AUGUST READING: THE MAN WHO FORGOT HIS WIFE by John O'Farrell

AUGUST READING: THE MAN WHO FORGOT HIS WIFE by John O'Farrell

Well, I bet there are plenty of women out there currently thinking they get forgotten about all the time by their beloveds, so what is the big deal about some bloke writing a book about it? I bet you haven't been forgotten about quite like Jack Vaughan forgets about his wife Maddy! You will either appreciate that much more your beloved and his minor memory relapses, or you may well wish that he follows the same path as the said man in this funny, charming, slightly ridiculous and very satisfying story.

Jack Vaughan, or Vaughan as he known by is 39 years old, lives in London, is a high school history teacher, married to Maddy, father to two children. One day, while riding the Underground, he suddenly realises that he has no idea who he is, where he is,  what he is doing or where he is going. His whole life has been erased, everything, including his family, how to ride a bike, how to swim, his job. The lot. So begins what could loosely be termed a comedy of errors as Vaughan begins the long process of two steps forward, one step backward, regaining himself and his life.

Ever so very slowly Vaughan's memory begins to return. The fragments are tiny and quite random in how they turn up. His first step in finding out who he is occurs while lying in his hospital bed next to the irrepressible Bernard. Bernard has the very bright idea of buying a Name Your Baby book and reading out every single name in the hope it will jog something in Vaughan's memory. Which the name Gary does. Just think how many names Bernard had already read out to get to G...This immediately prompts Vaughan to start reciting a phone number belongs to Vaughan's best friend.

Vaughan finds out quite quickly that he is in the middle of an acrimonious divorce from his wife Maddy. He simply can't figure out why he has found himself in this situation, as the first time he sees her once he knows who he is, he falls madly in love with her. The focus of the book is his mission to win her back.

Like the lives of most of us, Vaughan's  life is very ordinary, which is what makes this book so very appealing to read and to enjoy.  Could something like this possibly happen to any one of us? And how would we handle it? During the course of the story Vaughan's memories slowly return which enables him, and the reader, to go back to the his and Maddy's first meeting, their courtship, and exactly where things went wrong in the marriage. It is wonderfully romantic and poignant, and probably a reminder to us all that it can be easy to forget how things once were, and hard to dig deep to find those memories again.

The author is a very prolific English writer, who has worked on television and radio political satire and comedy programmes including Spitting Image, broadcasting, an aspiring politician as well as successful novelist and non-fiction writer. His skills as a writer with a wry wit are on full display in this book, as in turn we feel sorry for him, then frustration, then what a lovable buffoon he is. He tries so very very hard, it is so endearing. Yes, it is a light and trite story, but also very satisfying, and you will close it with a contented sigh, and think, gee, that was such a pleasant piece of escapism.

JULY READING: BLOOD AND BEAUTY by Sarah Dunant

JULY READING: BLOOD AND BEAUTY by Sarah Dunant

Renaissance Italy gifted history with the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Botticelli, Machiavelli and many, many others. But it would not be complete without the inclusion of the wealthy city states and families who were the patrons of many of these celebrated artists and writers. And especially the families who controlled the Papacy. No family was more notorious or infamous than the Borgias with their time at the Vatican. Of Spanish origin, under the control of firstly Pope Calixtus III, and then his nephew Pope Alexander VI, the Borgia family was not going to let anything stand in its way of controlling the whole of Italy, creating alliances and subsequently destroying them as it suited.  Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alexander VI when he was 61 having served under a number of popes for years prior to his 'election'. He fathered at least four illegitimate children who were instrumental in his grand plans for domination. These four - Giovanni, Cesare, Lucrezia, and Jofre - were born to the same mother, and are the subject of this novel. History has not been kind to the Borgia family, portraying them as murderers, poisoners, incestuous, torturers, thieves, adulterers, bribers - the list goes on. Their ambition was without parallel.

It would seem there are enough diaries and letters from this period to believe that much of the history is true. The author, who has published a number of other stunning novels set in the Renaissance period, has researched her subject extensively if her bibliography and historical epilogue are anything to go by. The result is a truly fabulously rich and detailed historical novel of real people based on real events. At 500+ pages  it is a lot of reading, but what a read it is. The novel begins in 1492 when Rodrigo, surprise surprise finds himself pope,  his four children range in age from 17 to 10, his mistress is the very beautiful Guilia, his enemies are many and various and he immediately begins the task of immortalising the Borgia name forever. 

Primarily this involves building alliances with the other powerful Italian families - the Sforza, the Medici, the d'Este, the d'Aragon, as well as the noble Spanish families, and keeping on the good side of the French. And how does he do this? By betrothing and marrying off his children, repetitively, either as a result of death, annulment, or changed mind. His 'accomplice' in all this becomes his second son, the ruthless, cruel and syphilitic mad Cesare. His main 'pawn'  is the very beautiful, intelligent and accomplished Lucrezia. And the story, as narrated in this novel, is essentially her story. The author appears to have taken a much more compassionate view of Lucrezia than her portrayal by historians, casting her as a means to an end by her father, and with very little, if any control of her own destiny. Hardly unusual for a young lady of her standing at this time. 

