Paul Lynch, The Prophet Song

The Booker Prize winner last year, but I struggled with it. It's set in an Ireland that has been taken over by a fascist regime, and focuses on the effect on one ordinary family, as the crackdown on dissension starts, then the disappearances and paranoia, then the violence and desperation. It didn't scare me nearly as much as the Handmaid's Tale, say, and it was difficult to follow as it was written  in indirect speech with no speech marks and in the present tense. Sentences and thoughts blended into one another, which may have added to the immediacy, but I found it tough-going.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, Harold Wilson: The Winner

 Nick Thomas-Symonds seems to have fallen by the wayside a bit. He was Keir Starmer's choice as shadow Home Secretary when he was first elected, but as the soft left have been marginalised he has steadily been demoted - now a minister without portfolio. not sure how much of it is due to his lack of impact vs his disagreements with the leadership over policy vs his own disillusionment with the rightward drift of the party. He's obviously got time on his hands, having cranked out biographies of Bevan, Attlee and now Wilson in recent year. I'm not sure how much we needed new biographies of these leaders being so well-served already, but there's plenty of people like me that will buy and read them. The main things about Wilson I learnt were his support and commitment to the Scouting movement, which I wasn't aware of before, and the influence of his congregationalist movement upbringing on him.

David Foenkinos, The Mystery of Henri Pick

 'Published by Pushkin Press, who seem to be very good at picking the best of foreign-language fiction and publishing an english translation. I heard about this on 'A Good Read' and it sounded very funny - the story of an unpublished novel of great quality found languishing in a dusty, forgotten library of unpublished books, and purportedly written by the local pizza maker. It's in part a satire on the publishing industry, but the search for the truth ends with an unexpectedly touching finale. Really enjoyed it, it's going on Helen's new bookshelf. We've just booked a week in the Peak district at Easter (more places to scratch off on Fred's map), and I'm planning a cycling epic for my 50th. Let's see, I'm not very good at setting practical limits on how much I can achieve in a day.

Toby Driver, The Hillforts of Iron Age Wales

 The book I have been waiting my whole life for. I sent a message to the author on Twitter to say how much I'd enjoyed it, how interesting and accessible it was and to thank him for writing it. He obviously has a great passion for the subject which shines through and keeps others engaged. Loads of maps and diagrams as well as a very useful (if indulgent for the author) top ten hillforts at the end. 

Antal Szerb, Journey by Moonlight

 I really enjoyed his anglophile 'The Pendragon Legend', and as 'Journey by Moonlight' is considered his masterpiece, I thought I'd give it a go. It was a little disappointing, being a standard story of bourgeois repressions and an attempt by each of the characters to escape from this and find meaning, but as often happens they just end up mooning around without any real problems until they reconcile with papa and he fixes it all.

Patricia Lockwood, Priestdaddy

 It's been on my wishlist and then my goods in bookshelf for ages, so finally picked it up. A very funny memoir of growing up in a religious household, with the father, a catholic priest, at the centre. An eccentric with strong opinions, and as mad as all dads, washing himself with fairy liquid and inventing nicknames for everyone. I skipped over some of the more spiritual sessions to get to the capers of the family which were always amusing. 

Jamie Mackay, The Invention of Sicily: A Mediterranean History, Bruce Chatwin, Utz

 'Not sure why the title was the 'invention' really, it was a straightforward accessible history of the island. Whizzed through some parts it seemed, but that's probably because I've previously waded through thousands of pages on the Norman era alone thanks to John Julius Norwich. Just made me more desperate to get back to the Mediterranean. We're looking at holidays at the moment, but the prices are astronomical, we've just had to fix the car and the house and I may have a hideous dental bill to come. So a cottage somewhere relatively cheap again this year probably. I really enjoyed 'Utz', it's to my shame I hadn't come across it before. It's the story of an old Habsburg era aristocrat, who keeps his collection of Meissen porcelain in communist Prague, and passes up the opportunity to escape to the West as he cannot bear to be parted with it. Very touching, a poignant evocation of the lost world of mitteleuropa (so right up my street) and a lovely ending.

Alison Lurie, A Foreign Affair

Another book discussed on A Good Read, and quite funny, but from another world. It's set in and was written in the '80s, but the London described is long gone. Smoking on aeroplanes, telephone directories, not knowing where people are, having to use libraries for information - all these seem impossibly dated now. It was enjoyable, but it hasn't inspired me to go out and read anything more by Alison Lurie. 

Alice Albinia: The Britannias: An Island Quest

Part travelogue, part pop history as the author explores the islands of Britannia beyond the two mainlands, setting them in historical context. What sets this apart from similar books is the author's mission to uncover the female influence on British history and culture, which has undoubtedly been suppressed, marginalised and ignored. I think she goes to far in seeing vulvas and wombs and pregnancy bump in any artefacts she comes across, but I'm in no position to judge and if it reduses the bias and brings things closer to a balanced view I'm all for it.

Ross Raisin, The Natural

 I bought this because someone on a podcast said it was the best, most realistic novel about football, and fair play, it was very convincing about the life, loneliness and pressure of being a lower division footballer. I'd recommend it to my brothers, but it's also a Brokeback Mountain-style tale of covert homosexuality so I'm not sure it's appropriate to recommend to them. 

Heather Cox Richardson, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America

HCR is the best, most accessible writer on the history of the US I can think of and is such a hard worker. Every day an email placing current events in their historical context comes out - always interesting, always balanced. HCR (and many others) are a lot more optimistic about the state of US democracy than me given the current attacks from the MAGA right, let's hope they are right to be so

Lauren Groff, The Vaster Wilds

I picked this up for its lovely cover and interesting title as much as anything, saw it had good reviews and then bought a copy which I gave to my niece Ella as a christmas present. Then I bought another copy to read for myself. It's the story of a mistreated servant girl at the doomed and starving James River colony who murders her master and escapes to the wilderness. She manages to endure with great struggles away from humanity living alone until finally she falls down a cliffside, and is left injured and having visions until finally she passes away and returns to nature. A sad story, but one that shows humanity's capacity to endure. Not all humanity of course, I wouldn't last 5 minutes in the wilderness for starters.

The National Archives, A History of Treason: The Bloody History of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traitors

 Very dry, and the result of the team at the National Archives using their resources to investigate the stories of treason. It charts how the concept of treason has changes since Edward III, when it was a physical threat or disloyalty to the king as a person to the idea of treason against a state/community that one is part of.  today is the fist day back in work after the holidays, but most people appear to be on leave still so it looks like it will be a quiet week.  Fred and Libby go back to school today and William tomorrow. Not the happiest time of year, but as it starts to get brighter we should all cheer up too!