The Red Pony (John Steinbeck)

John Steinbeck

The Red Pony

A short story of 4 shorter ones full of Steinbeck's typically evocative descriptions. The stories are a mix of a child who's not really shown a lot of love and directs that into things that are lost to him. The book ends with the realisation that he's not the only one to feel loss.

Girl, Woman, Other (Bernardine Evaristo)

Bernardine Evaristo

Girl, Woman, Other

Very readable novel of 12 interlinking lives coming together at the end... ?

Thought provoking and what some may view as a controversial subject matter it's beautifully written. My only complaint is that each story could cover a book in itself and what could be in depth and insightful anecdotes are glossed over. For instance Dominique's time in the American commune community and her interactions with the baker, shopping in the local town, what films did she walk out from and why and what was the reaction of those there. Feels like it could be an epic which has been cut down to bring into a readable size. Maybe I like the detailed descriptions of people and places too much and that that is not the point of the story which is fair enough. After all, I'm not the author! Having said all that the book packs a punch and every paragraph adds to the story and is very readable. The ending is a bit odd to my mind as I don't think it really wraps up the main stories. Overall it feels a bit like an essay on diversity rather than the epic story it could be.

My Life in Red and White (Arsène Wenger)

Arsène Wenger
My Life in Red and White: My Autobiography

The definitive, as in his, autobiography which from a managerial perspective was dedicated to teams who played in red and white. It's a fascinating mix of his life and his views on football. Plus his perspective on what went on at Arsenal whilst he was in charge of the team, and so much more, and interesting take on what has happened since he left. He doesn't bad mouth anyone but reading between the (missing) lines you can tell his view of what happened between his departure and Arteta's permanent appointment. A good read if you are a Gooner and probably a good one if you're not. Some nice photos too. And for any budding Statto's out there there are pages of stats at the back.

Hadji Murat (Leo Tolstoy)

Leo Tolstoy
Hadji Murat

A story about a real life character that Tolstoy wrote at the end of his days. All about the Russian control of Chechnya so not much has changed politically in a few hundred years. It's part adventure and part political statement especially scathing of the Tsar. And with a lot of character analysis thrown into the mix of course. An excellent read and a reasonable length with limited number of characters and not a great deal of using different names for the same person so you don't find yourself confused as in War and Peace (at least I did, twice).