Book Reviews
These reviews are submitted by users of Perth &
Kinross Libraries. Please send in your book reviews to library@pkc.gov.uk and if
space permits, we will try to include them on the website.
Before Scotland : the story of Scotland before history by
Alistair Moffat
Beginning 10,000 years ago, this fascinating story of the
development of Scotland takes the reader from the end of the ice
age to the formation of the stunning and dramatic landscape we see
today. It ranges from the arrival of the hunter-gatherers, through
the amazing builders of megaliths, the rich cultures of the Picts
and Celts, to the ascension of King Constantine II. Alistair Moffat
displays a wide breadth of knowledge in an entertaining, erudite,
yet very readable narrative which is well illustrated with a number
of colour photographs. This is an essential book for anyone
with an interest in Scotland and the Scots.
These Islands We Sing edited
by Kevin MacNeil
Kevin MacNeil is an award-winning poet and novelist who was born
and raised in the Outer Hebrides and has lived in Skye and
Shetland. In this work he examines the changing nature of the role
of the island poet and the tenacity of poetry in island culture.
The populations of the areas represented here are undergoing
continual change and this adds to the diversity of subject, themes
and language used by the poets. This anthology brings
together a wonderful range of poetry from the islands of Scotland
and showcases new talent in addition to well-known and loved
poets. This is a wonderful tribute to this important and
often neglected area of creative talent.
The Help by Katherine Stockett
It is the early 1960’s in Jackson, Mississippi and the civil
rights movement is stirring and dividing the community. Within this
disturbed population live Minny, Aibileen and Miss Skeeter, the
three women who narrate this tale. They live in an era of
casual racism, cruelty and distrust, but also demonstrate the other
face of their community; the kindness, charity, love and
humour. Beautifully written, the book deals with difficult,
tragic and complicated themes, but is permeated with
laughter. These three characters are loveable and believable
and the villain of the piece, Miss Hilly, is convincingly
awful. This is a funny, engrossing and thought provoking
book, worth waiting for and well worth reading.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel
Shriver
This novel is a scarily incisive examination of parenthood and
motherhood in particular. In the form of letters written by
the mother of a disturbed teenager to his father, it tracks the
upbringing of Kevin, the aforementioned son, and the circumstances
leading to the dreadful, appalling denouement. The tone of
the narrative is quiet, measured, weary even and this perhaps adds
to the shocking effect of the tale. An intelligent and
perceptive look at an everyday relationship and the developing
sense of evil, this book will engage your interest and hold on
until the awful end.
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven
Galloway
`Though the setting is the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, this
gripping novel transcends time and place. It is a universal story,
and a testimony to the struggle to find meaning, grace, and
humanity, even amid the most unimaginable horrors.' Khalid
Hosseini
None of us can say how we would cope under a struggle such as that
faced by the population of Sarajevo during that siege. This
stunning work conveys some of the terrifying reality for the
residents and describes the daily fight for survival under
stressful, humiliating and frightening circumstances. One
man, the cellist, personifies this struggle and retains his dignity
with grace and courage giving hope and joy to those around him.
This is a subtle, restrained, but wonderfully written novel which
will stay with you for a long time after you have finished reading
it.
The
Leopard by Jo
Nesbo
This crime mystery is the 6th book in the popular Harry Hole series
of novels from the Norwegian author Jo Nesbo. It is only the
second translated novel to top the charts since records began in
1998. (The first being Steig Larsson’s ‘The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo’) Exciting, chilling and gripping, the
story takes place in the depths of winter in Oslo and brings the
traumatised Harry back from Hong Kong to deal with puzzling and
gruesome crimes. At first there doesn’t seem to be a
common thread to the initial three victims, but fairly quickly
Harry discovers that all of them spent the night in a remote
mountain hostel and now someone is picking them off one by
one. This is a long book, over 600 hundred pages, but the
relentless rollercoaster of a tale does not allow the reader to get
bored.
