Karl's Reading List

Published by Hodder & Stoughton: London, 2020. This novel, like the vast majority of works by John Grisham, follows a lawyer as he attempts to win a difficult case. In this instance the lawyer is Jake Brigance, who also starred in Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, published back in 1989. Although this novel is written over 30 years after that one (it is also apparently the third novel to star Brigance) it is set in 1990. Grisham's novel's are always able to be read as stand-alones, and in fact I didn't even realise this was a sequel into quite a long way into the book. I imagine that if you had read A Time to Kill and the first sequel Sycamore Row you would have a better connection with Brigance and his family, but Time for Mercy does a good job of setting up who these characters are and why we should care about them anyway. In this novel Brigance faces two cases, although one of them is far more important to the plot: sixteen year old Drew Gamble has shot and ...

Published   by Bethany House Publishers: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1991. Book 1 in 'An Emerald Ballad.' Followed by ' Heart of the Lonely Exile. ' This is the first in the series of Christian novels that I remember reading when I was younger. After finishing the Mark of the Lion series, Elise and I were looking for a new series in a similar vein, and decided to give this one a try. All I could remember about the book was that it was very sad, and was set during the Irish Potato Famine.  So... This book is set during the Irish Potato Famine, and it is very sad! We follow the quickly dwindling Kavanagh family as they seek to survive the horror of those times, mostly focussing on the middle child Daniel and his frail yet stubborn mother Nora. The main support they have comes in the form of Morgan Fitzgerald, a revolutionary man who has loved Nora since they were both children, and whom Daniel idolizes. Also gradually gaining prominence as the plot progresses is the character...

Published by Orbit Books: London, England, 2017. A strange science-fiction book, in that it is a simple storyline, but with a strange amount of complex world-building for a 'stand alone' novel. Apparently this is because Provenance is set in the same universe as author Ann Leckie's previous trilogy, but as a reader fresh to Leckie's world, I found it a little confusing. Not only are there numerous political factions and treaties being signed between groups that the reader never actually encounters in the book, but Leckie also includes a third gender into her world without explaining fully how the whole thing works. This is particularly disorienting when the third gender is referred to as 'e' (as opposed to 'he' or 'she') or 'eir' (as opposed to 'their') with no warning - I honestly thought the book was just poorly edited for quite some time.  As for the storyline itself, we follow Ingray Aughskold, the adopted daughter of Netano A...

Published by Orion Books: London, England, 2014 (2013). Over the past few days Elise and I had a mini-holiday in Wellington, staying at the home of some friends. Rather than take a lot of reading material I looked through their bookshelf and ending up reading this novel. I had never heard of Linwood Barclay before, but he is a Canadian author, and writes a lot of detective stories. This is one such story, which borders on the 'thriller' genre in patches. Private detective Cal Weaver, stopped at traffic lights on a rainy night, is approached by a teenage girl wanting a lift. At first he refuses her, but when she admits to knowing Cal's now-deceased son Scott, Cal decides to pick her up. After a confusing set of circumstances Claire goes missing and now Cal is determined to figure out what happened to her. He must face off against a fairly corrupt police force, a killer on the loose, the antagonistic mayor of the town, and try to repair the relationship he has with his wife w...

Published by Huia Publishers: Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, 2021 (2020). Niko Te Kainga-mataa lives in the small town of Pohe Bay, a predominantly Māori community where the New Zealand government is planning to build a prison. Niko's grandfather, Tangaroa, is opposed to the prison, saying that it is going to be built on Māori land that is being watched over by the taniwha Taukere. Unfortunately, Tangaroa is known as the "pōrangi man" (crazy man), and throughout the book we see that he has lost some of his mental faculties - even to the point of urinating on people. As his grandson, and as someone who also wants to stand up against the prison being built, Niko too is labelled as pōrangi. Through the book, Niko has to wrestle with his own beliefs regarding Taukere, as well as learning to take a stronger leadership role in the community, particularly in the area of protesting the prison. Being written by a Māori author, Shilo Kino,  The Pōrangi Boy has a very authentic M...

