andrewspink's reviews
464 reviews

Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When I read the basic premise of the novel, that it is about 'what if' five children had not perished in the London blitz, I had expected the book to be all about what a waste that was, what a wonderful life they had missed. That wasn't the case. Their lives are both ordinary and full of negative experiences. That is not to say that the book was miserable to read. Far from it. The characters are so well-rounded and interesting that it was a pleasure to read the book. What I also liked was the huge jumps in time that the book made as it progressed. That had the effect of putting the everyday troubles and worries into perspective; 15 years later, everything was different anyway. Various reviews suggest it is worth reading a second time. I have the feeling that I missed some things the first time round, so maybe I will do so.

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

In the early 1990s, I lived in a small village in Illinois, and there was an 'Indian Burial Mound' next to my house. I was amazed and soon read up to discover about the people that had lived there before the European colonists came. It was a horrific story. Genocide, essentially. Both Americans and Europeans had been so brainwashed by the Hollywood 'Cowboys and Indians' that many people had no idea of the true story of what happened. I don't know if things are any better now. 
This book takes a crucial moment in that story, when an Native American tribe

for the first time, actually won their case in Congress and managed to call a halt to efforts to eradicate them

. 
The book is well-written and has some lovely poetic phrases. "When Tomas thought of his father, peace stole across his chest and covered him like sunlight".  I also liked the way that it dealt with the spirituality of the characters.
There was only one aspect of the book that I didn't like. Although it was a bit nuanced, in the end there is no doubt that it glorifies boxing, presenting it as a subtle sport of skill and tactics. I was not convinced, for me it remains barbaric. But that was only a small part of the book, for the most part this was well worthwhile.

A Year Of Birdsong: 52 Tales of Song Birds by Dominic Couzens, Madeleine Floyd

informative slow-paced

4.0

A nice compilation of stories about birds and their songs. With the qr code, you can listen to the songs, which completed the experience. The humour of the author was sometimes a bit irritating,  but other than that, it was an enjoyable read.

Cuddy by Benjamin Myers

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was an extraordinary read, very different from a typical historical novel, For a start, it spans over a millenium, starting in AD 687 and ending in 2019. That is done quite nicely, with both clear and subtle links between the various sections. It did mean that the book is in effect four short stories. I am not normally so keen on short stories (for instance, there is little space to develop the characters), but in this case it worked quite well, perhaps because the total book is rather long, at over 400 pages.
It contains many different types of text, from a multitude of quotes of historical texts to poems to normal text. That was also nicely done and added interest. There are some nice phrases, "a dog joins us, as a sparrow joins a murmuration'. In the early sections there are some intriguing local/old words like skugg (hide) and skep (straw beehive). Enough to be interesting and worth looking up and not enough to be tiresome. 
All in all, an interesting and enjoyable read and I think the sort of book that would benefit from a second reading 

Devil's Breath by Jill Johnson

informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book received warm recommendations in BBC 2's Between the Covers and its main protagonist is a botanist (my own background). So for both those reasons, I was looking forward to it. It was ok, but I was a bit disappointed.  The plot was not so brilliant and some details were off.  When describing use of an astronomical telescope, zoom and focus are confused, plus such a telescope doesn't have zoom (and usually an inverted image). Many of the highly toxic plants mentioned are only poisonous if ingested, so it makes no sense that the professor was scared of the leaves.
Neththeless, an enjoyable read with interesting characters. 

Tyred out: Cycling adventures in Scotland by David Blair

adventurous inspiring medium-paced

3.5

In 1985, I cycled from Edinburgh to John a Groats and then down again to Fort William, and I do a lot of mountain biking,  so this book was very reminiscent of my own experiences.  That made it quite enjoyable,  although some of the events detailed were really too trivial to be worth writing down. 
The interesting facts about the locations he passed through were mostly just that. I don't know how well he checked them. Shore  bindweed grows at several sites in Scotland,  not just the one. 
I was sad to hear that the wonderful SYHA castle is no longer a youth hostel. We stayed there in the days when you had to do chores in the morning and our job was to dust the statues! 

Gezinsverpakking by Sebastiaan Chabot, Splinter Chabot, Yolanda Chabot, Bart Chabot, Maurits Chabot, Storm Chabot

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Slightly odd, a book of anecdotes about the writers themselves. Nevertheless, interesting enough to read. 

A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith

hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

As always, a deleight to read a book in this series. The characters are all such great people. A real comfort read.

Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A fun thriller, written by Anthony Horowitz in the style of Iam Fleming.  Sometimes that grates a bit, especially the rampant sexism, but the alternative of modernising it also would not have worked. At least Horowitz had a strong female character and confined the sexism to within Bond's mind.
An unexpected bonus was setting part of it in the Eifel - an area I k ow well. I'll be within a few kilometers of Badmunster Eifel later this year.

Ik ben Eleanor Oliphant by Gail Honeyman

emotional funny inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

On the face of it, this book tells a fairly simple tale. But it tells it so well. There is a mixture of humour and emotion, that's very well done with just the right balance and the characters are certainly three dimensional.
I read this is the Dutch translation available this month in the VPRO Club Lees app. The translation was fine, but I do wish that I had read the original,  I'm sure that at least some humour must have been lost.