Book Review: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt

Genre: Literary fiction/satire

Publisher: Hachette Book Group (Orbit)

Pub date: 2nd Feb 2011

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

I can’t believe that I waited this long to read a Tom Holt book. Silly of me, but I mean to make up for it this year. I think that makes it rather clear that I loved Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages. What’s not to love…

Synopsis (from NetGalley)

Polly is a real estate solicitor. She is also losing her mind. Someone keeps drinking her coffee. And talking to her clients. And doing her job. And when she goes to the dry cleaner’s to pick up her dress for the party, it’s not there. Not the dress – the dry cleaner’s.

And then there are the chickens who think they are people. Something strange is definitely going on – and it’s going to take more than a magical ring to sort it out.

Review

It’s hard to review a book that creates its own rules of reality and logic and throws in “a comedy of transdimensional tomfoolery.” But if you enjoy suspending disbelief for the worthy cause of a fun story, this is the book for you.

There are parallel realities, jumps in the time-space continuum and women lawyers with musician brothers.

When Polly realizes that there is something very strange going on, she enlists the help of her musician brother Don. But instead of helping Polly, Don has to deal with his own troubles. He thinks he can make people vanish!

I also loved the jabs at the real estate industry and their magical powers of creating land and buildings.

Enjoy this story of absurd plot, and sub-plots, eccentric characters, dry wit and fantasic worlds.

And most importantly, read to answer the question once and for all: “What came first: the chicken or the egg?”

The multiple sub-plots and many characters can be overwhelming at times. This is a book I read over a week, at times going back a few pages to catch up. But I loved it throughout.

I have not discussed the plot too much here, because part of the fun of the book is to uncover each plot point as you go along and I don’t want to spoil that.

Verdict

If you like inhabiting worlds like the ones Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams create, then this is definitely the book for you.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5*

*See my Rating policy

Book Review: To Cut a Long Story Short by Jeffrey Archer

Genre: Short Stories

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pub date: 2001

Source: Personal copy

I don’t usually go for short stories, but I’ve enjoyed Archer’s older collections – Twist in the Tale, Twelve Red Herrings, A Quiver Full of Arrows.

This Christmas, my very thoughtful Secret Santa gifted me To Cut a Long Story Short. I had to read it at once and I raced through is rather quickly in just two days. While I did enjoy this read, I feel like it doesn’t quite have the Archer magic touch.

Synopsis

This is a collection of 14 short stories, 9 of which are based on true incidents. There is no overall theme that connects them, and the stories deal with cons, love affairs and family tangles…

Review

I’ve been a longtime fan of Jeffrey Archer, and read almost everything he has written and re-read some of them many times. Novels like As the Crow Flies, Kane and Abel, Prodigal Daughter, Shall we Tell the President are some of my all-time favourite novels from this master storeyteller. I love the characters he creates and the realistic plots that are so much more exciting than real life. His novels have had be spellbound for days at a time, working on my mind until I finish reading them and way beyond.

So of course I expected something similar from this collection, but unfortunately with the exception of two or three stories, none of them stand out. So I’ll just tell you a little about the stories that you should read:

The Expert Witness (based on a true incident) peeks into the drama behind a courthouse drama. Expert witness and lawyer face off in one case and gang up in another with astonishing outcomes.

My favourite was The Endgame – 60-year-old Cornelious Barrington creates a complicated plot to determine which member of his family loves him for who he is and not just for his money. Familiar story, yet this was a good read.

Crime Pays (based on a true incident) is the story of Ken who manages to get away with a very smart and long-term con. But will he beat the justice system a second time?

The Letter is a rather raunchy short story. The set-up had me going, but I’m not too satisfied with the conclusion.

Verdict

If you’re an Archer fan, definitely read to complete the collection. And if you haven’t read Archer before, start with the other short story collections and novels I’ve mentioned and give this one a miss.

Rating: 3.5*

*See my Rating policy

Book Review: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

Genre: Young adult

Publisher: Harper Collins (Harper imprint)

Pub date: 25 Jan 2011

Source: ARC from Publisher

I’m getting back to YA fiction after a bit of a break and this book was a great welcome back!

Synopsis

Sixteen year old Tamara Goodwin, born into luxury, has never had to think of tomorrow or plan ahead. Everything she wants, she gets. Until her father dies, leaving a mountain of debt to be paid off. Tamara and her mother have to sell their house and move in with her aunt and uncle, far away from everything she has known.

In this new place, Tamara has to find ways to keep herself occupied while escaping the oppressive hovering of her aunt. She is also worried about her mother who is lost in grief and doesn’t come out of her room all day.

She comes across a book, a diary which magically has entries written in Tamara’s handwriting dated for the next day. Initially skeptical, she soon comes to believe the diary, but it changes her life and teaches her about fate, sorrow, loss and her life.

Review

If that seems like too large a set-up for a young adult novel, worry not, for Cecelia Ahern delivers with the story.

