Books
Books of the Year
A selection of the best and worst books of the year, chosen by some of our regular contributors
Deborah Devonshire
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (Profile Books, £9.99) is small, short, cheap and perfect. It is a gem among the dross, without a wasted word. It conjures a picture so skilfully that whenever I see the Derbyshire County Library van in the village I see Norman and his employer inside discussing their lists of books to borrow. Several bedside copies have already been taken away by my guests. I don’t blame them.
Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey (Penguin Viking, £20) proves truth to be stranger than fiction. It tells the history of the Fitzwilliam family, with its convoluted relationships, living in royal style at Wentworth House, the biggest-by-far private house in England.
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The power of the evasive word
Michael HowardThe Economist Book of Obituaries, by Keith Colquhoun and Ann Wroe
Deadlier than the male
Andrew TaylorWhen does a novel stop being a novel and become a crime story? It’s often assumed that there is an unbridgeable gap between them, but that’s not necessarily so.
Not just Hitler
Edward HarrisonThe Third Reich at War, 1939-1945, by Richard L. Evans
The done thing
Margaret MacMillanThe Politics of Official Apologies, by Melissa Nobles
Highs and lows on the laughometer
Bevis HillierJust What I Always Wanted: Unwrapping the World’s Most Curious Presents, by Robin Laurance
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Tim Grafton
November 15th, 2007 7:34pmRupert Christiansen refers to Lloyd Davies novel Mister Pip. The author is in fact Lloyd Jones. Mr Jones is a New Zealander and not a welshman should that have given rise to the confusion.
David Bowden
November 16th, 2007 5:40pmAs good as it was to see Jane Smiley's vastly underrated "Good Faith" on the list, it was first published back in 2003. Whereas the equally excellent "Ten Days in the Hills" was her latest. Perhaps Mr. Mount bought it in the same pound-shop as I did?