Published by Fourth Estate: London, 2013 (2012). Book Two of the Wolf Hall Trilogy: ' Wolf Hall '; ' Bring Up The Bodies '; 'The Mirror and the Light'. The second novel in a series charting the life of Thomas Cromwell, Bring Up The Bodies follows the template set down by Wolf Hall : Cromwell is such a central figure to the book that almost any use of the word 'he' refers to Cromwell himself, yet he is such a closed figure that his true motivations are only revealed occasionally. We see Cromwell maneuvering and manipulating, but whether he is serving his own motivations or those of his liege, Henry VIII, remain mostly concealed. Even the 'side' of various debates can remain murky, with Cromwell happy to befriend even those he means to bring down in order to fully take advantage of the situation. Bring Up The Bodies, like its predecessor, won the Booker prize, and in both cases I feel that this award was earned. The books are both very well written...

Published by Coronet Books/Hodder and Stoughton/Hemisphere Publishers Ltd: Great Britain, 1983 (1982). What a book to end the year with! Schindler's Ark is the book that inspired the movie Schindler's List (and is known by the latter name in some countries). It is also a Booker book, which meant I really had no idea what I was in for. The book (and the movie) tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German factory owner living in the Polish city of Crakow during World War 2, relating how he saved the lives of about 1200 Jews by labelling them as 'essential workers'. Stating it that way makes it sound as though Schindler did very little 'heroic', yet throughout the book he continually takes big risks to achieve his goal, both in terms of his own safety, and also in financial terms. The book, being about Jews in WW2, is obviously not a 'light' book, yet Keneally tells it in a way that really 'works'. His style here is an interesting one; he tells...

Published by Penguin English Library: London, England, 2012. First published 1859. This novel is one of the most well-known Dickens titles, and is the one that Dickens himself believed to be his finest work. It is also, ironically, the least "Dickensy" Dickens novel... Most of the Dickens novels have long chapters with grand flowing sentences, humorous descriptions and heavy layers of satire woven throughout. In A Tale of Two Cities, the humour is there but less present, and the chapters are far shorter. It feels as those Dickens was trying something new for this book - a far more 'edited down' style - and it is obvious from his comments that he was happy with the results. The book is well-written (as all Dickens books are), and the more 'minimalistic' style (comparatively) does suit the tale that is being told - involving romance, rescues, redemption, revenge, and revolution, to list some of the Rs. We meet the forgotten and broken prisoner Doctor Manette, hi...

Published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.: Wheaton, Illinois, 1993. Book 1 in the 'Mark of the Lion' series: " A Voice in the Wind "; " An Echo in the Darkness "; " As Sure as the Dawn ." Francine Rivers is a very well-known author in Christian circles, and this is one of her most popular books. I remember reading this when I was younger, but Elise didn't know the story at all. To be fair, I only remembered some of the major beats, but it was interesting having the two perspectives - I asked Elise on occasion where she thought the story was going, and would think about what elements I knew as we went forward, realising for myself when moments of foreshadowing occurred that weren't necessarily too obvious on the first read. The book follows three main characters: Hadassah (a Jewish Christian who is also a slave), Marcus (a Roman aristocrat who gradually falls for Hadassah), and Atretes (a German warrior who is forced to become a gladiator)...

With Andrew Quicke. Published by Hodder and Stoughton: Great Britain, 1981 (1980). This is another one of those incredibly challenging faith biographies that Elise and I seem to enjoy. Although not as well structured as some of the books (I would call it more of a 'memoirs' than a traditional 'biography'), the life story of Jackie Pullinger and her work in the Walled City of Hong Kong is both fascinating and immensely challenging. Jackie felt a call to missions from a young age, but after being rejected by a number of mission organisations, had some unexpected but inspiring advice from a friend who was also a minister: "If God is telling to you go - you had better go...If you had a job, a ticket, accommodation, a sick fund and a pension, you wouldn't need to trust Him...Anyone can go that way whether they are Christians or not. If I were you I would go out and buy a ticket for a boat going on the longest journey you can find and pray to know where to get off....

