Tess of the D'Urbevilles (26) - not many laughs

If you are looking for a book to brighten your day and bring a little ray of sunshine into your life, then DO NOT read Tess of the D'Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy. Blimey it's grim. Set in the late 19th century, it is a tale of poverty and innocence lost. Our eponymous heroine falls victim to the whims of her father who, upon discovering that he is descended from an ancient and well-to-do family (the D'Urbevilles), is convinced that there may be a way to restore the now named Durbeyfields to their former glory. This comes to a head when her father gets drunk one night and Tess has to take his place on a trip to market, which results in the accidental death of their horse. Thinking that if they can successfully "claim kin" with a distant relative they have heard of, their fortunes might turn around, the teenage Tess is shipped off to work at the grand house of an old lady named D'Urbeyville, without realising that her husband had bought the title rather than being born into it. Unfortunately for Tess, this lady has a lecherous son who takes a shine to her and pesters and flatters her continually despite her efforts to dissuade him. The inevitable happens and he takes advantage of the innocent teenager and leaves her bewildered and pregnant. She heads back home and hides away, feeling great shame. Her baby does not survive for long and Tess eventually goes back into the world to work as a dairy maid some distance from her family home. At the dairy, she meets Angel Clare who is soon smitten with her. She feels deeply attracted to him too, but keeps him at arm's length, determined that she is not good enough for anyone. Yes, there is romance, but it is all so fraught and there are scant moments of happiness. Needless to say, this does not end well and Tess struggles through life constantly troubled and fearful. This book is well crafted and the descriptive texts of the countryside at different times of the day are excellent. You feel the pain and the hard work and stress ... but for me, there is just so little relief from this that it's difficult to say that it is an enjoyable read. Great narration from Peter Firth did not save Tess for me, who, with a modern perspective, you can feel sympathy for, but you still want to shake her for such weakness at times.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 384 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; unabridged audio CD; ebook.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (5) - darker and darker

In this, the fourth outing for Harry Potter, the adventures of the young wizard take a decidedly darker turn. JK Rowling recognises that with each passing year, the characters must mature, and this is reflected in the narrative of this book. The book starts with Harry finding himself going to the Quidditch World Cup with his friends Ron and Hermione. The excitement and joy of the match (think of England, 1966, Wembley ... but on broomsticks!) gives way to fear when the hooded Death Eaters go on the march, followed by the display of the Dark Mark in the sky. The Dark Mark is a call to arms for the followers of Lord Voldemort (the wizard who killed Harry's parents), and the wizarding community are thrown into confusion ... is he really back? With this backdrop, Harry returns to school at Hogwarts, but soon becomes the centre of attention when his name is unexpectedly pulled from the Goblet of Fire and he is chosen to take part in the Triwizard Tournament. Nobody believes that he didn't put his name in for this event and his popularity takes a tumble - even his best friend Ron stops speaking to him. The Tournament begins and Harry manages to get through the events, helping out the other contestants along the way. However, on the point of victory in the last event, he and Cedric Diggory, a fellow Hogwarts contestant are transported to a cemetery, where they face Lord Voldemort in bodily form ... yes, HE IS BACK! There are some shocks in this book, and not everyone comes out alive. The action cracks along at a fast pace, and while there is definitely less humour, there are still some lighter moments to relieve the tension. The characters have grown on me and I really do want to find out what happens to them. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is not high art, but as an escape from everyday life into another world that doesn't hugely tax the brain, it's a winner.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 752 print pages.
Price I paid: free - borrowed from local library.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.

The Stand (53) - an epic of good vs evil

When I saw that there was a book by Stephen King on the Top 100 Reads list, I was slightly concerned. I associate him with horror, and that's not a genre of book that I would ever choose to read after scaring myself silly reading some James Herbert novels in my youth. However, within a couple of minutes of starting The Stand in audio format, I was hooked. It is an action-packed thriller ( I think dark thriller, rather than full on horror) which has incredibly deep themes - life, death, good, evil and the frailties of humanity. Disaster befalls the world when a deadly man-made super flu is accidentally released into the atmosphere. What follows is a nightmare of cataclysmic proportions - with a 99% infection-rate, with nobody surviving once infected - within a few short weeks, the population of the USA (in which the book is based) is devastated. You cannot get comfortable - victims of the flu are introduced and bumped off in quick succession. Finally, we start to get to know a few people who seem to be immune - Stu Redman, Larry Underwood, Fran Goldsmith and to name a few. They are spread all over the country, and have watched all those around them die a horrible death. Society completely breaks down - there is no-one left to keep the power on or to keep the water supplies clean! Apart from their immunity, the survivors start to experience the same dreams. One features a kindly old lady sitting on her porch playing her guitar, and the other features a shadowy, faceless, threatening figure - variously known as the dark man, or the walking dude. Those who feel the pull of the old woman (Mother Abigail) and her inherent goodness, start to travel to where she lives, pick her up and end up in Boulder where they try to form a new community of survivors. Those who feel the pull of the dark man congregate in Las Vegas and also start to organise themselves into a community. On the surface, the two might look similar, but life in Vegas is full of fear, mistrust and painful deaths. The Boulder community feel that the dark man is gathering his forces on the other side of the Rockies and will bring destruction to them sooner or later - and start to realise that they must make a stand, and try to put a stop to the tide of evil that threates to overwhelm them. This is a book that will keep you guessing and it is hard to know who will ultimately triumph. Relentless and exhausting at times, this is ultimately a very satisfying read ... all 47 hours and 47 minutes if it!

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 1344 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.