Anne Brooke's The Bones of Summer is a dark and violent read involving Christian fundamentalism, a gay relationship and murder. Craig and Paul - from Maloney's Law - renew their acquaintance. Paul's private investigator skills are needed to unravel and finally lay to rest Craig's violent past. I thought the book was well written and a gripping read. It raises serious issues about the nature of memory and the effect of fundamentalist religion on the human psyche.
I thought the ending was perfect and understated after the violent finale and resolution of Craig's childhood and his teenage relationship with Michael. I loved the character of Pedro - even though we only see him in a few scenes. Paul comes over as a more mature than he did in Maloney's Law which I found interesting as he seems to have grown and developed as a result of the traumatic happenings in that book. Are we going to see more of Craig and Paul? I'd love to know what happened to them after this.
I also finished Richard Hamblyn's Terra which is a fascinating read for anyone interested in planet earth. The 4 events he focuses on are brought vividly to life by the extensive quotations from eye witness accounts and the scientific explanations are easy to understand. He shows how as human beings we fail to learn from our mistakes. Many people survived these events because of good luck or good judgement. I enjoyed it.
I have reviewed both books on Amazon under the pseudonym Damaskcat.
Showing posts with label Richard Hamblyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard Hamblyn. Show all posts
Monday, 31 August 2009
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Current reading
I am still reading Anne Brooke's The Bones of Summer - only about 50 pages left and yes I'm finding it good. I don't think enjoy is the right word because there are so many heartbreaking issues covered not least the non acceptance by some people of individuals who prefer their own sex. The portrait of a fundamentalist Christian - Craig's father - is brilliant. The current climate of thinking it is only the Muslim faith which produces violent fundamentalists needs to be changed. Any fanatic of any religion can turn violent. I will write a full review when I've finished the book and had time to digest it.
I've rather given up on Richard T Kelly's Crusaders though I haven't quite got to the point where I'm prepared to take the book mark out and pass the book to a charity shop. It's a pity because it is my idea of a good plot. There are just too many characters and too much plot and too much of an attempt to make a social point when it would have been better left to speak for itself from the actions of the characters.
I'm also reading Katherine Parker's Save the Males. An attempt to redress the balance between male and female. It's a bit too much along the lines of return the women to the kitchen and the bedroom where they belong and stop them taking jobs from the men who need to feed their families. I shall write a considered review of it when I've finished it.
Then there's a fascinating book called Terra: Tales of the Earth by Richard Hamblyn. It focuses on 4 catastrophic events over two centuries starting with the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. Each section features eye witness accounts which bring the event to life. Naturally there is a climate change message in there but it is not too high profile. The other three events covered are the strange weather of 1783 - caused by volcanic activity in Iceland putting ash and dust into the atmosphere; the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 and a tsunami in Hawaii in 1946. Interestingly enough all the events were caused by what happened under the earth and I'm sorry but I cannot see how this could have been influenced by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere whether man made or not. What does come over to me is that what goes on under out feet is totally unpredictable and the earth is very much a living, breathing, changing organism.
I've rather given up on Richard T Kelly's Crusaders though I haven't quite got to the point where I'm prepared to take the book mark out and pass the book to a charity shop. It's a pity because it is my idea of a good plot. There are just too many characters and too much plot and too much of an attempt to make a social point when it would have been better left to speak for itself from the actions of the characters.
I'm also reading Katherine Parker's Save the Males. An attempt to redress the balance between male and female. It's a bit too much along the lines of return the women to the kitchen and the bedroom where they belong and stop them taking jobs from the men who need to feed their families. I shall write a considered review of it when I've finished it.
Then there's a fascinating book called Terra: Tales of the Earth by Richard Hamblyn. It focuses on 4 catastrophic events over two centuries starting with the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. Each section features eye witness accounts which bring the event to life. Naturally there is a climate change message in there but it is not too high profile. The other three events covered are the strange weather of 1783 - caused by volcanic activity in Iceland putting ash and dust into the atmosphere; the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 and a tsunami in Hawaii in 1946. Interestingly enough all the events were caused by what happened under the earth and I'm sorry but I cannot see how this could have been influenced by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere whether man made or not. What does come over to me is that what goes on under out feet is totally unpredictable and the earth is very much a living, breathing, changing organism.
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