Category Archives: 101greatreads

Octavio’s Journey by Miguel Bonnefoy (Gallic)

Posted on April 20, 2018 by drewsmith28

“At the port of La Guaira on 20 August 1908, a ship from Trinidad dropped anchor off the Venezuelan coast, unaware that it was offloading a plague which would trouble the country for half a century.”   I abandoned two … Continue reading →

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The Keeper of Lost things by Ruth Hogan (Two Roads)

Posted on April 6, 2018 by drewsmith28

“Charles Bramewell Brockley was travelling alone and without a ticket on the 14.42 from London Bridge to Brighton.” There are different strands to this well received tale. It is a Richard and Judy book of the autumn and a Sunday … Continue reading →

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A short book about painting by Andrew Marr (Quadrille)

Posted on April 2, 2018 by drewsmith28

“What is painting for?” THE painter Patrick Heron said it takes 20 times longer to explain his paintings than a cursory glance can reveal. Words just don’t do it. At heart this is where Marr is taking us in this … Continue reading →

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Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Canongate)

Posted on February 19, 2018 by drewsmith28

“My suffering left me sad and gloomy” THE problem with coming to this book after the film event is that the image of the boy and the tiger marooned on a boat has already passed into popular culture, an indelible, … Continue reading →

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Dirt Music by Tim Winton (Penguin)

Posted on February 9, 2018 by drewsmith28

“One night in November, another that had somehow become morning while she sat there, Georgie Jutland looked up to see her pale and furious face reflected in the window.” THE best place to read this might be on the new … Continue reading →

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Winter by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton)

Posted on December 8, 2017 by drewsmith28

“God was dead, to begin with. Romance was dead. Chivalry was dead.” WHEN, finally, we get everyone into the same room, the intimacy starts to crackle. Ali Smith is at her best when she has people talking to each other. … Continue reading →

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Autumn by Ali Smith (Penguin)

Posted on November 24, 2017 by drewsmith28

“It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.” FROM the getgo this tale is populated with popular images like the variation on Charles Dickens opening to a Tale of Two Cities above, although here is the … Continue reading →

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The disappearance of Adele Bedeau by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Contraband)

Posted on November 9, 2017 by drewsmith28

“It was an evening like any other at the Restaurant de la Cloche.” YOU are on page 88 of 244 before the character cards you hold start to reveal themselves as a full house of a plot. Here the main … Continue reading →

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The accident on the A35 by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Contraband)

Posted on November 2, 2017 by drewsmith28

“There did not appear to be anything remarkable about the accident on the A35” THE pleasing aspect of Graham Macrae Burnet’s writing is that he is an old school story teller. From the first you know you are going to … Continue reading →

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A legacy of spies by John Le Carre (Viking)

Posted on September 18, 2017 by drewsmith28

“What follows is a truthful account, as best as I am able to provide it, of my role in the British deception operation codenamed Windfall..  THIS sequel to the Spy Who Came in from the Cold is probably best read … Continue reading →

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