Category Archives: Review

David Williams reviews M&S Collection Pieronte Barolo, Italy 2019

Posted on November 13, 2024 by odeboyz

Having had some of the most memorable food experiences of my life in Piedmont during the truffle season, eating al tartufo, made with fresh tarjarin pasta, butter, eggs and shavings of truffle, it’s hard for me to conceive of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Review, Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: M W Craven ~ Dead Ground (2021)

Posted on October 16, 2024 by odeboyz

This is a marvellous novel. The two principals are Sergeant Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw. The first is a no-nonsense *copper*. He’s diligent, very bright, intuitive, a ‘maverick’ and has a history of success. Tilly Bradshaw is from the Lisbeth … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Roy Keane: the second half ~ Roy Keane with Roddy Doyle (2014)

Posted on September 4, 2024 by odeboyz

Two Irish giants coming together to translate the spoken word into an autobiography should end up with something great. Keane was a superb footballer playing at the highest level for 12 years at Manchester United. Roddy Doyle is an outstanding … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, Literature, Review, Sport | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Juan Gomez-Jurado ~ Red Queen (Translator Nick Caistor) (2023)

Posted on August 7, 2024 by odeboyz

Ever since the Skandi-noir books of Stieg Larsson1 there have been *seriously clever female heroines*. Antonia Scott is a Spanish super genius. The scene is set on the first page, “…in three minutes – Antonia is capable of calculating: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sue Townsend ~ Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004)

Posted on July 17, 2024 by odeboyz

Unlike Amazon second hand bookshops are a thing of joy and wonder.1 They don’t have brutal efficiency but their customers happily browse. Titles, long forgotten, catch the eye and stimulate the curiosity bud. Was that book as good as remembered? … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Literature, Politics, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Richmal Crompton ~ William: The Gangster (1967)

Posted on June 12, 2024 by odeboyz

I read the William books in 1950s Leeds. Leeds was grey, grim and far, far away from William’s world. There were no Vicar’s wives calling round for tea. No maidservants, no summer house, barns or fields. And there definitely weren’t … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Humour, Literature, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Michael Dobbs ~ The Lords’ Day (2007)

Posted on May 29, 2024 by odeboyz

Michael Dobbs is famous for The House of Cards, which has an international audience. A British and American TV series marks its acceptance as a definitive political novel. This is a red-blooded thriller: A Harry Jones1 novel. Jones has the … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Politics, Review, War | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Film Review: Challengers (2024) ~ (Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Conner)

Posted on May 8, 2024 by odeboyz

I regretted paying £7:99 to watch this drivel until I had a blinding insight. This was my first complete Artificial Intelligence (AI) film. The only human involvement was the ensemble. The script was ChatGPT pure and simple.  Even films with … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Review, Sport, Technology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Colson Whitehead ~ Sag Harbor (2009)

Posted on April 24, 2024 by odeboyz

This is a coming-of-age novel. Its principal character is  a Black-American teenager. Benji is middle-class attending a private prep school, where he, along with his younger brother, are the only black pupils. His parents own a holiday home in Sag … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Robert Harris ~ Archangel (1998)

Posted on March 27, 2024 by odeboyz

The wonderful thing about Harris is that he’s reliable. He isn’t a book-a-year author featuring drunken, music-loving Detective Inspectors, or psychopathic vigilantes as the principal character. He writes *proper* novels. His stories are carefully plotted. Brilliantly well-written, researched and with … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Literature, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment