ICTChris Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 NO! The whole point was that he ADMITS being recruited to the Waffen SS aged 17 at the end of the war. Read the rest of the critical article here... Gunter Grass I'm not defending him, but having a dig at an 80 year old who was coerced into joining the last remnants of a defeated army in 1947 aged just 17 is a tad hypercritical, particularly bearing in mind the reparation he has made through books like Die Blechtrommel, Katz und Maus, Hundejahre, örtlich betäubt, Aus dem Tagebuch einer Schnecke, Der Butt, Das Treffen in Telgte, Kopfgeburten oder Die Deutschen sterben aus, Die Rättin, Zunge zeigen-Ein Tagebuch in Zeichnungen, Prosa und einem Gedicht, Unkenrufe, Ein weites Feld, Mein Jahrhundert and Im Krebsgang, not to mention his art works, plays and poetry. My favourite is the re-working of the Corialanus story - Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand. Ein deutsches Trauerspiel. Incidentally, John Irving of 'The World According to Garp' fame studied under Gunter - didn't seem to do his liberal and humanitarian tendancies any harm. So GIRUY! B) Did he not feel like mentioning that he was in the SS at any time during the previous 60 odd years? He'd have done well to join the SS in 1947 as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Stand Bairn Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Has anybody read anything by Stuart MacBryde and/or Quentin Jardine? If yes, how did you find them to read? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Half A Person Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Has anybody read anything by Stuart MacBryde and/or Quentin Jardine? If yes, how did you find them to read? Didn't like Quentin Jardine stuff. very straight-laced and the main guy in it was a rotten character - it was like he could do no wrong. Very annoying and the way it was written irritated me for a reason which I can't put my finger on. Not a patch on Rebus, which I suppose is the closest comparison. Stuart MacBride is a FINE writer, mixing black humour with decent plots. He rerally conveys the feel of a place and of a situation and some of teh characters he's came up with have are fantastic. I would very much recommend his books. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mak QOSFC Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killiekranky Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 The Bible by Neil Mcfarlane 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mak QOSFC Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 The Bible by Neil Mcfarlane You have a copy? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrison Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Finished Needful Things by Stephen King tonight. The first of his I've read, and I enjoyed it. There was a twang of predictability about it, but I liked several of his characters, including the evil one I want to start on The Dark Tower series I've heard good things about, will have to start hunting around for them now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberman Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Finished Needful Things by Stephen King tonight. The first of his I've read, and I enjoyed it. There was a twang of predictability about it, but I liked several of his characters, including the evil one I want to start on The Dark Tower series I've heard good things about, will have to start hunting around for them now. I liked Needful things, it's one of King's best imo. I would reccommend The Stand also, that's his best one according to his website. I read one of The dark tower series, I think it was called the twin towers, it was awful. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footiechick Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman Worth a read 8/10. How a woman survives being struck by lightning, her meetings with others that have suffered the same fate but have different conditions. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 Didn't like Quentin Jardine stuff. very straight-laced and the main guy in it was a rotten character - it was like he could do no wrong. Very annoying and the way it was written irritated me for a reason which I can't put my finger on. I read one of his books and it scanned to me like something a high school pupil would write. Laughable lack of depth to any of the characters. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Half A Person Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I read one of his books and it scanned to me like something a high school pupil would write. Laughable lack of depth to any of the characters. You're absolutely right, but I think it was his picture on the inside of the dust jacket which irritated me more. Very annoying. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 You're absolutely right, but I think it was his picture on the inside of the dust jacket which irritated me more. I only realised when I saw he was appearing at the book festival this year that he had written several books. Goes to show that some Publishers will print anything. I suppose he must sell enough books to make a living, against all the odds. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Half A Person Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I only realised when I saw he was appearing at the book festival this year that he had written several books. Goes to show that some Publishers will print anything. I suppose he must sell enough books to make a living, against all the odds. My brother likes him, unbelievably, and he gave me a loan of one of his books. But he's also a fan of John Grisham, so I should have known better. He's written tons of books , as you said, but they are truly terrible. