Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"
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| + | |summary=Martha lives with other Unwanted in Fire City, a factory zone which supplies the Wanted and their demon masters. Nobody knows how the Wanted - a shadowy group of the rich and powerful from the world as it used to be - managed to summon the Demons, but all the Unwanted know what it's like to live under their rule - nasty, brutish and short. But Martha isn't the type to give up and she has joined the Resistance, fighting to save the old and infirm from the demons' regular cullings. It's a hopeless task though, and Resistance numbers are shrinking by the day... | ||
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Revision as of 14:49, 23 July 2012
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
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Fire City by Bali Rai
Martha lives with other Unwanted in Fire City, a factory zone which supplies the Wanted and their demon masters. Nobody knows how the Wanted - a shadowy group of the rich and powerful from the world as it used to be - managed to summon the Demons, but all the Unwanted know what it's like to live under their rule - nasty, brutish and short. But Martha isn't the type to give up and she has joined the Resistance, fighting to save the old and infirm from the demons' regular cullings. It's a hopeless task though, and Resistance numbers are shrinking by the day... Full review...
What the Family Needed by Steven Amsterdam
Steven Amsterdam's first novel Things We Didn't See Coming won several awards including The Guardian First Boom Award. His second book, 'What the Family Needed', is similar in that it too contains a large dose of the strange, yet it doesn't quite work as well. The book is centred around the families of two sisters, with each member having their own chapter told at different stages of their lives. In each one the various family members are facing problems of some sort or other and each mysteriously achieves some sort of super-power that they 'need' to partly overcome these, although not always with the desired results. From early on, the reader suspects that Alek, elder sister Natalie's younger son who appears as an imaginative kid when we first meet him, is at the heart of the weirdness and sure enough he has the final chapter in the book. Just don't expect everything to be explained. Full review...
The Milkman in the Night by Andrey Kurkov
If you're going to go sleepwalking, there are better places to do so than in Kiev in the grip of its usual snowy, cold and bleak winter - even if there is a lovely blonde at the end of your journey. Semyon is living this reality, unaware of the strange consequences, just as others around him are unaware of the strange consequences of their actions - such as the airport security men who purloin some impounded drugs and test them on the cat. We also have a young single mother selling herself - just not in that way - commuting into a capital where some are rich enough to try and stave of ageing, and to cheat death in various ways... Full review...
The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson
1610s Lancashire, and Alice Nutter is the best landowner you could wish for. Single, rich and connected, she takes no sides in the religious schisms James I has inherited, and takes no bull from those trying to oppress the poor, putting them up and feeding them when no-one else will. But those poor are seen as sinful by others - amoral, dirty in mind, body and spirit, and in league with the devil. And people are beginning to question Alice's attitudes, choice of company - and ageless beauty. This, then, is the based-on-truth story of how Alice Nutter got to be one of the accused in the Pendle Witch trials. Full review...
The London Stone: The Nowhere Chronicles Book Three by Sarah Silverwood
Looking back at The Double-Edged Sword, when Fin set out on an adventure with his friends Christopher and Joe, everything seemed so much simpler and optimistic. Mysteries represented exciting revelations to be discovered rather than powerful secrets with dangerous implications, and the words of the Prophecy were just a warning for future times. Now the Prophecy, and the chaos it promises, has come to pass and Arnold Mather has seized control of power in Nowhere, becoming its dark king. Full review...
Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero by Grant Morrison
Consider the super-hero comic. Borne out of a need to create cheap and franchise-friendly content for newspapers in America, it's grown into a billion-dollar industry, with Hollywood jumping on the bandwagon of several major characters now their FX have finally caught up with the printed page. Disposable? - once upon a time, yet now collectable to the tune of a million dollars or more. Frivolous? - probably, yet not exclusively now, if ever so. At one point here, they are just one product of the infinitely powerful imaginary system each of us carries in our brain, and at the other 'ethereal, paper-thin constructs of unfettered imagination'. Full review...
