Kolymsky Heights is a fast paced spy thriller that was inspired in it's conception and construction. It made a change to read a straightforward linear narrative instead of all the backwards and forwards of the last couple of books I read. The writing is good enough that the pages fly by, but nowhere in the class of, say, John Le Carre. After a while I wished for something a little more stylish and literate. But the first two thirds of the book is quite a story, as I raced through at breakneck speed. It's just a shame that the crucial object of the quest is over so quickly and the science there quite unbelievable. And the desperate final section proves why I don't like thrillers. But that's just me.
Somehow I missed reading this short but very powerful novel in my younger days. In a way I'm glad I did, as reading it fresh with no knowledge of the plot, the central theme seems to have resonated through the decades of my life. Even today, there are parts of the FIFA corruption scandal that have all the hallmarks of George Orwell's 1945 published political drama. Perhaps the ultimate political drama. It is not a pleasant read so I was glad it was only 102 pages. A book not to enjoy but captivatingly important. I will never forget what happened to Boxer. How lucky we are to live in a proper democracy where opposition and journalistic freedom hold the government to account. Not like in Animal Farm.
Us is an entertaining read, but has a strange dynamic as husband and wife Douglas and Connie set out with their troublesome teenage son Albie on a Grand Tour of Europe one sultry August. Obviously we get a lot of intermittent backtracking by our first person narrator Douglas which sets up his relationship with his family. Sometimes funny sometimes sad, but all a little too predictable. However, the story rattles along from city to city and is never less than quite readable. A good book for a summer holiday.
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