The author is apparently working on a sequel to this novel, which continues the saga and fates of the Borgia, again with considerable emphasis on Lucrezia Borgia who becomes more determined to be in charge of her own destiny. I can't wait. This is marvellous reading, never boring, sumptuous in its detail, strangely narrated entirely in the present tense making it more real and life like. The conversations and dialogue are like real conversations, the passions are intense, the power, ambition and violence fair drips off the page. It is stunning reading.

JUNE READING: LUNCH WITH A SOLDIER by Derek Hansen

JUNE READING: LUNCH WITH A SOLDIER by Derek Hansen

This novel is the fourth in the 'Lunch With' series, although is a stand alone story and does not need to be read in conjunction with the others. Each of the four books is a tale narrated by one of four friends who gather regularly to eat and drink  in a small local Italian restaurant in Sydney, Australia. The four friends are getting on in years and hail from different countries - Hungary, Italy, Argentina and Australia. This book is the story narrated by Neil, who grew up in the farming/opal mining areas of north west New South Wales and beginning, I estimate, after WWII. The story he tells is primarily that of his brother Billy - their childhood,  Billy's tour of duty in Vietnam in the 1960s, and Billy's life after Vietnam. While living as a bit of a recluse running the family farm, a woman one day appears wanting to rent a cottage on the property.  It becomes obvious early on that she is on the run from someone or something, and Billy finds himself drawn to her and whatever has befallen her.

However this story is not only that of Billy, but also of Neil and Billy. One of the rules the four friends has laid down about the story telling is that the story cannot be true. Although without having read any of the other three books, I get the impression that there are elements of a true story in each of the other tales told respectively by Ramon, Milos and Lucio. Neil states from the outset that his story is true, throwing a bit of a spanner into the works as a result, to the extent that I felt the longstanding and close friendship between the four men was seriously under threat by this not sticking to the rules. This tension is a distinct undercurrent throughout the whole book, with it becoming an absolute page turner as he reader really has no idea where it is going - how true is it really? All we know is Neil's statement at the beginning -  that he was responsible for taking his brother's life. How's that for a conversation opener.

There are a number of twists and turns in this book, and it makes for a jolly good story. The author is a truly gifted story teller as seen in his novel 'Remember Me', published 2007, which I reviewed in January 2012. This review book was published 2004 and the quality of his writing improved markedly since then. The writing in the book under review feels a bit contrived and forced. For me there isn't enough subtlety or realness in the characters and relationships of the four friends - I can't really imagine four older gents who have known each other for years having a drink and a yarn in a Sydney bar/restaurant actually talking like this to each other.

This however has not stopped me from wanting to read the other three 'Lunch With' books, and I do have 'Lunch with the Stationmaster' sitting in my enormous pile of unreads. All four books have been favourably reviewed on Amazon/Good Reads etc, but no one book stands out as the 'best' or the 'favourite'. Which I guess is the way it should be - something to suit all tastes. 

JUNE READING: THE UNIVERSE VERSUS ALEX WOODS by Gavin Extence

JUNE READING: THE UNIVERSE VERSUS ALEX WOODS by Gavin Extence

Initially I had this book pegged at 3 out of 5. It seemed a bit far fetched that a freak accident with a meteor could put an 11 year old boy onto the path of becoming a media sensation, geek freak, epileptic and all round weirdly over intelligent teenager. Oh, what's more with a mum who ran a business as a fortune teller. No wonder he was bottom of the pops at his local school. In addition, for about half of the book we are in plot development mode, with not a great deal happening, and unusually for me, I really did consider giving up and moving onto one of the many other books beckoning me to pick up.

But not long after half way, the book took a decidedly surprising and most interesting turn. The subject of assisted suicide is a political hot potato in our Western society with increasing numbers of people living with terminal illness. The burden, stress, and suffering this places onto the person with the illness and onto those who care for and love that person are impossible to quantify. Tie into this religious beliefs, the sanctity of life, the sanity of the ill person, the culpability of those doing the assisting, and we have a major ethical and moral dilemma on our hands. After all we don't let our animals suffer unnecessarily, so why should we let our loved ones.

The person in this novel who wishes to die is not our young protagonist Alex Woods, 17 at the time of his narration of the story, but an older man, Mr Issac Peterson. Mr Peterson is probably in his 60s, American, an ex-Vietnam vet with a damaged leg, who lives alone since his wife died a few years before from cancer. A most unlikely and special friendship develops between these two when Alex, in his early teens, meets up with Mr Peterson while trying to escape from a group of school bullies. Under Mr Peterson's guidance and friendship, Alex quickly finds his teenage world rapidly improving, he learns to deal with the bullies from school, and develops ways to keep his epilepsy under control. Things are on the up.

