The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society discussion
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Discuss the last book you read, or are currently reading
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Nigeyb
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Mar 22, 2015 01:22PM
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My kids are fans, and I have a 22 year old niece who will undoubtedly be introducing JK to her primary school class, but it is all, thus far, a mystery to me. I like the outlook and altruism of the author, though, so I'll give one a chance one of these days.
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Now, that IS one on my list, Nigey. My wife bought it for co-inheritress #2's birthday last year, not realising that she'd already read and enjoyed it. It is, therefore, lying in wait for me on the bookshelves at the top of our stairs. As a fan of Dumbarton's own David Byrne, and a commuting cyclist, it is well up my list.
Sorry, I forgot to add that I wholeheartedly agree with you about cycling and that your review has caused me to bring Bicycle Diaries up The List by a number of places. Thanks.
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Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky
Click here to read my review
Princes Gate by Mark Ellis, referred to in the London Writers area, is reviewed here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Paul Carter is a Dead Man by Ryan Bracha
Click here to read my review
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Ben Turner is a Dead Man (The Dead Man Trilogy) by Ryan Bracha
Click here to read my review
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Cheapjack by Philip Allingham
This compelling, witty, poignant, well written book deserves to be better known and is essential reading for anyone interested in the social history of early twentieth century England and Wales as it offers a priceless and nostalgic glimpse of a world that, whilst recognisable, has quite vanished.
Click here to read my 5 star review
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London's Burning: True Adventures on the Front Lines of Punk, 1976-1977 by Dave Thompson
Click here to read my review
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Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan
Click here to read my review
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The Second Coming by John Niven
Click here to read my review
The less you know about the plot the better. I devoured it.
5/5
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Lusitania: Triumph, Tragedy, and the End of the Edwardian Age by Greg King and Penny Wilson
Click here to read my review
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Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla by Cherry Vanilla
Click here to read my review
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
A well written, UK-centric, crime novel based around commuting into London. Unlikely as it sounds, from this mundane premise emerges an original, highly readable and absorbing tale.
Click here to read my review
4/5
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Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell
Click here to read my review
5/5
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Romany and Tom: A Memoir by Ben Watt
Click here to read my review
5/5
AND
So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
Click here to read my review
5/5
I've finished highly-respected Aberdeen historian and author Diane Morgan's "Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens - War and Peace In The Denburn Valley and reviewed it here:http://aberdeenvoice.com/2015/05/war-...
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Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
If you don’t know why so many people worship at the comedic altar of PGW, this novel will reveal all.
Click here to read my review
5/5
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The Humans by Matt Haig
Congratulations Matt Haig. "The Humans” is funny, original, moving, exciting, intriguing, very amusing, and - best of all - life re-affirming.
Click here to read my review
5/5
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The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
Click here to read my review
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Haw-Haw: The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce by Nigel Farndale
Click here to read my review
4/5
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The Studio Crime: A Golden Age Mystery by Ianthe Jerrold
Click here to read my review
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Crete: The Battle and the Resistance by Antony Beevor
Click here to read my review
4/5
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The Red Box by Rex Stout
Click here to read my review
4/5
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"I Formed A Band"
Click here to read my review
4/5
Just finished 'It Always Rains On Sunday' by Arthur La Bern. Absolutely superb. Recommended with supreme confidence to anyone who enjoys Patrick Hamilton and Norman Collins' 'London Belongs To Me,' James Curtis, Gerald Kersh, Julian Maclaren-Ross, etcet, etcet...And, of course, the new introduction by Cathi Unsworth adds value to the cost of admission. Fingers tightly crossed for London Classics to bring more La Bern back into print, because I'm left with this nagging urge to read absolutely everything he's ever written.
From the publisher...
"Set over a single day in 1939, It Always Rains On Sunday captures the East End of London shortly before the start of the Second World War. The book is centred around the residents of Coronet Grove, its focus the Sandigate family. People go about their lives, heading to the local church and pub, while those looking for excitement are drawn to the bright lights of Whitechapel. Rose – a former barmaid in The Two Compasses – is married to George Sandigate, twenty years her senior, the thrill of her time with villain Tommy Swann firmly in the past. Church bells ring as small-time crooks plot in the pub, a newspaper headline telling Rose that Swann has escaped from Dartmoor.
It Always Rains On Sunday is the atmospheric debut novel of Arthur La Bern and features a large, colourful cast of characters. Dreams and reality clash as arguments rage, gangsters lurk, madness simmers, violence is threatened. Sex and death hang heavy in the air. Described as a predecessor to Alan Sillitoe’s Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, the film adaptation was a great success and It Always Rains On Sunday remains a classic of British cinema. The book and its author were likewise lauded, and La Bern would go on to write a series of largely London-based, working-class gems."
http://www.london-books.co.uk/books/i...
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It Always Rains on Sunday
...and cannot wait to read it.
We also now have a dedicated Arthur La Bern thread...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
^ Come and discuss all things ALB ^
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"The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War" by Tim Butcher
Click here to read my review
5/5
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"It Always Rains on Sunday" by Arthur La Bern
It’s wonderfully written, exciting, compelling and awash with atmospheric period and location detail, in short if you have any interest in London writing, or the 1930s, then this book is another essential read. Right up there with London Belongs to Me, Hangover Square, The Angel and the Cuckoo, and The Gilt Kid.
Click here to read my review
5/5
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"The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins" by Irvine Welsh
Click here to read my review
4/5
The British Library is publishing a series of 'crime classics' - not print-on-demand, but quite attractively packaged paperbacks with new introductions. Most seem to be from the 1930s or earlier.I have just finished reading A Scream in Soho - a thriller from 1940. I was hoping for a bit more wartime Soho atmosphere, but the writing is not really up to that. Outside my usual reading parameters, so I quite enjoyed it in an odd way - like flipping through an old comic. Review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .
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I've admired their covers on a few occasions....
http://shop.bl.uk/mall/departmentpage...
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Tigerman by Nick Harkaway
Original, immersive, amusing, poignant, profound, compelling, charming, and more than a little askew. An absolute delight.
Click here to read my review
5/5
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You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle For The Soul Of The Beatles by Peter Doggett
A gripping, enthralling record of the grotesque side effects of global fame and enormous riches
Click here to read my review
5/5
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"I Was Dora Suarez” (Factory 4) (1990) by Derek Raymond
Click here to read my review
The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society
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