Let Us Now Praise Famous Gardens, Vita Sackville-West

I bought a small collection of these gorgeous editions in a Bristol charity shop a few years ago and am just getting round to reading them. Mostly bought for their beauty and the range of cosy and very British themes, they are lovely snapshots in time. 

This one is a collection of Sackville-West's gardening columns for The Observer, which she wrote for 15 years. It is certainly from a different time, there is one entry 40 years to the day before I was born, nevertheless it is a lovely read, full of gardening advice as well as snapshots of the writer's triumphs, failures and imaginings, and descriptions of her neighbours' gardens, or those she has seen. It's all very light-hearted and friendly in tone and is definitely something to read if you've just acquired a garden and need some inspiration. I'm lamenting the lack of space on my balcony for a quince or almond tree.

The Stranger in the Woods, Michael Finkel

The Stranger in the Woods of the title is a man, Christopher Knight, who disappeared into the woods in Maine, USA in his 20's and lived in complete solitude for around 20 years. He lived in close proximity to a number of summer cabins, and some all-year-round residents in a small town and survived by breaking into cabins and stealing supplies. Finkel is a journalist intrigued by Knight who corresponded with him and visited him in prison. 

It is a fascinating read and Finkel does a good job of telling Knight's story whilst tying it in with historical accounts of hermits and research on isolation. He tries his best not to romanticise Knight and to give the residents who were burgled for years a say, though I'm not entirely sure he's impartial. It makes for uncomfortable reading towards the end of the book, where Knight and his family repeatedly tell Finkel to leave him alone, before he eventually does. 

Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut

As with so many books, not what I was expecting, both funnier and didn't actually make me laugh, reminded me of A Brave New World in tone. Terrifying and damning and absurd, entertaining. 

The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion

A phenomenal book, lucid, disjointed, personal and universal. It is incredible that Didion could write so well, honestly and clearly about such a loss. Must re-read. 

The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred Year Old Man, Jonas Jonasson

This was everything I expected from a follow on from The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. It's quirky, unexpected, joyful and silly, though I didn't enjoy it so much as I did the first one. It's a little less rich, there was less of the back story of Allen's life, and it was more of a known entity.

Saturday, Ian McEwan

Saturday is one Saturday in February 2003 seen through the eyes of Henry Perowne. Perowne is an affluent, experienced neurosurgeon living in central London with his wife and son. On this Saturday his father in law and daughter are coming from their respective homes in France for dinner, a family reunion. 

I found it fascinating to be in the head of Perowne; there are revelations and events on this Saturday which are dramatic but part of the Saturday is spent running errands and playing a game of squash with a colleague. McEwan captures trains of thought the everyday and minutiae really well. 

Perowne strikes a balance between being an understandable, known type of person and an individual, he isn't a grotesque. An artful, slick novel commenting on everything; family, society, politics, relationships, masculinity and London.

Holy Fools, Joanne Harris

I like Harris' novels. They are guilty pleasures and though she over uses rhetorical questions, they are always a comforting and compelling read.

Holy Fools is partly narrated by the protagonist, Juliette, and her antagonist and ex-lover Guy LeMerle. Juliette has been living in a relaxed convent on an island off the French coast, she's left her travelling performer life behind and has found a safe place to bring up her daughter. The Abbess of the convent dies at the beginning of the novel, her replacement brings LeMerle, posing as a Priest, who starts to put in place an elaborate, vengeful plan. Juliette tries to protect herself, her daughter and her friends from LeMerle's plan and the ensuing hysteria.

The relationship between Juliette and Guy is beautifully complex, as is the portrayal of good and evil / right and wrong, collective hysteria and human fallibility. As with all Harris's novels this one has a great sense of place and atmosphere. Religion, ambition, escape, deceit and relationships all play a part.