Book Reviews From The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
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The Merchant Of Venice (Shakespeare Stories) by Andrew Matthews and Tony Ross
Bassanio's got the hots for Portia, and she for him. His friend, Antonio, borrows money from Shylock so Bassanio can woo her. Antonio is usually well-off, but all his money is tied up with his ships at the moment. Due to past rivalries, Shylock demands that Antonio pay him back with a pound of flesh if he can't come up with the money. Meanwhile, Portia is putting various suitors to the test. As someone wise once said elsewhere, the course of true love never did run smooth. Full review...
Rhino? What Rhino? by Caryl Hart and Sarah Horne
The rhino was lonely and bored and the zoo, so he squeezes between the bars and heads out into the great, wide world. Being a rhino, his manners aren't quite up to scratch, so he gets into all sorts of scrapes and japes as he steals people's clothes and food. Other poor animals get the blame, so they decide to have a word with the rhino to set him back on the right path. Full review...
April (Conspiracy 365) by Gabrielle Lord
It's April and Cal has survived three months of his year on the run. Will the fourth bring him any closer to answers about the Ormond Singularity? And can he trust Winter Frey?
You guys last saw Cal in January, feeling rather shell-shocked after his father's death from a mysterious disease and his brush with a crazed lunatic who told him that his father was murdered and he'd be next unless he could hold out until next New Year's Eve. Within days, Cal found himself on the run, accused of battering his own sister, and in search of something called the Ormond Singularity. Full review...
The Newt In The Suit by Andrew Weale and Margaret Chamberlain
There's one newt in a suit, and he's looking very dapper. He's joined by two snazzy-looking flies in ties, three cockatoos in high-heeled shoes, and so on up to ten. Yep, this is a counting book with lots of well-dressed animals going about their business. Full review...
The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric
Ye can't take the slither out ovva snake.
So says Gianni, valet in a wealthy eighteenth century Venetian household. The master, a merchant, divides his time between Italy and Peru, where he deals in silver. But the merchant isn't the serpent - his son Minguillo is. On the night an earthquake ripped through Peru and deposited fanatical nun Sor Loreta at the convent in Arequipa, Minguillo was born - a serpent in his family's midst. His own mother couldn't bear to nurse him and his father went into denial, making more and more frequent trips to a South American home free of sociopathic progeny. Full review...
Science: Sorted! Evolution, Nature and Stuff by Glenn Murphy
Ever wanted to know about evolution, nature and stuff? Unsurprisingly, this is the book for you. If you're interested in space, black holes and stuff, then Glenn Murphy has also written a sister book in the Science: Sorted! series packed full of all the information you'd want to know. It's all written with the fabulous quality that made Why is Snot Green? such a must-read. Full review...
Lottie Biggs is (Not) Desperate by Hayley Long
Lottie Biggs, who's in her mid-teens is recovering from what's described as a 'mental disorder of a reasonably significant nature'. She's having counselling from Blake (from New Zealand) who has some rather unusual turns of phrase and looks like Johnny Depp, but without the pirate make-up. All in all she's doing quite well. Gareth Stingecombe is still the love of her life and to seal the bond even tighter she gets a Saturday job in his mother's hairdressing salon. This might, or might not, turn out to be a mistake given what the mother-in-law-to-be thinks constitutes a trendy hairstyle. Full review...
The Self-Sufficiency Bible: Window Boxes to Smallholdings - Hundreds of Ways to Become Self-Sufficient by Simon Dawson
The recent financial crises have taken people by surprise and instead of trying to ride the problem out and then get back to our old, profligate ways we've looked at how we can live more sustainably and less expensively. Thrift is the new black and many people are taking pride in not spending money. I might take issue with whether or not Simon Dawson's book should be called a bible which suggests a completeness which is doesn't seem to exhibit, but it's an excellent starting point for those wanting to become more self-sufficient. It also has the recipe for a chocolate sponge which takes just five minutes to make – and that takes a lot of beating. Full review...
Trust Me, I'm a Vet by Cathy Woodman
Though I'm not a pet owner and as such had never thought too much about it, I believed this book when it told me there are two types of vets (three if you count the Vietnam kind, though for these purposes let's not). No, I mean the city type who look after poodles and hamsters and maybe the odd depressed gold fish, and the country kind who stick their hands up cows' bottoms for fun, and think horses are man's second best friend, as well as essential equipment for extracurricular activities. Maz definitely falls into the first category, but when her love life gets as sticky as a cancerous canine tumour, she realises that London is not the place to be any more. An opportunity arises at the rather tweely named Otter House Veterinary Clinic, and she seizes it, pleased to have a reason to flee the capital, at least temporarily. Full review...