Then Mr Peterson is diagnosed with a debilitating illness with no prospect of a cure. After considerable research and soul searching, Mr Peterson decides assisted suicide is the only option, and the only place this is legal is in Switzerland. There is no doubt in Alex's mind, and in the mind of Mr Peterson that they are doing the right thing. And so the wheels are put in motion to enable Mr Peterson to die with dignity and self worth.

The second half of this book dives right into this fraught subject in a very open minded way. The author is obviously in favour of assisted suicide, but he sends his message without being inflammatory or judgmental of those not in favour. By using a teenage boy - idealistic, highly intelligent, having had his own share of pain - as his vehicle he has probably found the easiest path to convey his feelings on the matter.

I greatly enjoyed reading the last third of this book. This is not a subject people feel very comfortable talking about, but I found it handled in a very touching and meaningful way. And it has certainly got me thinking more about how we care for and treat people close to us who are terminally ill.  Upgraded to 4 out of 5!

JUNE READING: COLLATERAL by Ellen Hopkins

COLLATERAL by Ellen Hopkins

I have never read a novel in the form of poetry before. It was a bit of a surprise to open this to begin reading to find it all in verse form, and initially was a little weird to read. But once I forced myself to get over the different format, reading became a strangely captivating experience. There is nothing like poetry as a vehicle to tell a love story. The sparseness and pin point accuracy of language is achingly beautiful, passionate, sad, violent, loving, and memorable, at the same time telling a story. 

Here, at the bottom of the world, we aren't a society very familiar with being at war. So it is probably difficult for most of the population to fully relate to the impact that being a Marine at the coal face in Afghanistan can have on the family and partner left behind, and on the self. Cole is such a Marine, Ashley is his long term girl friend. For five years and four deployments Ashley and Cole work very hard at keeping their love alive, and at the same time trying to retain their own individual sanity. There is nothing like war to heighten the emotions and make one live with a little more feeling.

Narrated primarily by Ashley, with odd bits of poetry in Cole's voice, the story moves between the past from the time the two of them met to the present day. Different fonts indicate who is speaking, and what time period we are in. Ashley is a college student, studying poetry. She and Cole meet one night in a bar, connect instantly, and it is full on from day one. Their passion is very intense and beautifully rendered into free form verse, but as we all know passion is not enough to keep a love alive. And slowly over time the relationship begins to falter - the distance, the long periods apart, his daily dice with death vs her daily college routine, similar relationships around them crumbling - all contribute toward an inevitable conclusion.

Since the beginning of time, the lives of those without the power have been torn apart by war. As much an indictment of war on the average person, the way this novel is written also shows how a small story can leave such a big impact on the reader. After all in the scheme of things Ashley and Cole are really just the cogs in the wheel of the war machine, yet their story rings with hope, poignancy and loss. I don't know how this book has been received by the families of those serving in Afghanistan; how true this particular scenario is. But I don't think it actually matters. Love and overcoming obstacles are part of what we do as humans, and so this setting really only serves to highlight the intensity of what we all feel. Outstanding. 

JUNE READING: MUD, SWEAT AND TEARS by Bear Grylls

JUNE READING: MUD, SWEAT AND TEARS by Bear Grylls

This man has so many lessons that he can teach the rest of us about living a life to the best that we can. His autobiography is chock full of worthy mantras to live your it by. On a random page opening, "Life is all about getting up again, dusting yourself down again, learning from the lessons, and then pushing on". Or "It was time to get out there with all of my enthusiasm and commit to fail...until I succeeded". And on his dream to one day climb Everest - "But I had a dream, and that always makes people dangerous...To a man, they thought I was mad". I think a lot of people still do!  And these are just a very few of the thoughts scrambling around in this man's head. But other than his courage, his curiousity and his fearlessness, perhaps the most remarkable thing about him is his  humanity and humility, his bloke-next-doorishness, how Jo-average he seems to be. And the encouragement, that anyone can take on the sort of challenges he has and succeed. Aside from the respect he engenders in people, perhaps his greatest gift is the model he provides for children and young people. He is the youngest ever head of the Scout Association, (he was a Cub Scout as a boy), and is in a most unique position to pass on his passions, his knowledge, his moral and ethical code, and his very ordinariness to the world's youth. 

Any search engine will toss up all sorts of biographical detail about this extraordinary man, and you would have to have lived in a deep cave not to have heard, at the very least,  about Man vs Wild, even if, like me, you have never actually seen it. But a bit like the late Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, he is as much part of popular culture and entertainment, and as British as One Direction or Kate and Wills. In this book Bear Grylls delves deeper than the story of his life and shares the influences and elements that have shaped him into the man he shares publicly.

