Book Reviews (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Book Reviews

12:28pm Wednesday 18th February 2009 in Staying in

A look at the latest book releases, plus what's new in paperback

NEW FICTION

:: Two Little Boys by Duncan Sarkies is published in paperback by John Murray, priced £11.99. Available now.

Nige [sic] and Deano have been best mates for 15 years and they've shared everything - smokes, girlfriends, a toasted sandwich maker and a flat.

So it's only logical that when Nige accidentally runs over and kills a Norwegian backpacker that he calls on Deano to help. The trouble is, Deano is still smarting from the fact that Nige has a new best mate, Gav, and he's not thinking as straight as he should be.

It might sound dark and twisted, but Two Little Boys is a laugh out loud romp.

Duncan Sarkies - best known in his native New Zealand as a scriptwriter and playwright who has also written episodes of the cult Flight Of The Conchords series - has a brilliant ear for dialogue and an innate sense of timing.

Somehow he's managed to make his first novel funny, chilling and incredibly touching in one foul swoop. Don't read it in public unless you don't mind guffawing in front of strangers.

9/10

(Review by Lucy Corry)

:: The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews is published in hardback by Faber and Faber, priced £12.99. Available now.

Taking a road trip fuelled by gasoline and diner dinners, is the all-American version of journeying towards enlightenment.

Using a narrative vehicle (sorry) which apparently never gets old, Miriam Toews, shows us just how much easier, and more interesting, it is for quirky, poor people to bond, when they're on the move.

When Paris-based Hattie gets a call from her 11-year-old niece, Thebes, she returns home. Having learned that her sister is in a psychiatric ward, she hatches a plan to find the children's long-lost father.

Fans of the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine will love this book, which brings colour and humanity to the lives of the 'sub-prime' generation.

Filled for the most part with emotional energy and memorable writing, this novel suffers the fate of most road-trip stories, a flabby middle. Still the ending is definitely worth the wait.

8/10 (Review by Sarah O'Meara)

:: I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass is published in hardback by Hutchinson, priced £18.99. Available now.

Louisa Jardine and her sister Clem are polar opposites: one an intellectual art magazine editor in New York and the other a free-spirited biologist, travelling to remote areas of the world to study wildlife. We first meet them in 1980 when Clem is just 18.

Their first-person narratives weave around each other throughout the book, describing the girls' separate lives and the times they collide - usually through a relative's death or some personal trauma. There's the usual sibling jealousy over parental love and who will inherit their aunt's treasured possessions.

But they also care for each other, though they rarely express it and have painfully enigmatic conversations.

It's a difficult book to read. Just when you think you are getting to know one of the sisters at a certain time in their life, you're transported to another time and a different sister's perspective. Each character is frustratingly re-introduced in a new way.

The sections seem arbitrary and incongruous and after the ultimate tragedy, there's no real sense of conclusion. Perhaps you never really knew either sister at all and maybe you don't care.

6/10

(Review by Kate Whiting)

NEW NON-FICTION

:: Darwin's Island: The Galapagos in the Garden of England by Steve Jones is published in hardback by Little Brown, priced £20. Available now.

Even the most ardent of enthusiasts for the work of Charles Darwin must be feeling pretty Darwinned out by now.

In this, the 200th anniversary of the great naturalists's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his masterpiece, On The Origin of Species, he's been everywhere.

On television and radio series, in books and magazines, we've surely heard everything about his voyage to the Galapagos and how it prompted him to work on his theory of natural selection. So do we need any more?

Well, yes, in short. In Darwin's Island, Steve Jones takes us effortlessly through his subject's other, less celebrated works, in which he investigated, catalogued and described the insects, plants and animals of Britain. Jones, one of the country's top science writers, is a delightful read, with compelling enthusiasm for his subject and plenty of contemporary references.

9/10

(Review by Jack Doyle)

:: The English Civil Wars by Blair Worden is published in hardback by Orion, priced £12.99. Available now.

They may only have accounted for two decades of the history of this country but the civil wars fought in England were among the most significant battles ever engaged on this isle.

For the first time a third force - Parliament - properly joined the traditional conflicts which had previously been the preserve of royalty and the clergy.

Blair Worden is renowned for his attention to detail and he does not let the reader down here with his account of the intrigue and manoeuvring which led up to such important conflicts as those at Marston Moor and Naseby.

Led by Oliver Cromwell, the 'new model army' of the Roundheads triumphed over the Cavaliers as brother was pitched against father, Protestant fought Catholic and even landed gentry took arms in opposition.

Worden weaves together the intricate tale of history in such a way that the reader finds a sometimes weighty subject easy and enjoyable.

7/10

(Review by Roddy Brooks)

CHILDREN'S CHOICE

:: The Sandfather by Linda Newbery is published as a paperback original by by Orion, priced £6.99. Available now.

Hal Marborough lives with his white, single mum Tina.

But Hal is mixed race, and wants to know more about his background. Every time he asks his mum, she refuses to tell him anything about his dad, making him boil with anger.

Often lashing out, a fight with best friend Luke finally pushes his head teacher's patience to the limit, and Hal is suspended.

With his mum in hospital, the young man is sent to stay with his aunt Jude and starts to search for his father,

The question is, can Hal work through his anger or will he continue to be a walking timebomb?

Linda Newbery's story of a journey into adolescence is touching and an enjoyable read. Definitely one for younger teens, especially those struggling with identity or a broken home.

9-11 yrs

9/10

(Review by Caroline Davison)

PAPERBACK CHOICE

:: Unspoken by Sam Hayes is published in paperback by Headline, priced 6.99. Available February 26.

Following her best-selling debut novel, Sam Hayes, has produced another gem. Devoted grandmother Mary Marshall would do anything for her children. But sometimes the past comes back to thwart your best intentions. This tense thriller should head straight to the top of the book charts.

:: Oscar Season by Mary Mcnamara is published in paperback by Pocket Books, priced £6.99. Available now.

The Devil Wears Prada meets Hotel Babylon in this sizzling debut from author Mary Mcnamara. The Los-Angeles based writer, covered the Oscars for five years as an entertainment reporter, before turning to fiction. Her first murder mystery shows that sometimes death is the greatest form of publicity.

BOOKCLUB CHOICE

:: The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt is published by Bloomsbury, priced £7.99. Available February 23.

Although mathematicians may worship him, the Indian genius Srinivasa Ramanujan is hardly famous. But now the subject of a new book 'The Indian Clark' by David Leavitt, two new films and a sell-out theatrical production, it seems that the early 20th century genius nicknamed the 'Hindoo Calculator' might well be worth reading about.

:: BEST SELLERS for the week ending January 31, 2009

PAPERBACKS

1 (10) The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Kate Summerscale

2 (2) New Moon, Stephenie Meyer

3 (1) Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer

4 (4) Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

5 (3) Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

6 (-) Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates

7 (6) When Will There Be Good News?, Kate Atkinson

8 (5) The Brutal Art, Jesse Kellerman

9 (-) The Secret Scripture, Sebastian Barry

10 (7) The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama

HARDBACKS

1 (1) Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer

2 (2) The Associate, John Grisham

3 (3) Tales of Beedle the Bard, J K Rowling

4 (-) The Magician's Apprentice, Trudi Canavan

5 (-) Run For Your Life, James Patterson

6 (6) The Secret, Rhonda Byrne

7 (-) The Bodies Left Behind, Jeffrey Deaver

8 (-) 2666, Roberto Bolano

9 (8) The Girl Who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson

10 (10) Jamie's Ministry of Food, Jamie Oliver