What I've been reading

Everything is Illuminated
by Jonathan Safran Foer

narrated by Scott Shina and Jeff Woodman

"A young man arrives in the Ukraine, clutching in his hand a tattered photograph. He is searching for the woman who fifty years ago saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Unfortunately, however, he is aided in his quest by Alex, a translator with an uncanny ability to mangle English into new forms; a 'blind' old man haunted by memories of the war; and a dog named Sammy Davis, Jr, Jr."

There was a slight hitch in the reading of this book, because the audiobook service offered by the library was being upgraded and led to the app shutting down while I was actually listening to the book while driving. Much frustration ensued until I could stop and follow various links and I discovered what was going on, and then had to wait until I could get to the library to sort it out. But despite this difficulty it was a fascinating book, although harrowing at times. I think I untangled the different stories and time periods, and very much enjoyed the mangling of the English language by the Ukrainian 'translator'.

Hard Times
by Charles Dickens

narrated by Bertie Carvel

"Father to Tom and Louisa, Thomas Gradgrind, a wealthy, utilitarian school board superintendent, shapes the minds of all the young children, including his own, with the exception of only one: the circus-born Sissy Jupe."

Mildly interesting facts: this is Dickens' only book that doesn't include any scenes set in London, and is Jeremy Paxman's favourite book by Charles Dickens. What can I say - it's Dickens, he writes rather well, it entertained me during several long car journeys and the narration was excellent.

Mistress of the Art of Death
by Ariana Franklin

"In Cambridge a child has been murdered, others are disappearing, and King Henry has called upon a renowned Italian investigator to find the killer - fast. What the king gets is Adelia, his very own Mistress of the Art of Death."

A book off my shelves for a change, and it's a really good murder mystery set in the 10th century. Now I have to decide: is it good enough to go back on the shelf of books to keep?

Passing
by Nella Larsen

narrated by Tessa Thompson

"Clare - light-skinned, beautiful, and charming - tells Irene how, after her father's death, she left behind the black neighbourhood of her adolescence and began passing for white, hiding her true identity from everyone, including her racist husband."

Quite a short book, this occupied just a couple of car journeys and was very good in that situation. Though I can't claim to know much about black people passing for white in racist America of the 1920's, it was clearly a big deal with all sorts of social consequences, so informing as well as entertaining.

Noughts and Crosses
by Malorie Blackman

narrated by Paul Chequer and Syan Blake

"Sephy is a Cross – a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a nought – a ‘colourless’ member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity by Noughts, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum."

This is a book for young adults, and narrated by voices that sound appropriate to that age. The content is pretty strong, particularly the ending. I certainly found it compelling but I'm not entirely sure that I liked it - the narrative voices put me off a little but I don't think that was the only reason. And I'm definitely not the target audience.

Lolly Willowes
by Sylvia Townsend Warner

narrated by Olivia Darnley

"Lolly Willowes, so gentle and accommodating, has depths no one suspects. When she suddenly announces that she is leaving London and moving, alone, to the depths of the countryside, her overbearing relatives are horrified. She rejects the life that society has fixed for her in favour of freedom and the most unexpected of alliances."

This is another from the Classics list, and was frankly disappointing. Two thirds of it was bland and the final third just nonsensical, consisting of the lead character's interactions with Satan. The author is named as a 'leading feminist writer', but I wouldn't say she is a good feminist writer, at least based on this work.