The Devil's Cave: A Bruno Courreges Investigation by Martin Walker
Easter was just two weeks away when Satanism came to St Denis. The naked body of a woman was spotted in an old punt drifting down the river. There looked to be a tattoo of a pentagram on her body and there were black candles at each end of the punt – but there was nothing to indicate the identity of the woman or where she had come from. Bruno Courreges, the Chief of Police had enough on his plate without this: he'd had an anonymous letter about some domestic abuse which had to be looked into and the town held a development proposal which seemed just too good to be true – even though it might mean that Bruno got the sports hall which he'd been after for quite a while. Full review...
A Strange Inheritance by Mark Neilson
Meg had just lost her job when she received the letter from the Solicitor. It was all very mysterious but when she presented herself in his office she discovered that an Uncle she knew nothing about had left her an inheritance. It wasn't just any inheritance, either – in addition to a substantial sum of money she was now the proud owner of a mill in the Yorkshire Dales. Almost on a whim she decided that she wouldn't sell the property. The more that she saw of the mill, the more that she felt she wanted to live there. She loved the local town and it was a bonus when she made a friend – a fellow Scot – on her first day there. Full review...
London: A Social and Cultural History, 1550-1750 by Robert O Bucholz and Joseph P Ward
It seems hard to visualise a time when London was just a city of no major importance, except as England’s capital. The main thrust of this book is only about halfway through the Tudor area did it really rise to global prominence and come to dominate the economic, political, social and cultural life of the nation as it never had before – and arguably since. By 1750 it had also surpassed Amsterdam as Europe’s financial and banking hub, and become 'a cornucopia of culture' through its vibrant concert and theatre life, to say nothing of a thriving and relatively free press. Before long it would also become the home of the British Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts. Lest this testimonial seems too gilded, we are reminded at the same time that the city was one of palaces and slums, concert halls and gin joints, churches and brothels, possibility and fear. Good and evil were always side by side. Full review...
No Sale by Patrick Conrad
The first suspect in a wife's murder is always the husband, and so it is with Shelley Cox, but Victor, a film professor, claims it must have been suicide. A picture emerges of a sad, alcoholic woman, who had an almost different identity and personality while out drinking in Antwerp's docklands area. Victor is happy enough to replace her with an enveloping relationship with a student who matches his knowledge and mimics his idols. But still, Shelley was the victim of a crime, and if the police who keep calling on Victor are correct, it could be but one of a series... Full review...
The Red Boat by Hannah Cumming
Posy has moved to a new house, and she's feeling lonely. She isn't sure she likes it there - the neighbours might be a bit scary, and she doesn't like the shadows in her new room, and she's worried about starting a new school. What if no-one likes her? Luckily she has her dog, George, to keep her company, and one night the two of them find a magical boat in the garden that leads them to lots of exciting new adventures. Full review...
Court of Dreams by Stuart Sharp
Thomas and Nicola are no longer students. Finals finished, Nicola can start planning life after uni and with Thomas... and then he dumps her. To be fair, Thomas has a great job offer abroad and doesn't think that Nicola would want to go but Nicola's still flaming angry. Adhering to the 'and another thing' school of arguing, Nicola tracks Thomas down. He's already busy dealing with someone but being the assertive modern woman she is, Nicola barges in front of the hit man attempting to kill her now ex-boyfriend so she can give him yet another piece of her mind. In the ensuing tussle (hit man trying to skewer Thomas and Thomas trying to prevent Nicola from becoming an ex-person as well as an ex-girlfriend) the formerly blissful couple fall back into a tree... and then onwards, through the tree towards somewhere that's other worldly in all meanings of the phrase. For they land in the Court of Dreams, which isn't necessarily a good thing. Meanwhile the tumble has separated Nicola and Thomas, the hit man is not only determined but also a local lad so knows his way around and Thomas' mother has neglected to tell him a thing or two about his origins, as he's just about to find out. Full review...
