The Odyssey - certainly was an epic!

Having read a couple of books recently that are reinterpretations of some of the Greek legends (Circe, The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller), I thought it was about time that I delved into one of the original inspirations for those works. And so, I found myself reading The Odyssey, by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson, which is probably the first great adventure story in the Western literary tradition. In this modern translation, the first by a woman, we find a very accessible and gripping tale of Odysseus as he tries to find his way home after the Trojan Wars - a feat that takes 10 years - but, for me, more importantly, what's happening with Penelope, his wife who is trying to fend off a cohort of suitors who want to take over the throne of Odysseus. She is convinced Odysseus will return, and so finds ways to put them off, but time is running out for her and her son, Telemachus, whose life is threatened by those seeking power. Meanwhile, Odysseus is island hopping, trying to overcome all the obstacles his arch enemy, the god Poseidon, keeps putting in his way. He is, in effect, a plaything of the gods and they all seem to take much delight in making him suffer, though, to be honest, he does bring some of their spite on himself. He blinds the giant Polyphemus for example, and his crew eat Helios' cattle despite strict instructions not to touch them. He is imprisoned, kept as a love slave, almost drowned (several times) and his entire crew are slaughtered. However, Athena finally takes pity on him and persuades all the gods, except Poseidon, that he has suffered enough and should be permitted to get back home. To this end, she assists him in her own inimitable fashion. But what will he find when he returns ...? I found this story entertaining, though at some points, it felt a little repetitive. There is a long introduction, which, I suppose you could skip, but for me, it's definitely worth reading to get the background, context and place in history for this epic poem. I read the audio edition, narrated by the wonderful Clare Danes who brought what could have become a stodgy tale very much into vibrant life. I can definitely recommend this version, as it is easy to read and understand (which, I believe, is not always the case!) Now, where can I find a book centred on Penelope?

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 592 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98

Formats available: print, unabridged audio, mp3CD, ebook.

Any Human Heart - An Unusual Life Story

There's no getting away from it, William Boyd, is a classy writer. And in Any Human Heart he demonstrates this once again. Set out in the form of a series of diaries from various periods in the life of one Logan Mountstuart, we follow his progress through the twentieth century. The action starts at public school in England, where the topics of interest and writing style are definitely those of a teenager discovering what life is all about, with a distinct focus on his sexual awakening. We see how losing his father affects him, and how he sets out on a series of jobs, including novelist, and relationships, which leads to his happy marriage and the birth of a child. But the Second World War changes everything. He kind of ends up as a spy (recruited by Ian Fleming), but is incarcerated abroad and when he comes home, it is to the shattering discovery that his wife and child have been killed by a bomb. I felt that Logan never really recovered from this, and he stumbles from one thing to another, usually fuelled by an inordinate amount of alcohol - at one time becoming involved in a subversive political movement (though probably more to earn money than actually believing in the cause!) - and other times he's an art dealer. He travels the world, but finally ends up in France after he inherits a property from a long term friend who he nursed through the last weeks of her life. It's here he seems to find little peace and his story comes to its natural conclusion. At times, Logan is a very unsympathetic character, but totally human in his flaws, hopes and dreams. I may not have always liked him, and he often brought his troubles onto himself, which usually puts me off a book, but the author writes with such aplomb that I kept on wanting to find out more. Would Logan redeem himself, would he find happiness? Maybe. Maybe not. His story is wrapped up in all the key events and people of the 20th Century - we even see him mixing with the Duke of Windsor and the waspish Wallace Simpson, which, unsurprisingly, doesn't end well! Maybe there was a little too much name dropping - could one person really have met all these people and had all of these experiences I wonder - but this is still a very readable exploration of the life of a man living through modern history and well worth anyone's time.

My STAR rating: 4 STARS.

Length: 528 print pages.

Price I paid:Free, borrowed from my husband.

Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, MP3 CD, ebook.

For Your Eyes Only - unexpected!

