0460 | The Count of Monte Christo | Alexander Dumas
Wow! What a romper stomper this was. Pretty much from the very first page you’re thrown into a torrent of narrative that affords you barely enough time to attempt to…
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0452 | Fear of Flying | Erica Jong
This book took me very much by surprise. There were mixed reviews online but I thought it was a very bold work of genius. When you consider that this was…
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0383 | The Children’s Book | A. S. Byatt
Context: Mrs Arukiyomi picked up a ton of great fruit at the market as I was finishing this off. REVIEW Not read any of Byatt’s work before although I have…
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0374 | The Mysteries of Udolpho | Ann Radcliffe
Context: Started reading this on the last few days we had in Kokopo with its fabulous market – easily the best in PNG. REVIEW Boy that was awful. Awwwwwww. Ful….
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0361 | The Talented Mr Ripley | Patricia Highsmith
Context: While reading this the 1001 App Facebook page got it’s 100th like. REVIEW Wow! This was some page-turner. Once you’re in there’s no escape, you just can’t wait to…
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0358 | Where Angels Fear to Tread | E. M. Forster
Context: having recovered from an infection in my left leg, I went out and badly sprained my right ankle while reading this. REVIEW Haven’t read Forster for a long while…
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0340 | The Making of the Atomic Bomb | Richard Rhodes
Context: Just after I finished this off, a 7.3 earthquake with more explosive force than an atomic bomb smashed a pot in our living room from 100 miles away. REVIEW…
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0309 | Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ – Lew Wallace
Context: Finished this off as I waited four hours for my connecting flight to Port Moresby at Nadzab Airport just outside Lae. REVIEW All I could think about was the…
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0269 | In Europe – Geert Mak
Context: Finally finished this off at our friends’ lovely house in Beamish, County Durham. REVIEW This was an amazing book and I can’t think why it isn’t better known. For…
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0255 | Memoirs of Hadrian – Marguerite Yourcenar
Context: Read this as we visited the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Inside there was a statue commissioned by Hadrian of his lover, Antinous. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me take a…
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0237 | I’m Not Scared – Niccolo Ammaniti
Context: read while I was suffering from the worst cold I’ve had in years. REVIEW It begins with the discovery, by young Michele, of something horrific which is all his…
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0215 | 11th Month, 11th Day, 11th Hour – Joseph E. Persico
Context: Finished this off, appropriately, on Remembrance Sunday here in the UK. This morning we’d attended the Remembrance Service at our local church. REVIEW My mate Gareth lent me this…
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0214 | Candide – Voltaire
Context: Listened to this all the way back from taking my dad 2 hours to Heathrow Airport in driving rain and heavy traffic. REVIEW Way back in the 18th century,…
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0206 | Neither Here nor There – Bill Bryson
Context: on the shelf at our friends’ place in Dubai so I thought I’d give it a go. REVIEW Read a lot of Bryson and I have to say that…
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0079 | Captain Corelli’s Mandolin ~ de Bernières
Context: Took on the plane to Sri Lanka with me. Nearly finished it by the time we’d arrived. REVIEW I really liked this actually. I wasn’t prepared to having seen…