#WWWWednesday – 17th January 2024

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WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

One of the older books from my NetGalley shelf and a book for my personal Backlist Burrow reading challenge (that I hoped to complete by the end of 2023 but didn’t).

The Most Difficult ThingThe Most Difficult Thing/Part of the Family by Charlotte Philby (The Borough Press via NetGalley)

How do you know who’s on your side, if you don’t know whose side you’re on?

David is the heir to global company TradeSmart, run by his philanthropic father Clive Witherall. Meg is an ambitious intern at a national newspaper, determined to break into the media world. Anna is hiding a dark secret, desperately clinging onto her new identity.

When the three friends meet Harry, everything changes…

As Anna finds herself drawn into the dark and highly controlled world of espionage, she is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the people who have recruited her – and about herself.

All Day at the MoviesAll Day at the Movies by Fiona Kidman (Gallic Books)

When war widow Irene Sandle goes to work in New Zealand’s tobacco fields in 1952, she hopes to start a new, independent life for herself and her daughter – but the tragic repercussions of her decision will resonate long after Irene has gone.

Each of Irene’s children carries the events of their childhood throughout their lives, played out against a backdrop of great change – new opportunities emerge for women, but social problems continue to hold many back. Headstrong Belinda becomes a successful filmmaker, but struggles to deal with her own family drama as her younger siblings are haunted by the past.

Recently finished

His Bloody ProjectHis Bloody Project: Documents relating to the case of Roderick Macrae by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Contraband)

The year is 1869. A brutal triple murder in a remote community in the Scottish Highlands leads to the arrest of a young man by the name of Roderick Macrae.

A memoir written by the accused makes it clear that he is guilty, but it falls to the country’s finest legal and psychiatric minds to uncover what drove him to commit such merciless acts of violence.

Was he mad? Only the persuasive powers of his advocate stand between Macrae and the gallows. (Review to follow)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

To Kill a KingTo Kill a King (Master of War #8) by David Gilman (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

Bordeaux, 1367. Having angered the bloodthirsty Don Pedro, King of Castile, Sir Thomas Blackstone is thoroughly sick of his mission for the Prince of Wales, but must remain true to his oath.

But this is the Hundred Years’ War, and tensions are rising once more. With the Prince of Wales deeply unpopular in his Aquitainian lands, Blackstone, King Edward’s Master of War, must return to French soil to help stem the tide of support for the King of France.

Meanwhile, Henry, Blackstone’s son, faces an incognito ride across France with his own motley band of outlaws and mercenaries. But the French are aware of the younger Blackstone’s journey, and see a perfect way to target the Master of War…

Book Review – Back Trouble by Clare Chambers

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About Back Trouble

Book cover of novel, Back Trouble by Clare Chambers

On the brink of forty, newly single with a failed business, Philip thought he’d reached an all-time low.

Paper bag containing French fries

It only needed a discarded chip on a South London street to lay him literally flat. So, bedbound and bored, Philip naturally starts to write the story of his life.

But between the mundane catalogue of seaside holidays and bodged DIY, broken relationships and unspoken truths, more surprises are revealed, both comic and touching, than Philip or his family ever bargained for.

Perhaps there will even be a happy ending.

Format: Paperback (224 pages) Publisher: Arrow Books
Publication date: 3rd January 2002 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Find Back Trouble on Goodreads

My Review of Back Trouble

Book cover of Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

I absolutely adored Clare Chambers’ novel Small Pleasures. [Related post: Book Review – Small Pleasures] It made me keen to explore more of her backlist so I added this and another of her books, A Dry Spell, to my reading list for my personal Backlist Burrow reading challenge. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and A Dry Spell is still patiently waiting in my TBR pile.

Philip, the book’s rather hapless hero, has a ton of problems on his plate. The failure of his business means he fears every knock on the door may be a bailiff, his relationship with his girlfriend Kate seems as if it might be at an end, and his relationship with his rather bombastic father is strained. His life has been one of serial underachievement and a reluctance to commit. ‘I was addicted to the idea of transition – in jobs that couldn’t last, in temporary accommodation, in transient relationships.’

Philip’s enforced period of immobility provides the motivation he needs to embark on – finally – writing a book: the story of his life. He is determined to recount events with total accuracy, noting ‘After all, this is an autobiography, not fiction’. Excerpts from his autobiography alternate with more recent events in his life, particularly the course of his relationship with Kate.

The author has unerring eye for the little details of domestic life. If you are a child of the 1960s, many of Philip’s memories of his early years will strike a chord – Friday bath nights, the unvarying weekly menu of familiar dishes, the annual holiday in seaside guest houses. Episodes are described with humour and often a touch of the absurd. But there also some touching scenes.

Although Back Trouble doesn’t have the emotional heft of Small Pleasures, it’s still an enjoyable read with some amusingly eccentric characters and an engaging protagonist. And it’s ending is certain to leave you with a warm feeling.

In three words: Well-observed, engaging, funny
Try something similar: Everyday Magic by Charlie Laidlaw

About Clare Chambers

Author Clare Chambers

Clare Chambers’ first job after leaving university was working with Diana Athill at André Deutsch. They published her first novel Uncertain Terms in 1992. Clare is also the author of Back Trouble, Learning to Swim, A Dry Spell, In A Good Light, The Editor’s Wife and Small Pleasures.

She lives with her husband in south-east London.