bookswelike

bwl 115 - Winter 2025

Fiction

Anne Berest - The Postcard

An anonymous postcard addressed to her late mother, containing just four names, is delivered to Leila and daughter Anne's Paris address. Where did it come from? Anne sets out to solve the mystery which entails learning the story of her Jewish forbears, the names on the postcard. Although, inevitably, a holocaust story, Anne also discovers Parisian intellectual life, the French resistance and more. The denouement at the end is beyond words poignant. Absolutely enthralling. (Annabel Bedini)

Eleanor Catton - Birnam Wood

A death at a farming commune spirals out of control. Heavy on character description and motivation, and perhaps a bit contrived. After The Luminaries, which knocked me out, I expected more. Still, a less than stunning Catton novel is better than most available. Like the Luminaries, the ending left me in mid-air a bit. (Herb Roselle)

Percival Everett - James

Everett takes Mark Twain’s American classic, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, and retells the harrowing tale of two runaways, this time from the perspective of the adult Black slave, Jim. “James” is a compact, fast-moving, many-layered story that touches on all the horrors of the black slave culture introduced into the pristine ‘New World’ by English colonists looking to make their fortunes by means of slave labour. In his stunning twist on American literary history, Everett has given us a masterpiece. (Sharron Calkins)

Robert Galbraith aka J K Rowling - The Ink Black Heart

The sixth in the Cormoran Strike detective series is as satisfyingly long as ever and Rowling’s characterisation, of course, is excellent. However, I found it to be less accessible than the others due to many pages of “conversation” by users of an online game. This broke up the narrative and was a little irritating. Still well worth reading, but if you don’t like the “computer speak” there is always the option of watching the television version and moving on to the next book, which is already available. (Mandy Mandair)

Jennie Godfrey - A List of Suspicious Things

Two best friends, preoccupied and frightened by the constant reports of the Yorkshire Ripper, embark on their own investigation of people and places in their Yorkshire town. Of course The Ripper remains at large but they uncover some uncomfortable truths and nasty events close to home. Mostly written from a 12 year’s old standpoint I felt occasionally the naïve approach trivialised some of the issues. However, a nostalgic and engaging story about childhood struck a cord with me as I was that age at that time. (Rebecca Howell)

Tessa Hadley - The Party

This novella portrays a family in post-war, bombed-out Bristol. Sisters, Moira and Evelyn, recoil against the apparent stagnation of life, as perceived in their parent’s hollow marriage. Desperate to rebel they allow themselves to be briefly drawn into the circle of a group of wealthy, privileged young people, despite not liking them much. Does it change them? Yes and no, luckily their resilience and laughter see them through. (Christine Miller)

Nick Harkaway - Karla's Choice

Le Carré revisited with his son taking on the mantle. Yes, it has all the hallmarks of his style, the words race off the page, so why did I find it so difficult to follow? Too many characters, perhaps, too many aliases? I'm still struggling to work out what it was all about and who was who! It's had rave reviews so don't let me put you off. (Jenny Baker)

Robert Harris - Precipice

A true story based on the astonishingly indiscreet letters of a Prime Minister infatuated by a well born lady less than half his age. Harris weaves around it a portrait of the ruling class grappling with a world war which threatens the lives of its young and the leisurely world over which it presides. The inner tensions of Asquith's government, dominated by major players like Churchill, Kitchener and Lloyd George, come to life as the war goes badly. Witnessing this, and disillusioned by it, is a young security officer. A good, and in the end, poignant, read. (Tony Pratt)

Samantha Harvey - Orbital

In 138 short pages, we are transported into the world of six astronauts who are circling Earth, collecting data, doing scientific experiments and testing the limits of the human body. They begin to ask, what is life without Earth, what is Earth without humanity? A thought provoking read which won last year's Booker - don't let that put off! (Jenny Baker)

Rebecca Kauffman - Chorus

Seven American siblings and how they react and interact in the face of the defining events of their lives, the death of their mother and one sister's teenage pregnancy. Kauffman cleverly jumps times and characters, back and forth, which far from being irritating I found built up into, precisely, a chorus of many voices, intertwining to form a convincing composition of family relationships and how they function. I thoroughly enjoyed it. (Annabel Bedini)

John Le Carré - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Le Carré at his very best. I recently watched the superb BBC adaptation with Alec Guinness as George Smiley and just had to re-read the original. The writing is so good that, even when you know who is the Spy, you just keep on reading. A master story-teller. (Jenny Baker)

Amin Maalouf - Leo the African

Written as memoir, it is faithfully based on the historical accounts of a 16th Century Moroccan diplomat and geographer, Hasan al-Wazzan. Born a Muslim in Granada in 1495, and forced to flee by the Spanish Crown and the Inquisition, Leo (Hasan) details the remarkable life and flight of his family and the more extremist influences of the Spanish on the Catholic church, during the period of the Inquisition. My knowledge of European history was expanded and illuminated by this very enjoyable fictional rendition. (Margaret Teh)

