The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass - On Tour (by Adrian Plass)

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We finally ordered this book by Adrian Plass, the third (or fifth, depending on how you count them) in his Sacred Diary series after having it on various wish lists for several months.

Since we couldn't decide who would read it first, I suggested reading it aloud to my teenage sons. I haven't read any Plass aloud before, but we found it worked quite well. The book is divided into chapters with breaks in the middle, and it's an easy enough style.

The plot covers a tour which Adrian makes with his fictional wife Anne, and their son Gerald (now an an ordained minister). Amongst others. It's a local speaking tour in which Adrian - supposedly - writes his diary daily.

There are some very amusing moments although we all thought it wasn't as funny as the previous books in the series. On the other hand, there are some very thought-provoking discussions that occur. Some of them point out - gently - flaws in some modern evangelical fundamentalist styles of thinking.

I thoroughly enjoy Adrian Plass's writing, fiction and non-fiction. Until I came across Philip Yancey, he was without question my favourite modern Christian writer. Now I can't decide between the two. They're quite different in writing style, yet a feeling of being kindred spirits pervades all that both of them say - an awareness of both the good and the bad in today's church; of the powerful and positive aspects of Christianity, and the sad ways that so many people (including ourselves) seem to do more to harm the cause than to help it.

This isn't really a book for those outside the church; there are too many 'in' jokes and allusions, too much cynicism to make any sense to someone who thinks Christianity is a load of rubbish anyway. I'm not sure it would even be helpful to those who are absolutely certain of their theology and don't like to hear dissenting voices.

But for those who like to think outside the box, to see things in a slightly different light and who don't mind a sometimes irreverent sense of the ridiculous and a gentle poking fun at well-meaning people within the church, this comes highly recommended. But preferably read the earlier books first - the original Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass in particular.

You can also read my longer review of 'The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass on Tour' written on re-reading nine years later.

Last Act (by Jane Aiken Hodge)

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I'm not generally keen on thrillers, but I do enjoy Jane Aiken Hodge's genre. They tend to be light thrillers - often in a historical setting - with an underlying romance. Her writing style is crisp, her suspense is just scary enough to keep me reading, but not unpleasant enough to stop me sleeping at night!

'Last Act' is set in the 1960s. It features Anne Paget, a singer who has just learned that she has an unspecified illness. Her doctor informs her that she has - at most - six months to live. The same day, she receives an invitation to be understudy in a newly-discovered opera in the small European town of Lissenburg.

With nothing to lose, Anne decides to take up the offer, and finds herself rapidly involved in intrigue, scandal, and extreme danger. Also, of course, she finds romance.

It was a pleasant light read. It's not my favourite novel by this author, and somehow I didn't find myself deeply involved with any of the characters although they were mostly believable enough. But it certainly kept me interested for a couple of days and I enjoyed reading it.

Recommended in a low-key way.

Sprig Muslin (by Georgette Heyer)

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Sir Gareth Ludlow, a delightful (if possibly a little dull) hero, is about to propose marriage to his old friend Hester. Then he meets the beautiful Amanda who is seventeen, and running away from home. As a gentleman, he cannot abandon her to her fate so he takes her to Hester's house...

'Sprig Muslin' is set in Regency England, as are all my favourite books by Georgette Heyer, this plot is rather similar to that of 'Charity Girl'. But I still found it a very enjoyable and refreshing afternoon's read. The romance is low-key, the characters brilliantly written so that we sympathise with the least glamorous, and root for those who seem to have little to recommend them other than a deep integrity.

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a cleverly written novel with realistic people, and just enough plot to give it added interest. While some of the ending was inevitably predictable, it wasn't entirely so. There are some clever twists that I wasn't expecting despite having read this at least a couple of times before, many years ago.

Definitely recommended.

You can also read my slightly longer review of Sprig Muslin, written after re-reading in 2011.

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents (by Terry Pratchett)

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I thought I had read almost everything by Terry Pratchett. Then one of my sons quoted something from 'The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents', and I realised I had missed this one.

The classic story of the Pied Piper is translated to Discworld in this book. It is  really for children, but inevitably (since it's Pratchett) it is equally enjoyable for adults. The cat Maurice, crafty and manipulative, organises a group of rats to pretend, in various towns, that they are a plague.

Shortly afterwards a small piper called Keith arrives and agrees to get rid of the rats, for a hefty fee. This has been a highly successful money-making scheme, but the rats are beginning to get qualms about it. Maurice persuades them to do their stunt just one more time before retiring on their earnings.

However the town they choose already has some professional rat-catchers who leave traps and poison almost everywhere that rats might go. So the assignment turns out to be far more dangerous than expected - and in the process further villainy is unveiled.

There's excellent anthropomorphism in this book, with plenty of light humour. But there are also places where, in my opinion, the humour is a little sick. It could be quite disturbing for a younger sensitive child. Having said that, I should think most children would enjoy it by the age of about nine or ten, and it would be ideal for younger teenagers as an introduction to the Discworld series.

