★★★★
Last time I went to the library, this book was one of the spoils that I carried off: in retrospect, it’s odd that I hadn’t read it before. Perhaps it’s simply that I wasn’t familiar with Alderman’s writing. Her first novel Disobedience had very good reviews but I’ve never got round to reading it; and I remember having picked up The Lessons somewhere before, but only for long enough to read the prologue, which didn’t do much for me. I wish I’d persevered.
★★★
In his Booker Prize winner from 2011, Julian Barnes plays with notions of memory and history. When the narrator Tony receives an unexpected bequest, he is motivated to reexamine his past, specifically, his friendship with his brilliant schoolmate Adrian, and his youthful affair with the demanding Veronica. In doing so, he discovers that his neat memories of events are far from true, and that the consequences of these two relationships are still playing themselves out in the present.
★★★
Short novels are always the most difficult to review, especially the kind of short novel where you have to be very careful what you say so as not to spoil anyone else’s enjoyment… So here we go… I’ll keep it very brief.
★★★½
Before I picked up this book in the library, I’d never heard of Michael Arditti, but I found this story fascinating. Following various members of the Granville family, it explores the difficulties that people feel when trying to reconcile their faith and the modern world – or perhaps, more accurately, how faith can still provide a necessary haven of peace and purpose in a world that can otherwise seem heartbreakingly cruel.
★★★★
Before American Pastoral, I’d never read any Philip Roth. I’d only really heard about him through reviews of Everyman, which sounded so completely depressing and pessimistic that I was entirely put off. However, since I’ve just joined a book club (very exciting!) and this was the first book to be read, I took a deep breath and jumped in. And I enjoyed it far, far more than I expected to.
The Idle Woman 