The Groke

Well read, not quite what I expected

Reviewed: 23-11-24

Listened to this after watching the excellent drama series. There is quite a lot about the history of the Mormon faith. The story of the murder and the capture of the fugitives was a lot less dramatic in reality than in the TVseries, which I guess is to be expected. I would have liked a more in depth exploration of the Lafferty family. At the end Krakauer states that he has a lot of respect for the LDS. I find that hard as the history he gives us shows that the faith has its origins in misogyny and terrible violence, and this legacy lead to a truly awful murder. He is a good writer, and I enjoyed this, one although I think if I read it as a physical book I would have given up, as the story lagged in the middle. I liked the readers relaxed manner

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Clever and engaging.

Reviewed: 05-11-24

This is a murder mystery narrated by Lucy, a twenty something Texan who left her home town for LA after the murder of her best friend. The opinion of the town’s residents is that she was the murderer. She has amnesia and can not recall the night of the murder. Her life is blighted by this, and her sense of guilt,and she goes from job to job, and man to man. She returns to Texas to attend the 80th birthday of her beloved grandmother and runs into a podcaster, who is covering the story.
This was clever, with well rounded characters and whilst Lucy is an unreliable narrator her perspective was witty and I was fully engaged in the story. The reader is exceptionally talented and really brought the story to life.
Recommended.

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Icelandic thriller

Reviewed: 09-10-22

This is the second book in this series, and I do not think that I will read/ listen to any others. The narration is good, and the author establishes a good sense of place. The problem is that I dislike the main character. In the first book he took a job on the other side of the country from his fiancée on the basis of a brief phone call without asking her, and then had an affair. In this he wants to name his son after his father, without realising that he has the same name and then breaks up his marriage on the basis of his wife having a mild flirtation with a work colleague. He is hapless and naive and seems to slice the crime mainly as a matter of chance. The ending of this book was very abrupt with loose ends left hanging. A bit unsatisfactory all round.

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Funny, engaging and thought provoking

Reviewed: 10-09-22

This book was recommended by the Sarah Cox TV book club. It really is a enjoyable book. The characters especially the lovely dog are well drawn, and the story really engages you. It is a warm and funny book, with some moments of sadness and pathos. It was the kind of book that you can’t put down, but then wish that you read more slowly so as to have spent more time with the characters. It is a light and fun read - but also raised serious issues regarding feminism and sexual assault. I listened to this on audiobook on my commute, and the performance was excellent - I loved this book so much that it made me eager to get into the car to drive to work!

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Like a duller Marian Keyes

Reviewed: 01-09-22

I like Sally Rooney’s flat prose style, and enjoyed her previous two books. I remember thinking that when I first learnt that a drama series was to be made of Normal People ‘how can they do that -nothing happens in it’. The same can be said of her second book. This difficult third album is more of the same. Beautiful prose, well drawn characters but nothing happens at all. There is virtually no plot, and what little there is can be easily predicted. A lot of the book is taken up by e-mails between the two main characters, young women who met at university- one a feted writer who has amassed a small fortune and a mass of literary awards after two novels ( how did Sally Rooney possibly come up with this character!), and the other drifting along in a low paid job in a literary magazine. How much you enjoy these section of the book will depend on your patience for undergraduate conversation and jejune political opinions. I liked the point where Rory, who works long hours at a soul destroying job in an Amazon warehouse learns that the tiny literary magazine is subsidised by government grants from his taxes.
The book ends quite suddenly, with a chirpy summing up chapter. The audiobook is very well read by Aoife MacMahon who I have listened to before reading books by Marian Keyes. I don’t know if it was her voice, or the Irish setting, or the fact that some of the writing is very witty, that made me think at times that I was listening to a book by the Marvellous Ms Keyes - but a slightly dull one, where nothing really happens.

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Powerful and moving

Reviewed: 01-09-22

This was the inaugural book chosen for my new book club. I was a bit doubtful about the choice as I thought it looked a bit gritty, depressing and ‘worthy’ but how wonderfully it is written. The characters were rounded and believable and the descriptions of the city of Oakland and especially the apartment building really vivid. I listened to this on audiobook during my commute and the narrator was excellent. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Highly recommended.

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3 people found this helpful

Gripping journalistic account of America’s opioid crisis

Reviewed: 18-03-22

This is a well written and well researched account of the causes and effects of the OxyContin and heroin addiction problems in the US. It is a first person account and I thought that the author read it well. The victims and their families are described with sympathy and compassion. I haven’t seen the Disney drama of the same name, but I think that this focuses on certain chapters of the book. I enjoyed this, particularly the parts dealing with the drug company’s ethics and the complexities of health care in America (I work for NHS in UK). I bought this when it was the daily deal. I am not sure if I would have paid full price.

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Excellent psychological thriller

Reviewed: 11-02-22

Patricia Highsmith is perhaps best known for Strangers on a Train and the Ripley novels. This is a lesser known work, but is as taut and gripping as her most famous work. Her diaries have recently been published and she seems to have been a very peculiar and unpleasant person, but she is a superb writer. This was well read and I was gripped by the story. There are some very amusing moments, indicative of when it was written, such as when a character has flu, and he is offered sympathy as he feels too ill to smoke! This was included as part of my audible plus subscription.

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A festive treat

Reviewed: 26-12-21

This is my favourite Christmas story. I like to read it every Christmas, but this year I had it read to me by one of my favourite actors whilst preparing Christmas dinner. Hugh Grant’s narration was excellent and brought out the dry humour in the prose. If you like this the best film adaptations are the 1951 Alistair Sim version and the Muppets.

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The Empress’s new clothes

Reviewed: 29-01-20

After listening to the excellent podcast ‘The Dropout’ I wanted to read this best seller about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. This is a well told story and reads like a cross between a thriller and ‘The Big Short . I listened to this as an audiobook and the narration was excellent.

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