Reading the 20th Century discussion

I am indebted to both Mark and Susan, of this parish, for alerting me to the joys of Anthony Quinn.


Who is Anthony Quinn?

Anthony Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1964. From 1998 to 2013 he was the film critic for the Independent. He is the author of six novels: The Rescue Man, which won the 2009 Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award; Half of the Human Race; The Streets, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Walter Scott Prize; Curtain Call, which was chosen for Waterstones and Mail on Sunday Book Clubs; Freya, a Radio 2 Book Club choice and Eureka.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/ant...

So far I have only read three books by Anthony Quinn and these three books form a loose 20th century trilogy (so v appropriate for this group):

(1) ’Curtain Call',
(2) 'Freya' and
(3) 'Eureka'.

I won't pretend any of them are works of literary genius however they are all very engrossing and enormous fun and, crucially for me, all have a credible sense of time and place

I rated both 'Curtain Call' and 'Freya' five stars and yet, if anything, 'Eureka' was my favourite of the three books.

Although each of the three books stands alone, and can be read without reference to the other two, I strongly recommend anyone considering reading all three to work their way through sequentially.

I've reviewed each one...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In short, I loved them all, and look forward to reading more books by Anthony Quinn

I am now wondering which Anthony Quinn book to read next although, in truth, it doesn't really matter as I want to read his entire bibliography now



'Curtain Call' (2015) by Anthony Quinn

I loved (loved!) Half of the Human Race, one of those books I wanted to give 6-stars to!

Thanks Roman Clodia


That is very encouraging intel. I will report back when I get to it.

"A story of love, sacrifice, suffrage and county cricket". The cricket part sounds interesting!

It's got to be a great book if someone as heinously ignorant about cricket as I am can still love it to pieces!

I've just posted my Amazon review on here if you're interested: www.goodreads.com/review/show/2171702900

Sounds great - thanks Roman Clodia

There is a new book by Quinn out next Feb:

London, Burning

London, Burning is a novel about the end of the 1970s, and the end of an era. It concerns a nation divided against itself, a government trembling on the verge of collapse, a city fearful of what is to come, and a people bitterly suspicious of one another. In other words, it is also a novel about now.

Vicky Tress is a young policewoman on the rise who becomes involved in a corruption imbroglio with CID. Hannah Strode is an ambitious young reporter with a speciality for skewering the rich and powerful. Callum Conlan is a struggling Irish academic and writer who falls in with the wrong people. While Freddie Selves is a hugely successful theatre impresario stuck deep in a personal and political mire of his own making. These four characters, strangers at the start, happen to meet and affect the course of each other's lives profoundly.

The story plots an unpredictable path through a city choked by strikes and cowed by bomb warnings. It reverberates to the sound of alarm and protest, of police sirens, punk rock, street demos, of breaking glass and breaking hearts in dusty pubs. As the clock ticks down towards a general election old alliances totter and the new broom of capitalist enterprise threatens to sweep all before it. It is funny and dark, violent but also moving.

Sounds right up my street - thanks Susan

Yes, sounds great. If it appears on NetGalley, I will post.

Susan wrote: "Yes, sounds great. If it appears on NetGalley, I will post."


Thanks Susan, I appreciate it

I posted this in the currently reading thread and then remembered that we have a Quinn thread, so reposting it here too

Thanks again Susan. I'm loving....

London, Burning (2021)

As usual Anthony Quinn evokes a palpable sense of time and place, here it’s London in the late 1970s. The beleaguered city is in the grip of strike action with the Callaghan government on its last legs and Thatcher waiting in the wings, elsewhere the IRA are planting bombs, the Metropolitan Police are blighted by corruption, and punk rock is part of the soundtrack.

London, Burning tells the story of four disparate characters whose stories overlap and converge. It’s very cleverly executed and each character is compelling and interesting. It's all building up to a gripping finale

London, Burning is a novel about the end of the 1970s, and the end of an era. It concerns a nation divided against itself, a government trembling on the verge of collapse, a city fearful of what is to come, and a people bitterly suspicious of one another. In other words, it is also a novel about now.

Vicky Tress is a young policewoman on the rise who becomes involved in a corruption imbroglio with CID. Hannah Strode is an ambitious young reporter with a speciality for skewering the rich and powerful. Callum Conlan is a struggling Irish academic and writer who falls in with the wrong people. While Freddie Selves is a hugely successful theatre impresario stuck deep in a personal and political mire of his own making. These four characters, strangers at the start, happen to meet and affect the course of each other's lives profoundly.

The story plots an unpredictable path through a city choked by strikes and cowed by bomb warnings. It reverberates to the sound of alarm and protest, of police sirens, punk rock, street demos, of breaking glass and breaking hearts in dusty pubs. As the clock ticks down towards a general election old alliances totter and the new broom of capitalist enterprise threatens to sweep all before it. It is funny and dark, violent but also moving.

Good to hear, Nigeyb.

Have a few NetGalley books out in January which I am finishing first, but looking forward to it.

I've now finished....


London, Burning (2021)

Review here...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

5/5