Our Mutual Friend - well worth the effort

So, my quest to read more Charles Dickens found me embroilled in Our Mutual Friend - which I read as an ebook. It felt like a bit of an epic and has taken me a while to read, but it's not because I wasn't enjoying it - it's just a long and involved book. As usual, Charlie throws in a few too many characters for my own personal preference, but for once, I could see how they all mattered and linked and contributed to the story. The central theme of the tale is money - and how it affects people (mostly in a negative way) - but also, about the strength of the human spirit and how love can overcome. We open pretty much with the finding of a dead body - identified as John Harmon, a young man who has returned to London to claim his inheritance. According to his father's will, John was set to marry Bella Wilfer - a bit of a spoilt girl, obsessed with money and status. Instead, the money goes to a working class couple called The Boffins, who, feeling slightly guilty for their good fortune, take Bella under their wing. Bella slowly changes her opinion about money when she sees how it affects Mr Boffin, who turns from a generous open-hearted man to a distrustful, miserly one. She grows to respect Mr Boffin's new secretary, Mr John Rokesmith, whose affections she had previously spurned due to his lack of status. Will she overcome her attachment to money and the place in "society" that it will bring? Alongside this story is the one of Lizzie Hexam - daughter of the riverman who found the body. She is noticed by a young barrister, Eugene Wrayburn, who affects to be bored with everything, but his interest in life is sparked by Lizzie. Unfortunately, she has also attracted the attention of a schoolmaster who becomes obsessed and dangerous to know.

This is a complex story and is the last book to be completed by Charles Dickens. It is an epic with big themes that we can all relate to - life, death, love, friendship, loyalty and making money. I feel very happy to recommend this you - especially if you like to see the baddies get their come-uppance from time to time!

My star rating: FOUR

Length: 832 pages (told you it was long!)
Price I paid: free.
Formats available: print, audio CD, audio download, ebook.

Sweet Tooth with a sour undercurrent

There is much to admire in Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan, which I read in audio format with the wonderful Juliet Stephenson narrating. Serena Frome is the central character whose life gets going at university in Cambridge when she starts an affair with a much older man who also happens to be a lecturer and ex-secret service. He starts to teach her the ways of the world, but is really grooming her for a life in MI5. She is heartbroken when he breaks off with her, but decides to take the job at MI5 even though it's not exactly exciting, being primarily an admin post. It is the early 70's and the cold war is in full swing.

Early on, she is attracted to Max, who leads her on somewhat and gives her hope of a relationship when really there is none. She gets the message when he tells her he is engaged, but then is surprised when he puts her forward for a special operation known as Sweet Tooth to which she seems ideally suited. She is a compulsive reader of novels, and is sent undercover to help fund the work of Tom Haley, a promising young writer. But she steps over the line when she falls in love with her target. He seems to reciprocate, but in the world of espionage, can she trust anyone?

This is a really good read and bowls along at a good lick. There are some very intimate passages, but they are written well and won't make you squirm too much. I felt for Serena, but also wanted to give her a good talking to. She was so passive at times, and at the whim of the men around her that I wanted to shake her. It has an odd ending - I was initially disappointed, but on reflection, I am much happier. I have absolutely no problem with recommending this book to anyone looking for a taste of romance with a bit of mild espionage thrown in for good measure.

My STAR rating: FOUR

Length: 336 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99
Formats available: Print, unabridged audio (CD and download); Ebook.

A bawdy spin on Sherlock Holmes

Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbevilles, by Kim Newman - which I read in audio - is not for the faint-hearted reader. It gives us the flipside of some of those well-known Sherlock Holmes adventures, but from the viewpoint of his arch-enemy - Professor James Moriarty. The book has been written in the style of the memoir of one of the people closest to Moriarty - Colonel "Basher" Moran, who fits a similar space in the criminal world as Dr Watson does in the crime detecting world. Basher gives his views on everything, and I mean everything - and pretty much all of them are shocking to the modern mind .. well, to this modern mind anyway. His views on women and anyone who isn't English are jaw-droppingly scandalous. He is pretty much an irredeemable character ... until you put him in the company of Professor Moriarty, who has no feeling for anyone else and is totally without a moral compass. With all this going on - how could I possibly enjoy this book? Well, I have to say, I did. Kim Newman breathes new life into stories we thought we knew backwards. This is not a celebration of the criminal world, being almost totally devoid of glamour and pretty much a guaranteed short life, but it is compelling and not without its lighter side. Whilst I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone, for those who are happy to take it for what it is - an outrageous, grimy, funny, violent and fast-paced adventure into the underbelly of the Victorian era - then it's a cracking read.

My STAR rating: FOUR

Length: 320 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.33.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.