Halo by Zizou Corder
When Halo is a baby, a centaur finds her crawling up a beach, the sole survivor of a shipwreck. This scene shows, right from the first page, the courage and determination which characterise her during the course of this book. No one has any idea who this human child is, but the golden owl amulet and the curious tattoo on her forehead suggest she is special. She is adopted by the family and for ten years she and her centaur brother Arko lead an idyllic life on the island of Zakynthos. But ten years later Halo is kidnapped by fishermen and sold into slavery. She escapes and disguises herself as a boy because as a girl she can have little or no respect, and no freedom of action. Still disguised as a boy she lives with the Spartans, falls in love, and is given clues to her true identity by the famous Oracle at Delphi. Full review...
Churchill's Children: The Evacuee Experience in Wartime Britain by John Welshman
As a little girl I was fascinated by stories from the second world war. My Nan would tell me tales of her work doing welding, my mum's uncle had exciting adventure stories from his years in the RAF, and the book Carrie's War was one I returned to again and again. So I was intrigued by this title which looks at the stories of thirteen children and adults through World War Two, from the first wave of evacuations through to the end of the war. Full review...
My Lady Domino by Jeannie Machin
Adele Russell serves behind the counter in a haberdashers and lives over the shop. It wasn't always like that though as it's only a few years since she was a wealthy heiress engaged to marry an earl, but after her father's financial ruin and his death in a fire her fiancé broke off the relationship and Adele was lucky to be taken in by her old nurse. It's taken some time to come to terms with what happened and Adele has reconciled herself to her lowly position until she finds an invitation to a masked ball. What harm would there be in her wearing her mother's ball gown and domino, just for a taste of how things used to be? Full review...
Cinema Blue by Sue Rulliere
Frankie is a twenty nine year old woman living in Paris and working in a supermarket while she tries to put her life back together after a split from her husband. The split, and what led up to it, was clearly distressing, and exactly what happened is revealed through a series of flashbacks to the time when Frankie was Francesca, whose life was controlled by her husband, JP. The news that JP has had an accident throws Frankie into confusion, because it seems that he turned to drink after she left him and she blames herself. In the meantime, Frankie is entering into a relationship with the enigmatic Antoine, who appears to be doing something rather strange in the flat below hers. Will Frankie be able to retain her new identity? Will the relationship with Antoine go anywhere, or is he just as bad for her as JP was? Full review...
Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar
The plot is simple - the werewolf of the title is 17 year old Kalix, exiled from her family due to her involvement in the head of the clan’s death. Her elder brother has set a price on her head, and is pursuing her with all sources he can muster. It sounds horrific? It is indeed, and there are some truly gruesome scenes, as werewolves battle amongst themselves, or with the humans who come into their orbit. However, these scenes do serve a purpose (to remind us perhaps, that they are werewolves, and not humans?!), and by and large do not occupy too large a part in the narrative. Full review...
Trick Eggs and Rubber Chickens: Grubtown Tales by Philip Ardagh
If you haven't been to Grubtown before, then feel welcome. As newly arrived lorry driver John Jones finds out, it's a place of exceedingly silly names for people – Blue-Ridge Handheld my favourite so far – and exceedingly silly things happening for exceedingly silly reasons. One of those silly things is John Jones arriving into town with a giant octopus on the back of his lorry – a real, live one, destined for the brand new aquarium and carwash. Another, coinciding, silly thing, is the mayor having a huge festival day for the opening of his new home, which he has just finished knitting. Full review...
The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
This is a sixth novel from best-selling Turkish author, Elif Shafak. Set in twelfth century Anatolia, two famous characters from Islamic history meet in a gorgeously real world. A delicate contemporary US love story is wrapped around the rich, meaty historical fiction. Don't be misled by the dodgy-sounding title! Full review...
Trail of Blood by S J Rozan
Lydia Chin takes on a new case helping another private investigator, Joel Pilarsky, to find missing jewellery which belonged to an Austrian Jewish refugee in wartime Shanghai – she has been hired for her ability to operate in New York City's Chinese community. She is quickly drawn into Rosalie Gilder's story, told through letters written to her mother, and when Joel is shot dead the next day, being fired by the client doesn't stop her wanting to find out more. She is glad when her old associate Bill Smith, who has been out of touch for a while, returns to help her. This detective story linking past and present is compulsive reading. Full review...
