• Oranges and Lemons by Christopher Fowler [Read by Tim Goodman]
  I've been slow in reading these last few Bryant and May books - partly to eke them out and partly because of the sorrow in losing Christopher Fowler as an author. In addition, while containing humour, the stories are usually poignant which adds to the overall mood of sadness.
  The oranges and lemons of the title refer to the nursery rhyme, which leads to B&M scampering (in a sedate and elderly manner!) all over London, following the locations of the bells. Even taking into account that they may have got the wrong end of the stick, locating the bells cited in the rhyme is not as straight forward as it might be, since the churches to which they are attributed is not always clear - apparently.
  As usual, it's a good mystery, and, as always it provides more of Christopher's fascinating insights into the history of London Town.
  [While reviewing the books, I couldn't find any record of my having read the first 3 in the series - I feel sure I have but the plots are not clear in my mind - so I will at least have the potential for future joy in reading or re-reading them.]


• Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine
  I was interested to see what this book would offer. I quite like Jeremy Vine, but I have always thought of him primarily as a presenter – albeit a very good one. I haven't listened to much of his radio work, but as a TV host I always appreciate how polite and encouraging he is to his contestants. I therefore assumed that a foray into writing a novel was simply following in the steps of others and cashing in on a relatively famous name.
  As it turns out, my preconceptions were quite wrong. Set in the world of local radio, the story benefits enormously from Vine's apparent knowledge and experience of the industry (though probably without the dead bodies one would hope). His understanding of provincial towns and local broadcasting shines through, making both the characters and situations feel authentic and believable.
  I'm not qualified to judge the finer points of literary style, but the prose seemed perfectly good to me, and I found this an excellent mystery overall. I notice the book has attracted a small number of less favourable reviews from readers who found it difficult to get through or considered it repetitive. All I can say is that I read it fairly quickly and thoroughly enjoyed it. It strikes me as an ideal holiday read – especially if you're spending that holiday in Devon!
  I enjoyed this - in my opinion pretty fair - review from The Standard


• The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre
  Hold on to your hats! This is a somewhat screwball and hugely enjoyable departure from Brookmyre's usual storylines, told with his usual skill and wit. The basic premise feels like an alloy of Miss Marple in St Mary Mead and Philip Marlowe in Los Angeles. There are thrills from the outset - though by Chapter 3 you are seriously wondering what on earth is going on and how all the disparate locations and weirdly dissimilar genres could possibly come together. When various strands do converge, the story takes on a distinctly surreal quality, giving the plot an almost nightmarish atmosphere. As the veil begins to lift, I think the reader is slightly ahead of the characters in working it all out - but this seems entirely intentional on the author's part, and ultimately it all leads to a very satisfying conclusion.
  

Posted by Christina at 10:04 am | Category: Art and Culture, Books of the Month | Permalink

Despite a limited interest in football, I have been thinking about seeing this play ever since it's first run - and the return to the Olivier at the NT gave me the opportunity to do so in one of their unbelievably low budget seats at the front of the stalls. (I love these seats - you are practically on the stage with the actors).
Anyway, it was a truly wonderful experience full of joy and pathos and excellent acting - and altogether charming.

To be fair - even though I assumed there would have been a change in cast, I did not really realise there had been a substantial rewrite of the second half (to keep up with current events). But the cast... what can I say? The footballers - and "Southgate" were remarkably distinguishable by their hair cuts alone, but also pulled off amazing likenesses by their body language - this is particularly noticeable if you look at the photographs of the production, where, as stationary figures, they look nothing like the real guys. I know I shouldn't be surprised - they are all actors after all, and I know acting isn't just about mimicry ... but all the same...
To my mind Gwilym Lee's portrayal of Southgate was without a doubt the most astonishing - my companion remarked that he had started to wonder if Southgate himself had made an appearance as the likeness was so uncanny. I always regarded Lee as a run-of-the-mill TV actor - based entirely and only on his appearances in Midsomer Murders - his acting abilities clearly by-passed me entirely since I had never even linked him with his character in "Rogue Heroes"...

Anyway I can't recommend this enough - emotionally uplifting and charming - the good guys always win (if only!) - read the excellent Guardian review by Mark Lawson.

Posted by Christina at 8:56 pm | Category: Art and Culture, Days Out | Permalink