Prose and cons

Seeking solace in books, as the pandemic goes on and on…

 

As regular readers of this column will already know, the one thing that has kept me going through the Covid 19 pandemic has been reading. I have sought refuge in old favourites, books that are so familiar that sinking into them again feels akin to getting a warm hug from an old friend. I have expanded my horizons by trying out new authors, who came recommended by fellow book lovers, with somewhat mixed results. I have tried to lose myself in the alternate universes of fictional works in an attempt to escape from a reality that is hard to live with. I have attempted to improve myself by reading worthy non-fiction tomes, using the vast stretches of me-time now available to me.

 

But whatever the genre, whoever the author, however good or bad the book, it is reading that has sustained me through this difficult time. In case that works for you as well, here is a short list of recommendations based on what I have been reading these past few months.

 

The Margot Affair by Sanae Lemoine

 

The protagonist of this novel is 17-year-old Margot Louve, the love child of an unconventional actress and the French culture minister. Her father has a wife and other children and has never publicly acknowledged Margot, though he comes by to visit her often. Frustrated by this lack of public recognition, Margot confides the secret of her parentage to a sympathetic journalist. And that small ripple in the pond of her life sets off ramifications that Margot could never have imagined, creating a storm that nearly destroys everything in its path.

 

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

 

This isn’t in the league of the Neapolitan Quartet with which Ferrante found international fame, though it is set in roughly the same world. The story is told from the perspective of the adolescent Giovanna, whose whole world comes crashing down when she overhears her father tell her mother that he is afraid his daughter is turning into his sister, Vittoria, whose vulgarity her father has long hated. This pushes Giovanna into making contact with the aunt she has never met, to figure out what they have in common, a decision that changes both her life and that of her parents.

 

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

 

This is very much an English murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie. But instead of being set in a bucolic English village or a stately home, it is set in a retirement community of those 65 and above. The Thursday Murder Club has four members who meet once a week to discuss old cases that the police have failed to solve. But then murder comes calling within their own circle, and they have a brand new case to focus on, if only they can inveigle their way into the official investigation – which, of course, they do. 

 

Win by Harlan Coben 

 

Fans of Coben will know Win – or, to use his full name, Windsor Horne Lockwood III – from the Myron Bolitar series. But here, the sidekick – if Win could ever be described as that – is the main protagonist. No, not so much the hero, as the anti-hero, whose flaws make him a more compelling character than a regular leading man could ever be. The book begins with the discovery of a body in a slightly creepy apartment in New York; a body that we soon discover has links with Win’s past. How far do those links go? Well, you will have to read to find out; I am posting no spoilers here.

 

One Two Three Four; The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown

 

Is there anything left to say about the Beatles? You would think not but Craig Brown, the celebrated British writer and humorist, manages to find new angles and tell parts of the story in anecdotes that may surprise even dedicated Beatles watchers. What was it like to be Ringo? Was Paul as shrewd as they say? Was George really so money minded? Was John an insensitive jerk? What about Jimmy Nicol, the short-lived Fifth Beatle, who temporarily replaced Ringo, only to see his life fall apart? It’s a fun read mixing the familiar with the surprising. 

 

Summer reading

Heading out on holiday? Don’t forget to take a good book – or three – along 

Last week, I stuck my neck out and gave you the anti-glossy magazine guide to preparing for a vacation. But while I did say that the only thing you absolutely must pack is a sense of adventure, I forgot about another holiday essential without which your summer break would not be complete: books.

Given the high-octane lives most of us lead, the only time you can crack open a book and sink deep into it is when you are on holiday. It doesn’t matter where you go: frenetic cities; sun-bleached beaches; exotic resorts; mountain getaways; insert the destination of your choice. But no matter where you end up, a good book is always a boon companion. You could read it by the poolside, dip into it last thing at night, or just keep it handy for car and plane journeys. 

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been compiling my own wish list for my summer reading. Here are just a few of the choices I have made. (And do feel free to share your own!)

• For interminable plane, car and train journeys: You need something light and undemanding in these circumstances, a book that doesn’t ask too much of you but still keeps you absorbed by telling a cracking good story. My favourites are crimes writers like Harlan Coben and Lee Child. Their books are page-turners and keep the ennui of long journeys at bay with a rapidly moving plot. You could also try Val McDermid, though be warned, her stories can get a tad gruesome – not the best start for a holiday.
• Beach reads: Top of my list is Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh, sweaty, sexy, sticky and ever-so-slightly icky story of a woman’s lust for her step-daughter’s boyfriend, who comes on holiday with them. It is just the right blend of disturbing and disgusting, evoking the atmosphere of fraught family vacations and leavening it with lots of sexual tension.
• City reads: Before I head out to any destination, I like to read up on it. But not the usual travelogues; I find that fiction set in that city serves my purpose much better. It allows me to immerse myself in the atmosphere of my destination even before I get there. 
So, if you are planning on visiting Bangkok this summer, do stock up on John Burdett, the bestselling author of Bangkok 8 and its many sequels. Its lead character is the half-Thai, half-farang detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, the plots take in everything from the Bangkok sex industry to themes of reincarnation and Buddhist philosophy. You could also try Jake Needham who was famously described by the Bangkok Post as “Michael Connelly with steamed rice”.
If it’s Italy, then it must be Sarah Dunant. Her trilogy, The Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan, and Sacred Hearts, is set in Florence, Venice and Ferrara and brings the Renaissance alive as no academic tome could. If you are looking for a more modern take on Venice, then you can’t go wrong with Donna Leon, who uses the device of crime stories to write love letters to her adoptive home city.
Similarly, if it’s Provence, it must be Peter Mayle. If it’s Spain, it must be Ernest Hemingway (Death in the Afternoon, a non-fiction book about the bullfighting tradition and his classic For Whom the Bell Tolls about the Spanish civil war). And if you’re bound for England’s Lake District, dipping into the poetry of the Romantics (Wordsworth in particular) may not be a bad idea.
• If you’re travelling with kids and want a book that would keep all age groups entertained, look no further than Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals. It is laugh-out-loud funny and brilliant as a bonding exercise. The perfect counterpoint to this is Clare Balding’s My Animals and Other Family, about growing up in a horse-mad and dog-crazy posh English household. 
• Looking to get your teeth into something more substantial while you holiday? Then, John Keay’s India, described as A History: From the Earliest Civilisations to the Boom of the Twenty-First Century, may be just the thing for you. You could also try Karen Armstrong’s A History of God, which reveals fresh insights with every new reading, or her more recent The Case for God. Also worth a look is Tom Holland’s In the Shadow of the Sword, The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire.
• If spanking new releases are your thing, then here are my picks: The Target by David Baldacci, The Collector by Nora Roberts, Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen, and yes, Missing You by Harlan Coben.

So, happy holidays to you all. And happy reading!