Under Milk Wood - A Treat for Word Lovers

Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas is a play written for radio and was his last work. It follows a day in the life of a small Welsh seaside town, from the dreams of the residents early in the morning, to the drunks creeping home at the end of the day. The residents of the town are brought to life with the most amazingly lyrical language, full of alliteration and poetic rhythms. Designed to be read aloud, its mix of narration, character dialogue and also the odd song, it's a treat for the tongue and the ear. One of my favourite lines is: "Only you can hear the houses sleeping in the streets in the slow deep salt and silent black, bandaged night." Superb! The characters are shown to us in a sequence of vignettes, and are a mix of quirky, funny, eccentric, forthright and even, a little disturbing! Each have their own distinct voice and we hear them clearly each time we drop in on them throughout the day - we, the observer, zipping from one to the other as if we were a fly taking a break on their wall for a few minutes and then moving on. The beauty of the language transports you to a time and place where not much happens, but yet, we learn so much - how Mrs Pugh loves to nag her husband, and he, in return, is always plotting to murder her; or how the love affair between Mr Edwards and Miss Price is conducted solely through letters - they see each other all the time and yet never speak! It is a work of beauty, darkness, love and humanity. If you get a chance to listen to the version narrated by Richard Burton, accompanied by a plethora of actors voicing the characters, you will not be disappointed. The words of Dylan Thomas, heard in Burton's amazing, chocolate coloured Welsh tones is an absolute treat. The only reason I didn't give this full marks is that I could have done without some of the songs which went on a little too long for my taste. Overall, a must for anyone who loves words and what a poet can do with them.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 102 print pages.

Price I paid: £7.99

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, unabridged audio CD, ebook. 

Mercy - Darkly gripping crime thriller

Mercy by Jussi Adler Olsen is a crime novel set in Denmark and features Carl Mørck, a homicide detective who, following an incident which left one of his colleagues dead, another paralysed and himself injured, has returned to work only to be moved to the newly created Department Q. Set up for political reasons (and to get the uncooperative and hard-to-work-with Carl out of the way) Department Q's purpose is to review unsolved crimes. The first case concerns Merete Lynggaard, a politician who disappeared five years ago during a ferry journey with her brother. The narrative follows two time streams - one starting five years ago following Merete, and the other is in the present, following Carl who, believing Merete to be dead, reluctantly starts to investigate her case. He is assisted by Assad, an incredibly capable and positive man employed as his cleaner but who, it turns out, has a real feel for police work. The relationship between Carl and Assad is entertaining, and helps to provide some much needed relief from the Merete part of the story, which is unremittingly grim, as we see her being held captive in a metal room for months, which turn into years. She is being slowly and systematically tortured, but does not know by whom or why. Both her internal dialogue and interactions with her captors show her strength and determination to keep going so that she can get back to the one person she really loves, her disabled brother. This is an incredibly gripping thriller, with the case unraveling in a most satisfying way. As the two time frames begin to converge, the pace picks up and the reader is almost left breathless by the denouement. Great characterisation with a tight plot full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing for a very long time. It wasn't until I'd finished the book that I found out that it's the first in the "Department Q" series ... I can't believe I have inadvertently started yet another series when I haven't finished the many that I am partway through. Hey ho! I'm not sorry I read this book, however, because even if I don't go back for more, it was well worth it. Maybe not for the faint hearted or squeamish, but if you like your thrillers dark, then this could be for you.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 512 print pages.

Price I paid: £4.00.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio, ebook.

It's 2025 and Another Reading Year Begins

Welcome to 2025 and a fresh new year full of the promise of new books to read. 

Last year I read what I really, really wanted to read and, for the most part, it was a successful year with very few books picking up less than 4 stars. Yes, the piles of unread books has diminished (the charity shop received a good chunk that didn't make my heart scream ... READ ME NOW!), but it is far from being manageable (probably an impossible task, but one can dream!). This means that when people buy me a new book, it tends to go to the bottom of the still mountainous pile and, at the pace I'm currently reading (I think a sloth could do better!) it's going to be an absolute age before I get to them. This, inevitably leads to those awkward conversations when the giver asks me whether I liked the book or not ... and I have to admit that I've not got round to it as yet! 

So, this year, I'm going to prioritise those gifted books above anything else, and also try to block out time to actually read a little more rather than grab 5-10 minutes at the end of the day when all I really want to do is go to sleep! Oh, and I'm going to revisit the loiterers and lingerers ... if I don't feel that I'd regret donating them to a charity shop without reading them, then it's time to wave them goodbye!

So, here we go .... Happy New Reading Year to you all!

My Plans For the Day (Credit: Shoot Me Now GIFS)