Category Archives: Literature

Book Review: Graham Greene ~ Our Man In Havana (1958)

Posted on April 20, 2020 by odeboyz

The shocking thing about reading books from the 1950s is the casual racism. This is the first sentence of Greene’s novel, “’That nigger going down the street,’ said Dr Hasselbacher standing in the Wonder Bar, ‘he reminds me of you, … Continue reading →

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Churchill as a Myth Maker: The Second Battle of El Alamein, 1942

Posted on April 9, 2020 by odeboyz

“Britain, of course — always wins one battle — the last. It would seem to have begun rather earlier this time. General Alexander, with his brilliant comrade and lieutenant, General Montgomery, has gained a glorious and decisive victory in what … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Nigel Williams ~ The Wimbledon Poisoner (1990)

Posted on April 6, 2020 by odeboyz

Williams, The Wimbledon Poisoner, is a black comedy, which is, of course, tasteless in the extreme. The focus is Henry’s desire to kill his wife Elinor. After some thought he decides that the only method he can do is poisoning. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Thomas Penn ~ The Brothers York: An English Tragedy (2019)

Posted on March 30, 2020 by odeboyz

Thomas Penn’s day has come! Who’d have thought an academic work on the York brothers would be of the moment? Well he has Hilary Mantel to thank. She’s turbo-charged medieval history into a central position with her Thomas Cromwell trilogy. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Helen Cresswell ~ Bagthorpes Unlimited (1978)

Posted on March 26, 2020 by odeboyz

Coronavirus fatigue makes you want a laugh, a ‘laugh out loud’ laugh. Helen Cresswell’s series The Bagthorpe Saga was my first point of call. Bagthorpes Unlimited is her third book and is a total joy from start to finish. The … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Timur Vermes ~ The Hungry and the Fat (translated Jamie Bulloch) (2020)

Posted on March 16, 2020 by odeboyz

It was a privilege to read this book. Timur is a German author who’s satirised Germany, Europe and the fundamentals of the immigration challenge. The great immigration of 2015 led to huge social and political dislocations in Germany. Timur’s book … Continue reading →

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Book Review: David Graeber ~ Bullsh*t Jobs: A Theory (2018)

Posted on March 2, 2020 by odeboyz

Freakonomics (2005) unleashed populism amongst university professors. They realised they could sex up their academic work by judicious selection of the bizarre and get a best seller, fame and fortune. Graeber’s an LSE professor of anthropology has joined in. A … Continue reading →

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Why the Labour Party is middle-class: George Orwell 1936

Posted on February 13, 2020 by odeboyz

I am struck again by the fact that as soon as a working man gets an official post in the Trade Union or goes into Labour politics, he becomes middle-class whether he will or no…. by fighting against the bourgeoisie … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Abhijit V Banerjee and Esther Duflo ~ Good Economics for Hard Times – Better answers to our biggest problems (2019)

Posted on February 10, 2020 by odeboyz

It’s easy to feel intellectually intimidated by a book by two Nobel Prize winners and perhaps that’s the right response sometimes. On this occasion it isn’t.* This is a readable and homely book written in an accessible way. The ‘biggest … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Robert Harris ~ The Second Sleep (2019)

Posted on February 3, 2020 by odeboyz

Harris leaves me gasping. He’s so prolific and intelligent that it’s almost intimidating. The Cicero trilogy was a triumph on which his entire reputation could have stood but, of course, there’s more, much more. The Second Sleep is a reverse … Continue reading →

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