Published in the Sunday Times
Shanghai Grand
Taras Grescoe (Macmillan)
****
Book fling
Based on a real-life romance, Shanghai Grand developed into a most intoxicating book. Zau was a handsome, cosmopolitan Chinese poet; Mickey was a beautiful and outrageous American journalist: they met in Sir Victor Sassoon’s fabulous Cathay Hotel in 1936 and fell scandalously in love. The people they encountered range from gangsters to Russian aristocrats, authors to spies, millionaire colonials to Jewish refugees, but most fascinating of all is the seductive city of Shanghai. — Aubrey Paton
Dogs of Courage
Clare Campbell (Corsair)
****
Book buff
During World War 2, the British government set out to recruit an army of dogs. This is a fascinating compendium of stories about the adventures of those hounds who went to war. A military, feminist and canine history tour told with warmth and empathy. The narrative style did get a bit plummy and a tad jingoistic at times, but a compelling historical read nonetheless. — Zoe Hinis @ZoeHinis
The Noise of Time
Julian Barnes (Knopf)
****
This slim fictional account of the life of Dmitri Shostakovich starts in 1936. It’s the height of the purges, and the composer’s latest opera has found disfavour with Stalin. As Shostakovich waits for what he assumes will be his arrest and death, he recalls the circumstances that have led him to this point. He dodges that bullet, but for the rest of his life he has to balance his artistic and moral integrity with his survival; his complicity in his own and other musicians’ humiliations leaves him trapped and guilty. Barnes treats his historical research with a light hand, keeping the focus intimately on his protagonist’s perspective, to deliver an oddly gripping, affecting and occasionally darkly humorous novel. — Kate Sidley @KateSidley
Out of Orange: A Memoir
Cleary Wolters (HarperCollins)
Book buff
How does a normal person in their 20s get involved in drug smuggling? According to Cleary Wolters, it’s one stupid bad decision after the other — and the allure of easy money. Wolters wants to make things clear: that even though the character of Alex Vause from Orange is the New Black is based on her, there’s plenty that’s not true in the TV show. For one: she didn’t sleep with Piper in prison. Told in a matter-of-fact way, Wolters’s story is sad, often depressing and completely fascinating. — Jennifer Platt @Jenniferdplatt
Book details
- Shanghai by Taras Grescoe
EAN: 9781447253433
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- Dogs of Courage by Clare Campbell
EAN: 9781472115676
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- The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
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EAN: 9781910702604
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- Out of Orange by Cleary Wolters
EAN: 9780062376145
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