For Your Eyes Only, by Ian Fleming took me completely by surprise. I was totally unaware that this book was a collection of 5 short stories: From A View To A Kill, For Your Eyes Only, Quantum of Solace, Risico and The Hildebrand Rarity. None of the stories whose names you may recognise from the films of the same title bore any resemblance to those films, and some stories didn't even feel like spy stories at all (one was pretty much Bond having after dinner drinks with someone who was relaying a story to him). However, this didn't present me with any problems in terms of enjoying them. In fact, by the end of the book, I felt that Bond had been given a little more humanity than we had seen in his previous outings. Concise and to the point, it might be argued that Fleming was experimenting a little with his hero to see where he might take him, or indeed, trying out a story that worked in short form but couldn't be expanded into a full blow novel. All the usual Bond tropes are there - the violence, the women, the weapons and the food - and a couple of the stories gripped the attention, but others felt a little flat. Short and enjoyable for anyone wanting a quick hit of their favourite "Double O", I can recommend the audio edition narrated by Samuel West, who provided great company!

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 272 print pages.

Price I paid: £2.98

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

The Mirror and the Light - the final chapter

Apologies for the quiet time on my blog for the last month, but the world has been a crazy place and some things had to slip! But I'm back with a bang to tell you about The Mirror and the Light, by Hilary Mantel. This is the final part of the Thomas Cromwell trilogy which began with Wolf Hall. The action picks up from where we left off - it's spring 1536 and pretty much as soon as Ann Boleyn is relieved of her head, Henry VIII settles into a happy state with his new wife, Jane Seymour. Thomas still seems to be at the top of his game, and his power keeps on building with his influence over Henry seeming to know no bounds. But nothing ever stays the same for long, and a rebellion in the north of the country, together with a range of traitorous plots abroad and a new threat of invasion start to impose pressure on the one man who is supposed to keep Henry's reign glorious and trouble free. Thomas uses all his guile, but receives little support from men of power in Henry's court, who have always resented this lowborn, son of a blacksmith, his position as Henry's right hand man. When Jane Seymour dies just after giving Henry his long awaited son and heir, things start to sour - first with the unsuccessful contract with Ann of Cleves as Henry's fifth wife, for which Thomas is blamed, and then the failure of completely snuffing out the many plots against Henry. Sniffing blood, the blue blooded vultures start to gather and Thomas tries to protect his family and those close to him as he can see where this is going - well, he's been on the other side of it so often in the past! Thomas Cromwell isn't supposed to be a likeable person, but you can't help but admire him. Hilary Mantel presents us with a man who has ambitions for himself and his country, but who is also deeply loyal and generous to those close to him. He achieved so much from such humble beginnings and managed to survive and thrive despite standing so close to a king whose ever changing whims and temper could mean death for anyone, at anytime. The end was inevitable, and although we all know the outcome, you cannot help but hope that, somehow, Thomas will manage to wangle his way out of his final destiny. But history is history! I have thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy and, despite the huge length of this last book, I was saddened when I reached the last page. I will definitely miss spending time in the company of Thomas Cromwell! I have read all three parts as audio books and each is a tour de force of narration - go on, immerse yourself in Tudor England!

My STAR rating: FIVE.

Length: 912 print pages.

Price I paid: £5.84.

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

Pax - in the mind of a fox!

Pax by Sara Pennypacker is an interesting concept where there are joint narrators - a boy and a fox. Peter, the boy, saved Pax, the fox, when he was a kit and they have grown up together. But war is coming, and motherless Peter is persuaded by his unsympathetic father to release Pax into the wild, as the father has enlisted and Peter is to be sent to live with his grandfather. Pax doesn't understand why he has been abandoned and hangs around for days waiting for Peter to return, not eating (as he doesn't know how to hunt) and barely drinking. Peter immediately regrets what he has done especially as he realises that Pax will be in the path of the oncoming hostilities. He runs away, determined to rescue Pax and be reunited with his best friend. Both Pax and Peter have difficult and dangerous journeys ahead of them - Pax must learn how to survive in the wild and tap into his innate "foxness"and Peter must overcome injury and distance to find redemption. Beautifully illustrated by the glorious Jon Klassen, this is an emotional book, with two very distinct voices (I especially liked the fox), but with a common purpose. The backdrop of war and its consequences provide a threatening undercurrent of violence and futility, but we never lose hope that the love the two main characters have for each other will win out. This may be aimed at the younger reader, but there is more than enough here for everyone to enjoy - especially if you have ever wondered what it might be like to think like a fox!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 288 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from library as an ebook.

