Friday 4 January 2019

A Good Read.

I sent for a book recommended by a friend.   It came yesterday.   It is quite 'unputdownable' to coin a word.   If you want a really good read then read this - there is some food for thought there.   The book is 'Anatomy of a Scandal' by Sarah Vaughan.   If you read it, or have already read it then please let me know what you think.  I sat up half the night reading it.

15 comments:

Gwil W said...

I hadn't heard of it, so I googled some reviews. Dark goings on at Westminster! Well, it's right up to date then.

I'm reading Hadji Murat by Tolstoy. It's a page turner so I'm reading it slowly. Rationing myself to one chapter a day.

jinxxxygirl said...

There have been few books in my life that have grabbed me that way.. White Shark by Peter Benchley was one of them... Lord of the Rings is like that for me.. I read it about every 5 years or so.. It grabs you .. swallows you whole and spits you out on the other side a completely different person .. shedding tears for everyone saying goodbye and parting ways and i'm always sad when i close the last cover....

Rachel Phillips said...

Did you ever read the Angela Carter biography? I have asked you a few times via my blog but you have not answered. I remember you told me once you had it on order at your local bookshop. The Vaughan book may be one that is a bit wordy like a Donna Tartt when 100 words would do instead of 500 word descriptions but like Gwil, I haven't read it, only read about it.

Derek Faulkner said...

I bought it a couple of months ago but after about three chapters gave up on it and gave it to a friend - clearly there must be something wrong with me, I'll get it back and have another go.

Rachel Phillips said...

Your comment equates with what I read about the book Derek.

donna baker said...

Pat, I have enjoyed the books you suggest. I ordered CIDER WITH ROSIE and enjoyed it but the people I passed it on to said "huh"? I recently got your favorite Agatha Christie and look forward to reading it. I am the worst at selecting books. I think I can't get through more than half of them.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I was able to get this book on Kindle, free from my local library, and look forward to reading it.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes Rachel I bought and read the Angela Carter biography - absolutely brilliant. That was another book I just couldn't put down. As regards Anatomy of a Scandal - I don't usually read this kind of book but I thought it was very well written. Our book club book this month is a book by Robert Harris. When it was announced I was horrified that I had to read a book I would have guessed would not be my kind of book at all. In fact it was very interesting in that it was based on fact - the fact being the Dreyfus affair. By the end of the book I knew such a lot more about it.
Derek - nothing wrong with you at all. We can't all like the same books otherwise some authors would never make it would they?
Gwil - I read a lot of Tolstoy when younger - my degree is in English - and although I enjoyed it I found a chapter a day was as much as I could manage. Obviously the book I recommend is not in the same class = nobody would suggest it was. But nevertheless I think a bit of light reading sometimes is good and often proves better and more enjoyable than one expects it to be.

Gwil W said...

The Dreyfus affair is fascinating for what it reveals about officialdom and royalty isn't it? The French can thank Emil Zola for bowing the whistle. It's nothing new under the sun. The same people behind the Dreyfus affair boasted one who was a spy who betrayed several of his influential friends and even a member of his own family in Hungary if I'm not mistaken to the Russians.

The Weaver of Grass said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes Gwil. I had heard of Dreyfus of course and knew the bare bones of the case but I didn't know the role of Zola before reading the book, nor did I know of how Clemenceau was involved in the end Nobody seems at all inpressed with Anatomy of a Scandal - yes it may be a bit of a pot boiler, but it did show up the power of the old boy network when it comes to places like Eton and Oxford and it did make one think of the front bench in parliament at present and the goings on behind the scenes that we know nothing about (and also the power of the press).

Eleanor said...

Will look for the Robert Harris book Weaver, it sounds like a good read. Did you ever watch Who Do You Think You Are when the subject was Davina McCall? Best ever episode IMHO. Both sides of her family were fascinating and her ancestor on her maternal side was Chief of Police for the whole of France and spoke at the trial of Dreyfuss on his behalf.

Heather said...

There is nothing so enjoyable as a really good read. I shall look out for this book Pat, even though I already have 4 or 5 others waiting to be read!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Eleanor - how interesting. Such a lot we don't know about the whole Dreyfus affair.

56steps said...

I made a note of this book when you mentioned it almost a year ago. I'm just now starting it and already am all wrapped up in the story.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Debra