#85 JAMES Percival Everett

JAMES

Percival Everett

Huckleberry Fin. Reimagined.

 

#84 THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB Richard Osman (with abbreviated review)

THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

Richard Osman

OK. JFDI was very late to the party with this one.

What party?

2 stars

 

REVIEW OF SPIES

ERIC’S REVIEW 

SPIES 

Michael Frayn

We all have secrets or inventions which we believe to be secrets. And there is nothing more powerful than the inventions of a child, for whom imagined dangers lurk everywhere. In the smells of nature. In the blackness of night. In the terror of the ordinary. In the wonders of a hidden world which reveals little of itself.

Spies is a reflective and intense journey back into the past of a childhood, where everything is not quite as it seemed. 

It tells the tale of young Stephen, his family and boyhood friends in a small village in rural England during WWII as recounted in the first person by the elderly Stephen. 

Smells of plants take on a life of their own. A cottage name echoes down the ages, dredging up intense feelings. Secret hiding places no longer exist as development has erased much of the countryside but are easily recreated by the narration of the man who lived a story which left many questions unanswered. 

But as the book says: some things must never even be known. 

Recounting what this story is actually about would ruin it. Suffice it to say that the writing is of such high quality that it transports you back so that you can actually feel a part of the time, live characters and events through the eyes of a child and gradually unravel the secrets which present themselves. 

Spies is a tale of many threads in the hands of a master weaver. It is the type of book that makes you nod your head in appreciation of the artistry the minute you finish it and give the same nod a few days later. 

Bravo.

4.5 stars

#83 SPIES Michael Frayn

 

SPIES

Michael Frayn

REVIEW OF HEIRS TO FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS Joe Igoe

 Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms Review
Joe Igoe
 
I thoroughly enjoyed the topic of this book and saw reading it as a great chance to add depth and context to terms such as Zoroastrian and Druze, which were vague, undefined terminology in my head.  
In that sense, this book achieved my goal- and I assume- its goal of informing and educating me about a part of the world and its religions that had neither been included in my formal education nor my further reading.  
The depth and breadth of the information, including Biblical and modern political history and references, is impressive.  I particularly enjoyed the insight into the story of the goodSamaritan and how it revealed the context of the story as opposed to the rather two dimensional moral drawn from it today.  Similarly, the final chapter on the Detroit diaspora from Iraq- and the fact that Aramaic is still being spoken there with more native speakers than in Bagdhad- was very interesting and enlightening.  Their experience in America as told mirrors, I believe, that of many immigrants.  The positives of American society are many and powerful, but there is a cost.  That cost is assimilation, which is almost complete over a few generations.
There were also many interesting stories of exploration and encounters with communities in Iraq, etc. I came away with more knowledge of and a better understanding of these religions and peoples.
Despite all of the positives, the text still read like a textbook in many places.  The personal encounters were generally engaging, but all too infrequent and could have been framed differently (in my opinion) to make them more poignant and memorable.  As an example of this I refer to works by John McPhee, an American author, who has written on a varied number of topics ranging among other things from the geology of the United States, how to make a bark canoe, tennis, oranges, and Alaska.  He is a “pioneer of creative nonfiction” and a master of what I call “faction”- factual writing that reads like fiction.
I enjoyed this book and am glad I read it- I certainly would not have done so on my own.  I will, hopefully, refer to it every now and then to refresh my memory about the many religions and areas it covered.

#82 HEIRS TO FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS Gerard Russell

 

HEIRS TO FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS

Gerard Russell

A guidebook to seven minority religions which have survived the dominance of the world's big religions. Zoroasterianism, Druze, Yazedi, Mandeam,Samaritans, Copts,  & Kalasha  

JFDI MEETING 2024 6FEB-A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

The assignment by James was to choose a book from the ones we have read over the past twelve years and reread it to judge how our perceptions might have changed.

THIS INSPIRED THE FOLLOWING HAIKU:

Twelve years is a long time.

-----------------------------------

JAMES- FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON- Daniel Keyes  Still *****

TOM- HER PRIVATES WE- Still *****

PHIL- ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE- ***** (unfinished....surprise surprise)

ALASTAIR- CHRONICLE IN STONE- Ismail Kadare 4.5 STARS (no surprise either, that elusive ***** is still in the tank)

JOE- BILLARDS AT HALF-PAST NINE ***** still

ERIC - ALEX'S ADVENTURES IN NUMBERLAND- JFDI'S FIRST BOOK, 6TH AUG 2012 -***** again

NICOLA- DEAD SOULS- TB CONTINUED