When Robert G reads Robert G

About a couple of years ago I signed up to audible.co.uk, a provider of audio books with many narrators of high calibre.  None more so than the English actor who reads a trio of Crime novels written by J K Rowling under her pen name, Robert Galbraith.  I happened upon the second in the series, The Silkworm because it fulfilled the requirements of one of the 24 categories listed on the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge, 2016.

What a find!  Not only is the novel an engaging audio page-turner of a thriller, it is read by the talented character actor Robert Glenister.  His interpretation gives the central character Cameron Strike, an SIB investigator who is an amputee with a craggy character and a west country accent, credibility, humanity and an appeal with which this reader certainly connected

I have now had all three novels read to me by Glenister.  One after the other with no restraint, no 'cooling-off' period in between each book in which to digest the plot of the one and anticipate the pleasure of the next story-telling session, but headlong to the exclusion of all other listening media.  Fortunate that I had embarked on some time-consuming jobs which included a re-shelving of my fiction library.  And a bit of tidying up.  With my iPhone tucked in my pocket I can enjoy a supreme reading experience to accompany a manual task.

'Galbraith' has found many fans for her crime novels and a stream of adjectives describe her thrillers: gripping, compelling, addictive (yes certainly that!), cleverly plotted, atmospheric, entertaining..... a bit tame that last one. 
So here's the first in the series, The Cuckoo's Calling, and let's hope she at the very least keeps to her promise to write seven in the series..  A troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony and it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case.  Strike is a war veteran - wounded both physically and psychologically - and his life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model's complex world, the darker and more dangerous things become.  The action takes place in London and Galbraith captures the atmosphere of both smart West End and backstreet settings. 

The second novel, The Silkworm, shifts to territory which is very familiar to JKR. A novelist, Owen Quine,  has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published it would ruin lives - so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him.  As the investigation proceeds it is clear that there is more to the novelist's disappearance than a straightforward leave of absence.  When Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer.  In this second novel JKR develops the professional relationship between Cormoran Strike and his secretary Robin Ellacott.

In the third novel some clever plotting with unexpected twists and red herrings results in a dark tale of a serial killer driven by a grudge against Cormoran, to discredit and taunt the detective and bring about the ruination of the private investigation business Strike is trying to establish. 

Woven into the principle narrative is the story of Strike and Robin Ellacott who are at crossroads in their professional and personal lives.  I found it difficult to switch this audiobook off... a combination of the gripping and fast-paced plot and the fluent and compelling narration by Robert Glenister provides an enthralling listening experience.  The range of accents he uses for a cast of shady characters and gruff policemen is skilful indeed.  I really enjoy the voice he has chosen for the wide boy Shanker.  All in all I cannot wait for these novels to be brought to the screen.  Nor can I wait to find out which man wins out on Robin's wedding day............. but I'm hoping.

Driving Over Lemons

I read this book for my village Book Group January choice.  There is no doubt that Chris Stewart writes very well.  He has great powers of description and I was able to visualise much of the landscape and setting of the derelict farm that he bought, probably in the '70s.  His prose flowed really well although sometimes I felt he was a bit pretentious in his turns of phrase… why refer to someone’s organs of perception when the use of the word 'eyes' would serve very well?  But that’s a quibble and maybe I picked up on that because by that stage in the book I was feeling really irritated with this man.  

OK, he made an error of judgement with Pedro, buying the farm at a so-called bargain price, allowing him to continue to perch in the house even when Ana arrived to join her husband.  He seemed to be reluctant to allow Pedro to return to town life.  How could he imagine his wife would enjoy having a rather ignorant local under their roof?  He seemed very phlegmatic when he discovered Pedro had been loud-mouthing him all about town.  Then you had Arsenio, not a bad name, for a man who steadfastly refused to understand anything Stewart said in Spanish.  And talking of names I thought the self-fulfilling name that the so-called terminally ill woman called Expira had, was amusing.  Only in Domingo did you meet a character who seemed to have integrity, loyalty and respect for his neighbour.  It didn’t paint a particularly good picture of Andalucians.  There was little mention of the good qualities they might have as a people.  Their purpose in life seemed to be to pull one over on foreigners brave enough to venture onto their territory.  Then you had the series of events in which Stewart came out the worse for the experience.  His forays into the keeping of poultry, the selling of lambs, the acquisition of dogs who might have actually brought something positive to the farmstead.  I found it hard to credit that someone could continue to fail to learn, and take pleasure in giving the reader chapter and verse  on his failures.  He painted a picture of a rather gullible and hapless character to whom life’s vicissitudes and misfortunes just happen.  I did not think the description of the pig slaughter sat very comfortably in the book, I struggled with the savaging of the sheep, feeling this might have been avoidable.  Stewart couldn’t even point a wall without realising that no amount of cement will fix a wobbly one.

