What are you reading now?

[Richard Tarleton]

The one on the BBC.....how abridged is it?

[LMcD]

The one on the BBC.....how abridged is it?

The BBC version is 10 x 55 minutes, while the full (PBS) version lasts 18 hours, with individual episodes varying in length from 82 to 114 minutes.

[Stanfordian]

I'm in Munich reading 'Munich' by Robert Harris

[Richard Tarleton]

"Munich" not at all bad, I thought, tho far from his best. But I've just read "The Second Sleep" which is v. disappointing - his second worst, I'd say, after "The Fear Index". The premise, motivation, conclusion, etc., all very sketchy and poorly worked through, very little depth. It's set in about 1600 years in the future after some unspecified apocalypse, we are referred to as the "ancients", and England (pop.6 million) seems locked in a pre-industrial age which can't quite make up its mind whether it's the 15th or 18th century - but is dominated by the church which forbids any sort of enquiry into the past. Wars with "France" are referred to as distant events....artefacts (glass, plastic, an Apple iPhone) turn up, but it's all very poorly worked through - and the ending suggests he had no idea where it was going.

[Petrushka]

The True Story of The Great Escape by Jonathan Vance.

I was a bit doubtful with a title like that but this is, in fact, far and away the best book on the subject I've read. In some ways it's more a history of Stalag Luft III than specifically about the March 1944 Great Escape but it does, of course, culminate in that and the aftermath. It's highly readable, well written and researched and the only jarring note is the American English spelling (the author is Canadian) which might annoy others more than it does me.

Threaded through the story are short biographies of the 50 who were murdered and it is poignant to read of their last moments with loved ones and letters home when we know what happened to them but they don't. One of them seems to have been attached to my father's squadron for a while but either my father never knew him or was unaware of what happened as he never mentioned it.

Strongly recommended to all POW story enthusiasts.

[Rjw]

The Second Sleep was very silly, I don't think Harris really knows how to make you care about his characters. This one reads like a story from the Rover and Wizard which I used to read in the sixties!

[Richard Tarleton]

The Second Sleep was very silly, I don't think Harris really knows how to make you care about his characters. This one reads like a story from the Rover and Wizard which I used to read in the sixties!

I'd say he cared, and we care, very much about - say - Cicero (and his narrator Tiro, Cicero's real-life secretary), Marcus Attilius in Pompeii, Colonel Picquart, the protagonist in Ghost...and going right back to Fatherland..... I wonder if it's rather that he is capable of potboilers, laziness, and that his standard has dropped off slightly. I thought Conclave was also a bit of a potboiler - like this, and The Fear Index, it contained a good idea, certainly had a twist, but was a bit of a stroll and as you say I didn't care about the characters. As for The Second Sleep, a good sci fi writer might have done more with the idea, how they got to where they were and where mankind might go next, rather than simply shutting it down at the end (and yes I didn't care about these characters, other than to find them annoying).

Perhaps he's better at fiction closely related to fact, rather than pure fiction requiring more imagination - discuss, if you can be bothered

[Rjw]

I get the impression he is fulfilling contractual obligations. His books seem to be coming thick and fast.

But I think reading Munich in Munich is a great idea, how did that go Stanfordian?

[Stanfordian]

I get the impression he is fulfilling contractual obligations. His books seem to be coming thick and fast.


But I think reading Munich in Munich is a great idea, how did that go Stanfordian?

Hiya Rjw,

I'm enjoying the Harris book 'Munich' it but my overall concentration after cancer treatment is poor. I'm probably too focused on visiting the wonderful RC churches here (Saints, relics and all that) and attending my concerts and operas. Hitler and Chamberlain seem a millions miles away.

I just enjoyed the Bavarian RSO playing Richard Strauss Intermezzo suite and orchestral songs with soprano Sarah Wegener and Brahms 4 both under a drawn and sickly looking Mariss Jansons. A stunning concert! I loved it!

In 30 mins I'll be back to reading the book in bed.

[Rjw]

I hope you are feeling better! You certainly seem to be taking a great attitude to your rehab.

[Stanfordian]

I hope you are feeling better! You certainly seem to be taking a great attitude to your rehab.

Hello Rjw,

I have to really push myself to do things and go places. Otherwise my inclination owing to tiredness and lethargy would be to sit at home and do nothing.

[doversoul1]

How to Be an Anti-capitalist in the 21st Century by Erik Olin Wright

[Padraig]

I'm still reading Naomi Klein's On Fire - I'm trying to keep hot on the topic of Climate. Also re-reading As You Like It, and re-reading a recent biography of Emily Dickinson - what a story! - supported by poems and letters. There's nothing like a good book or two- if you can find a decent bookshop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPouuA0KMO4

[Bella Kemp]

I'm still reading Naomi Klein's On Fire - I'm trying to keep hot on the topic of Climate. Also re-reading As You Like It, and re-reading a recent biography of Emily Dickinson - what a story! - supported by poems and letters. There's nothing like a good book or two- if you can find a decent bookshop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPouuA0KMO4

Good books are indeed the greatest pleasure and bookshop browsing is always a joy. I also re-read As You Like It recently and was surprised to find it genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, whereas in the past I'd always chuckled along in the way that one often does in Shakespeare plays - i.e. laugh dutifully because that's what one should do. As one gets older it is often the re-reading that gives the most satisfaction.
My latest read has been Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I enjoyed it, but imagine it might not be everyone's cup of tea

[muzzer]

Middle England by Jonathan Coe. Highly recommended partly-comic take on the “events” of recent years, revisiting characters first seen in The Rotters Club.