Sofa Spotlight - Captain Pamphile, Alexandre Dumas

Captain Pamphile is definitely a book of its time with values to match. It maybe qualifies as one of the lesser known Alexandre Dumas books and is not packed with the same amount of adventure as The Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte Cristo. But it does have its value and its moments.

It seems that Captain Pamphile is the owner of a ship who travels in a way that is sometimes less than legal and collects, among other things, stories. These stories are relayed back to us as part of another story, that of a Parisian collecting his one menagerie – which is where Captain Pamphile intersects this story – he often provides the unusual animals required. The bear was my favourite – I had an emotional connection with his adventures.

Although I wouldn’t describe this as thrilling, which is was meant to be, it did have some good points and once I’d got into it, I found I actually quite enjoyed it. It was originally written for children so it’s not a hard read and there’s a message behind it too, which given the time, is quite a surprising one. But you need to read it to find out for yourself.

Sofa Spotlight - All's Well That Ends Well, William Shakespeare

This year my ambition is to read through all of Shakespeare’s plays. I’ve only met with Shakespeare’s work a couple of times having studied Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. So, I thought it was high time I worked my way through some of his other works.

My first stop on my Shakespearean journey is All’s Well that Ends Well. It’s an odd play and I found it to not only be hard to read but also baffling at how quickly Bertram, one of the main characters, changed his mind. Also confusing is the behavior of Helena, who is in love with Bertram. I found it hard to believe that after the way Bertram rejects her and how harsh he is to her; she still loves him and goes to great lengths to prove it.

As a first read it was a tough one. I was worried that getting my head around the language would be tough and I was right. Hopefully that will get easier as I press on. And maybe the content will be better too. Not sure how I feel about this one. But there are plenty more plays to get through so the only way is up.

Sofa Spotlight - Waverley, Sir Walter Scott

It’s Sir Walter Scott. What can I say? Each of his novels seems to have about the first half of the entire thing as his introduction. It’s like wading through treacle. And Waverley is no different. My biggest surprise in this novel was how little of it took place around Edinburgh, given the railway station. Also Waverley is English, another surprise, was expecting him to be Scottish.

Waverley’s history seemed a bit complex to me, but then it was probably in the dreary first half of the book. But it seems like he is brought up by his uncle, and thus is his heir. The uncle is a Jacobite, but Waverley’s father isn’t, I think. But Waverley himself gets sent off to Scotland to serve in the King’s Army. And he is supposed to be fighting the Scots.

By some strange twists and turns he actually ends up fighting with the Scottish against the English under Bonny Prince Charlie. When that goes wrong he has to try and not get tried for treason by the English.

It was hard to have sympathy for Waverley, although it was easy to his character progression, and he was less of a muppet by the end of it all. But there wasn’t really a character I could get behind. No one seemed to be particularly great at making good decisions.

Not sure I would recommend this one, I personally would be happy never to see it again.

Sofa Spotlight - Bare Bones, Kathy Reichs

As I mentioned when I reviewed 204 Bones by Kathy Reichs, I am a huge fan of the TV series Bones. Which is what has led me to the books. Although I would like to point out that I actually read one of the books first. Which is why around Christmas I progressed to Bare Bones.

It was a fun read, if a bit gruesome along the way. There are many threads and ultimately bodies to be discovered in this book. The first is the remains of a newborn baby in a woodstove. Maybe murder, maybe not. Then a small plane crashes and there’s two more unidentified bodies to deal with. And then more remains on a farm not far away. As we know they all have to be connected right?

How it all ties together is what I love about murder mysteries and it’s also what I enjoyed so much about the TV series. And of course there is the excellent dramatic ending. I love these books, but there is a bit of gore that makes me feel funny but if you’re good with that you would probably enjoy these. This one feels like a particularly good summer read.

Sofa Spotlight - C. S. Lewis: A Life, Alister McGrath

I grew up loving the Chronicles of Narnia. The land of Narnia wasn’t somewhere that I just read in the novels, I of course watched and enjoyed every adaptation that was available. And who couldn’t enjoy the BBC adaptations from the late 80’s? Mr Beaver – terrifying.  But on top of all that I explore the lands C. S. Lewis had created in my imagination most days. I loved them.

My next experience of Lewis was in The Screwtape Letters, which in my opinion, are a work of genius. Mere Christianity was my most recent read of his and I am yet to read the Space Trilogy, or any of his other non-fiction works. So it was only natural when I saw this book that I would want to read it and meet the man behind the works that I had so much enjoyed.

Initially I found it hard to get into. I’m not a huge biography reader and I often find the opening chapters hard going. But once I had battled through that I found this to be a fascinating book. It was the kind where you get annoyed by interruptions and you have to be reminded to eat.

There was so much that I didn’t know about C. S. Lewis. My knowledge of him had kind of been limited to an awe of someone who could create a world like Narnia. I remember when I first found out that he was an Oxford academic and had a bit of difficulty getting my head around him being both academic and immensely creative. I know it’s not that unusual to be both but I was young. But that was where my knowledge ended. I had no idea about his involvement with WWI or about his relationships with his father and brother.

So yes, one I would most certainly recommend. Make a brew, or get an ice cream and make an afternoon of it.

Sofa Spotlight - The Pat Hobby Stories, F. Scott Fitzgerald

In the spirit of giving writers that I’m not sure about another chance, I decided to crack on and read these short stories. The Great Gatsby didn’t do much for me, but I had better success with Babylon Revisited, so maybe the Pat Hobby Stories would work out. And they sort of did but by the end I was glad to say goodbye to Pat Hobby and move on.

So who is Pat Hobby? He is a failed screen writer, loitering around Hollywood (I assume it was Hollywood) looking for a job, or more accurately, hoping that a job will fall into his lap. There is a feel of Bertie Wooster to him, in that he gets caught up in quite a few scrapes and, when he does get out of them, resolve themselves in remarkable ways.

A bit of research seemed to imply that Fitzgerald based Pat Hobby on himself. Which made me quite sad because Pat isn’t the kind of character you would want to have based on yourself, comedic as he is.

My main problem with the stories is the 1920’s style of writing. It’s ok if you can get into it, but I found it particularly difficult to navigate in some of these stories. But if that isn’t something that bothers you then I’m sure you will enjoy this collection.

Sofa Spotlight - Wilder Girls, Rory Power

This is the YA debut of Rory Power and it was phenomenal. The story is set in a girls school located on an island. A terrible illness has swept through the school and now they are quarantined (sound familiar).

Unlike Covid-19 this virus gives the girls mutations that are bizarre and include stuff like extra limbs. Their contact with the mainland involves a delivery of food and supplies that the boat crew go to collect. The boat crew are the only ones allowed to leave the school grounds. But of course those rules get broken.

Outside the ground it’s dangerous as the virus as turned the wildlife and vegetation into extreme predators. Less so with the trees but you get the vibe they’re not friendly. 

Hetty finds herself as part of the boat crew and pulled into an even darker narrative than being in lockdown at school. Especially when her friend Byatt disappears. It is a gripping psychological read that doesn’t let you stop guessing right until the end. 

Highly recommend it but there is a bit of graphic stuff in here so be aware of that. Great read though.