved this honesty and it made me realise how many difficult choices authors of historical fiction must make each time they write a scene.

I love meta-fiction and so appreciated the way the author addressed the reader directly. His chatty style was easy to read and often amusing. He made some blunt, often scathing, comments about other historical fiction authors, but although I didn’t always agree with him, it was refreshing to read about someone not scared to voice their opinion.

I’ve seen a few comments about people avoiding this book because of the Holocaust connections, but although the death camps were mentioned, this book does not describe them in graphic detail. It isn’t a depressing book; it is a gripping story revolving around whether or not the parachutists will be successful in their mission. It does take a while for the pace to build, but the final few chapters were some of the most exciting I’ve ever read. I couldn’t put it down and was totally engrossed in the story of these men.

HHhH shares many themes with The Street Sweeper, but unlike that amazing book, this is flawless. HHhH has leaped over The Street Sweeper to become my favourite read of 2012 so far.

Highly recommended.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

I kept finding myself frustrated. Just when a section of non-fiction was beginning to really grip an authorial intervention would break the spell. Just William’s Luck

The style is an unusual construction, but for me it was highly effective and extremely engaging. The Little Reader Library

I remain, however, equally fascinated and irritated by this volume – I still can’t call it a novel. Gaskella

Tags French, Holocaust, WWII

2012 Chunkster Recommended books

The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman

Post author By Jackie
Post date May 28, 2012
19 Comments on The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman

Five words from the blurb: history, Holocaust, relationship, civil-rights, New York

The Street Sweeper is my favourite book of the year so far. It contains everything I love to see in a book: fantastic characters, new information, thought-provoking questions, lots of emotion, and a satisfying plot.

The book begins with Lamont Williams leaving prison after serving a sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. He finds work as a hospital cleaner in New York and befriends an old man on the cancer ward. Lamont discovers this man is a Holocaust survivor and through numerous conversations he learns about what he went through all those years ago.

Inter-weaved with this story is that of Adam Zignelli, a history professor, who is looking for a new field of research. He decides to find out whether or not black Americans soldiers were present during the liberation of Dachau. This leads to some interesting comparisons between the black Americans seeking racial equality and the Jews persecuted in Europe.

The Street Sweeper covers many different subjects, but the overriding theme is that of history and how easily it can be forgotten.

‘History can provide comfort in difficult or even turbulent and traumatic times. It shows us what our species has been through before and that we survived it. It can help to know we’ve made it through more than one dark age. And history is vitally important because perhaps as much as, if not more than biology, the past owns us and however much we think we can, we cannot escape it. If you only knew how close you are to people who seem so far from you…it would astonish you.’

It also makes important points about how we remember the biggest events, but smaller ones are no less important, especially to those personally involved.

This book isn’t perfect. I occasionally felt that these messages lacked subtlety and key points were repeated too often, but I’m willing to forgive these as the rest of the book was so impressive.

I should warn readers that some of the Holocaust scenes were very disturbing, but I think it is important to fully understand what happened. Despite having read a number of books on the Holocaust, The Street Sweeper, looks at things from a slightly different angle (that of the Sonderkommando) and I found that most of the information was new to me.

At 550 pages long this book isn’t a quick read, but I never became bored – I was captivated from beginning to end. I was concerned about how all the different threads of the story would tie up at the end, but I shouldn’t have worried – the ending was perfect.

This book flies straight onto my list of all-time favourites. The world would be a better place if everyone read this book and understood its important message.

Highly recommended.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

I have learnt so much from this novel, and I already know I’ll never forget it. Book Monkey

This is a book which requires, almost demands, rereading, both for an understanding of its dense subject matter and to fully understand the intricate plotting of a novel which is almost Victorian in scope. Tony’s Reading List

Elliot Perlman’s latest novel had me so absorbed, I just didn’t want to stop reading. ANZ Litlovers Litblog

1990s Recommended books

The Soldier’s Return by Melvyn Bragg

Post author By Jackie
Post date May 24, 2012
11 Comments on The Soldier’s Return by Melvyn Bragg

Five words from the blurb: returns, war, Burma, Cumbria, changed

Last month I read A Division of the Light which had endorsements on the cover from both Kazuo Ishiguro and Melvyn Bragg. I’m already a big fan of Ishiguro, but despite my love for Cumbrian books I hadn’t tried any Bragg before. David, a regular commenter on this blog, recommended The Soldier’s Return trilogy, so I reserved a copy from my local library. I’m so pleased I did as Melvyn Bragg has just gone onto my “must read everything they’ve ever written” list.