What in God's Name by Simon Rich
In What in God's Name, Simon Rich imagines Heaven Inc as a corporate entity, with all the dysfunctional trappings of many a large company. At the head of the operation, as you might expect, is God, although he seems to have lost his interest in planet Earth and certainly in the operation of heaven. In fact, he'd rather be watching the religious channels on satellite television or opening a restaurant. Although he would like to see rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd re-form before he's done with the planet. In fact the only two who really care about what goes on down here are a workaholic angel named Craig who works in the Miracles Department and the recently promoted Eliza who has been labouring away, somewhat fruitlessly it seems, in the Prayers Department. When Eliza finds that her work on preparing prayers for God has been for nothing, her anger threatens the end of the world, unless Craig and Eliza can help a couple of hopeless humans find love with each other. Full review...
The Night Sky in my Head by Sarah Hammond
Mikey Baxter isn't an ordinary fourteen-year-old. Ever since the accident, there's been the Backwards - shadows that come to life and reveal glimpses of the past. And Mikey's past isn't something he particularly wants to revisit. His dad did a bad thing, and now he's in jail. His mum isn't coping well, and it's up to Mikey to make sure she's okay. Full review...
Worth by Jon Canter
Richard, an Ad man, and Sarah, a city lawyer meet, get married, and decide to leave London behind for an idyllic country life instead. He’ll do some drawing, maybe look into illustrating. She’ll do voluntary work. They will start to Enjoy Life a bit more. They will become Better People. They will be the envy of all their friends still toiling away in the big smoke. Full review...
Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman
Rory Dawn Hendrix (RD for short) lives with her mother in the ironically named Calle de las Flores or Street of Flowers; a pretty name masking a less than idyllic setting. For Calle is a trailer park for those living a life sentence of poverty, the inhabitants being as upwardly mobile as their static, seedy homes. RD has half brothers but they live with their father, leaving RD to live alone with her mother and nearby grandmother, a father being a luxury that Rory Dawn has learnt to live without. Rory Dawn is also a Girl Scout and has a handbook to prove it but she's in a troop of one, alone with the ideals of an organisation that she only glimpses through disadvantage and in the same way that she glimpses the materialistic world beyond her means. However, her mother wants more for her than the teen pregnancies that seem to have become their family heirloom and there is hope as RD is highly intelligent; but can this be enough? Full review...
Such Wicked Intent (Victor Frankenstein) by Kenneth Oppel
Such Wicked Intent takes us to a few months after the shocking conclusion to Victor Frankenstein's alchemical attempt to save his brother's life in This Dark Endeavour. The Dark Library has been burned and the entire family is trying to move on. Elizabeth is secretly considering joining a convent. Henry is making plans to travel abroad with his merchant father. Victor's parents are trying to come to terms with everything but his mother is finding it particularly difficult. Full review...
Tom and Millie's Great Big Treasure Hunt by Guy Parker-Rees
'Tom and Millie are excited they're going on a great, big treasure hunt! They have a list of Very Important Things to find.'
This is the opening of this enormously appealing book that draws the young reader in from the very start. The fact that Very Important Things all start with capitals obviously signifies that they are actually extremely important and definitely makes young children want to find out what these momentous objects are going to be. We find out that the search is going to start at the beach and that the first clue will be found on a square red flag. When you get to the beach though there are lots of other things and friends to spot too such as Adam licking a pink ice cream and Jake wearing a red cap. Full review...
Jack Hobbs: England's Greatest Cricketer by Leo McKinstry
Back in the early 1920s, there were only three Test cricket playing nations; England, Australia and South Africa. In the summer of 2012, both nations have been on tour; Australia recently beaten comprehensively at one day cricket and South Africa about to start a test series to determine the best Test nation in the world. Given that history is repeating itself, it seems appropriate that a new biography of Jack Hobbs, England's greatest run scorer and a man who repeatedly blunted the bowling attacks of both nations, should become available now. Full review...
A Little, Aloud for Children by Angela Macmillan
This very special anthology of story extracts and poems to share aloud is a wonderful idea from The Reader Organisation to encourage reading aloud to children by parents, teachers, grandparents, librarians, friends or even other children. The terrific and very varied selection includes something to appeal to all tastes. It should tempt the reader to seek out the original books from which the extracts are taken and maybe to try children’s fiction that they have not considered before. The book includes classics, tried and tested old favourites and newer titles too. Dipping into this anthology for the first time feels a little like meeting old and maybe long forgotten friends and making new ones along the way. Full review...
