Micka - Frances Kay

Micka has to be one of the most poignant and heart-breaking stories I have ever read.it follows the life of Micka (a poor council-flat child) and Laurie, the disturbing offspring of divorced middle-class parents.

Micka is hungry, cold and frequently physically abused by his older brothers. He finds some refuge in a gypsy camp, in his artwork and dreams of owning a pup. Despite all the nastiness and violence in his life, he is innocent, but powerless to protect himself.

This debut novel from the strong voice of Frances Kay is, at times, downright disturbing and horrific. Yet, it is clear that such events are real and happen to children on a regular basis. It shapes their lives, and drives them to do things that appear perfectly normal due to the warped dimensions of their world.

Micka is not a happy novel, it is not a pleasant read. It is very very good.

This cookbook is based on the ancient philosophy of Ayurveda - which breaks everything down into 5 elements: ether, air, fire, wind and water. Every person has a unique body type (either Vata, Pitta or Kapha) and by eating correctly for your body type, it is claimed that you can reduce stress, improve your health and sleep patterns. 

The book begins with an introduction and a questionnaire to identify your body type. I found it hard to identify myself as one of the three Ayurvedic body types described in Anjum's introductory text, but I did like the message that she is trying to send. In our western world, with busy deadlines and days, it is all too easy to forget to examine the food that we use to fuel our bodies.

Overall, it's a nice addition to my kitchen shelf as most of the recipes are light and healthy, made from fresh ingredients. I have no doubt that such food would make anyone feel healthier, fitter and slimmer if eaten regularly, but I don't see anything too dramatically different in this cookbook.

Frommer's Paris Free and Dirt Cheap - Anna E. Brooke

There is always going to be a demand for a guide that can steer you around the City of Romance on the cheap. As we all know, romance usually comes with a hefty price tag, but this simple and easy book from Frommer's offers a wide-range of free or cheap attractions.

Attractive but purse-friendly hotels or relaxing cafes that don't charge an arm and a leg for a drink. How about a nice meal in a neighbour restaurant off the tourist-track? This guide offers them all. It's simply laid out with clear maps and it offers a different view of the city when compared to the more conventional travel guides. Some of the suggestions may be a little offbeat, but it's also got plenty for the regular tourist. It also fits in nicely with the current trend of both saving and splurging while on holidays. If you can save a few bob on one part of your trip, that means you can splurge later!

31 Bond Street - Ellen Horan

31 Bond Street recreates the events around the 1857 murder of Dr. Blundell. Set in New York, just 4 years before the Civil War, the novel offers a fascinating view of society at this time. Dr. Blundell's murder was a sensation, causing a media frenzy and resulting in his housekeeper, Mrs. Emma Cunningham, being charged with his murder.

The young, but prominent lawyer, Henry Clinton, takes on her case, which pits him against the well known public defender Oakley Hall. In the courtroom, both men argue their cases with passion and belief. All the while, the media storm around the enigmatic Emma Cunningham continues.

This is Horan's debut novel, and for the most part, she has written an intriguing and captivating tale. She cleverly mixes timelines to produce a clever whodunnit. However, it does fall apart a little towards the end as the greater plot and story is revealed. 

This is definitely one of the better efforts at a historical mystery and is deserving of a read. However, it also has a slight feel of storytelling by rote - resulting in what is overall a good read, but not a great read.

No One Would Listen - Harry Markopolos

 

Bernie Madoff has gone down in the history as the man behind the world's largest known Ponzi scheme. When his scheme collapsed following the market crisis of 2008, hundreds of investors lost their savings with the total loss estimated at being in excess of $50 billion. 

The truly shocking part of this story is that this terrible loss could have been mitigated - if the Securities Exchange Commission had heeded the warnings of Harry Markopolos. In the years preceding the collapse, Markopolos had filed no fewer than 5 complaints against Madoff, all of which had been lost or ignored by the SEC watchdog. It is tragic to read of Markopolos' repeated efforts to bring this to the attention of the authorities and the mind boggles at how all these red flags could have been ignored.