Tamara is a rich spoilt, bratty teenager. She is stubborn and willful and mean. Sounds like a typical YA coming of age novel, doesn’t it? But The Book of Tomorrow is not a typical story.

Tamara is interestingly precocious and has great spirit. She sees the world differently and we meet her at a point in her life when she’s already aware that her old life was superficial. She quickly grew on me and I wanted to see how she would handle her new life.

The magical aspects of the story are introduced in small doses, leaving us wondering if there is a rational explanation for things after all. And the suspense keeps building until I was as impatient as Tamara to find out what was really going on and why her aunt was being so secretive.

Living on the grounds of an old ruined castle is a source of great amusement for Tamara while she is staying with her aunt and uncle. With nothing to do and no friends, she wanders the grounds and meets people who make a difference in her life in many ways.

The story also examines the notion of fate and questions if we are able to change what is pre-ordained once we know what it is. Tamara makes many mistakes in spite of having the diary tell her how things will go if she does certain things. But ultimately her curiosity and her innate goodness take her on a very important journey. She helps her mother come to terms with her loss and uncovers mysteries that will change her life forever and make it a lot more meaningful.

Ahern has given Tamara an easy tone, filled with sarcasm and wit. Her descriptions are lyrical, language brilliant and the setting magical – these also added greatly to my enjoyment of this book.

Verdict

A sweet, magical tale about grief and loss. Recommended for young adults and adults who enjoy their lives sprinkled with dashes of magic.

Rating: 4*

*See my Rating policy

Book Review: A Nice Quiet Holiday by Aditya Sudarshan

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Westland

Pub date: 2009

Source: Personal copy

A Nice Quiet Holiday is the book that I decided to start with for the South Asian Author challenge that I’ve signed up for. I had already ordered and received this book when the author got in touch with me about reviewing his second book. Of course I had to read the debut novel before starting on the second one.

Synopsis

Anant, a young law clerk is invited to Bhairavgarh by his employer, the maverick New Delhi criminal court judge Justice Harish Shinde. They look forward to a peaceful stay at the home of Shikhar Pant, the Judge’s friend, and some time away from busy city life and work. But soon after they arrive, the little  hill town is transformed into a hotbed of hostility. The cause is a controversial report on AIDS authored by Mittals, fellow guests at the house of Shikhar Pant. Even the members of the house are divided on this issue and some heated arguments ensue. But this controversy is almost overshadowed by the murder of Pant’s cousin – a famous writer and supporter of the Mittals. The police, of course, jump to conclusions and chase the wrong leads. It’s up to the Judge to track down the murderer and crack the case. Anant finds himself legal counsel for the Mittals and an assistant sleuth to the Judge.

Review

A Nice Quiet Holiday is an Indian parlour-room mystery. A la Agatha Christie mysteries, the guests of the house and a circle of family, friends, neighbours and servants are the players in the drama and many of them are naturally also suspects.

Anant, the young law clerk plays Watson to Judge Shinde’s Homes. The eccentric Judge uses a combination of shrewd observation, psychology and subtle questioning to solve the murder.

The characters include the Mittals, who work with NGOs, Dr. Nath, a homeopathic doctor and his beautiful daughter Mallika, civil servant Pravin Anand and his troubled son Avinash, the old servant Mehar Singh and a few others. Many red herrings and a wrong arrest later, the Judge cracks the case (by breaking the law himself).

While the jacket copy calls this book a “literary thriller,” I’d place in in genre fiction. It’s a quick, interesting murder mystery with the usual cast of characters. The murder, the motivation and the unraveling of the mystery all make this a fun read. But literary it is not.

I won’t discuss the story too much so that I don’t spoil the mystery. Sudarshan’s plot and story are pretty good, but where I would have liked to see more depth is in the characterization. The Judge’s eccentricity was a good vehicle to use to get to the bottom of the mystery. His speeches and rather unconventional way of looking at things liven up discussions, but I didn’t find myself agreeing with all that he said.

The romantic element is in the sub-plot of Anant’s attraction for Mallika. To some extent, his obsession with this beautiful and unattainable girl help clear up some of the points regarding the murder. But her character in the story and way she reacts to life and love are more to do with a young man’s confusion about the fair sex and less to do with moving the story forward.

While reading certain books, unfortunately the irritations with the production overwhelm my impression of the book itself. In this case, a lot of little irritants piled up which I place at the feet of the publisher, not the author. It needed better copy editing and use of a more accepted style guide, and consistency in stylistic issues. Tighter editing was needed to cut out extra adjectives and certain other pitfalls of Indian English writing. I would have also liked to see a more natural style and easier language to fit the story and its treatment.

Verdict

In spite of these drawbacks, I have to say this was an interesting read (especially for a debut novel). A good fit for those looking for Indian stories in an Indian setting, and for anyone who wants to follow and encourage Indian authors. I am curious to read Sudarshan’s second novel and see how he has grown as a writer and what new stories he has to tell us.

Rating: 3*

*See my Rating policy