In writing this review I do recognise that I have had a complete failure of sense of humour.  But I don’t think that is all my fault.  It is partly the job of the author to engage his reader.  He had a book in him and it was up to him to sell it to the reading public.  I think if I had understood Stewart’s remit - to give the reader laughs at his expense - I would have approached the book differently.  As it is I see that the author has made a career out of his role as a sometimes misguided optimist (I noticed he had had a spell as a clown in a circus so the clues were there early on) and he is the author of further travel memoirs notably Three Ways to Capsize a Boat described as a charming and lyrical read, awash with the joy of discovery, from an immensely likeable narrator. People like Stewart will certainly keep the RNLI on their toes. Don't put me down for that sequel.

Nequeo sopitis ac relictis curarum librorum acervum iuxta lectulum meum

This is how I feel but maybe the reality is not as uncompromising as that sounds although the pleasure to be derived from titles, visibly in waiting, is one to hug to oneself.  A couple of weeks ago my friend sent me a link to a Book Riot page, the Read Harder Challenge 2016.     It is simple enough: a list of 24 categories is given and the object is to read one book to fulfil the requirements of each of those categories.  At the time I receive this challenge I am already underway.  My current read is Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver: a 500+ page novel whose principle theme is climate change as manifested through the unexpected appearance of Monarch butterflies who attempt to overwinter on the wooded slopes above the rundown Appalachian farm where the Turnbow family lives.  Attempting to escape her empty marriage and the drudgery of life Dellarobia Turnbow heads for an assignation that accidentally transforms her life. En route to a tryst with a lover, she stumbles on the hillside covered with swathes of these orange butterflies that appear like fire on the landscape.

"The flames now appeared to lift from individual treetops in showers of orange sparks, exploding the way a pine log does in a campfire when it is poked. The sparks spiralled upward in swirls like funnel clouds. Twisters of brightness against grey sky."

As the story unfolds the mission of the scientists, led by Ovid Byron, who are studying this phenomenon, comes into conflict with the views and aims of the local community for whom the continuance of their every day and its routines is their only concern.

When I turn the final page I am one book down and 23 to go.  In the meantime I have reviewed the 'serving suggestions' that accompany the table to work to and find I already have one of the recommended titles, but otherwise decide to go it alone.  After much reflection and searching on the internet I come up with a first list of books which I would like to read on any terms:

Bedside companions all.

In Principio

email to my friend:

Hi Claire

Yet another suggestion from my bibliophile friend!  I have often thought in the past two or three years how I wish I had started keeping a record of what I was reading.  Since I started the first book group I belonged to in 2003 I have read far more books than I had ever read in my lifetime to that point.  Hundreds ...............and I have no complete record although I have many, still, on my shelves.  Well, it is never too late but I know that I would struggle to keep a paper journal, aesthetically pleasing as that might be, so I am going to start a second blog, as a Book Journal and I have surfed a bit and looked at book blogs and the various approaches that people take.  I have some ideas and don’t want it to be too ambitious but what I like is that in addition to the reviews I tap out on my iPad for book group, I often ‘pen’ a few words in emails to people like you and I would cut and paste all that stuff and write some extra.......maybe.  So I now need to think about a name for my blog (thank you Ty), and create a profile.  How about you, do you like that idea?  The beauty is that we could look at each other’s electronic book journals.  As could thousands of other curious people.

Now look what you have done...............