“Where’s Daddy gone?” “Dunno. Said something about going to see someone.” “Didn’t he ask us to go with him?” “I’m old enough to decide what I want to do.” I polish my shoes, check my hair in the mirror and put on my new coat. “You coming with me?” “O–K.” Pete also gets himself ready….
A deep childhood wound plagues Carl’s conscience but the discipline and drive instilled in him by his severe and – as it turns out – hypocritical father nevertheless enables him to succeed in his business venture. Sadly, this is at the cost of failing to show true love for his wife and family and succumbing…
I took advantage of my bedridden state to remedy one of my childhood lapses – and quite enjoyed it. Exciting, silly, rather harmless and quite preposterous adventures. The insight into white hypocrisy – preaching love and conducting a bloody feud at the same time – and racial injustice, whereby Blacks are treated little better than…
Vogler seems to know all about my novel, Aquila! Or is he saying that all stories are basically the same, whether it’s The Wizard Of Oz, Star Wars or Titanic? Then how can anyone write anything new? [But that would be like arguing that since most sentences consist of a subject, a verb and an…
My wife and I used this book for our weekly devotions over an extended year. We found it both challenging and at the same time reassuring. Each time it led is into an extended time of prayer for friends, family, neighbours and the world in general. Each chapter starts with several Bible passages, which I…
Jesus told His followers: The world hates you. I’ve been thinking about that. Is it true? Surely, not everyone hates us. Recently, I have observed two different streams within western society – the ‘Lorders and Hoarders’ and the ‘Carers and Sharers’.
Gilead – Deep but a bit tedious This is a very unusual book in that it doesn’t follow any recognised structure. This makes sense when one realises it’s an old preacher man jotting down his reminiscences about significant events and minor incidents, while trying to impart wisdom to his young son in a letter he intends him…
They invited me to their house-warming party, though I’d never met them. They aren’t even married. Loud rock music greeted me before I entered the garden. Other guests clustered around beer cans. The hostess was smoking, her bare arms boasting brazen tattoos. She introduced me to her partner – equally tattooed, equally smoking. In his…
This book is captivating from the start and very well written. We feel we get to know unfathomable Lila in spite of her contradictory character and also Lenù, the narrator. We feel their strife, their longings, their first attempts at love, the inevitable rivalries. But there are too many characters to keep track of and…
This very sensitively written book brilliantly captures the character and emotional struggles of the main players through a series of parallel cameos. Through the eyes of blind but bright Marie-Laure, we feel the desperate plight of the Parisians who flee from the advancing Germans, their struggle to survive in occupied Saint-Malo, their fifth column acts…
A very personal, sensitively written account of a naive young Englishman’s encounters with ordinary people as he spends a year walking the length of Spain. We gain a vivid insight into the harsh realities of life in Spain in the 30s, as the author faces poor but kind natives, coupled with blatant immorality, seething unrest…
This book is amazing in terms of its complexity and vivid action. The main characters are very well developed and the action scenes are captivating, even if somewhat incredible at times. As the first of a series, it builds up a huge cast of players in multiple locations, the relationships between which become quite a…