Gangsta Granny by David
Walliams
Funny, irreverent and appealing to both children and their parents,
this challenges any preconceptions you might have about what
grannies want to get up to! To Ben, his granny appears to be
a very boring grandparent indeed. He doesn’t enjoy visits to
her house and finds her wish to play scrabble and eat cabbage soup
extremely dull. However, one day his granny needs his
help……… and he discovers that once upon a time
she was an international jewel thief who has been plotting to steal
the Crown Jewels for a very long time. Life is suddenly
getting a lot more exciting!
Some recent additions to stock - ask about them at your
local library or reserve them online
Fiction titles
This is the engaging, fascinating story of a man who
discovers an incredible talent for painting after a freak accident
in which he loses an arm. He moves to a 'new life' in Duma Key, off
Florida's West Coast; a deserted strip, part beach, part
weed-tangled, owned by a patroness of the arts whose twin sisters
went missing in the 1920s. It is also is a metaphor for the life
and inspiration of a writer, and an exploration of the nature,
power and influence of fiction.
In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking
verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste
into a small town's water supply, causing the worst "cancer
cluster" in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme
Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict
or reverse it. Who are the nine? How will they vote?
1891. Seventeen-year-old Leonie Vernier and her brother abandon
Paris for the sanctuary of their aunt's isolated country house near
Carcassonne, the Domaine de la Cade. But in the nearby woods,
Leonie stumbles across a ruined sepulchre - and a timeless mystery
whose traces are written in blood.
Lexi wakes up in a hospital bed after a car accident, thinking
it's 2004 and she's a twenty-five-year old with crooked teeth and a
disastrous love life. But, to her disbelief, she learns it's
actually 2007 - she's twenty-eight, her teeth are straight, she's
the boss of her department - and she's married!
When Steve is killed during enemy action, Beth is devastated.
They were due to elope to Gretna Green the following week, and
their happiness was complete with the news that Beth is pregnant.
But now, alone and unmarried and with a baby on the way, Beth must
survive by herself in war-torn Glasgow
As a child raised by his mother in post-war Germany, Peter
Debauer becomes fascinated by a story he discovers in the proof
pages of a novel edited by his grandparents. It is the tale of a
German prisoner of war who escapes from a Russian camp and braves
countless dangers to return home to a wife who believes him to be
dead.
Non-fiction titles
Based in the heart of Scotland's Cairngorms National Park, Peter
Cairns is a freelance nature photographer with a deep fascination
for our relationship with the natural world. In "Tooth & Claw",
the realisation that wildlife politics is not about wildlife but
about us, comes to the fore. With Mark Hamblin he is the author of
"Wild Land, Images of Nature from the Cairngorms".
James Martin is famous for his easy-to-follow recipes. Now,
finally, you can find your favourite James Martin recipes from his
previous titles. James simplifies traditionally complex recipes and
focuses on easy dishes to make this book perfect for even the most
inexperienced home cook.
Over the last twenty years football has moved from being a local
sport, with success based on gate receipts and good leadership, to
being a global sport based on TV ratings, sponsorship and lots of
money. A few teams dominate, both on the pitch and in the transfer
market.
Born in November 1924 in Perthshire, Leslie was the third child
of four, and was employed from an early age on his father's farm.
After service in the war, Leslie returned to Perthshire and took
over the Cargill beat on the Tay, a job he was to remain in for
over 50 years. During this time he took many people out to fish the
waters, including the American millionaire Nelson D Rockefeller and
the New Zealand King of the Maoris, who had come to Scotland to buy
some cattle but who much preferred the fishing.
When "Daily Telegraph" correspondent Tim Butcher was sent to
cover Africa in 2000 he quickly became obsessed with the idea of
recreating H. M. Stanley's famous expedition - but travelling
alone. Despite warnings that his plan was 'suicidal', Butcher set
out for the Congo's eastern border with just a rucksack and a few
thousand dollars hidden in his boots. Butcher's journey was a
remarkable feat, but the story of the Congo, told expertly and
vividly in this book, is more remarkable still.
If you have read, watched or listened to anything from your library
recently and want to recommend it to others, you can write a
review up to a maximum of 100 words and email it to us at
library@pkc.gov.uk
