C. P. McGregor

A Year in the Life of a Family

Reviewed: 12-04-22

Increasingly, I find that I judge the quality of a book by its ability to allow me to step into another person’s shoes; to live (if only for an hour or two) an imaginary existence and to feel the experience to be authentic. By those measures this novel succeeds triumphantly.

It is the story of a year in the life of a normally dysfunctional family: mum, dad and two adult children; and takes each person’s viewpoint in turn through a series of everyday scenes (most of which revolve around food or drink). The drama is small scale but relatable and each chapter alternates viewpoints of different family members - all well voiced by Kristin Atherton.

There is humour but it is generally of the wince inducing variety rather than laugh out loud. There is no grand denouement but the reader is left to feel that each of the characters has moved on to some extent or other over the course of an eventful year. Days after finishing it I still find myself wondering what the characters would be doing now. Highly recommended.

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4 people found this helpful

A Thing of Beauty

Reviewed: 27-02-21

For a first novel this represents a remarkably assured achievement and the author can be doubly commended for her own moving performance of the text.

It tells the tale of an unconventional family unit split between Trinidad and New York over a period of perhaps twenty years or so. The narrative switches between the viewpoints of the three main characters and all three threads seem (to me at least) to be perceptive and authentic.

There are moments of humour and light but also of heartbreak and you may shed a tear as you reach the conclusion. It will, however, enrich your life.

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Pure enjoyment.

Reviewed: 08-12-20

This operates as a prequel to "Crooked Heart" and together with "V for Victory" represents a loose trilogy of life in and around London in the run up to, and during WW2. Although all of the books are good this is my favourite and that is in no small part due to the excellent reading by Joanna Scanlan. Listening to her reading the book was in some ways akin to the aural equivalent of a warm bath.

It's a tale of two former suffragettes and some of the history of the movement is woven through the narrative. It is in no sense a "plot driven" book but rather an affecting (and occasionally very funny) account of human relationships. It's one of those books which, when finished, feels like you are leaving old friends behind.

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What a disappointment

Reviewed: 08-12-20

I bought this book having read positive reviews in a number of newspapers and as a longstanding fan of the Mars trilogy. Unfortunately I have reached the 4 hour mark and have decided against persevering any further.

The problems lie with both the text and the production. The author's warnings of the risks posed by climate change are clearly very important but on the basis of what I have heard so far he has spent too long on research and not enough time on constructing a story on which to hang it. Detailed descriptions of district and street names may serve to confirm that he has visited various of the places in which the story unfolds but offer scant consolation when characters behave implausibly or when the plot depends upon one too many coincidences.

So far as the production is concerned it embraces a series of single person narratives interspersed with editorial. The multiple narrators should be well suited to this style but none of them are particularly adept and one of them does just about the worst accents that I have ever heard. Given that she is narrating one of the main plot threads and is often discussing really serious topics then the thread of the story is seriously undermined by the urge to laugh at a ludicrous accent.

In short, this might be a book better enjoyed in print.

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9 people found this helpful

A Disgraceful Production

Reviewed: 02-09-19

Although this is a novelisation of a Holocaust survivor's experience rather than a straight memoir it is nevertheless entitled to be treated with respect; unfortunately this production signally fails to do that.

The fault seems to lie not with the narrator himself (although in truth it is not a great performance) but rather with the producer. After several hours of listening with my focus on the story itself regularly distracted by bizarre changes in tone and occasional jumps I eventually deduced that the problem lies with the protagonist's name.

What appears to have happened is that in the original recording the narrator mispronounced the name. This was belatedly recognised but rather than scrap that first effort the decision was taken to keep it but drop into the text at all appropriate intervals a re-recorded version of the name.

Sometimes a whole sentence has been re-recorded but at other parts it is just the name itself which is dropped into the narrative with a very obvious change in tone and there are points where this occurs several time in the course of a few minutes.

The overall effect is to ruin what might otherwise have been a very affecting story. If you wish to learn more of it then I would recommend that you read rather than listen to the book.

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2 people found this helpful

A Life in Five Chapters

Reviewed: 05-02-19

I once heard George RR Martin express pity for people who never read novels "because they only lead a single life". By contrast he suggested that a well written novel allowed the reader to walk in another person's footsteps and experience (for a few hours) an entirely different life.

Of course the rule doesn't apply to every novel but this book helps prove the wisdom of the epigram. In the course of five rhetorical toasts to his nearest and dearest an elderly Irish farmer relives the highs and lows of his life. There's no great drama but bags of emotional truth, a minor mystery and some good jokes.

