Robert Ford et al, The British General Election of 2019

Have been waiting a long time for this. My copy was late arriving and it appears to have been in great demand - or poor distribution by the publishers. As always with what I grew up calling the Butler Series, it's the first draft of history; an objective, analytic, dispassionate review of the 2019 GE, the Brexit election which was such a disaster for the Labour Party. It was always going to be a disaster as Labour faced an impossible task - full-throated backing for Brexit would have seen them haemorrhage remainer support and been completely out of line with the sentiments of the vast majority of the party's MPs and members, but supporting remain means losing those key Brexit-supporting voters that Labour needed to gain seats. The tightrope Labour managed to walk in 2017 came adrift this time, and the shifting demographics of support for the two main parties was accelerated. Labour increasingly are the party of the urban, the young, the university-educated and ethnic minorities rather than being the class-based party they were for so long. Added into this, is the toxicity of Corbyn. Of course he has been unfairly traduced and vilified, and his manifestoes in 2019 and 2019 enthused me far more than anything else I've seen from Labour in my lifetime, but many millions more felt differently to me. the Labour party is now back under the control of the right wing of the party, who are now doubling down in their attempts to ensure the left never ever hold power in the party again. I'm not interested in an anti-democratic, left-hating party whose aim is to gain power to ensure there are no socialist changes in the UK. there is already one very electorally successful party that does that, another one is just greedy. Let's see what happens, but it's hard for me to look at some of the awful people in the shadow cabinet and the wider PLP and wish them well. but as Mandelson said, where does the left have to go? 

Andrew Caldecott, Wyntertide

 A sequel to Rotherweird, set in a strange anachronistic town cut off from the rest of England where advanced science and magic mix. I struggled with the first as it was so complex, but decided to dive into the second as it had such excellent reviews from people worth listening to, notably Hilary Mantel. However, I struggled even more than with the first, couldn't distinguish between characters and didn't really understand what was going on. Perhaps this is partly because I rushed through it as 'The British General election of 2019' has arrived, and I can't wait to read it. I know it will be painful, but I'm looking forward to a dispassionate assessment of what was a disastrous result for Labour. From my perspective things have got even worse since, and I'm close to leaving the party than ever. An uninspiring, promise-breaking leader, insipid policies, the continuing stranglehold on the party by the right and the expulsions, suspensions and fixed elections of anyone who speaks up against them, all at a time when we should be leading the charge against an incompetent and corrupt government. I can't see a way back for Labour in its current form, I hope I am proved wrong.

Peter Ackroyd: The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling

 Been on the shelves for a long time in the garage, and it looks like it has been nibbled by mice! It's a shame as it is a beautiful looking book. A very fun retelling, although some of the stories drag on a bit. All the exuberance of Chaucer but with the concomitant crudities, to misquote Kind Hearts and Coronets. Helen has been away for a well-deserved break this weekend, back tonight. I've just about coped with the kids so far, but with Wil's funeral on Friday, taking the cubs for a night hike and sleepover and the dentist today, it has all been a bit much. Will be very glad to see her this evening! Wil's funeral was heart-breaking, I can't imagine how desolated Heidi and the children are, we should have been better friends and I kick myself that we lost touch in recent years. 

Judith Herrin, Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe

 Maybe overplaying the centrality of Ravenna to early medieval europe, but it is fascinating to read about the strange mix of Latin, Greek and Gothic and Catholic, Orthodox and Arian traditions that melded together in Ravenna and it does look a truly beautiful city - certainly some of the churches are astonishing. Maybe I'll get there one day on my cycle tour of europe. I'm trying to interest the family in a trip to Malmesbury Abbey to see where King Athelstan was buried, but it's not attracting much interest, To be fair, apparently there isn't even a tomb though, so it would be underwhelming as well as involving 4 hours in the car with the kids complaining. My Fiction Tsundoku pile has a few doorstops like Ducks, Newburyport, A Place of Greater Safety and Lonesome Dove which are staring at me. I'll have to tackle at least one soon, but it is going to affect my run rate. I heard yesterday that a friend from College has passed away. He was a great guy, funny, articulate and we joked that he only hung around with us until he found better, more suitable and glamourous friends. We always had such fun whenever we met up and should have got together far more often. We had lost touch since having kids and now the opportunity is gone. There's a lesson there. His poor wife and children.

Colin Dexter, The Jewel That Was Ours

 I think I've said this before, but Morse has really dated. Astonishingly unacceptable words like 'nymphet' and respectable men openly fantasising about rape.  Having said that, Morse remains a compelling character and the police procedural is always good fun as he solves the puzzle. 