The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai
Anita Desai's The Artist of Disappearance is a collection of three novellas with several satisfying unifying features. All are set in modern day India, all involve some looking back in time and all three involve some consideration of the creative art - who it is for, what happens to it once it leaves the artist's control and who 'owns' it. Most of all, each one is beautifully written, with strong characters and evocative descriptions of personal loss. In terms of length each is relatively short - around 50 pages long - but after each one you feel that you've been engrossed in the story just as much as if you had read a novel of more conventional length. Full review...
In the Name of Love by Katie Price
Charlie Porter is a television sports presenter who's recently broken up with her footballer boyfriend. She and her friend Zoe now refer to him as TFB. The first letter is for 'total' and the last casts doubts on his parentage. I'm sure that you can work the rest out for yourself. On a holiday to Barbados (Zoe's footballer boyfriend forgot her birthday, you see...) she meets Felipe Castillo, a central figure in the Spanish Eventing team and hotly tipped for an Olympic medal. There's an almost immediate attraction - after Charlie has given him a piece of her mind because of his attitude to a waiter - but there are one or two difficulties in the way of their relationship. Full review...
The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace
Young bride Anna Palmer places her trust in all the wrong people. One choice that backfires spectacularly is her impulsive marriage to the Reverend Vincent Palmer. Less than a year after their marriage he tells her that they are going to visit some of his friends at a place called Lake House. But Lake House is a privately run asylum 'for genteel women of a delicate nature'. Once there Anna discovers that she is not allowed to leave without Vincent's approval. Full review...
Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon
Alice and William Buckle have been married for quite a few years and have two teenage children and a dog. With their busy lives, they end up having little time for each other and rarely get the opportunity to talk about the things that matter. In order to do something about her feelings of discontent, Alice googles 'happy marriage?' and although there seem to be no magic secrets for success, a little later she is invited to take part in an online survey about modern marriage. She is given the label, Wife 22, and is assigned to her caseworker, Researcher 101, who sends her questions periodically, and is also available through email to answer any queries. Alice soon enjoys being able to pour her heart out through the questions that she has to answer but also finds that she is becoming more than a little attracted to her faceless caseworker. They start chatting through facebook and Alice finds it quite exciting to mildly flirt with her new friend. However, the more she does so, the more disgruntled she becomes with her own husband. There comes a point though where Alice has to decide whether to take things further and if she does, what will become of her marriage? Full review...
Yucky Mucky Manners by Sam Lloyd
Down in the jungle we're taking a walk to meet the animals. Sadly their manners leave a lot to be desired. Gorilla is picking his nose, Zebra is eating with his mouth open and parrot is talking over all his friends. Are there any polite animals to be found? Full review...
Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino
Widowed under tragic circumstances, Charlotte Markham needs an income and so she's employed by widower Henry Darrow as a governess for his sons James and Paul. Their home 'Everton' may seem a typical Victorian mansion but the town of Blackfield isn't your average English small town; the Darrow's Nanny Prum is found murdered in a particularly grisly manner. It's a mystery to the local police but Charlotte's friend Susannah has a clue if only they'd listen to her. Meanwhile the Darrow boys' nights are spent dreaming of a house in the woods where their mother still lives. Charlotte decides to treat this head on and takes them for a walk to show them there's no substance to it. However, in doing so they discover the nightmare that is The House of Darkling. Full review...
In Her Blood by Annie Hauxwell
Catherine Berlin is known to everyone simply as 'Berlin'. She's in her mid fifties, a civilian investigator with the Financial Services Agency - and she's been a heroin addict for more than twenty years. It's largely controlled by her GP - one of the few understanding ones left - who prescribes pharmaceutical-grade heroin on her weekly visit to his surgery. He's taught her to manage her addiction. Then two problems come together. On a pre-arranged meet with an informant who has information about a loan shark she finds the woman's body floating in Limehouse Basin - with the head nearly severed from the body. And when she visits her GP's surgery she finds another body. Then it's not just her job that's at risk. Full review...
