Thursday 12 March 2020

Brilliant Careers - The Virago Book of 20th Century Fiction



I picked up this little beauty in a second hand bookshop for the princely cost of £1.00.

My husband and I (apologies if I sound like the Queen) were having a few days away in beautiful Herefordshire which is in the southwest of the England. Short of a tornado we experienced every kind of weather. We had snow, rain, wind, sunshine and the flooding in that part of the country was very bad. The roads were clear but there were flooded fields for as far as the eye can see.

Anyway, during one of our days there I came across this book. It is edited by Ali Smith, Kasia Boddy and Sarah Wood. It highlights one Virago publication for each year of the twentieth century; starting in 1901 with My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin and finishes in the year 2000 with From Midrash on Happiness by Grace Paley. Each featured book tells us about the author alongside an extract which was chosen to represent chronologically an extract from each year of the twentieth century.

I would dearly love to read every novel that is detailed in this book - a huge undertaking amongst all the other books that I would like to read. To that end I have purchased a copy of the 1901 book My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin - what better place to start then at the beginning. Realistically, I shall probably only read some of them and of those books I will be posting a review.

Unfortunately, it seems this book is currently out of print but there are second hand copies available. Or if you would like to see a list of the titles of the novels that are featured in this book then please let me know.

Keep well, keep safe and happy reading.

Monday 2 March 2020

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (A Strike Novel) - #BookReview

         
"Such is the universal desire for fame that those who achieve it accidentally or unwillingly will wait in vain for pity."


When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike's office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts in a panic. 

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy's story, Strike and Robin Ellacott - one his assistant, now his partner in the agency - set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.

And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike's own life is far from straightforward; his relationship with Robin is more fraught than it ever has been - she is now invaluable to his business, but their personal relationship is much, much more tricky than that...

Although my edition of this book is just over 770 pages, I was so engrossed by the story and characters that I would have happily have continued reading this book if it was twice the length.

Without doubt, Robert Galbraith, the pseudonym of J.K. Rowling, is an exceptional story teller. She creates worlds and characters that are both likeable and unforgettable as evidenced by a whole generation of children and young people who have grown up alongside Harry Potter.

This is equally evident in this, the fourth book in the Cormoran Strike series. I have read the previous three novels, The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm and Career of Evil.  I am completely entranced by the chemistry in the relationship between Cormoran Strike and his colleague Robin Ellacott. With each one of the books in the series I have felt that the books have grown in strength even though each of them have been fantastic novels in their own right. I think this is largely attributable to the characters who we get to know a little better with each book.

The plot has some wonderful twists and turns, making this book enormously absorbing, entertaining and unputdownable. I am excitedly anticipating the next book in the series, Troubled Blood, which is due to be published in the UK on the 9th September 2020 and on the 29th September 2020 in the US so I am just going to have to be patient until then.

If you have not read any of the books in this series then I strongly encourage you to do so as you have a real treat in store. 

Happy reading.

ISBN: 978 0751572872

Publisher: Little Brown