Reviews 

Possibly the best book I have read this year. Zola completely turns 19th century fiction on its head and writes a book in which the...

I quite enjoyed this, although it took ages to get going (around page 300!?). One of my problems was that none of the characters were,...

Aeroplane reading en route to Copenhagen. I had thought this was my favourite Greene, but was disappointed this time round. I understood...

Enjoyed ‘The Trial’ enough to read another Kafka, but Metamorphosis has less weight; it is very internal and apart from Gregor’s family,...

Bought this in 1972, a few years ago; wonder what I made of it then? I thought it was really good and quite funny – hard going in places,...

Haven’t read any Lawrence for ages; I think that no.223 inclined me to read another novel of thwarted love across the classes. The sex is...

Never read this either; written as a film script, (don’t think I have ever seen the film?) it is a brief but well-constructed story. The...

Pretty good. A relatively early Greene, about a rail trip from London to Istanbul in the 1930’s. As the train progresses — Ostende,...

If I have read Thomas Mann before, it was 'Death in Venice' 40 years ago. This, especially the first half, was a wonderfully stately...

One of the summer plans! Thought I’d take (to Spain) a Dickens that I didn’t know at all, never televised, so no baggage. Not sure what...

Read this (copiously) as an A-level set text about 40 years ago and couldn’t answer the question on it then. I think the question was...

A proper story at last. I hadn’t realised how early in the 19th century Balzac was writing; 1820’s/30’s. So there is lots of classicism,...

Don’t know what prompted me to re-read this. It is very short, and I wasn’t feeling well when I read it and wrote the above. It is...

Another A level text, but I loved this on re-read after it must be 40 years. The complicated love story between Jude & Sue was so...

This was a challenge; I can’t say I enjoyed it at all. Seemed to be very unstructured and unfocussed; I couldn’t work up any enthusiasm...

This was an A-level set text, and I read my old copy from the time, which is almost ruined by asinine adolescent observations. I will get...

Bought this in 1976 and don’t think I have ever read it. It is bloody good. Quite simple, short, and beautifully compressed tale of...

Trying to read some old books, preferably in paper, before we fly off to Spain. I enjoyed this more than I expected; the key bit of...

Was aiming for 'Hamlet', but couldn't navigate the complete works. Read this as a play about order/disorder/order restored, and focussed...

Can't give this a number (see no.89), but I have finally finished 'War & Peace'; it is a huge book. i would like to re-read it, but would...