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Archive for January, 2021

‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ by Edward Albee

Posted in Uncategorized on January 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I read this play in one sitting, which is not a difficult task, as it isn’t a long book. There are just four characters, and it takes place in real time – both of these points appealed to me.

George and Martha are a middle aged couple who live on a New England university campus. George is a history lecturer and Martha is the Dean’s daughter. Although they have been married for years, and seem like they would be lost without each other, they also despise each other and both take pleasure in taunting the other.

Things take a sinister turn – although you suspect not for the first time – when a young Biology lecturer named Nick, who is new to the university visits them after a party one night, bringing his naive wife Honey with him. Nick and Honey become drawn into the older couple’s private war, and become pawns in their game.

In the third act, a secret is revealed about George and Martha which goes some way towards explaining their antagonism towards each other (no spoilers here).

It’s a bleak read, and somewhat dated now. Still, I am glad I read it, and would recommend it, but I actually prefer the film version with excellent performances from Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

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‘Diary of a Somebody’ by Brian Bilston

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , on January 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Brian Bilston has been hailed the poet laureate of Twitter – a 21st century title if ever there was one! – and while I generally struggle with poetry, I have found his poems delightful, amusing, and utterly relatable. Here, he writes as a fictional version of himself, having decided that he is going to write a poem every day of the year, while also keeping a diary of his year. (The poems are all included in his diary, and while there are a minority of days when he doesn’t write one, he more or less keeps his resolution.)

The Brian Bilston of this story is a likeable character, with a sharp eye for life’s minutiae, and while he often writes about the mundanity of life, he always makes it highly enjoyable. He is also a genius at wordplay!

Brian and his wife Sophie have broken up and she has fallen for a new, indefatigably enthusiastic man; his relationship with his teenage son is strained; work is boring to Brian and he has no interest in it; the insufferable fellow poet Toby Salt is finding fame and fortune, much to Brian’s disgust – in fact the only bright spots in his life are his cat and Liz, the new lady at his poetry club, but he can’t seem to get things going with her.

As we follow Brian through his calamitous existence, there is a smile or laugh to be had on every page, even though much of the story is actually quite poignant, and there is a mystery element thrown in which was enjoyable, although probably not necessary. I found myself rooting for Brian throughout, although I sometimes wanted to give him a good shake as well.

Overall I would certainly recommend this book and I do hope that Mr Bilston releases another novel before too long.

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‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , , on January 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Having previously enjoyed Tartt’s ‘The Goldfinch’ and bearing in mind the myriad of excellent reviews for ‘The Secret History’, I was looking forward to reading this, and I’m pleased to say that it didn’t disappoint.

The book is narrated by Richard Papen, a young man who leaves his dead end town in California to become a Classic Greek student at Hampden College in Vermont. He quickly becomes drawn into the friendship group of the five other students in his class. However, on the very first page of the book, before the story proper even really begins, we learn that things have taken a very sinister turn and five of the group have murdered one of their own.

Richard tells the story of what happened and why, from an undetermined time in the future, and in doing so describes the intricacies of the group’s relationships, everybody’s character flaws, and how their actions affect them all differently. It’s a murder mystery of sorts, but instead of being a whodunnit, it’s a whydunnit.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, especially the first half. At that point I thought that although it is only the first book I have read this year, it’s certain to be one of the best. I still feel that way, because even though things did slow down somewhat in the second half, I was still fascinated by it and looked forward to coming back to it each evening.

I’m somewhat surprised that this hasn’t been adapted into a film, as I could easily see it translating to the screen – if it ever is, I shall be in line to watch it. Meanwhile, if you haven’t read this yet, I highly recommend it.

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‘The Catch’ by T.M. Logan (minor spoilers)

Posted in Book Reviews, tagged , , , on January 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I listened to this audiobook, narrated by Philip Stevens, over the course of two weeks. The story is mainly narrated by Ed Collier, with chapters also told in the third person but showing the point of view of other characters.

When Ed and his wife Claire meet their daughter Abby’s boyfriend Ryan for the first time, Ed instantly distrusts him. He is shocked when Abby and Ryan announce that they are going to get married in just over a month, and he instantly determines to find out more about this stranger who has entered their lives, and get his daughter to at least postpone the wedding.

The bulk of the book mainly follows Ed’s investigations, with the last part being the culmination and consequences of what Ed does or doesn’t discover.

I liked the premise of the book, but unfortunately did not find that it lived up to its promise. Whether or not Ed was right about his suspicions (I’m not saying), his instant and extreme reaction seemed unbelievable. Based on literally nothing more than an uneasy feeling, Ed starts following Ryan and using underhand methods to discover more about him, even paying thousands to a private investigator.

The characters – even Ed, who narrates large parts of the book – never really seemed fleshed out or ‘real’ and it was hard to invest in any of them. Abby and Claire were bland, Ed was obsessive and Ryan was a cardboard cut out.

It’s a real shame because there was potential for a great story here. Still, lots of other reviewers online seem to have enjoyed it, so if this a genre you enjoy, you may want to give it a go.

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