The Girl from Barefoot House (by Maureen Lee)

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I had never before read anything by Maureen Lee although she's a fairly prolific author. My taste for historical novels is more for upper class romances in Regency times than working class poverty in the middle of the 20th century. Nevertheless, I was given 'The Girl from Barefoot House', and having taken several months to get around to reading it, I found it quite enjoyable once I had started.

Josie, three years old at the start of the novel, is the daughter of a prostitute during World War II. She is much-loved and innocent, observing some of the horrors of life but basically quite content. However soon after the book starts, a bomb rips her life apart, and she is sent to live with her cold aunt and over-friendly uncle.

The book is mainly about Josie's growing up, falling in love, travelling, and finally finding a niche for herself in the world. I suppose it's a well-written look at social history, primarily. Despite some appalling circumstances, Maureen Lee cleverly manages to give clear impressions of some of the terrible things that happened without being gruesome.

Unfortunately I found the characters a bit flat. Josie herself is at her most delightful at three years old. Once she becomes a teenager, and then an adult, she seems less realistic. I was interested in what happened, so I kept reading - but I was never gripped. I didn't find myself caring enough to be moved even when she felt things deeply.

I doubt if I'll read it again.

The Rector's Wife (by Joanna Trollope)

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I generally like Joanna Trollope's books. Some are rather raunchy, but they tend to be village-based with pleasant enough characters. While I don't class her as one of top my favourite authors, I nevertheless have most of her books and re-read them every so often.

'The Rector's Wife' is one of the most thought-provoking and best-written, in my view. It focusses on Anna who has been married for twenty years to Peter, an Anglican Vicar. She has been constantly supportive, and has mostly coped with raising the children, looking after the home, and entertaining - often at short notice - a variety of people. 

But she's beginning to feel trapped. She isn't always sure of her own faith, and she's quite certain that her purpose in life is not to be an unpaid curate.

When Peter is disappointed after not being given a half-expected promotion, and their youngest child Flora is badly bullied in school, Anna decides to take a job in a supermarket. She wants some freedom from the demands of the parish, and she also wants to pay for Flora to go to a private school. However Peter sees this as defiance and becomes increasingly distant.

Meanwhile three very different men come into Anna's life, all of whom find her attractive. So the book revolves around her reactions to them, her problems in her marriage, and her new job as well as her continued work in the parish.

All in all I found it very enjoyable. It was the second time I had read it, but I found myself totally unable to remember what happened in the end, so I kept reading enthusiastically. It was quite thought-provoking too. My only problem with the book is that Joanna Trollope seems to write from a viewpoint outside that of Christianity herself. Thus while she clearly tries hard to understand Peter's viewpoint, and that of other Christians in the book, there is inevitably something missing.

Nevertheless, I would recommend it highly to anyone who likes thought-provoking and well-written women's fiction.

The Glass Lake (by Maeve Binchy)

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It's been a while since I read Maeve Binchy's books - four or five years at least - and my memory was that I liked the more recent ones considerably more than the earlier ones. Nonetheless, I decided to try 'The Glass Lake' again. While it took me a week to finish the 700-odd pages, it was much more enjoyable than I remembered. Or perhaps, taking it more slowly, I had time to appreciate it better.

Kit McMahon is twelve when the book opens, in Ireland in 1952. She's a normal schoolgirl whose live is changed by a dramatic event that effects not just her family but the whole village.

The story is about hope, love, white lies and betrayal in a family saga setting. There's interesting post-war social history too, as we see rapidly changing attitudes towards women's roles in society, divorce, and the issue of unmarried mothers.

The book was well-written without being at all boring despite its length. There are several subplots that work alongside the main story of Kit's growing up, and just enough action for my tastes. The ending was satisfactory without being too neat and tidy.

And yet...

Somehow I had no empathy with any of the characters. They all seemed realistic, but not quite real. I didn't feel as if I knew any of them by the end of the book, and I didn't really care what happened to them. There wasn't much humour in the book - which is fair enough - but although there were moments which should have been emotional, they left me mostly untouched.

Paradise House (by Erica James)

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I only discovered Erica James about five years ago, but the discovery was enough to spur me on to collect all her books. I was given 'Paradise House', her most recent novel, last Christmas.  I have just finished reading it, and on the whole I enjoyed it.

It's an encouraging character-driven story featuring a woman called Genevieve Baxter. She's dyslexic, a recovered anorexic, and had her heart broken in her teens. She has two younger sisters who are also important in the plot. Genevieve runs Paradise House, her parents' hotel, after her mother took off to 'find herself' some months previously.

Into the picture steps the old boyfriend who hurt her so much.

There's lots of potential here for a great novel, and I found the second half very well-written. Unfortunately the first part was too full of mini flashbacks and people 'telling not showing' what was going on. It could have benefitted from some editing, in my opinion.

Nevertheless, I became very involved with all the main characters by the time I was about half-way through, and found it extremely moving towards the end. I have a minor quibble that all the ends were a little too neatly tied up in the last chapters, but that's not a major problem. Overall a good book, though nothing like as special as the wonderful 'Precious Time'.