Equator - Miguel Sousa Tavares

We say:*****

Still drawing back from the back catalogue of favourites, Equator is a true gem of Portuguese literature.

Its author, a long standing Portuguese journalist decided, with the help of a hard working research team, to foray into historical fiction. It a real treat.

In the year of 1905 the Portuguese King sends a high society small company owner to one of its African colonies - there unfolds a story of love, treason, intrigue, revolt and social reform. If the facts are accurate the Brits come out of it pretty badly with their colonial policies.
Written with a ight hand and enough of everything to keep your eye from wandering - i read this hefty tome in an afternoon, with lots of cups of tea wishing for an African sky.

The sisters brothers - Patrick deWitt

We say: **

I have to say, what i liked the most about this book was the cover in its shiny, graphic gloriousness. And as the saying goes, it didn't live up to expectations.

The sisters brothers, contract killers on a job to California in the Gold Rush, live a series of misadventures meeting all sorts of unsavoury characters that read like a spaghetti western. One brother is short tempered, a drinker and kills anyone and anything in his sight while the other one muses about most people and things he sees, goes on a diet, falls in love and is generally a bit of a thick pain in the ass.

Seen some comparisons with Don Quixote which i can almost understand if you take a dark, Shoreditch style lens to it.
Actually, I reckon this is a bloke's book with its short sentences, single line story and no depth of characterisation.

Moving on.....

Case histories - Kate Atkinson

We say: ****

Another book done.
I have read Kate's "Behind the scenes..." and "Human crocket" but when i got to "emotionally weird" I was worn out.
It was heavy prose, with quite a lot of presumed stuff. Hard work.
(i will get round to the other ones soon, need to dig them out of the shelves for a new purpose)

So I saw this one on telly first.
Mother in law recommended it.
And Brody frankly looked to sexy for his boots and i wanted to know if his book character would live up to the tv persona.

It was great.
Nicely crafted plot with a believable storyline connecting all the three stories.
The ending slightly annoyed me though.
Did he really need to go on holidays with the mad sisters? Also, the psychopath Michelle......did she get away with it? I sincerely hope not. I know she didn't do the killing in the first place but she has disaster written all over....

I shall be reading the other 4, bear with me for the reports....

Between - Jessica Warman

We say: ****


A thrilling book with constant twists and turns. Grips the reader right from the first page. A ghost story that changes everything Liz (the main character) thinks about what happens after death.

A highly enjoyable read which I would recommend to anyone.

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

We say: *****

This is the perfect antidote to my previous review
A tale of twists of fate and perfectly shaped characters tell the story of two girls growing up in Victorian England.

From the slums of Borough to a secluded mansion and back again, Sue and Maud double cross each other following the path none of them freely chose. However, they find the link between them hard to sever and hold on to it finally taking charge of their destiny.

This one has got it all: mad houses, betrayal, love, erotica, moral critique and such a deft description of London's streets, river and way of life you end up dreaming about mud, smog and long buttoned gloves.

Unputdownable.

50 shades of grey - E L James

We say: *

I know. Everyone is reading it. Your mother, your neighbour, the nice lady from the knitting club.
Let me put it plainly: its terrible.

I explain.
This is a book for people who don't read. Its Mills and Boom with a snazzier cover and racier inside. Its actually worse than that, its a book that reinforces every stereotype of a breathless adolescent dream (a male one). And I don't mean this in a nice way.
It does nothing for women empowerment and if you enjoyed it and dream about having a Christian Grey in your life, you should hang your head in shame.
On top of it all, its poorly written. Repetitive lip biting and inner Goddess shaking made lose patience and ended up actually not caring about the characters.

I must confess not having finished the first book and not even bothering finding out what possibly could have happened in book two and three.

Hope they all become happy and fulfilled people – although I suspect things will go badly wrong in the red room, she finds someone who actually loves her for the person she is and he spends his life in therapy trying to deal with it.

Summer's Dream - Cathy Cassidy

We say: ****

A lovely book. It made me laugh, it made me cry. A book about Summer's struggle to achieve her dream and how you can work too hard for something you really, desperately want.

Summer has a passion for a dance and when she is offered a second chance to join a ballet school that could make her a preffesional dancer she is determined not to mess up. Soon ballet takes over her life, she is always practicong, can't sleep at night and is overcome by a fear that she is overweight. (She really isn't.)

Not my favourite Cathy Cassidy book, but it's close.