A novel of feminism, bears, writing, rape, loss, high-school-wrestling, transsexuals and family, and much more besides – too much to put in to a glib reviews. Suffice to say it is both wonderfully funny and terribly sad and John Irving at his compulsive, epic best.
August 29, 2011
The World According to Garp: John Irving
August 29, 2011
Anathem: Neal Stephenson
Part sci-fi thriller, part mystery, part coming-of-age story, part musing on maths and physics, imaginative tour-de-force and a novel of ideas (a great many of them) if ever there was one. Too good to summarise with something trite like un-put-down-able, but it is, so there you go.
August 29, 2011
The Forsyte Saga: John Galsworthy
There’s not that many books I’d force upon everyone and cudgel them with until it’s read, but this magnificent work is definitely one of them. For all the cover blurb about the impact of history on certain sections of post-Victorian society, this is essentially the tale of the doomed love of Soames for his wife Irene and the impact their actions have on each other, their family and then their children. Bitter, tense, heartbreaking and breathtakingly brilliant, it’s the kind of book that sticks with you a long, long time once done.
