Past and present reads
Here is a log of all the books we have discussed as a reading group, and the average mark out ten we gave them. Agree with us? Disagree with us? Let us know.
England, England by Julian Barnes
Satire of Englishness at the end of the 20th century, which sees a megalomaniacal entrepreneur creating a superior theme-park version of England on the Isle of Wight.
Chosen by Dawn
Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
Thumbs up all round (almost) for this bizarre, satirical post Soviet thriller. Victor is a journalist who shares his flat with a depressed Penguin rescued from an under-funded zoo in Kiev. When the subjects of the obituaries he prepares start to die regularly, it is clear sinister forces are at large. We liked the spooky depiction of Ukraine and there was much book group love for Misha the Penguin.
Chosen by Helen
Rating 8.0
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Spoof detective story kindly picked to help the North London Reading Group stave off the winter blues. Set in a parallel 1985 where the Crimean War continues to rage and featuring literary allusions, dodos, a Welsh Republic and time travelling policemen.
Chosen by Catriona
Rating 6.5
Tunnel Visions by Christopher Ross
Ruminations by an ex-corporate lawyer after he takes a McJob at Oxford Circus tube station. Despite asking to be filed under 'Western philosophy', this was a slightly snobbish but enjoyable series of observations about our daily commutes to work. Book Group 'no non-fiction' rule overriden in the spirit of Christmas.
Chosen by Huw
Rating 6.5
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Our second post apocalyptic book in a row, discussed in an apt cellar bar shelter. The Road follows an unnamed father and son walking alone through a devastated America. Widely enjoyed — in fact our book of the year — though some of us felt a tad cheated by the lack of revelation at the end and plausibility of pushing a supermarket trolley miles through woodland.
Chosen by Clare
Rating 8.5
The Book of Dave by Will Self
A demented London cabbie writes a book to his estranged son - which spawns a new religion when found centuries later in a mostly submerged London. Dave had its supporters but the general feeling was nice picture on the front, great synposis on the back, shame about the bit in the middle. Some of us wanted to bury it for good.
Chosen by Paul
Rating 4.0
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Iain Banks' blackly humourous debut. Narrated by 16 year old Frank, practicer of bizarre rituals in a remote Scottish village. The mysteries of Frank's past start to unfold when his brother escapes from a psychiatric hospital. Banks has gone on to do better but we felt his first novel still packed a punch.
Chosen by Clair
Rating 6.5
Suite Francaise by Irene Némirovsky
An unfinished book published some 65 years after its author died in Auschwitz. Not the masterpiece some have claimed, but an absorbing account of German occupied France in two distinct parts. It was impossible to separate the author's experience from the book itself.
Chosen by Sara
Rating 6.5
Londonistani by Gautam Malkani
Gautam Malkani's debut was the subject of the NLRG's first discussion and was well received. Whilst some of us were initially put off by the lingo, we found it to be an enlightening glimpse into teenage Anglo Asian life, innit.
Chosen by Dawn
Rating 7.0
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