schopflin's reviews
680 reviews

The Glass Pearls (Faber Editions) by Emeric Pressburger

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No

4.0

This is a dark book that's not easy to love. The reader knows the secrets but other people don't which makes it tense rather than suspenseful. The narrator is brought to life and many other characters were believable and/ or amusing but the female love interest was not. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Book Parts by Adam Smyth, Dennis Duncan

4.0

This book relates to my PhD thesis and I had to put it aside when brain fog meant I couldn't give it the attention it deserved. So glad that I picked up momentum again. Nearly all the chapters are entertaining, some humerous, and all showing a great love of books as objects. The chapter on footnotes was really a literary history, rather than a paratextual one, as if footnotes were too obvious to write about as a concept. Conversely, the endleaves chapter was at the dry end of book production history. This book is possibly a niche pleasure but a joy nonetheless and a beautiful object in itself. 

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers

medium-paced

4.0

This is a good one, clever, funny, sometimes moving, with a great sense of place. It took time to build suspense but ended up a pageturner. 

The Great Deceiver by Elly Griffiths

medium-paced

2.5

I do try with the Brighton novels, and some of the characters are engaging, but the anachronisms and other errors are annoying and distracting. 

When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mendelson

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I started this book wondering why I have such trouble with Charlotte Mendelson's books. So well-written! Such clever observations! And then the frustratingly passive characters then put themselves into excruciating situations and I sat there wincing. I would still recommend this book, but you may need a strong stomach for social embarrassment. 

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney

sad fast-paced

3.0

This book is to be commended for its unsparing honesty. It's absolutely the author's feelings about the illness and death of his young son. Not to be enjoyed, but to be witnessed. 
NB I am someone grieving myself at the time of writing. This isn't a consoling book. He makes it clear his loss can't be compared to any other and he can't empathise with what he sees as lesser losses. This is all absolutely fair, but I don't think this is a great book for anyone grieving 'lesser' losses. 

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Well-written and evocative. The period detail was convincing but not intrusive. I liked the characters although I found the main protagonist a bit annoyingly passive. Still that seemed true to the time and the number of choices she had. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and Police brutality

Great Pubs of London by George Dailey, Charlie Dailey

fast-paced

4.0

This is a coffee table book but very enjoyable to read cover to cover. The pictures are stunning and the commentary mostly amusing. Occasionally the prose goes a bit Conde Naste Traveller but only occasionally, mostly it's wryly amusing. 

Sheep's Clothing by Celia Dale

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a brilliantly shabby and seedy book. The London of the early 1980s when it was written is beautifully evoked. And sometimes it's nice to read about an older woman with no redeeming features whatsoever. However, the characters weren't compelling company and the book was fairly easy to put down. 

The Swimmer: The Wild Life of Roger Deakin by Patrick Barkham

medium-paced

4.5

I really enjoyed this. I wasn't sure the approach - Deakin's own writings interleaved with others' memories - would work but it created a fascinating picture. He was clearly hugely charismatic, with a winning personality and a wonderful communicator, but selfish, mercurial, entitled and immature, features common in men of his generation. An absolutely fascinating read and a great way to explore human complexity.