Markopolos does tell an intriguing and well-written story. However, I must admit that it is rare to read a book where I've actively disliked the author. Markopolos has a strong character (stubbornness is especially obvious) and I can see how individuals in authority might have taken a dislike to this man. But when fraud on such a massive scale is being alleged, personal likes and dislikes should not come into the picture.

Markopolos' revelations led to him testifying in front of government and has triggered a review of staffing and procedures at the SEC. His work has led to significant change and it cannot be underestimated. Read this story and marvel at a tale of ineptitude and dedication.

This is Social Media - Guy Clapperton

Social media has grown phenomenally over the last few years. It's a rare person who hasn't heard of Twitter or Facebook at this stage. Initially used by individuals, businesses are realising the potential of these new media channels and are starting to embrace them.

Guy Clapperton is a highly experienced media consultant who has produced a simple, easy to read guide for business owners who want to get started in the world of social media. Clapperton advises caution and warns against starting a social media strategy simply for the sake of doing it. He recommends making sure that it fits with your audience, with your strategy and more importantly, with your budget.

Clapperton devotes a chapter to a high-level review of the main social media channels, providing a description of each along with a description of the typical audience for each site. People mystified by the burgeoning world of social media will no doubt appreciate this chapter.

This is an honest book that is easy to read. It's for the complete beginner, so it's easy for more experienced people to dismiss it and the advice it contains. But remember, there was a first time for everyone and therefore this book has its market. It's a good starting point for novices in this brave new world.

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes - David Grann

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness and Obsession comes from the pen of David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z. I had really enjoyed this true life tale of swashbuckling adventure in the Amazon so I was pleased to receive an ARC copy of his newest book. Sherlock Holmes noted that “life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent". Grann has taken that mantra to heart and presents a collection of true tales which feature obsession, perverse behaviour and even murder.

The collection starts with the apparent murder of the world's pre-eminent Sherlock Holmes scholar who is found dead following an obsessive quest for the missing archives of Arthur Conan Doyle. Grann progresses to arson detectives, an amnesiac guilt-ridden survivor of 9/11 and white supremist gangs. The scope is wide and far-reaching and Grann has clearly taken each story to heart, travelling to research and meet the characters involved. He even manages to make some pretty unsavoury characters seem sympathetic.

Because each story is free-standing, this is an easy book to read in pieces. In fact, each of these essays has been previously published, with the majority appearing in The New Yorker Magazine (although they have been revied and updated for this edition). This explains perhaps why the collection of essays in one edition doesn't seem to gel quite right. They are fantastic stories, but are better suited to piecemeal reading, rather than a continuous read.

Servant of the Underworld - Aliette de Bodard

Servant of the Underworld is the first in the Blood and Obsidian Trilogy from French writer Aliette de Bodard. Here, she mixes Aztec culture, blood magic and forensics to create a new genre in the fantasy world. There is no doubt that de Bodard has taken on a hefty task in recreating the Aztec world, given that we know so little about it. However, she has deftly managed to create a living, breathing world full of detail.

When you think about it, the main hero, a High Priest for the Dead who kills animals for sacrifices, shouldn't be a very nice character. As the author herself admits, he doesn't commit human sacrifice in the book, although chances are high that he would. However, the character of Acatl is endearing and human as he struggles to clear the name of his warrior brother.

Overall though, I just couldn't involve myself with the book. It felt lacklustre and devoid of real energy. Perhaps it was as a result of all the detours into songs and chants, but I couldn't muster any real enthusiasm.

The Left Hand of God - Paul Hoffman

Thomas Cale is a young acolyte in the Sanctuary, home to a order of warrior monks. His life is brutal, cold, hungry and tough. Friends aren't tolerated in the order of the Redeemers and training to wage war is the order of the day. It is clear that Cale is being trained for some special purpose but nothing is clear.