Published by Arrow/Random House: Australia, 1993. I quite like John Grisham novels. I like the fact that I can pick one up and enjoy it without having to think too deeply. Not that John Grisham novels are 'simple' in any way, but there is a reason that so many of his works have been adapted into action/thriller films (this book included): they read like a film. The Client follows the story of Mark Sway, whom, along with his younger brother Ricky, witnesses the suicide of a lawyer whose client was a violent mafia member. The mafia member, Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, has killed a US senator and hidden his body somewhere. The FBI know he did it, but cannot find the body. Mark, however, has learned where the body is hidden, and is now a target both for the FBI (who want him to talk) and the mafia (who want him silenced permanently). Mark is eleven years old, and although he is very mature for his age (he has witnessed a lot in his time that has made him grow up too quickly) ...

Published by Collins: London and Glasgow, 1953. Originally published 1841. Barnaby Rudge is one of the lesser-known Dickens novels - I knew nothing about the plot in advance - but it is still a beautifully worded book (if you like Dickens, that is). Interestingly, despite having picked this book relatively at random as my next read, I was impressed by how many elements of the plot seemed to have parallels to things going on in the world presently. This book is one of only two novels that Dickens wrote that were set historically (to him) - the other being A Tale of Two Cities - and the period in question is during the time leading up to, and including, the so-called 'Gordon Riots' of 1780, where Protestants in London were stirred up to riot against Catholics. Reading a book in which one group of a nation's population is provoked to riot against another group is something that is sadly already familiar to goings-on in the USA recently, but to then include a scene where the Br...

Published by Fourth Estate: London, 2010 (2009). Book One of the Wolf Hall Trilogy: ' Wolf Hall '; ' Bring Up The Bodies '; 'The Mirror and the Light'. Set during the reign of King Henry VIII, Wolf Hall follows the rise to power of Thomas Cromwell, who goes from son of a blacksmith to adviser to a cardinal, to advisor to Henry himself. The first chapter of the book is set during Cromwell's childhood, but immediately after this the book jumps to Cromwell as an adult, already adroit at political maneuvering. The 'prologue' therefore can seem a bit out of place, but it does serve as a constant reminder of where Cromwell has come from, and provides hints towards his motivations. Because Cromwell himself is fairly closed on this front. The book is written in a very close third-person narrative, with almost any mention of "he" referring to Cromwell. We get his thoughts, his conversations and actions, but at the same time very little about his mot...

Published in a omnibus edition as "The Circle Trilogy" : " Black "; " Red "; " White ", by Thomas Nelson: Nashville, Tennessee, 2004. In the third novel of this trilogy, Ted Dekker again shifts the allegorical world into a new era of allegory while continuing the 'real world' thriller plot of seeking to undo the effects of the deadly Raison Strain that has been released around the world. Now in the 'other' world Thomas leads a group of 'believers' called The Circle, who are in danger of fracturing into 'denominations' of sorts. The main area of dispute revolves around how to act regarding the Horde (the non-believer equivalents) who seek to destroy the fledgling community. One of Thomas' fellow leaders suggests leaving the Horde to their own devices rather than evangelising them at all, while another suggests 'watering down the gospel' by removing some of the more 'difficult' requirements of...

Published by W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd, London, 1978. This is the true story of the various criminals who combined to commit 'The Great Train Robbery' of 1963. We meet the main players and follow their lives as they enter the criminal world, learn why they turned to crime, and what eventually led to their decision to rob a night mail train. The life of crime is not glamourised - we learn very early on that most of their robberies don't pay off - and yet the criminals are seen in a slightly heroic manner. When everything begins to unravel following the robbery, the author points out how few things actually gave them away, and it is interesting to wonder how things could have gone differently and more successfully if the robbers had been slightly more 'fortunate'. There are elements of this story that I find fascinating to read in a non-fiction book, elements such as fake identities, secret plastic surgeries, and corrupt cops. This gives the work an odd 'a...