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 He's written tons of books , as you said, but they are truly terrible. I've always wondered if I could write a book, then I read someone with talent and realise how hopeless I would be in comparison. The I read someone like Jardine and think, actually, I am pretty sure I could do better than that. I read one recently from Anthony Jimenez - who can only be described as a poor man's Grisham. Hard to believe that is possible, yet it is! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberman Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Hell in Barbados - The true story of a man imprisoned in paradise - Terry Donaldson Donaldson was a minor celebrity after his show on Live TV and writing several books about tarot reading, he was friends with Chris Evans until his secret life got the better of him. He would trawl London's seedy Soho area at night hunting for prostitutes, crack and heroin, his addiction cost him his job, wife and family, his home and eventually his freedom as he stupidly agreed to become a mule smuggling cocaine from Barbados to the UK, he was caught and sent down for 4 years in barbaric conditions. This book tells of his time witnessing rapes, stabbings, murders and eventually a full scale riot which led to the prison being burned to the ground, he was freed is now on the stright and narrow, free from drugs and working as a counseller in London helping addcts overcome their problems. 8/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Links_Park_Dynamo Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Just finished Irvine Welsh - If You Liked School, You'll Love Work. It wass Welsh's first collection of short stories since Acid House and wasn't to shabby although two of the stories were rank rotten. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiviClyde Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 (edited) I've always wondered if I could write a book, then I read someone with talent and realise how hopeless I would be in comparison. The I read someone like Jardine and think, actually, I am pretty sure I could do better than that. I read one recently from Anthony Jimenez - who can only be described as a poor man's Grisham. Hard to believe that is possible, yet it is! HB, your starting to sound like the Literature Police! Books are like music, one man's meat is another man's poison. I don't mind Grisham - easy reading. Just finished Michael Connelly's The Last Coyote featuring your namesake LAPD detective. Again just what you'd expect - a decent crime novel with enough pace to make me want to keep reading it. At my age I just want a bit escapism when I pick up a book and really don't want to be arsed with anything too heavy or deep. Is that OK? Edited August 14, 2007 by LiviClyde 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewie Griffin Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I only realised when I saw he was appearing at the book festival this year that he had written several books. Goes to show that some Publishers will print anything. I suppose he must sell enough books to make a living, against all the odds. I quite liked the early Skinner novels but they became increasingly ridiculous and a different member of his family became threatened and the other characters turned into soap opera characters. He actually stopped giving the books proper endings and they just became instalments in a long running saga. Saw him a couple of times at the Book Festival and he is an extraordinarily smug, self satisfied man. Mind you I found Rankin a bit smug too and Iain Banks was really full of himself. Without wishing to appear sycophantic the regular contributor to PnB who appears at the Book Fest is one of the best authors to see. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro's Love Child Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Just finished a book by a cad named Guy Grieve. It is titled Call Of The Wild: My Escape To Alaska. Basically he gives up his life at home and tries to survive in Alaska for a year by himself. Not the type of book I would normally read but really enjoyed it. Also recently finished I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan. Brilliant book where God offers Satan a chance of redemption by living out a blameless life as a human. Satan sorts a deal to try it out for a month before making any decisions. Excellent story and well written. Can't recommend it enough. Have just started Number 9 Dream by David Mitchell. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberman Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Christopher Chance - The lone Brit on 13, A prisoner's hell in Spain toughest Jail, the follow up to Carabanchel - the last brit in europe's hellhole prison. This time Chance tells of his adventures as a drug smuggler, his run ins with the navy, coastguard, customs and police, dining with morroccan royalty at the height of his involvement in the drug trade as well as dining with moroccan police and toffs. A well written novel, Chance is a very humourous person, the book is laugh out loud in places full marks from me 10/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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