A Fine Thing Chance (Oliver Popplewell)

Oliver Popplewell

A Fine Thing Chance

Interesting collection of stories all based in "what if" scenarios some of which are all based on chance and others not quite so. Many relate to legal criminal cases as Popplewell was a judge.

A Bit of a Stretch (Chris Atkins)

Chris Atkins

A Bit of a Stretch

Very interesting and disturbing account of someone who spends time in Wandsworth Prison for fraud. The conditions are terrible and most prisoners who should be treated as medical patients are locked up seemingly until the authorities wait for them to self harm and are suicidal. Liz Truss, our short term PM who screwed the economym, comes under special criticism for either incompetence or deliberately using prisoners as political pawns. The cynical side of me thinks that any politician who seems incompetent actually knows exactly what they are doing to screw whatever line they are responsible for. In Truss's case I tend to think she really is incompetent. At best negligent. Which is the authorities answer to running law and order in this country. The book makes very clear that the prison system does more to encourage reoffending than to reduce crime levels. Although a tough read it is readable and has moments of comedy. Albeit dark.

All Our Yesterdays (Natalia Ginzburg)

Natalia Ginzburg

All Our Yesterdays

Excellent tale about two familys and other friends as the nazis take over in Italy and as they enter the war through to it's end. As reading I thought it was a modern novel but then found out it was written in the 50s so would have been when the trauma of the war was still pretty raw.