Maskerade (by Terry Pratchett)

'Maskerade' is the 18th 'Discworld' book by Terry Pratchett, and one I thoroughly enjoyed both on first reading about seven years ago, and more recently. It's a novel that features the witches, primarily Agnes Nitt, a rather well-built girl from Lancre who wants to be a singer.

Agnes travels to Ankh Morpork to join the opera. She is followed shortly afterwards by the elderly witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, who hope to persuade her to return.

Of course that's only one small part of the book. As ever, there are many intertwining sub-plots, the most encompassing of which is a kind of murder mystery at the opera house, loosely spoofing 'The Phantom of the Opera'. 

There is also mention of the publication of Nanny's book of promiscuous recipes for which she hasn't received any royalties. As well there is a great deal of general discussion about the opera - what is real, what is expected, what goes on behind the scenes. Oh, and there is an investigation of why the opera house, despite its success, seems to be losing money at a rapid rate.

I don't usually laugh aloud with Pratchett, but I smiled several times while reading the book and even chuckled a couple of times. His humour isn't for everyone: it's wry, ironic, and often requires some knowledge of literary works. He has a great eye for detail and the ridiculous nature of much of daily life as we know it, and transports this loosely to the Discworld. So in addition to providing a bit of light relief, there's usually much to think about during and after reading one of his works.

This book didn't cause me to pause too often, but did provoke some questions about the nature of reality, and how much effort people are prepared to make to entertain or deceive an audience.

Probably better read after a few of the other Discworld books (in particular those featuring the witches) but complete in itself nonetheless.

Recommended.

Everybody's Normal till you get to know them (by John Ortberg)

(Amazon UK link)

'Everybody's Normal till you get to know them' is an encouraging and inspiring book by John Ortberg. He is an American Christian author I whom only started reading within the last few months.

The idea of the book is in the title: that people are all flawed. There is no such thing as 'normality' - and we have no right to expect it in this fallen world. We are bound to hit difficulties and communication problems when we try to get close to each other; this itself is 'normal'.

He goes on to talk about building community. He explains deep friendships work, and what we can do to help develop them. There are chapters on breaking down barriers, forgiveness, and true friendship, all based on Scriptural examples and frequently seasoned with anecdotes from more recent times.

Ortberg sometimes tells stories that show him as an all-too-flawed human, and points out how we relate to people better when they make mistakes. As such, we miss the mark if we try to make people think we're better than we are.

The book is well written and very thought-provoking, with a thread of humour interspersed here and there.

Very readable, and highly recommended.

Savannah Purchase (by Jane Aiken Hodge)

'Savannah Purchase' is probably the first book I ever read by Jane Aiken Hodge. I enjoyed it as a teenager, I enjoyed it it ten years later... and I've just read it for the third time, twenty years on again. It was excellent, and I could hardly bear to put it down once I'd started. I had forgotten quite how good it is.

The story is set in the historical period when Napoleon was imprisoned on St Helena's, and is mostly set in the USA. The plot is unlikely, and potentially clichéd since it features two almost identical cousins (the daughters of identical twins) who switch places. A favourite device with many authors. Yet it works so well that I can't fault the novel.

For one thing, the cousins are very unlike in character. Josephine, the elder by three years, is impetuous, easily angered, rather selfish at times, and utterly devoted to the Napoleonic cause. She wants to use her fortune to buy a ship, and attempt to free the great emperor. But if she vanishes, her husband Hyde (in a marriage of convenience) would find her. So she persuades her much nicer - and poverty-stricken - cousin Juliet to take her place, just for a short period.

Juliet is very reluctant, but a good actress, and soon fits in her new role, aided only by Anne, the one servant who is in the secret. Her tastes are quite different from her cousin's despite such similar looks, but she adapts and all would be well, except that - of course! - she starts to fall in love with Hyde.

I had entirely forgotten almost all the details of the book, although about half-way through I had a vague memory of the event that would trigger the final conclusion. Knowing this rather added to my enjoyment rather than the reverse, as I was able to spot the clues sprinkled by the author which prepared the way for the revelation to come. Even if I had remembered everything in the book, I think I would have enjoyed it, so I hope I'll get around to re-reading it for the fourth time before another twenty years has gone by.

It's light historical fiction - a little more depth than Georgette Heyer's, perhaps, though without the irony and humour. Great characters, exciting sub-plots, and a satisfying ending.

Highly recommended, if you can find it. 'Savannah Purchase' is  no longer in print, but is often available second-hand.

Evening Class (by Maeve Binchy)

'Evening Class' is one of my favourite novels by Maeve Binchy. As with much of her work, the setting is Ireland. The main focus of the story is an Italian evening class, set up by a rather disillusioned school teacher, employing an Irish lady who has lived in Siciliy for many years. Thirty students gather and become deeply involved in each other's lives.

The book is written from several perspectives, starting with the school teacher, explaining why he is unhappy, and how the idea of the evening class arose. His wife and daughters are introduced, along with some other people who will appear later in the novel.

In the second section we meet Signora, who is to become the Italian teacher. The book goes back to her life in Sicily, her reasons for being there, and why she eventually leaves. Then we follow her as she returns to Ireland, finds somewhere to live, and is eventually persuaded to try her hand at teaching.

The novel continues in this way, changing perspectives in each section, but this is not at all disruptive; instead, each viewpoint adds to the understanding of the story as a whole. I did find the rather large cast-list a bit confusing at times, and couldn't always remember what relationship each one had with the rest, but this wasn't too disturbing.

Each chapter starts a way back in a character's life, and ends a little further forward in time than the previous one. So there is a sense of moving forward as well as the ever-increasing knowledge of different people.