Published by Vintage/Penguin Random House New Zealand: NZ, 2019 (2008). This novel is primarily known as the book that inspired Taika Waititi's Oscar winning film Jojo Rabbit. It is also fairly well known that the book is quite different from the movie, particularly in tone. Waititi's films generally have a light-hearted quirky humour to them, even when dealing with weighty themes, and the adaptation Jojo Rabbit also makes the choice of including "imaginary Hitler" as a major character, something that does not happen in the book. The closest we get to anything like that is when the main character, Johannes Betzler, is wrestling with his 'non-Nazi' thoughts, and narrates: "If it's true I'd tried to get the young woman off my mind, by that time I was also trying to get Adolf Hitler off it. His constant reproach about my shortcomings irked me: my incapability, indecorum, infidelity, all starting with in and ejecting me out of his good opinion. Wh...

Published by Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd: Great Britain, Date unknown. The second book in 'The D'Artagnan Romances.' Followed by ' Twenty Years After. ' First published in French 1844. A true classic, and one of which many adaptations have been made over the years, The Three Musketeers follows the adventures of Athos, Aramis and Porthos - the "three inseparables" - and their young friend D'Artagnan as they get caught up in the political machinations of France, along with various romantic subplots. Cardinal Richelieu is a nemesis of sorts, though not as directly involved as he is in many of the movie adaptations, while Milady, the Countess de Winter, is a suitably violent and murderous adversary. The important thing to note going in to the book itself is that it is written in an era that has a different basic morality than our own. Certain crimes that we would consider fairly insignificant are seen as 'beyond the pale' to the character...

Published by Armada Classics, 1989. This is the true story of an escape from the "escape-resistant" Stalag 2 prisoner of war camp in World War 2. Eric Williams - one of the escapees - tells the story himself, about how they hid their tunnel under a wooden vaulting horse and avoided detection by implementing a fitness routine with a large number of other prisoners. Like any good escape story it has its highs and lows, successes and failures, but knowing it was true and is being told by one of the main participants adds an extra thrill to the proceedings. Completed 22 February 2019. Previous Book ~ Next Book

Published by Fourth Estate: London, 2014 (2010). This is such an incredible book, and such an incredible story as well.  Unbroken tells the true story of Louis Zamperini, an Italian-American growing up in the early 20th century. Louie starts off on "the wrong side of the tracks", but goes on to become an Olympic athlete, running in the Berlin Olympics and meeting Hitler as a result. When the USA joins the war, Louie becomes a bombardier, in charge of releasing bombs from his plane at the right moment. Eventually his bomber crashes and Louie (along with two others) is left in a small life-raft, adrift at sea for 46 days before getting rescued (and subsequently imprisoned) by the Japanese. I can skim over this partial synopsis in a single paragraph, but to actually read the book is to get far more into the reality of living through these events. Angelina Jolie - who was neighbours with Louie in his old age - directed the movie based on this book and although it is...

Published by Barnes and Noble Classics: New York, 2004. Translated by Constance Garnett in 1912. Originally published in Russian 1879-1880. This is one of those books you hear about, but that seems a bit intimidating to read. A translation from the Russian, 700 pages long, a novel full of debates about philosophy, the existence of God, and good versus evil.... Yet, it is well worth the read. Dostoevsky gradually unfolds the story, introducing us to each brother and allowing them to truly understand each of their individual  viewpoints, before eventually 'launching' into the main 'plot' (their father's murder) around half way through the book. The fact that this murder is such a long time in coming shows how unconcerned Dostoevsky is in the plot itself (not that there is a lack of events up until that point); rather, he is far more interested in the discussions that the plot, and the collision of the various characters, can produce. So when the religious brot...