Sea Creatures by Val Harris
Rowena Moon and her husband Brendan lived on the Cornish coast with their three children, Jenna, Charlie and Olivia. Brendan was an artist – and a reasonably successful one. Rowena ran a local café and the children had the freedom of the local beach. It sounds like, and probably was, an idyllic childhood until one day Rowena disappeared without warning and without explanation. It was devastating and affected each of the children in different ways as they grew up. Twenty two years later the five are reunited and the mystery of their past unravels. Full review...
Love, Revenge and Buttered Scones by Bobbie Darbyshire
Three people are travelling on a train heading to Inverness. Their destination is the town's library where the book group meets on the last Friday of each month. They each have their own reasons for going but none of them realise that the weekend is going to have far reaching consequences for them all. Full review...
A Commercial Enterprise by Sandra Heath
Caroline is a Lexham, but she's not one of the Lexhams as her father made a rather unfortunate marriage. In consequence she's rather surprised to be invited to the reading of her uncle's will. She didn't know him, had no expectations and probably wouldn't have gone to London if she hadn't been trying to escape the attentions of a pressing suitor. The journey there is trying, but she's rescued by Sir Hal Seymour who gives her a lift in his carriage. It might have got Caro to the reading on time, but she made an enemy of his mistress who had hopes of becoming his wife. Full review...
The Mage in Black (Sabina Kane) by Jaye Wells
After betraying the Dominae and siding with a Mage over the Vampires, Sabina Kane finds herself on the run. Leaving behind everything she knows, she travels with Mage, Adam, to meet the other half of her family – her twin sister, Maisie. Though the Mages welcome her with open arms, Sabina, used to the cold, displeasure of her Dominae Grandmother, can't quite accept their open affection, or their conviction that she has a destiny. Her only focus is on revenge, developing her Mage powers so she can defeat her Grandmother. Full review...
A Gate At The Stairs by Lorrie Moore
Bass-playing, 20 year-old Tassie Keltjin is studying an eclectic range of subjects (Geology, British Literature, Sufism, Soundtracks to War Movies and Wine Tasting) in post 9/11 USA when she lands a job as a child minder for chef, Sarah Bink who is adopting an African-American baby. A Gate at the Stairs is at times a very funny and at others a sad reflection of growing up in modern America. Full review...
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
If you are the type of person who wants their novels to start at the beginning, build character and plot before coming to a satisfying 'they all lived happily ever after' ending, then avoid this book at all costs. You will hate it. But I cannot remember when I last enjoyed a first time novel as much as this one. It is ambitious, daring and complex, and yet it works beautifully. Full review...
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Ten years ago, Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible revealed the grim politics in the Congo. The Lacuna has a similarly political theme, this time turning her focus on Mexico and the USA in the 1940s and 1950s. Full review...
Last Train From Liguria by Christine Dwyer Hickey
The heroine in this novel is Bella. She's a rather unassuming young woman who has had a rather unassuming childhood - save for the fact that she was motherless at an early age and her relationship with the father is a little strained, to say the least. Bella needs to breathe. So she leaves the drizzle of England for the blue skies and heat of Italy. Her father has propelled her into gentle employment there. She's tentative about the whole thing but warms to it by degrees. Full review...
Sum: Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
For some reason I find myself unable to start this review. So I'll mention this book starts with the end, and see where we go from there. Of course, that's the key – this book does just that – starts with the end of our human life here on Earth (or wherever you happen to be reading this) and posits forty possibilities of what happens thereafter, in the hereafter. It's not so much 'Five People You Meet in Heaven' as 'Forty Heavens you Might Meet People In'. Full review...
It's Beginning To Hurt by James Lasdun
It's Beginning to Hurt is a collection of sixteen short stories, all bound together by the theme of hurt in various forms. It is James Lasdun's third collection of short stories and, chances are, if you are a fan of the short story then you will have read something by him before. Full review...
This Is How by M J Hyland
Things weren't going too badly for Patrick Oxtoby. He's intelligent and did well at school. Then his Gran died. He started getting pains in his shoulder and things rapidly went downhill from there. He drops out of university to become a mechanic. By the time we meet him as a 23-year-old, he's become a loner who cannot communicate his feelings and who cannot seem to fit himself into society. Now his fiancee has left him (and you can see her point) and he finds himself in a seaside boarding house in an unnamed English town, hoping to start a new life. Then, one night he commits an act of violence (you can see it coming) and his life goes from bad to awful. Full review...
