Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
30 Dec - 8 Jan
Six different stories of six characters, their souls linked through time. Structurally interesting, but its structure is the best thing about it. A couple of story strands (one notary on a ship sailing to Hawaii, and one young musician writing to his lover during an apprenticeship to a syphilitic older musician) are compelling but the rest of the book is hugely underwhelming.
The Rise of Islamic State, Patrick Cockburn
8 - 12 Jan
I read this after The Writer, who’d bought it as an introduction to the beginnings of Daesh. As someone who knows a bit about the subject anyway, I wasn’t particularly impressed by this. It’s always tricky to write a book about a subject that’s evolving so quickly without it feeling dated - and this is no exception. There’s a huge focus on Iraq, where the writer’s previously spent a lot of time, at the expense of Syria; and not all of the text rang true, with a lot of exposition and not a huge number of references to back up what’s presented as fact. I’m sure there are other, better introductions out there if that’s what you’re after.
Capital, John Lanchester
10 - 29 Jan
TW gave up on this a couple of chapters in, but I really enjoyed it. Eight story strands are brought together along one road, Pepys Street, in South London, where the houses have skyrocketed in value just before the 2008 financial crisis. An investment banker worried that he won’t get a million pound bonus, a Polish builder and an asylum-seeking traffic warden are all drawn beautifully. Captivating, and an easy read, whilst holding a mirror up to current British society.
Boy, Snow, Bird, Helen Oyeyemi
Unfinished
I got about a third of the way into this and gave up. A story about a girl drifting in 1950s America, nothing had gripped me and the writing wasn’t strong enough to keep me going.
Animals, Emma Jane Unsworth
Unfinished
Two girls, their close friendship, and their even closer relationship with booze. Superficial and irritating. If you want stories about darkness and destruction and addiction, pick up a Bukowski, not an incredibly poor imitation of him.