Andrew Miller - The Land in Winter

1962, the year of the big freeze, in a small west-country village two disparate couples, both expecting their first child, struggle to make sense of their lives. In the midst of a blizzard where can you run to and where can you hide? A totally immersive, perfect winter read told by a master story-teller. (Jenny Baker)

Joseph O'Neill - Godwin

An American businessman's life is becoming difficult. Contacted about a star African football prospect, he crosses the Atlantic and gets embroiled in the world of talent spotting and football agents. The narrator's journey includes a brilliant recounting of the rise of the black footballer, throwing incidental light on aspects of colonialism, and in the USA, the evocation of intensifying office politics is positively chilling. I'm not sure that the two worlds hang together well and maybe not for you if you are not a soccer fan. (Tony Pratt)

Richard Powers - Playground

My favorite writer, and he continues to dazzle with his prose prowess. Every page thrills with wonderful description and insight. Still, to what end? The argument is that technology and corporations have gotten dangerous. Powers hopes for a simpler world, à la Rousseau. A great read, but he didn't win me over to his viewpoint. (Herb Roselle)

Elif Shafak - There are Rivers in the Sky

Water connects three characters - a raindrop falling in ancient Ninevah, Mesopotamia: a partly lost poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and two rivers, the Thames and the Tigris. The Victorian Arthur searches for the lost tablets of the poem. Narin, a Yazidi girl, is enslaved during the genocide of her people in 2014. Zaleekhah in London in 2018 finds peace by reconnecting with her homeland. Shafak is a remarkable storyteller. Her creativity and research are truly breathtaking. (Christine Miller)

Amor Towles - Table for Two

Six short Stories based in New York and a novella set in Hollywood’s golden age. The short stories are mostly based around the turn of the millennium covering brief encounters and the compromises required in modern marriages. Whereas in the novella, Eve is creating a future for herself and others. The two main characters often sit across a table for two when a word may change the direction of their lives. Stylish writing throughout. (Christine Miller)

Yael Van Der Wouden - The Safe Keep

Isabel lives alone in the family home, rooted there by the pull of childhood memories and household objects that take on an iconic status. She is defensive and prickly but longing for intimacy and sexual fulfilment. When Eva intrudes on her and her house Isabel is horrified and antagonistic, but then torn by conflicting feelings. The truth of their situation emerges slowly and exposes an important historical issue new to me. This would be a worthy Booker winner – it’s brilliantly written and compulsive reading. (Victoria Grey-Edwards)

Niall Williams - Time of the Child

We are back in the remote village of Faha which featured in This is Happiness (bwl 96) - it's 1962, the first Sunday in Advent, a baby is found abandoned in the village graveyard . . . promising stuff, told in Williams' inimitable style, yet I and my book group just couldn't believe the doctor and his daughter would behave as they did. Intrigued? Perhaps you'd better read it and see if you agree! (Jenny Baker)

Asako Yuziki - Butter

Butter. What’s not to like? Spread on crisp toast or added to jersey potatoes. Sublime! Butter - Waterstones book of the year - is about ambition, misogyny, food, murder, love and even at times hygiene. For me though the message arrives at the close of the book, in that food is best celebrated when cooking for those you love. But that may be more about me than the author. An intriguing novel and perhaps that is enough. It has stayed with me. But it wasn’t sublime. (Margaret Young)

Gabrielle Zevin - Young Jane Young

Needing a lightish read, I picked up this new Gabrielle Zevin, and raced through it, thinking that some of it may also have been memoir but enjoying her writing as usual. Her observations on the choices and experiences available to young women whoever and wherever they may be, were not very optimistic. The book didn't have quite the same depth of subject, character and relationship development as Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow! (Margaret Teh)

Non-Fiction

John Crace - Depraved New World: Please Hold, the Government Will Be With You Shortly

The machinations of the last ten years have been manna from heaven for political sketch writers. Crace’s latest anthology takes in Partygate, lettuces, the psychodrama of Tory leadership contests and the inept administrations of a plethora of recent leaders. Blisteringly hilarious though this ‘tour-de-farce’ is, a more sober judgement points to the worrying collapse of standards and ethics in British politics. It will, sadly, take many years to redress the damage to this country’s reputation for good governance. (Jeremy Miller)

Chloe Dalton - Raising Hare

An extraordinary and charming account of rescuing an orphan leveret, then raising it purely in order to return it to the wild. It wasn't tamed and never given a 'pet' name, but considered Chloe's cottage its home, and a sensitive bond developed between them, strictly on the hare's terms, coming and going as it pleased. In time the hare gave birth to at least three litters, even once inside the home. Beautifully written, a joy to read! (Mary Standing)