He comes from a privileged background, but not outstandingly so. His family is very important to him, and he has some very interesting forbears who have made their own mark on the world.  He had a passion for adventure, the outdoors and climbing - be it hills or buildings - from a young age. He went to Eton College where a culture of freedom and pursuit of individual interests further developed his adventurous streak. His decision to try out for the SAS selection almost did him in, the fracturing of three vertebrae in his back almost killed him, as did a fall during his climb of Everest. These combined with his wife and children and his strong Christian faith have all made him the man he is today.



There is no doubt that he is one of the luckiest men to be alive. He has had more lucky escapes than I imagine he cares to count. The two main ones he writes about in this book - the broken back in a parachute accident and the fall into a crevasse on Everest - are, at a guess, barely the tip of the iceberg.  I can't think of anyone who has done more for the saying "Feel the fear and do it anyway" than Bear Grylls. I do wonder though how long he can continue living his life, quite literally, on the edge.

This is such an easy book to read, very short chapters, lots of action, fair amount of self-reflection but in a good and straight forward way, finishing with an epilogue that sets the scene for volume two. Yes, you will want to read more, and you can only wonder what the next forty years of this life will produce.

MAY READING: THE FISHING FLEET - HUSBAND HUNTING IN THE RAJ by Anne de Courcy

MAY READING: THE FISHING FLEET - HUSBAND HUNTING IN THE RAJ by Anne de Courcy.

Hard to believe now, but up until probably the time of World War II in Britain, if you were young and female you were expected to marry, produce children and be a devoted wife and mother for the rest of your days, in that order. Woe betide being labelled 'spinster', a word, when spoken aloud, sounds as dreadful as what it stood for - left on the shelf, destined to be a governess or companion forever. A failure.

But wait, all was not lost! From the early days of Britain's involvement/interference in India, women were thin on the ground. For a long time, it was acceptable for British soldiers, farmers, plantation owners, business men to marry or live and have children with local Indian women, with little prejudice to their womenfolk or children. But over time, this changed and it became more desirable and socially necessary for British men to marry British women. At first, women in want of a husband were paid to make the perilous journey to India to find a husband. They were given a year, and if a match was not made in that time, they sailed back home as 'returned empties'. What a fate.

India came under British government control in 1857 - the beginning of the Raj. The  export of well educated and well bred young men to India to govern this jewel in the crown became a flood. Along with the transplanting of the strictly hierarchical English class society.  From that time on, British men could marry only British women and once a year the ships left British ports, full of eager young women in search of a husband and an adventure, with hundreds of young and not so young men waiting at the other end. Let the fishing begin. After World War I, with the huge hole left in the young male population of Britain, the annual fishing fleet took on a greater significance, lasting  until the mid 1940s when India became independent of Britain.

The author has documented the many and various stories of these women through their diaries, letters, personal interviews with some of the women themselves, and their descendants. Most of these women were very young when they made the trip - late teens/early 20s. They knew little of life, little of relationships, nothing about the opposite sex, but they treated the whole thing as an exciting and thrilling adventure. The parties, the dances, the tiger hunts, polo matches, retaining one's virtue, the sheer logisitics of travelling around the country, the extravagant clothes, the heat, the isolation, the boredom, the fragility of life with illness and unexpected deaths.  To us an extraordinary way to find yourself a life, and it would seem, more often than not, successful.

For the women who did find themselves married and then mothers, the hardest most painful time came when their children reached the ages of 8, 9, 10, and the decision would be made to send them home to be educated. Did she also go to be with her children and leave her husband on his own for at least a year? Or did she stay and send her children to boarding school knowing she may not see them for some years. There are some interesting reviews by readers on Amazon.uk who are children/grandchildren of some women who were part of the Fishing Fleet, which do make the stories in this book just that much more interesting.   

As well as being the story of these brave and resourceful women, this book also gives fascinating insight into British life in India, especially covering the period from 1870s to early 1930s. Relations between the Raj, headed by the Viceroy, always a Lord or an Earl, and the many, many unbelievably wealthy Indian maharajahs were generally very cordial. The two societies mirrored each other perfectly in terms of a rigid social hierarchy, everyone fitting neatly into it, and each using the other to advance further up the social and economic ladder.

This is a truly fascinating and extremely well researched account of a time when Britain ruled supreme in the world, and boy did they know it. My only criticism is that it could have done with some more editing - there is a fair amount of repetition and padding out especially in the first few chapters; I don't know how times I read that young women had to be chaperoned at all times, or that men had to receive permission from their superiors to marry and were not allowed to marry too young so generally were ten years older than their intendeds. The narrative also jumped around a fair bit, and I did lose track of who all these young women were as they reappeared at different stages of the book.