Following a horrific discovery, Cale is forced to flee the Sanctuary along with two fellow trainees and a young handmaiden. Although ferociously hunted by the Redeemers, they manage to evade their persuers and make their way to the city of Memphis, where their lives start to take some interesting turns.

Thomas Cale is a interesting character - he is at turns a killing machine and devoid of feeling, but he also struggles with latent feelings and emotions. In a way, Cale is typical of this novel. It struggles with an identity. I was uncertain in which timeline or world this story was set. Was it a post-apocalyptical tale, an early medieval tale or a story of a parallel universe? Although Hoffman writes eloquently, he fails to elicit real emotion or interest. A climatic battle scene simply passes by without raising a real sense of doom or defeat.

The book is the first of a series, but I won't be reading further. It simply didn't engross me enough to buy more.

Rupture - Simon Lelic

Rupture is Simon Lelic's debut novel and it is, in my opinion, a tour de force. It opens following a shooting at an English school where a young teacher shot pupils and other teachers before finally turning the gun on himself. As the investigating detective Lucia May starts to dig, a whole world of institutionalised bullying is revealed. Shockingly, her investigation starts to mirror her own experiences in the police force, leaving her sympathetic to Szajkowski, the gunman teacher and his actions.

Lelic has employed an unusual structure for this novel. When not speaking as Lucia May, he alternates between the voices of the various supporting characters. This reveals Lelic to be a deft and captivating writer, easily able to change voice at the turn of a page.

This novel is something of the zeitgeist. On one hand we have a headmaster who ignored activities in the school in order to maintain a high profile while on the other hand we have stories of young children cruelly bullying others. It somehow captures the societal breakdown that many feel is endemic in our modern world.

Rupture is a shocking and riveting story which is exceptionally well written. Not only is it a police novel but it pushes and investigates society and bullying. An amazing read.

Germania - Simon Winder

Germania is, surprisingly, a history of Germany. The thing is though, it's not told from a stuffy, rigorous perspective but instead is told in an easy and humorous manner by the author. It is at times irreverent and long-winded, but it is always entertaining and illuminating.

Winder is a man obsessed with all things German. Ever since a childhood holiday in Germany, he has been fascinated by this country that sits at the heart of Europe, but which yet took so long to solidify into a coherent sovereign state. Winder mixes descriptions of favourite locations around Germany with a very liberal dose of history, and a unique perspective on the Germans. The book stops just shy of WWII as the author clearly does not feel comfortable with this dark period in German history. However, the book stretches back in time to the Romans, thus covering a significant period of time.

The book is peppered with laugh out loud comments and observations, but when finished reading, I realised that I had also absorbed a large amount of factual knowledge. If only all historical writing was this captivating.

SuperCycles - Arun Motianey

Arun Motianey is an ex-Citigroup senior employee with a wealth of economic experience. With the current worldwide turmoil, he has chosen a highly appropriate time to advance his theory of the SuperCycle.

The SuperCyle is a long, continuous wave of up and down that stretch throughout the global markets. Motianey attributes the existence of the SuperCycle to the misguided, but well-meant actions of policymakers and leaders. The author takes us through the entire story of a SuperCycle, from beginning, middle to end, using the classic example of the Great Depression to highlight his theory. This naturally leads to an exploration of the current crisis. Motianey's argument against lending on asset value, rather than on income streams rings eerily true following the recent falls in property prices.

Be warned, this is not a light read and definitely not for the faint of heart, or those unlearned in matters economic. I frequently found myself researching topics on the internet in order to supplement my basic economic knowledge. But the author makes interesting reading and his contrary viewpoint is definitely welcome in a time when no one seems to have the answer.

Short Girls - Bich Minh Nguyen

A good while back, I reviewed "Free Food for Millionaires" by Min Jin Lee, a book which explored the experiences of a first generation Korean American. I was struck by the parallels between that book and this debut novel from Bich Minh Nguyen. Granted, the former focuses on Korean immigrants and the latter on Vietnamese, but both novels are rich with the struggle of American-born children of immigrants.