The Soldier’s Return begins in 1946 with Sam returning to his hometown after witnessing horrific events in the war in Burma. Wigton, Cumbria is exactly as he left it four years earlier, but his six-year-old son doesn’t know him and his wife has developed an independence that he finds difficult to deal with. This absorbing book shows how Sam adjusts back into civilian life and how a family copes when no one is the same as they once were.

This book is amazingly well written. The intense emotions were beautifully described and I could sympathise with every character in the book.

Sam hesitated, trying to settle in himself the disturbing confusions of his return. The dreams of home were tinged with dread. The place below could suck him in, the old world close over him. Nothing had changed in the town that he could see. Yet his whole world had changed.

The descriptions of Cumbria were wonderfully accurate. I don’t know Wigton very well, but Carlisle was frequently mentioned and many of the landmarks were familiar to me. This historic nostalgia will be an added bonus for anyone familiar with these northern towns, but aren’t essential for loving this book.

I can’t fault The Soldier’s Return at all. My only reason for not awarding 5 stars is because the plot was a bit quiet for me. It is a perfect character study and I don’t think I’ve read a book where each person is so fully developed that I can predict the conversations they’d have and the likely outcomes. I don’t understand why this book isn’t that well known. It deserves to be a modern classic, studied in schools and read by everyone.

I’ve read lots of books about the horrors of war, but this quiet, reflective book brings home a message that is just as important. Survivors have to live with their emotional scars for the rest of their lives and once you’ve seen the terrible way in which humans can treat each other nothing is the same again.

Highly recommended.

Have you read any of Melvyn Bragg’s books?

Tags Cumbria

2012 Recommended books

The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Simon Mawer

Post author By Jackie
Post date May 3, 2012
2 Comments on The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Simon Mawer

Note: This book is released as Trapeze in the US

Five words from the blurb: recruited, undercover, France, training, war

In WWII specially trained women were dropped into France, performing secret operations in difficult, often dangerous conditions. The Girl Who Fell From The Sky is based on their work, focusing on Marian Sutro, a young bilingual woman who is selected to undergo specialist training. The book details her preparations in England and the dangerous reality of living undercover in France.

I was aware that women worked undercover in France, but I knew nothing of their rigorous training. The tiny details brought this period of history to life and I loved learning the secrets that these women had to master in order to stay alive.

He delivered a first-aid course in reverse – how to cut the brachial artery with a knife slash to the forearm, how to dislocate the knee with a single stab of the foot, how to snap a man’s spine by dropping him across your knee, how to inflict the maximum damage in the minimum time. You could render a man helpless with a handclap to both ears, knock him unconscious with a matchbox, kill him with an umbrella.

The book was simple to read, but engaging throughout. I think it will have broad appeal because it can be enjoyed on many levels. I’m sure that a re-read would reveal many hidden messages, but the pace and intrigue of the plot will ensure it appeals to a wider audience.

Marian’s character was perfectly drawn. She was a complex, flawed individual, but I cared deeply for her. Her relationships were realistic and her bonds with other people brought up complex dilemmas about love and trust.

The plot wasn’t complex or gimmicky – it was good old fashioned storytelling at its best. It could be described as a coming-of-age story, historical fiction, or a romance, but I don’t think it is possible to pigeon hole this book. It is simply the story of an ordinary woman placed in an extraordinary position. It shows how resilient human beings are and encourages the reader to question how they`d react in similar situations.

My only criticism was the inclusion of a few cringe-worthy sex scenes. I expect to see this book included in longlist for this year’s Bad Sex in Literature Award, but as these passages were very small I’m willing to forgive it.

