BooksWe love books. Tell us about your favourite books and authors, and why they are so good. And while you're at it - having dined out for years on the time I threw Dan Brown out of a train window - tell us who to avoid.
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Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 13:40)
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A small list of the books I am really passionate about:Hangover Square and the Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky trilogy by Patrick Hamilton are in my top ten books of all time. They are all grimy London based novels, set between the the two world wars. Hangover Square is about a man whose unrequited love for a truly horrible woman sends him mad. TTSUS centre on three characters who work in or vist the MIdnight Bell pub and how they make disastrous decisions which change their lives completely. Hamilton has way of really getting you into the head of the characters. Jenny's descent from respectable girl into nascent prostitute in space of one night is an astounding read and wholly believable.
Another Hamilton fan recommended Norman Collins' London Belongs To Me and that proved to be just as good as he promised when he raved about it. That is also now a firm favourite. It's a sprawling novel about a group of people who all live in the same house and how their lives intertwine. I can't do it justice here. It is just a joy to read.
Last year I stumbled upon Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski which is about a man searching in France for his young son after WW2. The ending was so finally balanced that you can't tell if it will tip into disaster or happiness. I had to stay up late to finish it because I couldn't bear the tension any longer. I envy anyone starting that book for the first time as I would love to be able to read it again like that.
(, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 21:49, 3 replies)
A guy in the pub was banging on about hamilton.You might like charles bukowski and john fante. Thats how we got talking and he recommended hangover square. Its hard to get hold of but I eventually found it in waterstones...(ten quid!) I look forward to starting it :)
(, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 21:58, closed)
Ooh, thanks for the recommendationsI shall investigate them and see. I hope you enjoy Hangover Square now two people have built it up for you!
(, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 22:07, closed)
Two authors I feel generally befriended by.We have a bookshelf dedicated to bukowski, I promise you you won't be disappointed. I'm going start hangover square right after my current book!
(, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 22:15, closed)
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