Question What are you reading?

[Napster]

James Ellroy - The Black Dahlia
Tom Sharpe - Wilt

I'm after a little help amongst the literary folk on here. Can anyone recommend any decent fiction set in Africa along the same sort of lines as John le Carre's 'The Constant Gardener.' Seemed to have picked up a real interest in the Continent lately. Cheers in advance.

anything by wilbur smith is a cracking read.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

James Ellroy - The Black Dahlia
Tom Sharpe - Wilt

I'm after a little help amongst the literary folk on here. Can anyone recommend any decent fiction set in Africa along the same sort of lines as John le Carre's 'The Constant Gardener.' Seemed to have picked up a real interest in the Continent lately. Cheers in advance.

I read 'An Act of Terror' by André Brink, which I quite enjoyed. He was one of a number of Afrikaner writers that were brave enough to criticise the apartheid regime in their literature. I've just got a dozen books from England, amongst which is 'Disgrace' by J M Coetzee, which I believe comes highly recommended. If you're talking about something a bit lighter and which is just set (or partly set) in Africa, I very much enjoyed Henning Mankell's 'The White Lioness.'

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

James Ellroy - The Black Dahlia
Tom Sharpe - Wilt

I'm after a little help amongst the literary folk on here. Can anyone recommend any decent fiction set in Africa along the same sort of lines as John le Carre's 'The Constant Gardener.' Seemed to have picked up a real interest in the Continent lately. Cheers in advance.

Not familiar with The Constant Gardener, but there's already one on this page that's set in Africa which is Graham Greene's Heart of the Matter.

Non-fiction, but Ernest Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa, is about Hemingway's hunting trips might be of interest and is the book that has most made we want to visit Africa.

Giles Foden's Last King of Scotland might be worth checking out. I haven't seen the film, but when I read it I thought Mario Balotelli would make a marvellous Idi Amin.

 

[MK Shrimper]

I know this isn't the film thread, but both the Constant Gardener and Last King Of Scotland are top filums.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I know this isn't the film thread, but both the Constant Gardener and Last King Of Scotland are top filums.

True but they're also excellent books too.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Great film, never read the book. Will give it a tumble after I finish 'The Pregnant Widow' - decent outing from the boy Amis.

I enjoyed this too.Although he's obviously a bit of a **** he probably qualifies as our greatest living British novelist.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Wish you here.Graham Swift.He's right up there too with the best of living British writers IMO.This is a welcome return to form and deals with the rift between two brothers,the death of one of them in Iraq,Mad cow disease and its impact on farming communities, along with mid-life crisis in marriage, in a thought provoking and sensitive way throughout.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Wish you here.Graham Swift.He's right up there too with the best of living British writers IMO.This is a welcome return to form and deals with the rift between two brothers,the death of one of them in Iraq,Mad cow disease and its impact on farming communities along with mid-life crisis in marriage, in a thought provoking and sensitive way throughout.

Blimey, have you finished At Home already? :omg:

 

[ibwiajwa]

I need a good holiday book... in the vein of On The Road, Shantaram and The Rum Diary. Basically I want it to be set abroad and be a good adventure-style page turner.

Go!

Harlan Coben's yer man.

Alan Sugar's autobiography."What you see is what you get".I would have thought most SZ readers(including myself)would find the sections on his Chairmanship at Spurs and the behind the scenes insights to The Apprentice of most interest here.The Amstrad era stuff(and I'm only 4 years younger than Sugar)seems almost like a bygone age now.
Have to say I also enjoyed the early stuff about AS growing up in Clapton/Hackney.Some people don't forget their roots.:thumbsup:

My mate, Ivor Spital, ghost wrote it. Ironically, he's a diehard Arsenal supporter.....

reading a stephen king - dreamcatcher. utter nonsense but want to see what happens.

I quite enjoyed it but the ****weasels are horrible.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Blimey, have you finished At Home already? :omg:

Nah,gave up on it.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Finished The First Circle by Solzhenitsyn today, all 700 pages of it! Great book, really enjoyed it.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Nearly finished David Lodge's A Man of Parts.This is a serious,(but beautifully written)novel about HG Wells.Had no idea HG was such a randy old git.Southend and Leigh-on-Sea get a couple of nods in the narrative.Only ever read Lodge's comic stuff before but this is first class(as are all DL's "Rummidge" novels of course).