The Glass Room was one of my favourite reads in 2009, but although The Girl Who Fell From The Sky is far simpler in terms of structure, I think it is the slightly better book. It is easy to underestimate the skill it takes to write something so simple, yet so powerful.

This book sheds light on a small, but important, area of history and its themes will have lasting appeal.

It is my favourite book of the year so far. Highly recommended.

2011 Other Prizes Recommended books

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Post author By Jackie
Post date March 19, 2012
2 Comments on Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Winner of 2011 National Book Award

Five words from the blurb: hurricane, threatening, family, pregnant, pit bull

When the Orange longlist was announced last week several people voiced their surprise that Salvage the Bones was missing. Intrigued by their passion I decided to give it a try and having read it, I agree. This book stands head and shoulders above everything else published this year. It deserved to win the Orange prize and I’m disappointed that it didn’t even make the longlist.

Salvage the Bones is set in Mississippi and follows one family as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina. The unconventional and potentially unlovable family are the owners of a prize pit bull, renowned for her fighting skills. At the start of the book she gives birth to a litter of valuable puppies that they attempt to protect as the hurricane approaches.

I worried that I might be subjected to endless descriptions of wind and destruction, but this book is very cleverly structured. The hurricane hits in the final few pages and the power is in what is left unsaid. The details of the destruction are brief, but their lightness still manages to convey the devastation.

The hurricane laughed. A tree, plucked from its branches, hopped across the yard and landed against Daddy’s truck with a crunch, stopped short like it had won a game of hopscotch without stepping out of the lines. The sky was so close I felt like I could reach up and bury my arm in it.

One of the most impressive things about this book was that it made me care about a family who take part in dog fighting. It takes great skill for an author to enable me to connect with people I’d normally abhor, but somehow Jesmyn Ward made me to see past their cruelty and I connected with them on an emotional level.

The atmosphere in the book was perfect. The dialogue gave a fantastic sense of place and the descriptions were vivid throughout:

“We ain’t going nowhere.” Skeetah unlashes his arms and they come whipping out from his sides, and his voice is loud, and he’s like those little firecrackers we get on the Fourth of July that throw out sparks from all sides and jump in bright acid leaps across the hard dirt yard.

This isn’t a happy book. It is a powerful insight into the lives of a family who had numerous problems before the arrival of a hurricane. The ending left me wondering how they’d cope once the waters receded and, given the news articles I’ve seen, I can only imagine the horrors a sequel would contain. I’m sure I’ll remember the characters in this book for a long time to come.

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys emotionally powerful insights into the lives of other people.

The thoughts of other bloggers:

…stunning, beautiful, tragic, heartbreaking, and wholly absorbing. Caribousmom

There is abusive sex and there is violence. At times I wanted to stop reading but found I could not. Page247

This novel absolutely broke my heart, but at the same time I can’t help but recommend that you read it too. Book Addiction

I also recommend listening to this NPR interview with Jesmyn Ward

(Thanks to Caribousmom for drawing it to my attention)

Other Recommended books

My Favourite Reads in 2011

Post author By Jackie
Post date January 2, 2012
55 Comments on My Favourite Reads in 2011

Happy New Year! I hope that you’ve had a wonderful few weeks and are enjoying 2012.

I’ve already posted about my favourite books published in 2011, but last year I also read a lot of fantastic books published in previous years.

Here are the best:

Gormenghast – Mervyn Peake

Titus Groan – Mervyn Peake

My favorite reading experience of the year was my Gormenghast read-along. The first two books in the series were leagues above anything else I’ve read recently and it was wonderful to be able to share the reading experience with so many other readers.

I highly recommend these atmospheric books. They are packed with the most vivid characters you’ll ever come across and I’ll never forget reading about their adventures in that spooky, sprawling castle.

The Mountain People – Colin Turnbull

The Mountain People gives an insight into a society with a very different structure to our own. In times of trouble could we ever leave our closest family members to die? This is a shocking, but thought-provoking look at the way one African tribe copes with a famine.

Do you love any of them as much as I do?