James Agee and Walker Evans, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

 All very confusing, I bought this as I thought I had really enjoyed Agee's 'A Death in the Family' which I read as part of the 100 essential novels. However, it turns out I was thinking about Robert Penn Warren's 'All The King's Men', a fictionalised biography of Huey Long. Reading the synopsis of 'a Death in the Family' I don't remember it at all, and 'Let Us now Praise Famous Men' was really hard work and difficult to describe. It's far more than the reportage on poverty-stricken rural white Alabama sharecroppers expected, and quickly becomes experimental with literary forms, musings on the nature of writing, and 100 page descriptions of rooms. I ended up skim-reading, again. On the bright side, my covid isolation ended today and I could leave the house and go for a run. Autumn has arrived, the common is transformed with leaves underfoot and frost everywhere. I feel like I've been robbed of two weeks of ideal running weather. Still, if that is my major concern I've been let off covid very lightly.

Eric Ambler, Epitaph For A Spy

 That's the ticket, a period thriller with some shady mitteleuropeans, brash americans and supercilious Frenchmen. I was completely suckered, and like the narrator thought the spymaster was an idiot making stoopid decisions, and then the big reveal showed he knew all along what he was doing. More Agatha Christie or John Buchan than John Le Carre, but good fun and yet more isolation reading. i must feel better, I've just eaten a whole packet of jelly babies left over from trick or treat. THFC played their first game under Conte last night, I would have been there if I hadn't been isolating. I'm absolutely thrilled by his appointment, but I can't see it ending well, he is too big for Spurs and there is no way Levy will back him financially. Still, let's enjoy the ride. Last night we went 3-0 up, then let in 2 soft goals and had our best defender sent off 60 minutes in. somehow Vitesse managed to then get 2 of their players sent off, including the goalkeeper. Absolutely mad and thoroughly enjoyable. No idea what Conte made of it though, lets hope he can conte Spurs rather than Spurs spursing Conte

William Dalrymple, The Anarchy: the Relentless Rise of the East India Company

 More of a skim than a read. I have really enjoyed William Dalrymple's travel writing, but his historical work is such a slog. Impeccably researched and he obviously loves India, but it was dry stuff. He's no apologist for the EIC and it's corporate criminal exploitation of a subcontinent to enrich a few stockholders. I'm still isolating, and would go mad if it wasn't for the sessions on the exercise bike. In the meantime, Helen has to deal with pick up and drop off and all the outside chores on top of a very demanding job. At least we are not self-isolating at the same time. I'm released on Sunday so will see how it goes. In the meantime after a rough couple of days I'm feeling fine now, hopefully that's it for me.

Ursula Le Guin, a Wizard of Earthsea

 One book, one entry? Let's see how long this lasts. I've been meaning to read this for ages, but it wasn't the revolutionary upturning of traditional fantasy I was expecting. Main character still a boy, female characters either evil or servants or beautiful aristocrats. apparently  this all gets turned on its head in book 4, by which time Le Guin had seen that she was conforming to the mind forg'd manacles of how fantasy should be written. I'm still isolating, but feeling much better although I am wheezing a bit and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared. Thankfully everyone else seems to be unaffected, although all the burden is falling on poor Helen at the moment. To make things worse, Mum has apparently been diagnosed with dementia, waiting to hear more from Dad but bloody hell.

Colin Dexter, The Wench is Dead, Shaun Bythell, Seven Kinds of People you find in Bookshops, Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles, John Boughton, Municipal Dreams: The Rise and Fall of Council Housing, George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman and the Mountain of Light, Chris Wrigley, Arthur Henderson

 A week's worth of reading, far more than usual because we have been restricted in our movements. Libby tested positive for COVID and had to self-isolate, so our plans for half-term had to be scratched, and instead we had a quiet time at home, so lots of reading. a week after Libby tested positive I did too, and am just in to my isolation period. I am starting to feel better after a rough few days, but I can feel it in my chest, have shortness of breath and notice it when climbing the stairs. Everyone else is still testing negative, so let's see what happens. Given my invalid status it's been easy comfort reads. Back to Morse and Flashman, and I'm sure I've said this before but it is incredible how dated Morse is. Casual sexist and racist attitudes are normal, even charming and whimsical rather than bigoted or predatory behaviour. Incredible to think how much society has changed its views on what is acceptable behaviour. Still a long way to go though. Flashman has the excuse of being a Victorian for his own prejudices though, but Morse still feels contemporary to me, or near-contemporary. 'The Song of Achilles' was wonderful, a poetic, erotic retelling of the Siege of Troy as a love story between Achilles and Patroclus. I loved Madeline Miller's 'Circe' too, here's hoping for more retelling of the Greek myths from her. 'Municipal Dreams' had the expected result at making me rage at the folly and cynicism of the destruction fo council housing from the 80s onwards and its move from an aspirational, well-built homes for heroes to jerry-built last resort housing. What a state our country is in as a result. The biography of Arthur Henderson was a reminder of the eternal battle in the Labour Party between those who seek to replace capitalism and those who seek to work with it. Henderson was very much the latter and would have been at home in Keir Starmer's Labour Party, and led the calls for Corbyn to be expelled. I didn't realise quite how anti-the left he was, I only knew him as one of the 'good guys' during the bankers' ramp that didn't jump ship and betray the Labour Movement