The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
This book was a joy to read, a combination of philosophy and thriller across three separate lives. Manlius is a landowner in Gaul as the Roman empire is waning. Olivier is a poet patronised by one of the most powerful clerics of medieval times, as plague ravages Europe. Julien is a 1930s French historian whose research brings him into contact with both of their lives.
The three stories run in paralell, and each begins with the ending so that you immediately wonder 'how did that happen'? Pears' skill is such that I didn't see the ending coming, it really took me aback.
The weak point of the novel is that sometimes he cannot resist spelling out the similarities between the protagonists, even though it isn't necessary. It's as though he doesn't trust the reader to see how clever he is. On the other hand, the way that philosphy, gnosticism and other heresies are woven into the book is masterful. It becomes part of the story rather than an inserted lecture.
The whole book has you thinking and contemplating, and changing your opinion all the time. Even afterwards, I'm finding myself thinking about the different dilemmas that faced the characters. An excellent book.
(93/100)
Cell by Stephen King
A straightforward thriller and a real pageturner. I'd forgotten what a good writer Stephen King is: he's a very unobtrusive narrator.
One day a proportion of the population seems to go mad, and the madness seems to be connected to the use of their mobile phones. The story follows Clay as he tries to reach his son beofre he uses his mobile.
Yet would you believe it, slotted into what initially appears to be a zombie-type horror, is a thoughtful consideration of what it is to be human. Nice, but disappointing ending for me.
(80/100)
One Night at the Call Centre by Chetan Bhagat
This is a really lovely book, and it was a real surprise. It does what it says on the tin, looking at the lives of five friends (and the Major) during a nightshift at a call centre. Sam has been dumped by Priyankha. She is having an arranged marriage to an American. Esha wants to be a model. Radhika wants to be a good wife. Vroom doesn't really know what he wants apart from fast bikes, fast women and Esha.
Then comes a life-changing call - for all of them.
It's a really original book, but I felt it didn't need the insertion of the author in an attempt to make something magical seem more real. I can suspend my own disbelief, thank you very much!
(72/100)
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
I've developed a morbid fascination with this author. I read all of hers I can, but I still don't see why she's so famous and well-reviewed.
This book looks at date-rape and its effect on the victim and her parents, and the perpetrator. Parts are really good. Trixie (victim) is a brilliant creation. Daniel (her father) is interesting but I could care less that he grew up in Alaska. Laura (her mum) is tedious and predictable.
If Picoult had stuck to the high-school bits more, and the investigation, and the interaction between Trixie and her friends (including Jason, her ex and her rapist) it would have been a much better book. The interweaving of Dante and comic books was interesting even. But I had to skip the last third of the book because of all the Alaska rubbish. For some reason Picoult feels she has to take us on a voyage through the US's minority cultures (like in Vanishing Acts). I wish she'd stop and get on with writing good stories.
And the 'twist' is obvious.
(40/100)
