A week away in the rain has given me the chance to finish reading the books I had on the go.
I like to read outside my comfort zone, opening my mind and gaining new perspectives by exploring new genres. All right. I’ll come clean. I have a butterfly mind and read just about anything that catches my eye. A clever cover image, a witty tagline or a half-heard interview on Loose Ends, and I’m sold.
That’s how come my recent ‘to be read’ pile included a children’s book for all ages, some Irish noir, a dystopian comedy and a heavyweight historical fiction.
Incidentally, I always review indie books I read. I hope you do too. I figure the blockbusters can survive without the benefit of my two-penn’orth. I’ll keep these relatively short but if you want to read the full reviews, you can find them in the usual places.
Happy reading everyone!
Losing Arthur by Paul A Mendelson
A book about, and full of, imagination. Young Zack has only one friend in the world, Arthur. And he’s imaginary. And green. One day, Zack’s exasperated single mum posts Arthur to an imaginary address in Scotland. So begins Zack’s adventure. Like all the best so-called children’s books, it can read on several levels and by readers of any age.
We’re in the 1950s in a drab Irish border town. Jolly Macken, is an RUC cop, new in town, and very much out of favour. This could be a dark tale. And indeed it does have its dark and disturbing moments but it is the humanity and occasional humour of the writing that sets it apart. And you’ll learn how to pronounce Aoife.
Funny and relevant to our crazy times. In a near-future dystopian England, crims and the anti-social are dyed purple by the state to deter them from bad behaviour. A light-hearted read that should at all costs be kept away from politicians. Have fun guessing how the purpling is done.
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
What everyone else has said. Heavy in both senses of the word. But so worth it. This is history imagined as it was lived, not as it is read about in history books. So good, I think I’ll have to read it again to appreciate all it offers.