Niall Buggy provides a spellbinding performance as the curmudgeonly narrator and although I've only just finished the book it feels like one of those novels which I will return to in my mind in years to come. I understand it to be a debut novel but it is an incredibly assured and authentic portrayal of an ordinary life which can stand toe to toe with the best of John McGahern, Alistair MacLeod or Kent Haruf. My life is better for having read it.

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24 people found this helpful

A Terrible Disappointment

Reviewed: 16-08-18

"The Heart's Invisible Furies" was my favourite listen of last year and so when I saw that John Boyne was publishing a new book I ordered and downloaded it on the day of release. Sad to say that it is not a patch on the earlier work. Indeed (and ironically given the subject matter) there were times when I wondered if it was even written by the same person.

The novel relates in five distinct movements the life of a celebrated novelist and some sections are more successful than others. It quickly becomes apparent that the anti-hero is a less than pleasant character but initially at least the story is engaging and plausible enough. Many if not most novels demand some willingness on the part of the reader to suspend disbelief and generally speaking I am happy to oblige if I am enjoying the story and, importantly, the novel and its characters are internally consistent. One of the problems here is that at various stages several characters behave or talk in ways which are simply incredible. The conclusion to some of the stories is foreshadowed so strongly as to remove any sense of surprise but the one genuine twist (at the conclusion of the third section) is so ridiculous as to ruin all that went before it.

It's not all bad. The readers (with the exception of Richard E Grant) do a very good job and there is a delicious cameo featuring Gore Vidal. Lovers of literary backbiting will also find plenty here to satisfy themselves but overall I was left with a sense of talent wasted. There was plenty of anger in "The Heart's Invisible Furies" but also an abundance of humour and the whole book was suffused with love in all its various forms. By contrast this book is preoccupied with jealousy and emotional manipulation leaving me at least feeling dirtied by association at its conclusion. It may be that Mr Boyne had scores to settle and that this novel presented an opportunity to exorcise his demons in one fell swoop. If so then, having vented the bile, perhaps his next book will represent an return to form. I will, however, read the reviews before purchasing it.

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15 people found this helpful

A Beautiful & Moving Book

Reviewed: 29-04-18

I was alerted to this book by a positive review from John Boyne and when I saw that one of the narrators was Stephen Hogan then I knew that I wanted to listen to it rather than read it.

It comprises three linked stories spanning a generation and linking war torn Syria with rural Ireland in a way that you would never expect.

For perhaps obvious reasons I found the Syrian section the most moving and the final section the bleakest but there is plenty of black humour in the middle section and for such a short novel it packs a real emotional punch. Weeks after finishing it (and in the midst of other less gripping books) I find my thoughts still returning to it. Highly recommended.

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8 people found this helpful

Not best enjoyed as an audiobook

Reviewed: 24-04-18

What did you like best about The Science of Everyday Life? What did you like least?

Unlike others I had no difficulty with the author reading his own book. I thought his reading was enthusiastic and engaging. The difficulty lay with the content. I felt that presented as a series of newspaper columns then I would have greatly enjoyed them but without an obvious thread to link them together as a progressive whole then it all just seemed tremendously bitty.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I never reached it - a section on coffee stain rings was as far as I could reach.

Have you listened to any of Marty Jopson’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No.

Do you think The Science of Everyday Life needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

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Utter Tosh

Reviewed: 07-02-17

Would you try another book written by Sarah Pinborough or narrated by the narrators?

The principal narrators by and large made a decent fist of some very poor material although it is a little misleading to list the great Anna Bentinck as one of them when all she does is introduce the chapter headings. As for the author, never again.

What could Sarah Pinborough have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The publicity materials for this book make great play of its "twist" ending. What they omit to mention is that up until that point the plot treads a very well worn path with no particular charm, wit or narrative verve. As the end neared I anticipated the ending but kept thinking "No, she wouldn't go there, would she?" and lo and behold she did. Never mind giving me my money back I'm much more annoyed by the time I wasted on this when I could have been listening to something half way decent.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The narrators did their best to bring the two dimensional characters to life although the application of Scottish accents was inconsistent. There were at least two other characters described as growing up in Scotland and yet who were portrayed with English accents.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None.

Any additional comments?

Note to self - remember that new books marketed with puffs from other writers (rather than from critics) are generally dire.

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31 people found this helpful