I finished Chocolat by Joanne Harris on the trip back from Jackson Hole (three flights, changed planes in Salt Lake City and Cincinnatti, durr). A rather sweet book, but containing surprisingly complex flavours in some of its characters and subplots. The moral of the story -- that being happy is the most important thing -- is simply and clearly presented and supported, but this is no children's novel, touching on domestic violence, racism, suicide, and other very much adult topics. It seemed a bit heavy handed at times, but was otherwise excellent. 4 out of 5.
posted by Tom Leslie at 9:08 AM | link

On the heels of devouring Birdsong (see below), I visited the only real bookstore in Jackson, WY, (the most excellent Village Bookstore) and found Charlotte Gray, also by Sebastian Faulks, and the sequel to Birdsong. Although a good read, Charlotte Gray was a disappointment in comparison. Although it did shine a rather harsh light on the political and social realities in France under the occupation (rather seriously deflating the romatic perception of France as an oppressed country bravely struggling to fight off the Germans at every opportunity), it otherwise portrayed the war in 1942-43 as a romatic backdrop for the heroine's brave journey to find her lost lover. The ending rather beggared belief, and I was driven to root for the Germans to get her as punishment for her stupidity, hardly the reaction Faulks must have been trying for. Ok, most of the rest of the book was pretty good, and the portrayal of the culpability of Vichy France was vivid, and Faulks still gets a lot of the details right... But the whole adds up to much less than the sum of the parts this time. 2 out of 5. I hear the movie's had bad reviews as well...
posted by Tom Leslie at 1:12 AM | link

Now on to the main event, the rather brilliant Birdsong, by Sebastian Faulks. I haven't read any of Faulks' other work, but having been thoroughly gripped by Birdsong I'm going to seek them out. Birdsong is the story of a young British man who, in 1910, has a passionate love affair with an older, married French woman, loses her, and then is sent six years later back to the same area, now the centre of the battle lines of the first world war. It tracks the steady stages of emotional wounding and withdrawal he suffers through the various battles and losses of the war, which are portrayed realistically but sensitively. The best book I've read in a long time. 5 out of 5.
posted by Tom Leslie at 12:54 PM | link

Before I talk about the book I just finished, let me briefly review the book I read over the holidays while in England, A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss. This was a wonderful period piece set in England in the early days of the stock market before the first crash. The parallels to the eCommerce boom and bust were drawn a little too pointedly, but the novel did a great job of drawing me into the period and setting the stage for the plot, a complicated murder mystery and, of course, conspiracy. Very well written, although some of the characters were a bit one-dimensional. Still, 4 out of 5.
posted by Tom Leslie at 12:44 PM | link

Wow, I haven't updated this in a while! I forgot to write a quick review of Helen "Bridget Jones" Fielding's first book, Cause Celeb, which is a weird but entertaining juxtaposition of the lives of celebrities in England and the lives of volunteers at aid camps in African starvation zones. A strange book, missing some of the polish of the Bridget Jones stories, but in many cases similar in tone and humour. Worth the effort (and it took some effort towards the end to finish it) for fans of Fielding's style. 3 out of 5.
posted by Tom Leslie at 7:30 PM | link