Lockdown reading 2021

 

READING: JANUARY 2021 -

 

Brownsword, P.J. (2020) Bluebottle Goes to War: Peter Sellers and the RAF Gang Shows.           London: Uniform (Unicorn Publishing Group)

            Records Sellers's time as a drummer and impressionist in Gang Show #10 between           1943 and 1946, including touring the Indian sub-continent.

 

Coelho, P. (2007) The Witch of Portobello. London: Harper Collins

            Like his The Alchemist (1988), this describes an individual's (Athena) mystical      (mythical?) quest to find the Soul of the world. It's a series of anecdotes by people who knew her; initially apparently random, eventually they form a narrative.

 

Connolly, B. (2019) Tall Tales & Wee Stories. London: Two Roads (Hachette)

            A low-octane version of his stage shows.

 

Cracknell, R. (1997) A biased memoir. Ringwood, Vic.: Viking (Penguin)

            Traces her rise through the theatre in Australia, thence to the UK, then back to       Australia. Not very well written and more a collection of theatre reviews and     anecdotes than a memoir - e.g., we    learn nothing of her husband and three children.

 

Crowe, D. (2019) Venom. Sydney: Harper Collins.

            Scott Morrison's replacement of Malcolm Turnbull as PM and the events leading up         to it.

 

Evans, G. (2014) Inside the Hawke-Heating government: a cabinet diary. Melbourne:      Melbourne University Press.

            Only the Hawke government and only GE's time as Resources Minister. Admires Crossman's diaries (should have read Benn's); too much time on Lionel Murphy.

 

Greenwood, K. (2021) The lady with the gun asks the questions. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen &       Unwin. (Original 2007: A question of death. Allen & Unwin)

            A collection of Phryne Fisher short stories. The early stories are delightful but the             later ones become increasingly silly and superficial, which is a shame.

 

Haig, M. (2020) The Midnight Library. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.

            Trying to kill herself, Nora Seed finds herself in a multiverse. This enables her to live       many lives, each one addressing a regret in the one she just left. Thus, the book is a collection of short stories starring Nora, until she realises that the best life is the one         that she has and to which she returns, bringing herself back from the brink.

 

Johnston, D.

            (2017) The Swan Island Connection. Sydney: For Pity Sake Publishing.

A 'sea change' novel, set in Queenscliff. Investigating the murder of a small boy, Sergeant Chris Blackie makes the connection to cocaine dealing at Swan Island. More substantial than Camel's Eye, but too complicated - needs editing.

            (2016) Through a Camel's Eye. Sydney: For Pity Sake Publishing.

A 'sea change' novel, set in Queenscliff. Recently graduated constable Anthea Merritt hunts for a stolen camel, uncovers a murder and gets used to small town life.

 

Kelly, P. (2014) Triumph & Demise: the broken promise of a labour generation. Melbourne:       Melbourne University Press. (Updated edition.)

            Describes/analyses the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments and the start of the Abbott           government. Beneath his veneer of statesman-like objectivity, he is essentially anti- Labor, When he (even-handedly) criticises the Liberals, it is only their mistakes or            misjudgements, whereas he criticises Labor's whole outlook.

 

O'Connor, H. (2019) Ian McKellen: the biography. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

            Traces his rise through the UK theatre, thence to Hollywood. More a collection of             theatre reviews and anecdotes than a narrative.

 

Owens, D. (2019) Where the Crawdads Sing. Corsair. (Orig. 2018, G. P. Putnam's Sons)

            Abandon as a child in the marshes of North Carolina, Kya becomes an acclaimed biologist. Her childhood sweetheart - Tate - abandons her for his career, then playboy          Chase abandons her, then tries to rape her. Acquitted of Chase's murder, Kya reunites       with Tate. On her death, he finds evidence that she killed Chase.

 

Paretsky, S.

            2012 Breakdown. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

At an initiation ceremony for a Carmilla club, a group of girls discover a murdered man. V. I.'s investigation involves her in a media campaign against a Senate candidate and suspicion about one of the world's wealthiest men.

            2003 Blacklist. London: Penguin Books.

Investigating unexplained lights in an empty mansion, V. I. finds a dead journalist in its pond. Investigating his death exposes a web of deceit going back to the McCarthy years ... and an Arab boy suspected of terrorism.

            1995 Windy City Blues. New York: Dell Publishing.

A collection of V. I. short stories. Each one captures the essence of the full-length novels.

            1990 Toxic Shock. London: Penguin Books. (Orig. 1988 Blood Shot. New York:

            Delacorte Press.)

After meeting a childhood friend, V. I. gets caught up in a major cover-up around a chemicals plant in south Chicago and almost loses her life.

            1987 Bitter Medicine. New York: Dell.

A death-in-labour embroils V. I. in a mesh of Chicago gang killings on the one hand and embezzlement at a private hospital on the other.

            1987 Killing Orders. London: Penguin Books. (Orig. 1985 New York: William

            Morrow & Co. Inc.)

Investigating a priory's missing share certificates, V.I. discovers embezzlement by senior clerics.

            1987 Indemnity Only. London: Penguin Books. (Orig. 1982 Victor Gollancz.)

 

            1987 Deadlock. London: Penguin. (Orig. 1984 Victor Gollancz.)

V. I. suspects that the death of her cousin Boom Boom wasn't accidental. Her investigation reveals deadly competition between Great Lakes shipping firms.

            1998 Burn Marks. London: Virago Press. (Orig. 1990 Chatto & Windus.)

V. I.'s investigation of her importunate aunt's hostel fire uncovers a complex web of collusion between local politicians and construction companies.

            1999 Hard Time. London: Penguin.

V. I. finds a woman lying on the street at night. Her investigation brings her up against corrupt police, Global Entertainment and the Carnifice security firm and includes time spent (involuntarily) in a privately-run women's prison.

            2005 Fire sale. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

As a favour, V. I. coaches a basketball team in South Chicago - her old home. Investigating sabotage - and, eventually arson - at a flag-making factory, she takes on the Bysen family's massive By-Smart chain.

 

Rendell, R.

            1972 Murder Being Once Done. London: Hutchinson & Co.

Convalescing with relatives in London, Wexford investigates the murder of an unknown girl in a cemetery.

            1971 No More Dying Then. London: Hutchinson & Co.

Mourning his wife, Burden falls passionately for Gemma, mother of missing young boy John. Meanwhile, police find the body of a girl missing for years.

            1970 A Guilty Thing Surprised. London: Hutchinson & Co.

Someone blackmailed Elizabeth Nightingale about her incestuous relationship with her brother Dennis Villers; Villiers's wife kills Elizabeth in the forest with her own torch.