The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber

Interesting little novel about a Canadian Aramaic scholar, Theo, who finds some hidden papyrii in an Iraqi museum, which, when translated, contain letters from an eyewitness to the crucifixion of Jesus.

There is a lot of humour in the book, particularly near the beginning in the translations. It is also interesting to read about how Theo gets on with publishing his first book ... haggling over the advance, being interviewed by the media in order to fit into a certain number of minutes, book readings and, especially, looking up his ranking and reading the reviews on Amazon. Familiar territory.

My one criticism would be that the story seems to fizzle out a bit at the end, and the importance of the Fifth Gospel in the world is left in some doubt - and what about its effects on Theo? A short read, started last night, finished today after haggis, and a Christmas present for H from Mum.

Now, what should I read next?

Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

As I finished this book on the tube, reading about a young man sitting weeping between the graves of his father and grandfather, elsewhere in the world, that same young man, slightly older now, was being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.

I am glad that I read this book; I am glad that the young man who wrote it was elected back in November and is now in the White House. Barack Obama's public life makes sense, reading about his early private life. When his Kenyan family are mentioned in the news, they conjure up the images from the book, and I feel as if I almost know them.

I would highly recommend this book, to anyone who enjoys autobiographies, and to anyone who wants to know more about the "most powerful man in the world".

Reading in 2008

So I apparently only managed to finish 25 books in 2008, three down from my 2007 total. I am sure I managed more than that, but never got round to writing the reviews!! So here they are, in reverse order:

• 25. Tales of Beedle the Bard - JK Rowling
• 24. The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
• 23. The Tailor King - Anthony Arthur
• 22. Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka
• 21. When A Crocodile Eats the Sun - Peter Godwin
• 20. Fearless Fighter - Vera Chirwa
• 19. The Freedom Writers Diary - Erin Gruwell
• 18. Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight - Alexandra Fuller
• 17. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
• 16. Apache: Girl Warrior - Tanya Landman
• 15. Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa - Peter Godwin
• 14. A Long Way Gone - Ishmael Beah
• 13. The Raphael Affair - Iain Pears
• 12. Boy - Roald Dahl
• 11. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid
• 10. The Medici Secret - Michael White
• 9. Fallen Gods - Quintin Jardine
• 8. The Immaculate Deception - Iain Pears
• 7. Misadventure in the Middle East - Henry Hemming
• 6. Mister Pip - Lloyd Jones
• 5. Not Without My Sister - Kristina, Juliana and Celeste
• 4. On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
• 3. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
• 2. The Gathering - Anne Enright
• 1. My Booky Wook - Russell Brand

So that's 10 autobiographical works, 9 by women, five set in Africa, four that were on the Booker shortlist (including the one that won), three children's books, four detective/murder-mystery stories. Not sure what that reveals about me!

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

An enforced retiral to the tube has meant that I have been able to finally finish Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon. I started this shortly after finishing The Bluest Eye, but, as I predicted at the time, it was a while before I had time in which to really get into and enjoy this book. However, what a treat it has been. Magical, mystical and mysterious. The story seems to go back and forth without due care to chronology, and then comes together in a satisfying way towards the end, dealing with identity, memory and family. I would definitely recommend this book.

Double Cross by Malorie Blackman

Malorie Blackman is one of my favourite writers; in particular, I have enjoyed her Noughts & Crosses trilogy, which actually now has five books in it. (A short "interlude" was written for World Book Day, and Double Cross continues the story where Checkmate left off.) So it is probably appropriate that this was my first book finished in 2009.

I received Double Cross as a Christmas present from my parents, and began reading it in the bath before my grandparents arrived for our New Year party on 2 January. I finished it while in bed recovering from an accident on 5 January.

Double Cross tells the story of what happened to Callie Rose after the bombing written about in Checkmate. It deals with gang culture, and, as always, Blackman deals sensitively with the issues currently affecting our young people. A shooting, knives, crime, gang leaders, drugs and territorial issues - Tobey has to try to ensure he doesn't "slip" from one area into another.

While I didn't find the emotional pull as much as in the original Noughts and Crosses, I enjoyed continuing the story of Callum and Sephy and their families. I now need to find some time to read all five books in the correct order all the way through!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling

This was actually my final read of 2008. A Christmas present from H, I read it over about three nights between Christmas and New Year.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard are five wizarding fairy tales; one features heavily in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. They are fairly simple, and the conceit is that Hermione Granger translated the copy that she received from Albus Dumbledore, along with his notes on the text. An interesting little book, although I would say only within the confines of the Harry Potter septology.