Dan Jones - The Plantagenets

Dan Jones might be the best writer among historians. He is a romp through the tangle of profoundly flawed rulers as they bumble through their egos, drawing and quartering opponents, and leading the nation into financial and military ruin, all in a desperate quest to hold onto territory in France. Story might be a better word than history in the hands of Jones. (Herb Roselle)

Michael Malay - Late Light

Another excellent nature book. Malay becomes enthralled with four 'un-charismatic' species: eels, moths, fresh-water mussels and crickets. His exploration of their lives and habitats takes him – and us! – to all sorts of unexpected places to make fascinating discoveries. Inevitably, alas, it's also a record of diminishing numbers in all the species, so a kind of elegy. Underlying everything is Malay's eloquent plea about conserving the relationship between humans and all living creatures. A lovely book! (Annabel Bedini)

Andrew Marr - A History of the World

A huge undertaking perhaps, but Marr’s approach is to single out the big names and events of the past 20,000 years and examine how they changed our world. He brings his subjects vividly to life and exposes logical political, economic and cultural links over the period. Admittedly with such a broad scope, it is an introduction only towards a better understanding of global history, but I found it a beautifully written and enlightening one. (Denise Lewis)

Henry Miller - The Colossus of Maroussi

Miller gives full rein to his most fertile imagination as his mind and body meander around Greece in the dying days of peace in the 1930’s. The landscape and history of the Peloponnese and the companionship of fellow writers and poets evoke warmth and protection from the growing menace of war. Whether an impressionist travelogue or an autobiographical novel, it is the perfect book to read in dark days with hope of sunnier days to come. (Jeremy Miller)

Marcel Pagnol - My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle

Pure escapism - Pagnols remembers those far off days as a boy on holiday in the Provençal countryside. Here are the roots to his most famous films - Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources. Forget those grey clouds and drizzly days and escape into his sun-drenched world! (Jenny Baker)

Heather Cox Richards - How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America

Examining the essential paradox of the Founders’ concept that ‘all men are created equal’, the author describes the headlong and relentless pursuit of inequality perpetrated by the Republican party and their nefarious forebears over hundreds of years. She shows the lengths to which bad actors have distorted the public realm to benefit themselves and their friends at the expense of democratic freedoms. Her baleful conclusion: Trump is not an aberration, just the latest manifestation of political chicanery. (Jeremy Miller)

Diana Vreeland - D.V.

A vibrant, colourful memoir by a frivolous, determined and super-talented lady, fashion-editor of Harper's Bazaar and editor-in-chief of Vogue. Encompassing a top career of fifty years, her uninhibited recall of dinner parties, tête-à-têtes, theatres, excursions with the great, good and famous celebrates the luxury and brio of life in high society. More a cultural history than a discussion of high fashion, it evokes a world gone forever.... an irresistible nostalgic voice from the not-so-distant past. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)

Adrian Wooldridge - The Aristocracy of Talent

An extremely detailed global history of meritocracy and how it formed the modern world. Erudite, thoughtful and magnificently entertaining. While presenting a survey of many different cultures it focuses on the West and especially on the development of meritocracy in the United States and is now more than ever relevant to the state of things today. With an extensive list of books for further reading, this is the book we have been waiting for. (Kathie Somerwil Ayrton)

Andrew Ziminski - Church Going: A Stonemason's Guide to Churches of the British Isles

Someone whose work gives him a uniquely intimate knowledge of parish churches and their fabric, provides a multi-faceted appreciation of the historic glories of our islands. From lynch gate to tombstones, towers, pews and wall paintings, the book abounds in detailed descriptions informed by deep knowledge and first hand experience. Along the way, many individual churches are highlighted, often accompanied by interesting and amusing anecdotes. A book to have by you on the road or to beguile winter evenings. (Tony Pratt)

Feedback

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As a long term reader of bwl, I was sad to learn of James' passing. His warm, witty and accomplished illustrations have been a big part of the pleasure of reading bwl and now constitute a great legacy to it. A good memorial. Best wishes to Jenny and bwl in future.

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I particularly enjoyed the bwl 114 Non-fiction section, because I’d read several of the books, and it’s great to see what someone else (who can be trusted!) thought of them. I really enjoyed Sarah Bakewell’s ‘At the Existential Café’ and would recommend it as a perfect introduction to Existentialism. She writes with such clarity (and wit) about difficult subjects and is a joy to read. I particularly loved her ‘How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in one question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer’ and have been meaning to re-read it for years. I emailed her when I finished it saying how much I enjoyed it - the one and only time I’ve ever done such a thing - and she replied immediately saying how delighted she was to receive it and that I’d made her day. Sweet! (Denise Lewis)

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