This novel centres on two sisters, Van and Linh Luong. Van is the elder daughter, an immigration lawyer, serious and with a marriage in difficulty. Linny is the younger, carefree, working as a cook, and trying to end an affair with a married man. Both sisters are dealing with crises but keep their distance from the other.

At the centre of their lives is their widowed father. He has been obsessed with the short stature of Vietnamese people his whole life and uses all his inventive mind to create the Luong Arm, a device to help shorter people reach items on top shelves. In order to futher his inventions, he decides to become a naturalised citizen of the U.S. and enter a reality TV show for inventors.

It is while begrudgingly attending to their father that the two sisters realise that they are both at crossroads in their lives. Drawing on each other in way that they haven't done since childhood, they find the strength to start living new lives.

Nguyen has written a simple novel that somehow captures the readers' interest. The two sisters are real characters who will resonate with a lot of female readers. The author switches deftly between the present and the past to tell this tale, but maybe the characters realness is their failing, as somehow this novel fails to linger to any great degree.

The Lemur - Benjamin Black

John Banville is a writer of legendary proportions who has chosen to write under the pseudonym of Benjamin Black. This short novella is a deviation from his other Black novels in that it is set in New York, rather than Dublin.

Our protagnist, John Glass, is a once-famous Irish journalist, who is living a loveless marriage in New York. He is having an affair with an Irish artist, but is subservient to his wife, a glamourous New Yorker who runs the famous Mulholland Trust. Her father is Bill Mulholland, an ex-CIA operative reknowned for his honesty who later made his fortune in the electronics industry.

Bill has asked John to write his biography, telling him of his desire to keep things in the family. Struggling to rise to the challenge and rediscover his desire for writing, Glass hires Dylan Riley to help with the research. Unfortunately Riley turns up dead, leaving Glass worried and more than a little scared.

Despite an initially intriguing outline, the story is weak, uninspiring and a bit too fantastic. For a short story, it feels too long.

Sixty-One Nails - Mike Shevdon

One morning, while on his way to work, Londoner Niall Peterson suffers a heart attack on the underground. He comes round to find an elderly lady working to save his life. As soon as he feels better, Blackbird begins to tell him an amazing story. Niall is of Feyre blood and a creature from another dimension just tried to use his body to gain access to this world. Niall's powers are awaken and he has to adjust to a new and dangerous world.

As Niall learns about his heritage and his new view on the world, he uncovers a dangerous secret. The barrier that separates our world and the Feyre world is weakening. Racing against time, Niall and Blackbird must recreate the ancient ceremony of the Sixty-One nails and reinforce the barrier that protects humanity.

Shevdon has created an intriguing world in his first novel. It's very real, set in a London that is familiar to all of us. The author has used fascinating historical facts as the basis for his story, but takes the traditional fairy tale and turns it on its head. Not every question is answered which leaves the reader waiting for more in the next installment. A very good debut in the fantasy world.

Evermore - Alyson Noel

Evermore is one of a stream of young adult fantasy novels that are hitting the market at the moment. The flavour of Evermore is not vampires or werewolves, but instead Immortals.

Ever is an orphan, sole survivor of a car crash that killed her parents, sister and family dog. She is wracked with guilt following the collision and she is now living with her aunt. The difficulty of adapting to a new school and life is compounded by the fact that she acquired psychic abilities as a result of the crash. She spends her time in baggy jeans, baggy hoodies with iPod buds in her ears in an attempt to negate the pyschic noise that washes over her.

Her life gets even more complicated when Damen, an incredibly hot young man, enrols at her school and shows an interest in Ever. When she's with him, silence falls around her, and she is drawn deeply into him.

Alyson Noel weaves an interesting, intriguing and romantic first section to this story. It is sexy and alluring, but falls apart somewhat in the later section. Ever's dilly-dallying is a bit annoying and things never feel quite resolved enough to be truly satisfying. Despite all this, Evermore is going to be successful - Noel can really conjure up teenager romance. This will surely be a series to watch.