On The Road to Babadag by Andrzej Stasiuk
Sometimes we should trust our instincts. When I saw Babadag on the Shelf I knew I would love it. When I sat in my garden on a hot sunny evening and struggled my way through the first chapter, I had my doubts.
Oh, ye of little faith...! Full review...
Codename Quicksilver 2: The Tyrant King by Allan Jones
Normal life for Zak was lots of running, lots of computer games, and idling his time away in London, either talking to his old homeless friend, or living at the care home. But how normal life has changed. Now he's a secret agent to do what Britain's adult spies can't, his friend has been replaced by the Crown Prince of a Monaco-type country, and his job is now bodyguard to royalty in ancient Mediterranean castles, and five star London hotels. But if he is as bad a bodyguard as first appears, you can guess that he'll still be doing a lot of running... Full review...
Second Time Around by Erin Kaye
When Jennifer and Ben first meet, they really like each other. It doesn't take long before they are dating and although there is over sixteen years difference in age, they get on so well that they can see that they do have a future together. However, as Ben is closer in age to Jennifer's children, Matt and Lucy, she is worried about what they will think. Ben's parents are equally unhappy especially as they feel that if Ben stays with Jennifer, she is not likely to provide them with the grandchildren they so desire. It seems that there's no way to keep everybody happy. Full review...
Mo Said She Was Quirky by James Kelman
Mo may have said that Helen was quirky - neurotic might have been a more accurate assessment of his partner though. Although not a first person narrative, James Kelman's latest is another dramatic monologue, although the first time he has placed a female as his main character. Helen is a single mother, working nights as a croupier in a London casino. Mo is her Asian boyfriend. In fairness to Helen, she has a lot to worry about - a damaged upbringing that has seen her older brother leave home without trace, a failed marriage, and a life of constant struggle. As usual with Kelman, his approach is tender, yet gritty and often gently amusing. He's always sympathetic to his main characters. However, if you are new to Kelman, be warned that he is a writer that is heavy on a distinctive style more than plot per se. Full review...
Muddle and Win: the Battle for Sally Jones by John Dickinson
Hear the name John Dickinson, and you expect something intriguing and original. And with this fascinating book for younger readers, you won't be disappointed. His premise? The struggle between good and evil, as embodied in the figures of angels and demons. So far, so traditional — a story as old as humanity itself, and done pretty well already by that Milton chap. Ah, but when did you see it portrayed as a series of skirmishes between a chisel-jawed angel wearing Ray-bans, and a tiny imp roughly fashioned from a grey, leathery wart? Oh, and please don't ask what happened to the previous owner of the wart. Just accept that it was painful. And really, really messy. Full review...
French Lessons by Ellen Sussman
There are six main characters in this book which is really three stories in one. Nico, Philippe and Chantal know each other, and Nico knows Josie, and Philippe knows Riley, and Chantal knows Jeremy, but Josie and Riley and Jeremy don’t know each other or anyone else. The first three are French tutors who have private lessons with their foreign students on the streets of Paris, using the city as a better backdrop for learning than a stuffy classroom. This week they each have Americans engaging their services, and over the course of one day the lives of students and teachers all change in ways they never expected. Full review...
Hammered: Heavy tales from the hard rock highway by Kirk Blows
Kirk Blows is the former editor of hard rock journal Metal Hammer. Just to confuse, he is also well known as a sports writer and an authority on 'the other Hammers', namely West Ham FC. However this book is nothing to do with sport. Instead it devotes its attention to a brace of his interviews with various hard rock luminaries. These took place for the journal some years ago, and have now been revised and updated for book publication. Full review...
Codename Quicksilver 1: In the Zone by Allan Jones
Zak's day is full of surprises. First his mate bumps into him when he's setting an arcade record at his favourite game, then he sees said mate plummet to his death in front of him. Then he adopts the friend's killers, who want to get their hands on him. Then he gets rescued - by a girl, who is a member of a secret agency - what on earth is happening?! Full review...