After the Party by Lisa Jewell
It's been eleven years since Ralph and Jem finally became an item at the end of Lisa Jewell's first novel Ralph's Party. After buying a house in South London and having two children their once exciting, romantic and crazy relationship has gradually become consumed by responsibility and domesticity. Jem has become bogged down with motherhood and running a home and just wishes Ralph would help out a bit as she struggles to start working again. Ralph, unsure of his role in the family, has gradually drifted away both physically and emotionally from Jem and his children, preferring to spend as much time as possible painting in his studio. Full review...
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
Although this is a work of fiction, the whole distasteful and deeply upsetting subject of slavery is a fact, therefore, at times I felt as if I were reading a true account.
The narrative goes back and forth, starting with Aminata (or Meena as she is usually called) as a relatively old woman (what we would call middle-aged). She's in London, far from home, but she's there for an extremely important reason. The powers-that-be need her to tell her story, as a slave over many years. The hope is that other Meenas will not have to suffer the same fate. On a lighter note (and they are few and far between) Meena gets to visit some London schoolchildren. They think that she eats elephant. She is able to laugh at their naivety. Full review...
Sick Heart River by John Buchan
This was a surprise for me. It’s rare for a book to come to my attention from the reviewing gods that’s a rerelease of a 1930s novel, and one that surfaced a couple of years ago now. But when it strikes me as startlingly Conradian, updated for the times, and perfectly able to stand alongside one of literature’s greats, then it’s just a sign those reviewing gods are on the ball. Full review...
Little Tiger's Big Holiday by Mark Marshall
Little Tiger is going on holiday. Whatever will he need? Well, flying goggles, obviously. A parachute is a must. Who goes anywhere without stilts? Oh, and a helmet, in case he goes in a racing car. Item by item, his suitcase gets more and more full. His holiday sounds like it's going to be an amazing adventure. Full review...
Jacob O'Reilly Wants A Pet by Lynne Rickards and Lee Wildish
Like many young children, Jacob O'Reilly Wants A Pet. He'd love a dog. A cat would be great. Ooh, what about gerbils? Or an iguana? He's desperate for an animal to look after, but mum and dad don't fancy the idea. Then they suggest that he start a pet-sitting business, and all hell breaks loose... Full review...
River of Judgement by David Sartof
Finn Jackson is an oilman, an engineer and he's developed a new way of extracting oil which doesn't ravage the countryside in the way of traditional methods. He's set up a company to take advantage of this along with his friend Aaron Philips, who's the money man. He's short of an operations manager – and has been for a while – after the tragic death of Shufang Su in a site accident. She was a geologist but had apparently flouted safety regulations and you know that there are going to be repercussions from her death. Full review...
Trautmann's Journey: From Hitler Youth to FA Cup Legend by Catrine Clay
'You have to learn to be hard men, to accept sacrifice without ever succumbing'. Such did Hitler say at the Nuremberg Nazi Party rallies in the 1930s. He probably did not have in mind playing in goal at a FA Cup final with a broken neck, such is the lifetime of difference between the two references. But that lifetime, as packed and varied as it was, is in the pages of this ever-interesting and swiftly-devoured book. Full review...
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Sophie Mercer has been sent to a boarding school for monsters after a little love spell goes horribly wrong. Hecate Hall has been set up 'to protect and instruct shapeshifter, witch and fae children who have risked exposure of their abilities'.
As in any good school story, she soon makes new friends and enemies. Her room mate is a 15 year old vampire with an obsession with everything pink, and Sophie must struggle to hide her disgust at Jenna’s blood consumption, as they quickly become good friends. She faces more difficulty with a trio of glamorous witches. Anna, Chaston and Elodie hate Jenna and they are frequently sarcastic and nasty at Sophie’s expense. At the same time though, they approach her to join their coven, and her reluctance to get involved makes her more unpopular. Full review...
Road to the Dales: The Story of a Yorkshire Lad by Gervase Phinn
As a teacher currently anticipating (I won't say looking forward to!) an OFSTED inspection, school inspectors aren't generally my favourite people. I'll make an exception for Gervase Phinn, though, as he's entertained me for many hours with his previous books on his time in the Dales doing the job. I was expecting his memoirs of his childhood to be equally entertaining – and feel slightly letdown, if I'm honest. Full review...
Wonderful Today: The Autobiography of Pattie Boyd by Pattie Boyd and Penny Junor
Pattie Boyd will always be remembered for one unique, extraordinary claim to fame. She became the wife of arguably the two most famous and revered rock guitarists of the era, George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and thus inspired three of their compositions which became three of the age's seminal love songs, namely 'Something', 'Layla', and 'Wonderful Tonight'. Full review...