Viral Loop - Adam L. Penerberg

The internet has transformed how we communicate and it has given virality a whole new lease of life. In the past, word of mouth generated publicity for goods. Recommend a book to a friend and chances were that they might buy it too. However, with the advent of the internet, this effect has snowballed.

Virality is now an integral part of life, with events on the internet taking on a life of their own (recall how Obama's campaign used the internet and Twitter to groundbreaking effect). Penerberg has written a book which focuses on the viral effect used by sites such as hotornot.com and Facebook. In essence, what good is posting a video on YouTube if no one sees it. To grow, these sites have to get people to visit, connect and share. The author discusses the concept of the Viral Loop, or the point of referral which a website has to pass in order to become self-sustaining (i.e. have a viral coefficient greater than 1.0).

While the book claims to reveal the "Power of pass it on", it really is more a history of the most successful websites in recent years. It takes us through Ning, Hotornot, Facebook, Flickr and many more, but doesn't really reveal too much other than a potted series of anecdotes. Ultimately, while interesting, it's not very revealing.

Triumff - Dan Abnett

It's 2010, and Elizabeth XXX sits upon the throne of the Unity, the English and Spanish empire that rules the world. This is a wholly different England to the modern version, instead it is regressive and Magick is used in place of modern technology.

Sir Rupert Triumff is a swashbuckling explorer who has just returned from a voyage of exploration. He's a playboy, a drunk, an expert swordsman and mariner, and above all else, devoted to his queen. It quickly becomes apparent that a treacherous and devious plot is afoot, and Triumff is stuck bang square in the middle. Cue the rollicking adventures.

With this novel, Abnett has staked himself firmly as a successor to Pratchett. It is, in turns, adventurous, creative and inventive, and above all else, hilariously funny. Abnett holds a degree in English from Oxford and this is apparent in the quality of the writing. He's managed to fit in a lot of modern puns and jokes, merging them seamlessy with the Elizabethan London. The villains are bad, the heroes are good (if sometimes a little morally dubious) and it's a great read. I'm genuinely looking forward to picking up the next installment of Triuff, Her Majesty's Hero.

The Information Office - Mark Mills

Mark Mills, author of The Secret Garden, has once again drawn on the history of World War II for his latest novel, The Information Officer. It's 1942 and Malta is under daily barrage from the Germans and Italians. A resolute band of English soldiers help the local Maltese protect the island and live day to day.

There's a delicate balance to be maintained between the English and the Maltese and Max Chadwick plays a part as the British Information Officer. When a friend brings a recent murder of a local hostess to his attention and the apparent involvement of a British submariner, Chadwick realises that this could disrupt the accord between the British and local Maltese. Despite being warned by the top brass to stop investigating, Chadwick continues to dig, uncovering evidence of Nazi spying and subversion.

Mills magnificently recreates the atmosphere of an island under constant aerial attack and attention to historical detail is excellent. However, it feels a little like mystery by rote, and the final revelations just don't ring true. The story just isn't memorable.

The Opposite Field - Jesse Katz

Jesse Katz was born in New York and raised in Portland, Oregon by a politically active mother and artist father. When he was finishing college, he chose to go live in the rapidly changing city of Monteray, California. Monteray was experiencing a period of rapid demographic change, with a large influx of asian and hispanic inhabitants. As a budding journalist, Katz wanted to be part of it.

Throughout this book, Katz's love of all things hispanic is clearly illustrated. He married a Nicaraguan barmaid and had a single son, Max, whom he adored from day one. He also inherited his wife's son from an earlier relationship, who proved resistive to Katz.

This story is all about Katz's involvement with Little League baseball and how he moved from being a baseball coach to being Commisioner for baseball. He describes how he resurrected the league, bringing it back to fiscal stability and increasing the numbers playing. Ultimately though the book is about his relationship with Max, and how he used to sport to bond with his son.

Katz's story is not one of super-human achievement, but rather it is the story of an imperfect family and imperfect, but yet normal, father-son relationship. The blurb on the back oversells the book, but it is a refreshing and honest take on fatherhood.