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Reading date - October 2020 I went back to this review loads of times to make it a bit tamer because even though I am free to criticise books, I haven't written one myself so I can't really be too critical.  This is the toned down version.. Shite. Utter shite. This was hyped up so much and I cannot see why.  Dire.  Probably the worst book I've read in a long, long time. The main "story" is that the protagonist commits suicide.  You are told this in the first chapter and within the first few pages so it's not a spoiler.  What follows is a totally pointless car-crash of so many different topics, told by so many people, over so many different time frames that it makes it difficult to put it together as one coherent story.     This could have been great story if it didn't sweep up every single issue possible.  It may work as a film but only if certain aspects are left out.  It covers childhood abandonment, the miners strikes, undercover poli...

Reading date - September 2020 This book took me ages to read (a week) because I kept researching as I was reading it.  It is set around the area I worked in last year, St James Square at the cross of Piccadilly and Green Park.  I kept stopping to Google distances covered in the book to see if it was realistic as I think if you're going to that much effort to be realistic then it should hold up to scrutiny, otherwise you should just totally make places up.  I'm glad to report back that everything in this respect is spot on.  Not only are the areas in the correct places (ooh err missus) but even bus routes are correct.  For example, they get the number 7 bus (I got it all the time before Covid) and little comments here and there show that they have followed the route as the actual bus goes..e.g. it cruises past Ladbroke Grove like a four wheel drive and that and also past Paddington, both which are noted as throwaway comments to those who know no better. I am fore...

Reading date - September 2020 I found this book in Poundland and how it managed to fly under my radar is beyond me. I snapped it up going on the name of the author alone.  I love reading stuff by Punjabi authors as they are few and far between.  I was hoping this would be about my culture and thankfully it was..sadly, it's about something that is very common within the Punjabi community. The book is about three immigrants (two illegal, one on a visa) who find themselves in the UK for various reasons.  There is a fourth protagonist, a girl who is born and bred in the UK and is a baptised Sikh. The book covers the back stories for all three men very well, the character development is written in a way which is not only truthful but also heartbreaking.  The story of what happens when they get to the UK is a no punches pulled account of what happens.  I know all about how bad life is in the UK for people who come from India to work.  I am talking about those who...

Reading date - September 2020 Another book I saw everyone raving about and wanted to desperately read myself.  So I did.  This book is beautiful. It tells the story of two twins who live in a sleepy town.  They both escape the town and then one leaves the other..becoming the vanishing half. I can't say too much about this because I don't want to spoil it but it's such a good book.  Some parts are really unbelievable..like a black girl being able to pass herself off as being white as she is so light-skinned.  I'm sorry but that is ridiculous.   It is set in the 1970's and goes through until the 80's I believe.  Some parts are totally unbelievable but that is why it's a work of fiction and I need to let go of my notion that things are so unbelievable when I am reading fiction. The book is a sad book overall but there is happiness towards the end.  I really liked it. I'd recommend it. I definitely want to read more of her work.

Reading date - September 2020 I got this book as part of the reading club at my old job.  It was the last book I got before I left, which was in December.  It's been lolling around on my shelf for ages and only read it when a friend of mine started reading it and said it was really good.  My reading has slowed down a lot recently...I always go through phases like this, I read everything I can get my hands on and then it slows down.  I think this is the only book I've read in September..I am currently reading The Year of the Runaways and I'm taking my time with it.  I don't want to be reading it just to get it finished because it is about something that has never been written about before but is something very close to my heart. Anyway, what's this Lincoln in the Bardo like? Firstly, I keep reading it as Lincoln in the Bando.. I had no idea what "in the bardo" meant so I googled it.  It is taken from Tibetan culture, Wiki says: "used loosely, "bar...

Reading date - August 2020 This book held so much promise..and then turned into a massive chick-lit fest.  I really dislike chick-lit because it comes with the connotation that women are more suited to reading light, fluffy books with no substance bar drama.  I mean god forbid we be intelligent beings who like being educated by the books we read. This is my first disappointment with this book.  My second disappointment was the fact that it was all a bit too try-hard.  You can tell this book is written by someone who studied English and is desperate to get out everything they've learnt into a book, there are some places where there is way too much description.  For example, nobody needs an in-depth description of a washing up sponge.  The book also tries way too hard to be super modern and down with the kids. The basic premise is easy to guess even before the twists are revealed.  There are spoilers ahead... The book is called Heatwave because the story...

Reading date - August 2020 When I first started reading this book, it didn't really stand out to me.  The more I read, the more uncomfortable I felt because it spoke to experiences non-white people face - the touching of hair, the slight whispers you get behind your back.  Nobody can tell me I am imagining things when I hear them.    Your experiences are not mine.  I also read one review on Amazon which really annoyed me where the guy was banging on about him being prejudiced because he was born working class.  You're still born white, you can't compare that with being called a Paki.  You cannot.  Nothing anyone says will convince me.  And...it's not as if black and brown people are born without a class.  You can work hard or rip people off and beat your working class roots, the colour I was born is the colour I will die.   I liked this book but it is tough going and can get quite boring and tedious as it's basically a collecti...