What I've been reading

A Kestrel for a Knave
by Barry Hines

"Billy Casper is beaten by his drunken brother, ignored by his mother and failing at school. He seems destined for a hard, miserable life down the pits, but for a brief time, he finds one pleasure in life: a wild kestrel that he has raised and tamed himself."

A wonderful and poignant story of a boy who doesn't have a lot going for him, and the kestrel he has raised and trained. I'm sure I would love this book even if I didn't love birds of prey, but the descriptions of the bird and its flight are as beautiful, wild and fierce as the kestrel itself.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by J. K. Rowling

"Harry has a lot on his mind for this, his fifth year at Hogwarts: a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a big surprise on the Gryffindor Quidditch team; and the looming terror of the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams."

I don't think I liked this book as much on first reading, but this time I found it pretty good - and difficult to put down as it reached its climax. If I had a criticism it would be there wasn't enough nice stuff going on, and too much arguing, anger and frustration.

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
by Laurence Sterne

"No one description will fit this strange, eccentric, endlessly complex masterpiece. It is a joyful celebration of the infinite possibilities of the art of fiction, and a wry demonstration of its limitations."

This is a classic book that I had thought was the first of its kind - an English novel. He references Cervantes and Don Quixote quite frequently, so it's clearly not the first novel, and it's doesn't have a recognisable story other than snippets of the lives of Tristram, his mother and father, his uncle Toby and Corporal Trim and a few other characters. The nine volumes within the book are characterised by digressions within digressions, and for addressing the readers, and no doubt for a catalogue of other quirks not known before in English writing. I got to the end, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I'm am, however, pleased to be able to say that I've now read this book as part of my literary education.