Awix (3310 KP) rated Forever And A Day in Books
Oct 20, 2020 (Updated Oct 20, 2020)
Horowitz's novel tries to do the same thing as the movie version of Casino Royale - to show how Bond becomes Bond. At this he is only really marginally successful, as Bond starts the novel as a pretty icy brute and ends only more icy and brutal. That said, the book evokes the Fleming formula rather well: there is the usual mixture of globe-trotting, good living, maniacal snobbery, action, torture, and sex in just about the right proportions. Some may complain that some contemporary politics have snuck into what's essentially an escapist fantasy - one villain is a bouffant-haired American tycoon with wandering hands, who thinks America should put its own interests first, while another gets a big speech about the smallness and insignificance of Britain, and its reliance on a close relationship with Europe if it wants to prosper. Nevertheless, fun, pacy stuff and very readable.
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Diplomat’s Wife in Books
Jan 14, 2021
It kept me guessing right until the very last chapters, which is very unusual.
It follows Emma and her grandson as they travel around Europe to France, Germany and finally Spain to solve a mystery that Emma has been trying to work out for 40 years... what happened to her brother. Throughout the book she tells her grandson but about her life in the 30s before WWII broke out when she met and married her husband - a British diplomat.
I loved that the font changed when it came to the chapters about Emma’s life in the 30s and when she was with Phil in the 70s, it made it so much easier when I’d put the book down (unwillingly!) for a little while to remember, just by looking, the perspective the book was coming from.
I was very sad about the book ending, as it was such a lovely read and one that was very easy to lose yourself in. I would definitely recommend it!
Awix (3310 KP) rated The World in Winter in Books
Sep 5, 2019
What makes the book a bit problematic for a modern reader is that some of the attitudes in it feel uncomfortably close to outright racism - it almost feels like a cautionary parable about what would happen if the traditional colonial roles were reversed and Africans were in a position of power over Europeans. That the book is a product of the era when the British Empire was dissolving is obvious, and the racial attitudes do impact on the story - protagonist and antagonist form an alliance at the end, despite a long history of bitter conflict between them, simply because they are both white men and the alternative is to allow Africans to dominate the UK. While the book should be considered in the context of its time, it still leaves a very sour taste in the mouth, quite unlike any of the author's other books.
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Sep 28, 2020
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