A Good Parcel of English Soil, Richard Mabey

I was unsure what I would make of this. I bought it partly because it was a beautiful book and reasonably cheap, but also because I thought it might teach me something, it is an interesting idea for a series of books to be written based on Underground Lines. 

Here Mabey discusses the beginnings of the Metropolitan line; why it was built and what it led to. Much of the book is based on a tension between the city and the countryside and hinges on people living in suburbia and commuting into the City. 

It is certainly an interesting read, and has been very well researched. Mabey talks about the early marketing campaigns for the line and how canny the company running it were. The book is also centred on Mabey's personal experience growing up in 'Metro-land' and on the flora, fauna and wildlife found co-habiting with people. The thoughts translate to any suburban area, the tussle and contradiction found in these areas makes it worth a read.

Next is The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth L. Silver.

Mort, Terry Pratchett

Mort is everything you'd expect from a Terry Pratchett novel. It's witty, irreverent and fast moving. Pratchett's ideas are just so good! Mort is the name of the protagonist here, who is chosen by death to be his apprentice. Mort learns the trade and makes a small mistake that has quite big consequences and leads to a lot of running around with little time to spare. It is hugely entertaining and is deceptively poignant in places.

Next I am reading A Good Parcel of English Soil: The Metropolitan Line, by Richard Mabey, which is one of the Penguin Underground Lines series. It's a very pretty book and am enjoying it so far, though it's not quite as entertaining as Mort.

Sketcher, Roland Watson-Grant

Sketcher is narrated by Skid, a nine year old boy when we meet him. He has a vivid imagination and a distinctive voice, he plays with words and similes and his personality really shines through the book and colours the events. 

Skid and his family live in a swamp, just south of 'New O'lins' and Skid grows up juggling his imagination, the beliefs of his family & the wish to escape poverty and the swamp. That said it doesn't feel like the book is about any of those things. It feels like its about magic and growing up in a big family. It is one of those stories where you are constantly wondering what to believe, what is the truth and what is imagination, or a way of seeing things. It treads this line really well, I think in the end you can decide what to believe, or be left wondering.

Next up is Mort by Terry Pratchett.

Down to the Sea in Ships, Horatio Clare

I adored this. The critic reviews on the back cover describe the book as 'lyrical' 'heartfelt' 'warm and captivating' and it is. Clare strikes a perfect balance between telling the stories of the people he meets, the contemporary shipping business and the seas as he experiences them; the history of wrecks, oceans and ports he is travelling through; and conveying some of the poetry and feeling of all these things.

I can't recommend Down to the Sea in Ships enough, Clare is insightful, chatty and compelling. He gives a sense of the loneliness and romanticism of the sea as well as the dangers, and archaicness of the trade. The men he meets are portrayed beautifully, you get a sense of the personalities and quirks of each of them and it is interspersed with writing that is almost poetry. The cover is spectacular and it is the same inside.

Next I am reading Sketcher by Roland Watson-Grant, it's a proof copy I picked up when I was working at Waterstones, pretty old by now!

Apologies, Madame Bovary (& Mr Flaubert)

I have given up on Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. It is very slow moving and the characters all seemed very 2D, as if they were sketches not filled in properly. By halfway through not a lot had happened, I didn't mind what happened to any of the characters and couldn't face wading through the second half.

I have swapped to Down to the Sea in Ships by Horatio Clare. So far it is brilliant.

Country Lore and Legends, Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson

I found this, along with five of it's brothers, in a charity shop a week or so ago. They are part of the Penguin English Journeys collection and are beautifully designed. As ever this copy is slightly worse for wear, having been carried round in my bag for a while.

It is certainly interesting to know where stories like King Arthur or legends of witches came from and how they have changed both from place to place and over time. There are some well known stories and some which were new to me; like tales of Gogmagog and Shuck. There are also some very strange stories which are pretty consistent; apparently a few old houses have or had a human skull kept on plain view, which is said to keep the house from harm. Apparently the skull is always of someone who had a strong connection to the house who was wronged or never wanted to leave their home.

I did enjoy Country Lore and Legends, but it turned out to be more describing legends and how they have changed and warped over the years, than actually telling the stories. I would have enjoyed it much more if Simpson and Westwood told a version of the legend first, then described the alterations and different beliefs associated with it later. That said, this text comprises of extracts of Simpson and Westwood's The Lore of the Land, so perhaps it is meant to be a little taster, after which you can buy the more comprehensive version. 

Now reading Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.

The Book of My Lives, Aleksandar Hemon

The Book of My Lives is a collection of autobiographical pieces of journalism, first published here and there over a few years. They have been collected in chronological order and so make up a kind of autobiography, the 'chapters' are concise and punchy as a result.

Hemon grew up in Sarajevo before moving to the USA in 1992, escaping the war by accident almost. The stories are quite philosophical, or have philosophical interludes and cover Sarajevo, Canada, Chicago, family, displacement, home, chess, football and dogs. Whilst reading I had one of those rare moments when you read a sentence and it resonates in a way which freezes everything. Words for something you didn't realise you had no words for. He is a brilliant, thought provoking author, and this is his non-fiction. In the foreword he states that he writes fiction because he can't not, but needs to be cajoled into writing non-fiction; I have high hopes for his fiction.

It is difficult to describe just what Hemon's writing is like - it feels a little like poetry where a few words can pull with them a wave of feeling or atmosphere, but it is much more precise and cutting than that. Take as an example the dedication;

FOR ISABEL,
forever breathing on my chest

Isabel is the subject of the last chapter in the book; The Aquarium. It is unexpected and feels like being punched, then it feels like drowning. Hemon writes of the illness and death of his baby daughter. It is phenomenal that he can write in a way so stripped of sentimentality but full of the pain and blurred clarity. There are thoughtful interludes, as with all of the chapters, making you think the reason Hemon writes is to make sense of things, to order them in his own mind. The Aquarium is the most moving and raw piece of writing I have read.

I'm reading Country Lore and Legends by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson next, it's a small, beautiful book and part of Penguin's English Journeys series.