 

[Eastblack]

I've just finished the Steig Larsson trilogy. On the whole I did enjoy them, although I thought they were overly long and detailed in certain parts. I also have been watching a bit of Wallendar on the telly and all of a sudden have an overwhelming urge to go to Sweden. I'm not really sure why.

If anyone can recommend any 'Nordic Noir' I would be interested to hear. Cheers.

 

[Pubey]

I've just finished the Steig Larsson trilogy. On the whole I did enjoy them, although I thought they were overly long and detailed in certain parts. I also have been watching a bit of Wallendar on the telly and all of a sudden have an overwhelming urge to go to Sweden. I'm not really sure why.

If anyone can recommend any 'Nordic Noir' I would be interested to hear. Cheers.

'Let the right one in' is a great book. Both the original and the us remake are good film adaptations

 

[BrettieAngell]

'Let the right one in' is a great book. Both the original and the us remake are good film adaptations

I've read Handling the Undead by the same author, quite creepy stuff. I watched Let the Right One in a couple of weeks ago, wish I had read the book first though.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

I've just finished the Steig Larsson trilogy. On the whole I did enjoy them, although I thought they were overly long and detailed in certain parts. I also have been watching a bit of Wallendar on the telly and all of a sudden have an overwhelming urge to go to Sweden. I'm not really sure why.

If anyone can recommend any 'Nordic Noir' I would be interested to hear. Cheers.

Trawl back and you'll find plenty of references. If you can't be bothered.....................
Jo Nesbo: (Norwegian) I know that there are some on here who don't like him but I have enjoyed the majority of his books. (Certainly, ridiculous publicity, like claiming he is the new Larsson, doesn't help).
Camilla Lackberg: (Swedish) A good read, enjoyed both 'The Ice Princess' and 'The Preacher'.
J Adler-Olsen: (Danish) When searching for books this summer I fell on this writer who comes highly recommended. I can't
comment as I've yet to read the book.
Arnaldur Indridason: (Icelandic) My personal favourite at the moment. Read 'The Draining Lake' in French and loved it.
Hypothermia was also a great read and has been very popular in England.
COME ON YOU FINNS what are you hanging about for!!!
Of course there is also Wallender but as you've pointed out above, the risk is that you could fall on a story you have already seen on the telly.

 

[MK Shrimper]

'Let the right one in' is a great book. Both the original and the us remake are good film adaptations

:stunned: :nope: :nope: :nope: :nope:

 

[Pubey]

:stunned: :nope: :nope: :nope: :nope:

You're so anti US remakes that I can't really take your opinion seriously regarding this. Personally I think it's excellent, as is the original

 

[MK Shrimper]

You're so anti US remakes that I can't really take your opinion seriously regarding this. Personally I think it's excellent, as is the original

Not true, The Departed is a good remake and I'm sure they're are many others. LTROI just isn't one of them.

 

[Napster]

Trawl back and you'll find plenty of references. If you can't be bothered.....................
Jo Nesbo: (Norwegian) I know that there are some on here who don't like him but I have enjoyed the majority of his books. (Certainly, ridiculous publicity, like claiming he is the new Larsson, doesn't help).
Camilla Lackberg: (Swedish) A good read, enjoyed both 'The Ice Princess' and 'The Preacher'.
J Adler-Olsen: (Danish) When searching for books this summer I fell on this writer who comes highly recommended. I can't
comment as I've yet to read the book.
Arnaldur Indridason: (Icelandic) My personal favourite at the moment. Read 'The Draining Lake' in French and loved it.
Hypothermia was also a great read and has been very popular in England.
COME ON YOU FINNS what are you hanging about for!!!
Of course there is also Wallender but as you've pointed out above, the risk is that you could fall on a story you have already seen on the telly.

Karin Fossum is also excellent. And Hakan Nesser.