Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders

Citizens waiting to enter the country of Inner Horner, a strange land that is only large enough for one resident at a time, fall prey to the tyrannical rule of the ambitious and power-hungry Phil, igniting an outbreak of injustice and mass hysteria, in an unusual novel by the author of Pastoralia. Original.

A quick and truly bizarre read. I'm guessing I didn't pick up all the political innuendos but it was otherwise fairly entertaining and definitely had some amusing bits! Not for you if you require realism ;) In my defence, I did only buy the book because of it's fantastic title!

Buy this book online at Amazon, Amazon UK, Kalahari or Loot

Monday, July 30, 2007

The Apologist by Jay Rayner

Marc Bassett has a reputation as a pitiless restaurant critic. When he writes a devastating review of a particular establishment, the chef commits suicide, roasting himself in his own fan-assisted oven, with Basset's review pasted to the door. Suddenly Basset is moved to do something he has never done before: apologize. After a series of virtuoso expressions of regret, word of Bassett's mollifying power spreads, and he is invited to become Chief Apologist for the United Nations. His job is to travel the globe in his own Gulfstream V private jet, apologizing for everything from colonialism to exploitation to slavery. It is a role that brings him fame, wealth and access to a lot of very good chocolate. But in a world overdosing on emotion, does Marc Basset really have the stomach to be the sorriest man in history? Built of delicate layers of heinous crime, forgiveness and outrageous gastronomy, Jay Rayner's glorious new novel is a piquant satire of modern appetite and etiquette.

I loved it. It is a very offbeat book, but I enjoyed the writing style, the story and the main character. I would definitely recommend it as an alternative to whatever you usually read :)

Buy this book online at Amazon, Amazon UK, Kalahari or Loot

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

I Choose To Live by Sabine Dardenne

'I lived through the Dutroux affair from the inside, and all these years I have kept silent about it - about my 'personal' Dutroux Affair, my time in the company of the most hated psychopath in Belgium. I need to write this book for three reasons: so that people stop giving me strange looks and treating me like a curiosity; so that no one ever asks me any more questions ever again; and so that the judicial system never again frees a paedophile for 'good behaviour'.' 'The Dutroux Affair' shook the whole of Europe. In the middle of the immense machinery of investigation and justice there was Sabine Dardenne herself, Dutroux's last victim. She was held captive for eighty days - and survived. Far from sensationalising the horror, her story, dignified and restrained, is ultimately uplifting. Says Sabine Dardenne, 'I choose to live'.

Quite a hectic story, although one without any gruesome details. She is a strong woman who has lived and survived a truly frightening experience. I scares me that there are people like Dutroux out there in the world. More scary is that he had a wife who knew all about what he was doing to these poor girls, yet she still had his children. How messed up is that? Anyway, since I am a fan of these sorts of themes in my fictional books, it was good to read a true account.

Buy this book online at Amazon, Amazon UK or Kalahari

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Air Babylon by Imogen Edward-Jones

Heard the one about the airline that has introduced 'corpse cupboards' on new planes to cope with the number of people who die in the air? Heard the story about the First Class air hostess who got fired for sitting on the face of a passenger during a long haul flight? Heard about the amount of knickers and false teeth that are left behind in the body of the plane? Heard how pissed-off stewards put laxatives in your drinks? Heard about the pilot who ran out of runway? Heard of the disabled passengers who miraculously walk again? No? Then you haven't read Air Babylon. Do you know the best place to have sex on a plane? Do you know how to dress for an upgrade? Do you know that one drink in the air equals three on the ground? Do you know who is checking you in? Who is checking you out? Do you know exactly what happens to your luggage once it leaves your sight? Is it secure? Are you safe? Do you really know anything about the business that you entrust your life to several times a year? Air Babylon is a trawl through the highs, the lows, and the rapid descents of the travel industry.;It catalogues the births, the deaths, the drunken brawls, the sexual antics, and the debauchery behind the scenes of the ultimate service industry - where the world is divided into those who wear the uniform and those who don't...

I quite enjoyed this book, although it does make me a touch more nervous when I think about flying next time around ... now knowing what's most likely going on behind the scenes! Definitely entertaining!

Buy this book online at Amazon, Amazon UK, Kalahari or Loot