Category: notes from JK

Hooked – Asako Yuzuki

Written before Butter, but translated to English only recently, after Butter became a sensation. Hooked explores similar themes of what it means to be a woman in Japanese society, attitudes to food and weight, ambition vs fulfilment and social media ‘fame’. The core of the book is two 30-something women who struggle with female friendships. How their lives intertwined, and their reactions to events were heartfelt and unexpected. Thoroughly enjoyable, and biting on Japanese gender norms.

Kennedy’s Brain – Henning Mankell

Having completed all the Wallander books, I’m working through Mankell’s many other works. This one is both a well plotted thriller, and a sharp critique on how the world responded to AIDS in Africa. Diplomats and pharmaceutical companies come in for particular scrutiny in a typically brooding Mankell novel. Mankell knew of what he wrote, having spent many years living and working in Africa. His passion and fury shine like a bright light through the pages.

Death in the Arctic – Tom Hindell

A fun little whodunnit set on a modern-day luxury airship travelling over the North Pole. Great location, some engaging ideas and interesting characters. However, some characters felt a bit under-developed, and despite a creative method of murder, the outcome became predictable from quite early on.

Plum Lovin’ – Janet Evanovich

Picked this up from a holiday villa’s bookshelf and it was a total hoot. Laughed out loud repeatedly at the saucy, cheeky story of bounty hunter Stephanie Plum having to act as a matchmaker to close a bounty. Set in and around New Jersey with a great cast of characters. Light, sexy and engaging. Like comfort sitcom TV, but in a book.

The Burnout – Sophie Kinsella

A lovely, heart-warming and genuine book about Sasha who has burnt out working in a tech startup. She returns (off-season) to the seaside resort of her childhood to recuperate and rebuild her life. Art, surfing, and romance ensue. A lovely gentle, romantic and witty novel.

The Complete Wallander series – Henning Mankell

I have loved Mankell’s books for a long time. This year I felt the time was right to re-read the full Wallander series, so I set myself the challenge of completing the series from second-hand book purchases alone.

It is done. And the books are as good as I remembered. If not better.

In one of his afterwords, Mankell comments that the character of Kurt Wallander came about as he sought the right narrative approach to explore the emerging racism he noticed in Sweden after having spent 6 months in Africa.

For me, it is this social conscience permeating the books which, in addition to super writing, marks them above so many others. There is something akin to how Le Carré’s books bristle with indignation about the amorality of spies.

Many novels have interesting settings, or allude in passing to social issues. But it is rare to find a complete series of books all written to such a high quality, with plots centred on social and political issues. Through Wallander we have explored apartheid ending, Sweden’s relationship to NATO, the collapse of the Soviet Union, trafficking for prostitution and so much more.

Of course the main character of Wallander is also critical – brusque, impatient, flawed and incredibly ‘normal’ in so many ways. His struggles with weight, need for bank loans to replace a failing car, and patchy love life all make him sympathetic and real. He is no hero: Brave, insightful, resilient and sometimes kind but never a hero, rarely elevated by others and never promoted to dizzying heights in the way other thriller characters might be. One could argue that Mankell writes Wallander as a celebration of the value of an ‘ordinary life‘.

I also admire Mankell for ending the series so clearly and definitively. Like all his stories, Wallander’s has a wonderful beginning, middle and end. It is done. And we’re all the better for it. Bravo.

I had to pause my reading to binge watch Schitt’s Creek before it came off Netflix UK. I’d been slow to get into it and then really warmed to it, a lovely heartwarming show which had me laughing and crying at the same scenes. A great Canadian production. And after the binge, it appeared on both BBC iPlayer and Disney+, oh well.

Wilful Blindness – Margaret Heffernan

Once again Margaret has delivered a masterful business book, or is it one on philosophy? Probably both and more. I read the updated 2019 edition which could include references to Brexit and Trump in some detail, but nothing on pandemics.

It’s a great book, superbly argued and structured, powerfully illustrated with stories reported in the best journalistic style. You finish the book wanting to ‘see better’.

Vernon Subutex 2 & 3 – Virginie Despentes

Extraordinary in every sense. Despentes has a breathtaking ability to take her characters in unexpected directions, to create compelling new characters as needed, and then shock us. Nothing is beyond her acerbic critique: religion, politics (of the left and right), society, culture, the arts, media, capitalism, the rich and the poor. Nobody is saved from Despentes, through her characters, highlighting their hypocrisy and inconsistencies. The book finishes by completely flipping our perspectives on what might be considered terrorism and religion. Nothing is sacred. Yet anything might be in the world of Subutex.

These books will stay with me for a long time, all the harsh, beautiful and shocking scenes Despentes has imagined ring with a caustic truth which we need to consider. I didn’t want the ending Despentes chose for her trilogy, I didn’t even like it, but clearly it felt necessary for the author and I respect her commitment to challenging us throughout.

Careless People – Sarah Wynn-Williams

In many senses nothing was surprising in this book. Rich, powerful people being horrible bosses and thoughtless about the moral implications of their actions. What’s new?

The horror of the book is the specifics about characters who have worked so hard to build public images contrary to their true nature on products and services we know. All people and companies are flawed, but one really must think long and hard before relying on the products from this lot.

Vernon Subutex 1 – Virginie Despentes

Cynical, dark, knowing and yet amazing. A former record shop owner, Vernon Subutex, falls on hard times and slowly becomes homeless while his final asset, recordings of a recently deceased pop star, send producers in a frenzy. Despentes has an extraordinary talent for characters – we are introduced to new, compelling characters almost every other chapter in this book. Each is unique, often sexually adventurous and damaged in their own ways. Weaving in cultural and musical references throughout, and filled with selfish, self-destructive people criss-crossing Paris.

A Separation – Katie Kitamura

Otherworldly, calm, self-reflective and gripping. A couple separate but choose not to tell anyone. Then the husband disappears on a trip to Greece and the wife, who doubts her right to still call herself that, travels to try and find him. In the process she unpacks her thoughts on their marriage, relationships and her role in the world. A little marvel of a book, with every piece fitting together perfectly.

Uncharted – Margaret Heffernan

I’m a fan of Margaret Heffernan’s writing, so it was no surprise that I hugely enjoyed this book. She has a superbly engaging way of putting forward her case. In essence, her argument is that planning, forecasting and prediction are, as currently done by most people, a waste of effort leading to false certainty. She argues convincingly that preparing for, not trying to predict, the unknowable empowers us. Creativity and human resourcefulness are, she argues, the key to meeting future challenges, not automation and efficiency. (I would suggest a bit of both might be possible!) Feels very aligned to Vaughn Tan’s work.

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy – E. L. James

So many people I know have mentioned, in passing, that they’ve read one or more of the trilogy, so I gave it a go. And I rather enjoyed it. Yes it’s erotic in parts, but less than the popular banter might suggest, and no less explicit than Vernon Subutex. What kept me interested was the focus on the lead character’s internal monologue as she tries to understand why the highly traumatised Christian Grey is behaving in the way he does. In essence it’s fantasy yet also a study, in depth, of a relationship between two very different people.

DS Cross Series – Tim Sullivan

Having enjoyed book 4 in the series, I went back to read the previous three: The Dentist, The Cyclist and The Patient. Then I went forward and read The Monk, The Teacher and The Bookseller. Each title refers to a murder victim who DS Cross will seek to understand to find their murderer. The plots are engaging and filled with compelling characters. Really solid reads, but not quite Wallander levels of brilliance, sorry I know that’s a high bar.

The Broken Afternoon – Simon Mason

My daughter picked this up over the Christmas holidays but didn’t manage to finish it before her return to university. Curious, I gave it a go. It’s a solid crime fiction detective mystery. The main characters are the un-related Ray Wilkins, a smooth well-educated detective; and Ryan Wilkins, a rough and rowdy youngster recently dismissed from the Police. Interesting characters and plot but not quite enough to make me want to reach for other books in the series. The main detectives just aren’t that likeable, which feels like a flaw when you’re creating a book series that hangs on them. I also found the descriptions of Oxford bordering on obsessive.

Clear – Carys Davies

The hyperbolic praise of this book, which naturally is plastered over the cover, probably didn’t help with my expectation management. There’s a lot going for it: An intriguing setting in 1840s Scotland as landlords clear their tenants in favour of cattle; beautifully described scenery and weather; and the outlines of interesting characters. But sadly, this short novel doesn’t deliver. The vaguely described denouement just doesn’t make sense. Some reviewers commented that the ending “hadn’t been earned” – maybe that, or it just did not feel in line with any of the characters as described. Disappointing I’m afraid. I know I find writing endings incredibly hard, so I do sympathise.

Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata

Keiko is 36 years old and has worked in the same Japanese convenience store for 18 years. She really lives and breathes that store. When she’s not working there, she thinks of it and does everything she can to be ready to work again. Murata’s writing compels you to believe in this character’s quirks and distinctiveness. Is this a book about loneliness or societal norms? It could be a way of exploring how neurodiverse people experience the world. Or it could be a satirical take on gender norms in modern society. I think it probably is trying to do all those things. I was gripped.

The Politician – Tim Sullivan

Like a really good episode of Poirot this book delivers exactly what you hope to get from a crime thriller: An interesting detective, a crime that ‘ordinary’ police officers can’t crack, and a range of characters that draw you in. Set in and around Bristol, with DS Cross as the lead detective, who combines Asperger’s with great detecting. A perfectly enjoyable read.

Sympathy Tower Tokyo – Rie Qudan

This is an incredibly confident, thought-provoking book. The author successfully pulls off multiple changes in narrator, timeline and more. It is set in an alternative near future where Japanese society (not without debate and protest) takes a completely different, empathetic model to crime and criminals. This will be epitomised by a new alternative to prison – the sympathy tower. An idea packed book with some fascinating characters as well as commentary on societal norms about the assumed “best” ways to deal with criminals.

Shy creatures – Clare Chambers

Several people recommended this to me in short succession. And how right they were!

A beautifully written novel with richly drawn characters. The book flits with ease between war-time 1940s Croydon and in the early 60s. The main character is Helen, an art therapist whose conscience is torn by the affair she is conducting with her married colleague. Things really get going when a mute man is discovered in a dilapidated house with a beard down to his waist. Family secrets are unearthed and relationships shift. Hugely enjoyable and superbly written.

When the Cranes Fly South – Lisa Ridzén

A superbly crafted book which focusses on elderly grandfather Bo as he struggles to keep looking after himself and his dog in rural Sweden. Family and carers do their best but Bo feels he is losing his autonomy. Portrays the difficulty men have in sharing their feelings and truths in such a poignant way. The flashes of memories, the reflections on life, this is a book rich in empathy.

Small Pleasures – Clare Chambers

1950s London – a 39 year old journalist who lives at home with her mother is tasked with investigating a woman’s claim that she had a virgin birth of her daughter. A beautifully observed novel, rich with carefully researched touches from the era, explores love and family through an intriguing plot. No spoilers but I’m not sure the ending was quite to my taste. I’m still ruminating on that. A good read, but I think Shy Creatures is the better book.

The Rest of Our Lives – Ben Markovits

A family prepares for their youngest child to leave for university. This was the moment when the narrator swore he would leave his unfaithful wife some 12 years before. The narrator departs on a road trip and we learn more about him and his family, how and why midlife has shaped the family to what they are today. A light read with poignant, well observed moments.