Thérèse Raquin (Émile Zola)

Émile Zola
Thérèse Raquin

An interesting novel and tale which at the risk of a spoiler... married woman meets man has affair both kill husband get married memory of the killing comes back to haunt them sending them mad. A crude synopsis but the gist of the story. Obviously much better written than I have suggested. A large part of the story is their descent into madness (assuming they are not mad already despite being murderers) which is described in great and lengthy detail. Does go on a bit but I guess that's the point of the story and how it affects the reader. I had to bail at one point and read Puckoon for light relief that it didn't really deliver and in some respects analogous to this tale in that you can't hide from the depression of this book until you reach the bitter end. There's no holds barred as Zola describes both the tempestuous affair and the subsequent murder and madness. Not in graphic detail as you may read today but there is no doubt as to what is going on. All through the dead husband's mother is closely involved in the plot and indeed integral to the story. As is the poor cat which to be honest was the most upsetting bit for me as none of the humans were particularly likeable and all selfish to some degree. Whether the cat was selfish or not is unknown although I think they all are. Well worth reading. Probably best inside looking outside at the cold rain as I have done rather than taking on holiday as a cheery read on the beach.

Puckoon (Spike Milligan)

Spike Milligan
Puckoon

Having read The Third Policeman and reading a review that compared Puckoon to that strange tale I decide to reread the first time being decades ago. Puckoon is a series of weird passages threaded somewhat into the same story of an Irish village being divided by the Ulster / Free Republic border line. Although readable and at times funny there's too much gratuitous racism which may have been "acceptable" (i.e. published and reviewed in mainstream press) when written (early 1960s) but I don't think would get past the Penguin editorial board now and quite rightly. Milligan may have thought that he was treating everyone equally as he was half Irish but that is beside the point. Misogynist too despite much of the humour being aimed at males. I read this in the middle of Thérèse Raquin as light relief although at times I was more depressed by Milligan's language than Zola's.

A Different Drummer (William Melvin Kelley)

William Melvin Kelley
A Different Drummer

A novel by a writer who had a varied life, well worth reading in itself, and after what are now seen as classic novels went somewhat off the scene. This is Kelley's debut novel written in 1962. A very readable story about a village or small town in the deep American south. Without too much of a spoiler it's set in the context that all black people in the (fictional) state are leaving the state seemingly spontaneously at very short notice. The author is black and each chapter is written from the point of view of one of the white inhabitants of the village or small town. Not that the black members of the village are ignored as one in particular is the focus of the story. Although there are obvious racists in the story in the main it's not a violent story... until the brutal ending.

Fever Pitch (Nick Hornby)

Nick Hornby
Fever Pitch

This is subtitled in later editions as "A Fan's Life" and on the cover "The best football book ever written". That sums up the book. Nick Hornby's obsession and how it rules his life is a great book that any obsessed fan would identify with. I'm hardly an obsessed fan but much of what he writes resonates with myself and would do with anyone who supports a team and is fully engaged in their fortunes. Extremely funny in many parts and all along a dark humour of life supporting a team that have, to be fair, been fairly pedestrian especially in the seasons written about through the 70s and 80s. The high point is the win at Anfield to give us our first league win for 18 years. The book stops in 1992 and then Arsenal went onto become a flashier side than they had. As I write this we are top of the league and I'm dreaming of a league win which would be our first for even longer than we waited in 89. Having come 2nd the last 3 seasons surely this season is ours. God, I'm feeling the sort of stress that Hornby describes so much more eloquently in Fever Pitch.

A Mouse Called Wolf (Dick King-Smith)

Dick King-Smith
A Mouse Called Wolf

A lovely little story, unless you're a cat, for children. Not sure where I got the recommendation but in a previous novel it was said that everyone ought to read this. So I did one evening. For kids but strangely engaging.

The Third Policeman (Flann O'Brien)

Flann O'Brien
The Third Policeman

An odd and surreal tale set in rural Ireland I guess in the 1930s as that's when it was written. The basic plot is educated man comes home to find another running his bar and farm. After the two of them commit a dastardly crime they live side by side to ensure the other doesn't go off with the proceeds. Once going to collect a few years later it all goes very surreal for reasons I won't explain as a spoiler. A lot of involvement of policemen and their surreal goings on. All is just about explained in the end. A brilliant read although I'm now slightly concerned that some of me may be made of bicycle. Oh yes, various modern (as in the 30s) additions to bicycles are hotly debated. Flann O'Brien is the pen name of Brian O'Nolan (Brian Ó Nualláin) and this novel was strangely rejected by his publisher so only published after his death. A must read in my opinion and one that I've been meaning to get round to for about 3 decades. Worth the wait!

The Captain and the Enemy (Graham Greene)

Graham Greene
The Captain and the Enemy

Never understood why Greene is so admired. Very readable books but don't really grip me as in care about the protagonists. As I said back in 2017 about The Comedians "I didn't feel a lot of empathy with any of them and so not my type of novel. Maybe I'll give him another try in a few years time..."  Well I have given him another try and feel exactly the same way. By the way bought by Debbie in New York at the Strand book stall at Central Park. So should really keep as a momento.

Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson (William Fotheringham)

William Fotheringham
Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson

Written by a well respected sports journalist, and one time racing cyclist, this excellent account of Tom Simpson's life, and more particularly death, covers all aspects. Tom Simpson died in 1967 climbing the infamous Ventoux a standalone mountain in Provence, France. He collapsed on his bike with exhaustion and heart failure and made headlines not just because of his death but as he was the greatest British cyclist up until that time, and for many years afterwards. Tom's life is accounted obviously focussing on his rise as a cyclist being one of the first Brits to make the move to the continent and rose to the heights of World Road Race Champion, all the Classics that he won and Tour de France placings. Also the life of a professional cyclist which back then relied heavily on soigneurs who were masseurs, trainers and all round health advisers. Although the idea of what was healthy for elite athletes back in the late 60s is very very different to now. For instance, not to drink too much water when you are very hot. And of course there were the drugs which at the time were perfectly legal to take, at least from a cycling perspective, so to be able to endure the very physical lifestyle, uppers and downers plus brandy were common across the peloton. Simpson is seen as a victim of taking amphetamines and then riding up the extremely hot Ventoux. But Fotheringham goes into a lot more detail than that including Tom's health in the days immediately before the climb. A comprehensive story with a lot of investigation. A sideline is the issue of doping up until the book's publication date of 2002... the Festina affair had broken in the late 90s and Fotheringham name checks Lance Armstrong as an elite rider from outside Europe (back in the 60s there were a handful of Brits and no one else outside of Europe) but before the strong rumours about Armstrong's doping and subsequent disgrace and having his medals stripped. The book has been updated so I assume that that is covered in the newer editions. One of the better sporting biographies.

The Monsters of Templeton (Lauren Groff)

Lauren Groff
The Monsters of Templeton 

A novel that I picked up from The Strand bookseller's kiosk outlet in Central Park whilst in New York. Picked up on a whim as it's set in New York... I should have looked closer as it's NY state not NYC. Nevertheless, a very readable story which keeps you gripped. A bit of a who done it mystery although not a murder mystery but a fatherhood mystery although having said that there is a murder mystery towards the end. So much more than that as the main character is going through a very difficult time and her relationships with friends, mother and ex school colleagues who she meets up with again on returning to the small town in NY state. The "monsters" are certain people in her ancestry which goes back to the founder of the city. A curious addition is that a large benign "monster" is found dead on the town's lake and for which there is no known equivalent. It's had stories about it for centuries but most thought these were simply tales and not true. An interesting tale especially as picked up at random.

A Shepherd's Life (W. H. Hudson)

W. H. Hudson
A Shepherd's Life

A description of life in Wiltshire at the end of the 19th century mainly on Salisbury Plain by someone born and raised in rural Argentina who came to England as an adult and found the solitude and disappearing farming ways he was used to back home. Well, nearly. Interesting anecdotes about the people, wildlife and farming focussing on one old shepherd's life stories. A way of life that has passed into time, at least in the UK. I bought it as mentioned in the book In Pursuit of Spring and mentioned around Shrewton where my brother lives. Interesting.

Fire in Babylon (Simon Lister)

Simon Lister
Fire in Babylon: How the West Indies Cricket Team Brought a People to its Feet



Firstly, this is a book written after the film was made using the material from the film maker and additional by the book author. It's a fascinating account of the West Indies cricket team from the start of the 1900s up until Viv Richards resigned the captaincy in the early 1990s. From that time the team changed from being white men only to being captained by black men. It's a story of perseverance in the context of a white cricketing establishment, both in the WI and elsewhere, making out that the WIndies were happy go lucky chancers without any real strategy and once having to accept that they could only be so dominant from the late 70s onwards by being strategic and extremely hard working they were then accused of playing dangerously due to their fast bowlers and delivery of bouncers. Whilst all this was within the rules of the game they were still lambasted for not playing cricket, so to speak. Of course all this was rubbish as the WIndies batsmen were all used to fast bowling as that's what made the cut in the West Indies islands.

The book relates the rise of the WIndies dominance in the context of colonialism and the move of the West Indian islands from colonies to independent states. The friction between the various island countries is also documented as is the experience of West Indians emigrating to Britain and the racism that they encountered. The book suggests that the success of the WIndies did a lot to gain respect and confidence for those in the UK as well as those back in the Caribbean. 

A very readable book with a good mix of sport, personal commitment and social commentary. And challenges. I saw the West Indies at the Oval in the late 80s and it was the most raucous day I've spent there with a very vocal West Indian crowd celebrating the last test of a winning series with Viv Richards being their adored captain. I'd seen Viv at my local cricket club Lansdown CC where I grew up and where Viv played before he started his magnificent career with Somerset and Ian Botham. He lodged for a while with my mate Jon Bees' family and my brother Duncan bowled against him when Viv came back for a charity match. Duncan didn't tell me how far he hit him but I know that at one point he was asked not to hit the ball so high as it kept clearing the high wire fence between the ground and the Royal United Hospital and they were concerned for their patients. Lansdown CC is now 200 years old and Viv Richards is perhaps it's most famous player... alongside W.G. Grace (and his brother E.M.) who played for them a century before Viv.

And just for Jon... a couple of mentions of his dad...

https://www.lansdowncricketclub.co.uk/news/on-his-birthday-memories-of-sir-iva-richards-at-combe-park-2687626.html

https://www.espn.co.uk/cricket/story/_/id/22518508/rubbing-shoulders-giants