The Year in Books | June 2015

I started the month reading At Sea by Laurie Graham but quickly realised that I had read it before, so it was abandoned after a couple of chapters. I have no idea why it was still in the bookcase - although I recognised the characters and remembered bits of the storyline I didn't particularly like the style of writing so it wasn't one I wanted to read again.

My second choice was The Boy That Never Was by Karen Perry, advertised as being perfect for fans of the TV drama The Missing. It's about a father believing that his young son who died in an earthquake is actually still alive. I can't say any more than that without major spoilers!  I enjoyed this book and will look for others by the same author.

Next up was The Dying Hours by Mark Billingham. I've read some of his books before and knew that I'd also like this one.  It's part of his series featuring the lead character, Tom Thorne, a former police detective who in this story has been demoted and is back in uniform. It's a well written story, not too gory (as some crime thrillers tend to be) with believable characters throughout.

My final read for June was the book group choice, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.  This isn't one I'd normally choose but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. It's set in India in 1975 during the State of Emergency and tells the story of four characters who share an apartment and details their initial uncertainty of each other, the developing trust between them and the resulting friendships. It is beautifully written and the back stories of the main characters, as well as the stories of lots of the minor character, merge together to form a magnificent whole - one of my friends at the book group described the beauty of the descriptive writing as 'being like a painting, where you could see what was being described'.  I particularly like books which allow you to learn about different lifestyles and this was definitely one of those, from the poverty, squalor and cruelty experienced by the lower caste men, the lifestyle and business behind the whole system of beggars, to the privileges of the higher castes and wealthy families.  I've added Rohinton Mistry to my list of authors to follow.

 

My July reads are both book group reads:

• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
• The Piano Teacher by Janice Y K Lee

Linking with Circle of Pine Trees.