Oops, kind of got behind on this. So here are 3 for the price of 1. (First post here).
The Buddha of Suburbia Hanif Kureishi
A South London Anglo-Indian teenager longs to leave the dull suburbs of the 70s and escape to the big smoke.
Many things I love about it, but with the London connection, most of all the love of a suburban kid for the big city. I like it that he makes it, though it seems like a poisoned chalice, all that ambition and yearning from an outsider from the uncool suburbs I could relate to... though at least we were on the tube.
Armadillo William Boyd
Loss adjuster Lorimer Black goes to investigate a claim and finds his client has hanged himself, the start of a powerful noir thriller set in the City.
Apart from falling in love with Lorimer Black, (strange because I've never found a fictional character so attractive or real to me before) this struck a powerful chord, still not sure why. He writes about a city which is half as familiar as the back of my hand, half unknown & exotic as another country (the Docklands, Pimlico, Kensington). All the wonder and strangeness of the city.
A White Merc with Fins James Hawes
Trying to save himself from temping hell before he reaches his thirties, our hero plans a heist on Michael Winner's private bank.
Very funny, very perceptive and for me, reading it after graduating, very close to the bone. Speaks for a world of people finding it a struggle to make it, to keep their head above the water - his ambition is not so huge, just " a flat with tall windows". Love the heist aspect, love the happy ending. Pure wish fulfilment.
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7 comments:
I've just finished reading The Kite Runner by Khalid Hooseini. Couldn't put it down. Now I'm going to dig into The Alchemist. I read books while waiting in queues, waiting for people...
Armadillo is a fabulous book, was also turned into a serial by the beeb (I think) a few years back.
I'd recommend any and all of Christopher Fowlers' books if you want stuff about London. He writes a good horror/thriller, but also waxes lyrical on the subject and mysteries of London. Excellent stuff.
Annie,
Just finished reading Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I could go on but I won't.
I've heard of the Kite Runner GG, will have to look out for it. I also read in the bath, on the tube...
Rad, I'm honoured that you dropped by in your current sleep-deprived state. I never knew Armadillo was on TV, could have been great or not so great I imagine... You're the second person to recommend Christopher Fowler, must check him out.
Dan, Philip Roth -did he write Portnoy's Complaint? Feel free to go on, I always like to hear about books :-)
You want more? Here we go then... I've not read any Philip Roth before but was so impressed with this novel. The plot (without given too much away) is that Charles Lindbergh, he of the single handed flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St Louis wins the 1940 presidential election rather than FDR. Lindbergh was a fascist sympathiser and friend of Hitler. The novel is narrated from the pov of a nine year Jewish child in Newark New Jersey. It's about what happens when fascists come to power and its impact on Jewish people and on the lives of all Americans at that time. However what makes this novel great is the quality of the writing, the breadth of its concerns, the depth of its narrative, the story is beautifully realised and observed. And using such a young narrator means that he misunderstands things or misinterprets things. At times it is heart rending and at times very funny but amongst other things I think this is a tremendously humane novel. It's a tour de force, a novel to be reckoned with and I can't praise it highly enough.
Gigi, I have read the Kite Runner and even emailed the author because I enjoyed so much!
Annie, I really liked the Buddha of Suburbia!
Dan, it sounds very much my cup of tea - can I recommend The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon in return, it reminds me of the storyline.
Me too Cream - I gave it to my mum to read before remembering a certain bedroom scene involving a candle. It made her laugh though...
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