I found 'Evening Class' to be very enjoyable. I first read this book eight years ago, and found that re-reading it, I had forgotten almost everything. So I was surprised anew by some of the revelations.

Highly recommended to anyone who likes character-based novels with more depth than many average modern books.

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (by David Nobbs)

'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin' is apparently the first novel by David Nobbs, and was originally entitled 'The Death of Reginald Perrin'. Perhaps that title was too sombre for what is, technically, a humorous novel. I'm not sure where we acquired it, but I'm quite sure I've never read it before, and wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

I thought the first sentence was brilliant:

When Reginald Iolanthe Perrin set out for work on the Thursday morning, he had no intention of calling his mother-in-law a hippopotamus.

Alas, the rest of the book didn't live up to the opening. The plot is, basically, built around the character of Reggie Perrin, a man in his mid-forties who is undergoing some kind of stress-related identity or mid-life crisis. And although Reggie's character is well developed, the rest of his family are much more shadowy.

His wife Elizabeth is long-suffering and patient, without a flaw (or so it seems). His son Mark is an impoverished actor, his daughter Linda a trendy (for the 1970s) married woman with an unbelievably boring husband and two rather unpleasant children. There are a few other characters who pop into the novel in unmemorable ways, for the most part.

Reggie works for a rather caricatured dessert manufacturing company, with an unbelievably stereotyped boss and a secretary who is so typecast she's irritating. And there's the problem, really: the people could have been amusing, had they been slightly less caricatured. But they felt like comic strips, somewhat less believable than Charlie Brown and his friends.

Having said all that, it was quite a readable book. There were a few genuinely amusing moments, and I was interested to find out what would happen, in a strangely fascinated kind of way, so I kept going. Indeed, I read it in just three days; it certainly wasn't boring or long-winded.

I gather there are some sequels to this book, but I don't have any inclination to get hold of them, although if I found one for a few pence in a charity shop, I might buy it. I knew already that there was a TV series based on this book, but have never seen it, and have no wish to do so.

Not really recommended, but for anyone who likes slightly surreal light novels, it's not a bad book. The writing style is fast-paced and I felt it was well-written, almost compulsive at times. I doubt if I'll read it again, somehow.

My Family and Other Animals (by Gerald Durrell)

'My Family and Other Animals' is the autobiographical account of Gerald Durrell's family moving to Corfu when he was ten, and the years they spent there.

The author's interests, even at that age, were primarily related to animals. They encompassed the entire animal kingdom, including insects and reptiles. He was an avid collector, and delighted to find mentors able to help him. Some of the book features his expeditions around the island, to discover a variety of beasts, many of which he took home to study.

However the main appeal of the book is in the characters and conversations of Gerry's family - three older siblings, and their long-suffering mother.

Larry, the oldest, is literary-minded, and invites a succession of poets and artists to stay, sometimes without much notice. Leslie, a couple of years younger, is much more action-orientated, and particularly keen on shooting. Their sister Margo is rather flaky, but usually delighted with any small and sweet animals. Misunderstandings ensue, and a great deal of humour comes through.

The book also gives a good account of Corfu life in the 1930s, before the tourist industry took over. There's a little colonialist snobbery inherent, but I didn't find it too grating (Gerry talks casually about 'peasants' - although he considers most of them his friends).

Overall this book is a delightful account of a child's experiences with travelling, with culture adjustment and with nature. I first read it as a school textbook when I was about fourteen, but even that didn't spoil my enjoyment. I read it again about ten years later, and recently indulged once more. Highly enjoyable, recommended to anyone.

'My Family and Other Animals' is not always in print as a single book, although it's widely available second-hand. It can also be found as part of a volume called the 'Corfu Trilogy', also including the sequels 'Birds, Beasts and Relatives', and 'Garden of the Gods'.

Charismatics in Crisis (by Nick Cuthbert)

'Charismatics in Crisis' was written by Nick Cuthbert, whom I knew somewhat, many years ago, in Birmingham. It's been on our shelves for a while, and I wasn't sure what to expect when I finally decided to read it. I thought perhaps it would be about the charismatic movement, but I found it was really written for all Christians; the title is almost irrelevant, but perhaps it attracts those who would call themselves charismatics.

The theme of the book is that the Church is too inward-looking, and needs to recover its focus on Jesus' last commands: to go out into the world and make disciples. We get too caught up either in our friendly, familiar house groups and Christian friends, or in petty squabbles amongst ourselves on minor points of doctrine. So the church in the west is pretty ineffective on the whole. There is no need for persecution or attack: we're doing a good job by ourselves of ensuring the message isn't heard.

The main part of the book was then standard teaching on outreach and evangelism, written well with examples and anecdotes, but nothing very new. Nick Cuthbert looks at reasons why we shy away from outreach, ways of going about it, depending on our gifts and abilities, and - most importantly - how to pray. It was a useful and somewhat challenging refresher, but nothing special.

The latter part of the book, however, is entitled, 'A warning' and looks at where the church often goes wrong. We're told of the spiritual battle, and the problems that often beset congregations: whether immorality, gossip, or idolatry. The author explains what idolatry means in the modern world, and how easy it is to fall into it.

I found the chapter on 'murmuring' to be extremely thought-provoking, dealing as it does with the tendency to complain and criticise amongst ourselves rather than going directly to people we disagree with and sorting it out. We're not told to accept everything face value, or never to be critical; instead we're warned of the dangers of mutterings and murmurings, discouraging other people and undermining church leaders.

All in all, a useful and - overall - encouraging book. Recommended for all Christians, whether or not they would claim the 'charismatic' label.