An "oh dear" and an "oh yes"...

I have to say I was disappointed by William Boyd's The Dream Lover, a collection of short stories from the past couple of decades. One or two gems but no real sense of any coherence or theme - and a slightly pretentious introduction. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood...!

FAR better, in fact absolutely brilliant, is his Brazzaville Beach, in my view one of the finest novels of the 20th century. It's a great journey that brilliantly describes not only places (the African coast and interior, Dorset woods and central London) but big themes (animal and human behaviour, advanced mathematics) and sets it all beautifully in the context of a key character (the wonderfully named Hope Clearwater) and various other people involved in her life, especially husband John.

It's funny yet edgy, one of the few really well-crafted books that it also a compelling page turner. Read it NOW!

Whoops... and summer reading

Oh dear. I have been considerably neglecting my blogger responsibilities of late. Too much holiday... and the small matter of lots of new staff starting at church and a church plant too!

Anyway I have had some holiday... and read some fascinating books that I thought I recommend, each one only briefly... so here goes...

Ben Elton's Blind Faith, is a dystopian cross between Brave New World and 1984. The principal character, Ttrafford, is out of love with the world he lives in and is seeking a quiet rebellion... So as you'll have realised the plot isn't really any different from Huxley or Orwell's efforts.

What's fresh though is the take on what the future mught look like. This is a world where the one thing not permitted is privacy. Not because some big brother government is watching you - but because all your neighbours just expect to see your whole life, from losing your virginity to giving birth, on your blog. It's a society ruled by sentimentalism with a religious veneer - the Lord and the Love and the baby Jesus and Princess Diana are its gods - but with an authoritarian streak too.

It's a disturbing read - not least because so much of Elton's parody actually quite accurately describes a lot of vapid 21st century evangelicalism with its twee slogans, upbeat rallys and sound bite songs.

Next...