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

To Kill A Mockingbird - Definitely a classic!

I can't quite believe that I hadn't read this book before now, but at long last, Harper Lee's classic novel about race and class in the Deep South of 1930's America has been ticked off my TO DO list. To Kill A Mockingbird is told through the eyes of Scout and Jem, the daughter and son of the local lawyer, Atticus Finch. He is raising his children without their mother, who died when Scout was very young (she's only 6 at the start of the book), and their upbringing is more than ably supported by Calpurnia, their cook/housekeeper who is pretty much the only black person that the children encounter at this point. Brother and sister are clever and curious and wander the neighbourhood with freedom, especially during the summer holidays when their cousin Dill joins them. They are fascinated by the Radley house, where, it is rumoured, one of the family (known by the local children as "Boo") never leaves the home. Despite their fears, they really want to be the first in town to see the infamous Boo. However, when their father takes on the defence of Tom Robinson, a black man charged with the rape of a white woman, the children start to see a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy. Atticus is accused by many of favouring black people over white people, which, at that time and in that place, was not acceptable. He is bad mouthed to Scout and Jem, and they struggle to follow his instructions to not react (be prepared for the N word). Of course, despite the evidence Atticus presents to demonstrate that the accusers are lying, Tom Robinson is convicted - there was no chance of a fair trial. The aftermath of Atticus's attempts to save Tom are ugly and the children find themselves embroiled in it. I can totally understand why this book has become a classic. The main characters are engaging, and the reader is caught up in the events alongside them. Scout is a great narrator - she has the wide-eyed innocence of a child, and acts on our behalf in asking those awkward questions about why does this or that happen. Many of the issues highlighted are, depressingly, still relevant today. However, despite the incredibly heavy subject matter, there is humour and lightness to be found. I urge you to read this book, remembering that the language used is reflecting the time it was written, which I found hard to take at times, but push through that and you will be rewarded with a story that will remain with you for a long time.

My STAR rating: FIVE

Length: 309 print pages.

Price I paid: Free, picked up from a neighbour during lockdown.

Formats available: print, audio download, ebook.

Adrift - not the book I was supposed to read!

While searching my local e-library for books featured in the August selection of my Literary Diary, the only one available was one called Adrift. So I downloaded it and started to read. This is the real life story of Tami Oldham who, with her fiancé Richard Sharp, set sail from Tahiti on a journey to deliver a boat to San Diego. However, two weeks into the voyage, they encounter Hurricane Raymond, a devastating storm which leaves Tami unconscious. When she wakes up, she sees that the tether keeping Richard on board had snapped. She was injured, in a crippled boat and all alone. We now follow Tami as she goes through forty one days on board - at first wishing she had been swept into the storm with her beloved Richard and slowly making the decision to survive and find land. We see her relationship with Richard told in flashback, from when they first met, to the day he disappears. Adrift, by Tami Oldham Ashcraft is a story of love, loss and determination and it reads very much like a thriller. The first half of the book worked exceedingly well, but as it progressed I started to find it a little repetitive. Nevertheless, it is an amazing story and worth the read ... though why anyone would head out on a journey of that nature during hurricane season totally mystifies me - but then me and boats don't really mix! It was only after I'd read the book that I realised there was another book titled Adrift, which is actually the one that I should have read. Hey ho! One adventure on the high seas is enough for me in one year!

My STAR rating: 3 STARS.

Length: 240 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from library as an ebook.
Formats available: print, audio download, audio CD, ebook.