Holiday reading

To take my mind off a seriously disgusting encounter this afternoon with the less attractive side of baby alpacas, I have written some reviews of the books I've been reading on my holiday.

Mother Leakey and the Bishop, by Peter Marshall
This is an excellent little history book of the sort I would like to write myself. It's about the ghost of Mother Leakey who appeared to some people in Minehead in the 1630s, and how this relates to the story of a Bishop hanged in Ireland in 1640 for "unspeakable crimes". Very readable and quite fun.

Three Bags Full, by Leonie Swann
George the shepherd is found dead by his flock of sheep, who decide that they will investigate his murder. Unusual and funny, with a convincing sheeps'-eye view of human behaviour. Also a little poignant.

Pelagia and the White Bulldog, by Boris Akunin
I didn't enjoy the first Erast Fandorin mystery as much as the reviewers, so I had sort of given up on Boris Akunin. But this book is very good, and somehow satisfyingly Russian. Maybe I will have another look at the Fandorin books.

The School for Scumbags, by Danny King
Readable enough. Not much in the way of surprises but the criminal schemes of the schoolboys are sometimes amusing.

Montaillou, by Emmanuel le Roy Ladurie
This is an interesting social history book, looking at the depositions made by a village full of heretics to an inquisitor in the first quarter of the fourteenth century. The problem is that the stories are brought out to illustrate social points, like how co-godparents related to each other, and many of the quotations sound like the start of interesting tales which one would like to read in full. Although the author is interested in conditions and mores in a mountain village, the personalities of the people involved are what makes it a really compelling book.

Avignon of the Popes, by Edwin Mullins
Quite well-written, straight-forward account of the sojourn of the popes at Avignon. Seven popes lived there and two anti-popes. Telling the difference between a pope and an anti-pope is best left to the experts.

The Discreet Interventions of Verdon James, by Julian Roach
The puff on the front mentions Jeeves and Sherlock Holmes, so I was expecting something rather light-hearted and rompish, but it pleasantly surprised me by being better than that, and distinctly more substantial. It makes one think, presumably deliberately, of the links between the rise of fascism in the 1930s and the fatuous material of the Da Vinci code, which is an interesting point. Includes a novel way of avoiding death duties and of dealing with a blackmailer.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, by Michael Chabon
This first novel by a talented writer is a precise demonstration of why no one under the age of at least 30 should be allowed to write a novel -- or maybe simply no one over the age of 30 should read works so produced.

Donne: the Reformed Soul, by John Stubbs
Prone to occasional oddities or flourishes of phrase or reference, which is forgiveable in someone who has spent so much time with such an allusive author, and on occasion they come off quite well. Readable because Donne is so readable, and so lasting. I used to enjoy, and still do, his love poems, but then the sacred sonnets and latterly the meditations and sermons have grown on me as some of the greatest writing ever, which is interesting because of course that's the progression Donne made when he wrote them. I should imagine many other people feel like this too but maybe it helps to be a Christian.

Nobody Belongs Here More Than You, by Miranda July
Disappointing. Not as good as the website. Some good stories, but mostly a bit too much on the borderline whimsical/fatuous. Very like her film "Me, You, and Everyone We Know", if you've seen that, though maybe I expect more from fiction than films because I didn't find that quite so annoying. I had read all sorts of good reviews about this book, but I get the feeling she's one of the Dave Eggers/McSweeney's group and that's why Dave Eggers and other McSweeney's people like her so very much.

One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson
Very good, intelligent and satisfying. I like Kate Atkinson, and I like the hero of her last two books, Jackson, with his terrible compulsion to protect people.

The Tenderness of Wolves, by Stef Penney
Quite good. Readable, not very surprising. There are a lot of books like this about at the moment -- workmanlike fiction, satisfying but forgettable.

Seven Tales of Sex and Death, by Patricia Duncker
Duncker, on the other hand, is an original. Some of these are very good, some are pretty shocking. I like Zeus as a stalker.

Hav, by Jan Morris
Jan Morris is also unique. I like this very much, but I think I might understand it better if I had read more travel writing. It seems like there's a riddle there that I'm not quite getting. Hav is memorable, and the Myrmidons unpleasantly banal, and Cathars, which is appropriate to my holiday destination.

The Savage Garden, by Mark Mills
Yet more readable, forgettable fiction, though with a reasonably pleasing historical mystery aspect to it. It's my own fault I keep encountering this undemanding stuff -- I think I need to read something tougher next.