There are two key themes in Solar: global warming and the scientists involved in researching and solving it on one hand, and on the other hand a particular kind of male ego and how it reacts to relationships and aging. The main character is a scientist and Nobel Prize winner. He is also inexplicably attractive to women (read it to find out why it’s inexplicable) and has numerous relationships. There are many interesting thoughts here, but they almost drown in endless detail and drawn out musings. It’s a pity McEwan didn’t make this a shorter, sharper work – his ideas deserve to be more succinctly put.

If you haven’t read anything by Ian McEwan yet, I suggest starting with On Chesil Beach – a truly amazing work.

I found the first story absolutely chilling, a miniature thriller. The next is both funny and sad, but I don’t want to give any more away, other than to say how engrossing they all are. Each one an everyday, every life drama. Even in short story format (though some of them are fairly long), Alice Munro manages to give you complete characters and complex scenarios with elegance and what feels like ease, it’s so well written.

I’m going to put Runaway aside for a while and then read it again, slowly. The writing and storytelling is far too good to put this book in the been there, done that basket.

I think this story is about an angel coming to help a family find it’s way, which is not your everyday kind of occurrence, but also not completely out of whack in today’s popular culture. In fact, we seem to have taken a real liking for the otherworldly, which says something about how insecure we feel, I think. Anyhow, The Accidental is about a family that is quietly slipping apart at the seams. The mother has withdrawn into her writer’s block, the stepfather has become a serial misbehaver with his female students, the son is in agony over a prank gone bad and the 12 year old daughter is – well, 12 years old and very funny. One day a woman arrives and, through a series of misunderstandings, is able to take up residence with the family at their holiday rental in Norfolk. As I said, I think she’s meant to be a modern day angel who in her infinite wisdom gives every family member what they need.

I enjoyed reading The Accidental. It’s quirky on several levels and some of the chapters are both funny and clever, but ultimately this book is a bit too light on and the problems too easily resolved to be completely satisfying.

The Private Patient is about an investigative journalist who decides in middle age to have a significant scar on her face removed. She chooses to have it done at a private clinic in the country where a cast of rather complex characters – and, of course, murder – awaits her. Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard is called in and sorts it all out with his trusted team of two. I noted with amazement that P.D. James is now 89 years old and that this book was written when she was in her mid-eighties. Unbelievable. It does feel as if she means this to be her last murder mystery with all the personal ends satisfyingly tied up for her main characters.

The story certainly has plenty to keep you entertained, but it’s the writing that does it for me. Marlow is so cool, so unimpressed by everything that the dialogue and his description of people and events makes me laugh: “Fine. Let’s dip the bill. Got a glass? The purring voice was now as false as an usherette’s eyelashes and as slippery as a watermelon seed.” Read and enjoy.

Obama is an accomplished writer, obviously a serious man and deep thinker, but he’s not a very interesting writer or great storyteller. A lot of the material falls pretty flat, particularly the dialogue, which feels forced as if he’s been told to include it to lighten the reading. He provides many insights into what made him the man he is, what shaped his thinking and approach to life. That’s what I meant about enjoying the book mainly because it’s about Barack Obama, a man I find truly fascinating, rather than it being a good read.

Edgar is the only son and he’s mute – he can’t speak – which is a strange and important feature of this story. In fact, there are a lot of strange and illogical aspects to this story, but if you can go with it and not be too analytical and rational about the whole thing, then it’s an enjoyable read. His father suddenly dies and Edgar thinks it’s his fault until some weird things start to happen. As I said, it is a strange book – ultimately a bit unsatisfying, but worthwhile.

I enjoyed it very much, both because of Kristensen’s writing skill and because the idea intrigued me. What would I have done in a similar situation? And is it possible to really know someone else, even if you’ve lived with them for years? The ending is not entirely satisfying, but is in keeping with the rest of the book (without giving away too much).

Reading this book is like being the only sober person at a party where everyone is more or less sozzled and think themselves articulate, insightful and highly entertaining whereas you think they’re just being stupid. The group of friends in On the Road are constantly drunk or stoned or both, as I imagine Kerouac was when he wrote the book. It’s a long, rambling tale about madcap drives, travelling with next to no money and having to beg, steal and borrow their way from one coast to the other and from one flea-ridden dive to another. I found none of the characters interesting or appealing and the story pretty much without merit in terms of intrigue, excitement, emotion or even plain storyline. Very disappointing. Maybe I need to take some drugs.

Barely 200 pages long, this wry story definitely has the sound of a mature woman’s voice. It’s worldly wise, a bit tired of the bullshit — the perfect antidote to the poetic tales of glorified battles and sexual conquests. But it’s more than the debunking of an ancient myth. Margaret Atwood approaches the story with compassion and a quest for explaining what really happened and why.

I recommend The Penelopiad to anyone who enjoyed the classics growing up and who is open to alternative views of things.

This novel deals with a number of themes: mixed race marriages, infidelity, the politics of academia, intellectual arrogance, compassion and many more, but of beauty I found little, other than in its most superficial form. Maybe I missed it. The story is about the families of two university professors and what happens when they become entwined at various levels. Each family member of these two very different households has its opposing player in the other family, opening the door to a number of relationships and conflicts.

Zadie Smith is so good at creating interesting scenarios which she describes with both wit and compassion — especially her dialogue is finely attuned to the personality and background of the speakers. Unlike her previous book, White Teeth, the themes in this one probably make it more a woman’s book, but it’s well worth the read.

Tim Parks is English, but has lived in Italy for twenty years so he writes with that perfect blend of an outsider’s clarity of observation combined with a deep understanding and empathy for all things Italian. A Season with Verona describes the football team Hellas Verona’s mixed fortunes in one season of playing in the A Group of Italian football. The book gives a scary but amazing insight into the violent world of football fans, the strangely detached life of players on the local team, and the anxieties of the club’s owner and management team. Tim Parks weaves it all together with clever observations on Italian society and attitudes. A very satisfying combo.

Tim Parks has written many books, both fiction and non-fiction. I have only read Italian Neighbours and An Italian Education, both non-fiction, but highly recommend him. He is such a good writer and sharp observer, I find him irresistible.

In the meantime: I have read two books by Mary Moody, but couldn’t find anything to review. Her books are pleasant enough, but there’s not much to them — in the writing or the content. Enough already with books about spending time in the South of France or Italy!

I’m now reading a book by Tim Parks and his experience as a Verona football fan. He does live in Italy, but as a result of having married an Italian twenty years ago – not the usual scenario of “French/Italian village: so lovely, so different from home. Let’s buy an old house, do it up and write about our quaint experiences”. I will review it shortly.

Again, the story is set mainly in the 1960′s and gives a great picture of the cops and robbers scene at the time. It’s told from the point of view of a journalist, a crook and a policeman and centres around the shooting of three policemen.

What appeals to me most about Jake Arnott’s books is not so much the story as the really excellent descriptions of this slice of modern English history. He makes interesting observations about policing and social issues of the time and doesn’t spare the rod for any of the social groups he draws into his story.

The Long Firm is difficult to classify — it’s about crime, but it’s not a detective story or a thriller. It takes place in the gangster world of 1960′s London and gives a wonderful portrayal of the seedy part of town where gangsters, politicians and rent boys mixed. Jake Arnott’s writing perfectly suits the subject matter and the reader is quickly drawn into the colourful and violent milieu he describes.

The main character is Harry Starks, a homosexual gangster boss, who sees himself as a business man. He has a weakness for show business and the story centers around his activities in the Stardust Club and involvement in a shady development scheme in Africa.

There’s a real authenticity to this book that makes it compelling reading.