In the introduction to this book the authors, themselves American, explain that most Americans don’t understand the significance and depth of feeling the European cycling Grand Tours generate in their fans. They set out to explain through the history of … Continue reading →
This isn’t really a review of “Cycles of Time”: I’m not going to discuss the structure of the book or the quality of the writing. Instead I’ve tried for my own benefit to summarise what I learned from reading it. … Continue reading →
This novel is set in present-day Moscow and evokes a believable atmosphere of smouldering and pervasive corruption. Some reviewers have found the plot dull and predictable, but I prefer to say that the story develops with slow inevitability as the … Continue reading →
I regret to say that I don’t think this book is worthy of the Man Booker prize it won in 2008. I can only think it superficially ticked enough boxes to persuade the judges – first novel, non-white, non-English author, … Continue reading →
I was given this book in an Italian restaurant and Pizzeria in Oxford on World Book Night. It’s not easy to write a book convincingly in the first person, but Mark Haddon has managed to do it well in this … Continue reading →
Subtitled "Up the Yukon Without a Paddle" this book is one of those "We wanted to get away from it all and although we hadn’t a clue what we were doing we somehow managed to survive" stories. And frankly it’s … Continue reading →
The second of two Nesbo books I read this month. Both are airport fiction in the Scandinavian noir genre. The characters are rather uninterseting and the main character (the detective) is unattractive. They are both a quick read but don’t … Continue reading →
The first of two Nesbo books I read this month. Both are airport fiction in the Scandinavian noir genre. The characters are rather uninterseting and the main character (the detective) is unattractive. They are both a quick read but don’t … Continue reading →
An interesting book but I haven’t got anything insightful to say about it that hasn’t been said by others — see for example this review in The Guardian.
Continue reading →A journey is not always a challenge, nor is a challenge always an adventure. An episode in a life can be none, one, two, or all three of these things. In his previous book “The Man Who Cycled The World” … Continue reading →