I was drawn to this book because it is set on the beautiful coast of British Columbia.
It isa powerful evocation of a dying way of life. Never mawkish and never cold, the story is engrossing. It confronts mortality in the most lyrical and indirect way. I suppose I identified with the main character, Mark Brian, as he tries to establish himself in a remote village.
He is a flawed and naïve character but he has a steely quality. He just keeps going. When I had a climbing accident and broke my back in three places, I was determined to get back into the hills. Less than six months after my accident, I stood on the ledge from which I fell. I was determined to live a better life. I’m trying! Mark keeps trying and wins the respect of those he seeks to serve in the process.
I defy anyone to finish this moving story without feeling uplifted.
When Mark Brian, a young priest, is sent to the Indian village of Kingcome in British Columbia, he finds himself in an astonishing place of salmon runs and ancient totems. Yet amidst the beauty, the old culture is under attack, slowly being replaced by prefab houses and alcoholism. Mark has not long to live, and so he sets about sharing the hunting and fishing, the festivals and funerals, the joys and sorrows of a once proud tribe. Perhaps here he will learn enough of life to be ready to die.
I love this book because it is written in the elegant and heart-warming style that epitomises Alexander McCall Smith.
He has an abiding love for Botswana and its people and he makes me share his passion. This is the 19th outing for Mma Ramotswe, founder of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and she remains as resourceful, compassionate, and wise as ever. Who wouldn’t want to spend the afternoon with her drinking redbush tea and eating fruitcake (and I’m not that keen on either!)?
The apparent simplicity of the plot belies the deep philosophical eye that McCall Smith brings to everyday lives and foibles. Love of family. Love of cattle. Love of honesty. Love of all upon which our present is built. These are the qualities that the comfortably built Mma Ramotswe embodies so generously. I always feel better for spending time in her company.
THE NINETEENTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES
The one with the election . . .
When Ramotswe enters politics to oppose the construction of the dubious-sounding 'Big Fun Hotel', her opponent turns out to be local troublemaker, Violet Sephotho. But the general air of excitement cannot eclipse important matters of detection. Charlie, assigned a mysterious hit-and-run case, strives to prove his worth to his superiors as well as Queenie-Queenie, the woman who has captured his heart.
Mma Makutsi is meanwhile in danger of being outwitted by a local bigwig property developer.
I must confess to being a late convert to Terry Pratchett’s hilarious Discworld.
As a younger man, I was disparaging of comic treatments of the fantasy genre. In short, I took myself too seriously! Since I got over myself, I have been romping through the Discworld canon, and particularly enjoy the books featuring Death as a character. This may sound morbid but he is one of the great fictional creations of the past fifty years.
Hogfather is a perfect Christmas read (although I read it in the unexpected heat of a Scottish highland September), the twists keep coming as Death tries to save the day. Involved, gut-wrenchingly funny, and, as always, surprisingly profound, this book takes you to the very heart of what it is to believe in something. Never afraid to poke fun at human frailties, Pratchett does so with a warm affection that leaves me feeling he understands me.
'Has the energy of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the inventiveness of Alice in Wonderland' Sunday Times
The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . .
OH, THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING IN THE STOCKING THAT MAKES A NOISE, said Death, OTHERWISE WHAT IS 4:30 A.M. FOR?
Superstition makes things work in the Discworld and undermining it can have Consequences. It's just not right to find Death…
The third part of The Richard Davey Chronicles,Rescuing Richard sees Richard Davey learning to live two hundred years in the past. Having travelled back to the battlefield of Waterloo and followed Napoleon to St Helena in Needing Napoleon, Richard finds himself washed up on the southern African shore with the former emperor. He is captured by Shaka Zulu and rises, alongside Napoleon, to join his inner circle. He uses his knowledge of the past to guide Shaka’s empire building in Serving Shaka.
In Rescuing Richard he travels from Mozambique to London in Shaka’s service, and in the process begins to understand how to live for the first time.
