What I'm reading ...

I have started A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen, which I was recommended and looks easy straightforward after the last book I read. Here is the blurb:

When James Bowen found an injured, ginger street cat curled up in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation, he had no idea just how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London and the last thing he needed was a pet.

Yet James couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent tom cat, whom he quickly christened Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas.

Soon the two were inseparable and their diverse, comic and occasionally dangerous adventures would transform both their lives, slowly healing the scars of each other's troubled pasts.

Human Croquet - by Kate Atkinson

An aspect of Kate Atkinson's books, that I have enjoyed, is the use of multiple story threads, which may seem unconnected, but which all come together in the end, with further details and connections that make the story richer. This book is no exception, but, in some ways, takes the technique to another level. Instead of jumping around in space and backwards and forwards in time for the different threads, this story also jumps "sideways" in time ...

The story is about a house, and the family who live there, over many years, much of it being told by one of them - Isobel Fairfax. She seems to experience a number of brief flashbacks in time and several alternative versions of present reality. By the end of the book, I was less than 100% certain which version [if any] was "real". I also felt that the explanation of why she had this experience was unclear; was she in a coma and dreaming after her accident?

Notwithstanding my confusion, I will be undeterred from reading other books by the author. I look forward to the discussion at my book club, where maybe someone else can explain the book to me.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson. She is one of my favourite authors, so I was pleased when this was proposed by a member of my book club. Here's the blurb:

Once it had been the great forest of Lythe - a vast and impenetrable thicket of green.And here, in the beginning, lived the Fairfaxes, grandly, at Fairfax Manor, visited once by the great Gloriana herself.But over the centuries the forest had been destroyed, replaced by Streets of Trees.The Fairfaxes have dwindled too; now they live in ‘Arden’ at the end of Hawthorne Close and are hardly a family at all.But Isobel Fairfax, who drops into pockets of time and out again, knows about the past. She is sixteen and waiting for the return of her mother - the thin, dangerous Eliza with her scent of nicotine, Arpège and sex, whose disappearance is part of the mystery that still remains at the heart of the forest.

The Hills is Lonely - by Lillian Beckworth

This was a good read and I got through the book quite quickly during a short business trip. The writer has a good eye for details and painted a vivid picture of the people and way of life in a remote place 50 or so years ago. There is much humour, but I would not say that the book trivializes her observations. I realized, at the end, that the book was actually a work of fiction, based upon her real experiences. I will probably read further books in the series.

What I'm reading

I have started The Hills is Lonely by Lillian Beckworth. I thought it was time for some non-fiction and got this at a good price, then someone recommended it to me. Here's the blurb:

“. . . I got the impression that they could imagine only two reasons why a woman should choose to settle down in Bruach: either that she was running away from the police, or escaping from a lurid past.” Neither reason applies to Lillian Beckwith, in this memoir of her convalescence on an isolated Hebridean island where “even the sheeps on the hills is lonely”. On Bruach island, she observes, muses at and joins the native crofters in their unique rhythm of life; where friends fistfight in the evening and discuss bruises the next morning; where the taxi-driver is also the lorry driver, coal merchant and undertaker; where the locals don’t remove their hats during a funeral so their heads won’t get cold; and where the post-office’s ‘opening hours’ fit around the daily milking of cows and not the other way round! In a series of vividly drawn sketches, taking in birth, death, marriage and the seasons of life, Lillian Beckwith’s writing is shot through with warm, cozy affection and droll wit.

Fifty Shades Freed - by E L James

So, now I have finished the whole Fifty Shades trilogy. Overall, I thought that the story was OK and some of the issues with the characters, that were investigated, were quite interesting. Whether it was worth the [considerable] time it takes me to wade through 1400 or so pages is questionable.

I was glad there was an ending and the story did not just stop, even though a "flash forward" was used to tie things up. I also liked the additional piece that the end which retells the beginning of the story from Christian's POV.

Two random things in particular interested me:

I realized that I think a lot like Christian Grey in a number of areas. In particular, he had a need to be in control, which was borne of a disfunctional childhood. He also had trouble differentiating between actions that were caring and those that are controlling.

I previously said that the sex scenes are really quite tame and stand by that. the language is also odd. She makes reference to her "sex", meaning the whole of the pubic area. This is not because she is coy, because she refers to her vagina and clitoris when needed. This sounds like an archaic word usage. Maybe it is American idiom? She also never refers to Christian's penis, only his erection - seems that she only acknowledged the organ's existence when he was aroused. He also seems to have no testicles ...