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

The Mouthless Dead: 'Completely addictive' Jonathan Coe is a kindle deal of the day today.

Published this year, although the author has a planned new title next year. This is based on the Wallace Murder in Liverpool and is most definitely on my TBR list.

A powerful and gripping crime novel based on the Wallace Murder, a national cause célèbre of the 1930s and still unsolved today, by the author of Curtain Call and Our Friends in Berlin

One night in 1931 William Wallace was handed a phone message at his chess club from a Mr Qualtrough, asking him to meet at an address to discuss some work. Wallace caught a tram from the home he shared with his wife, Julia, to the address which turned out, after Wallace had consulted passers-by and even a policeman, to not exist.

On returning home two hours later he found his wife beaten to death in the parlour. The elaborate nature of his alibi pointed to Wallace as the culprit. He was arrested and tried, found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang, but the next month the Court of Criminal Appeal sensationally overturned the verdict and he walked free. The killer was never found.

Fifteen years on, the inspector who worked the case is considering it once more. Speculation continues to be rife over the true killer's identity. James Agate in his diary called it 'the perfect murder', Raymond Chandler said 'The case is unbeatable. It will always be unbeatable'. And on a cruise in 1947, new information is about to come to light.

Thanks Susan


I love AQ - and have a few of his more recent books to catch up on

Needless to say I've snapped this one up - thanks for highlighting it

If you, or anyone else, fancies a buddy read then reply here

I absolutely do want to read it. Let me know when you plan to get to it and I will join in.

There are a few non-fiction titles on the Wallace Murder. I recall reading The Wallace Case: Britain's Most Baffling Unsolved Murder

Who really killed Julia Wallace? The final verdict.

Ever since that terrible night in January 1931, when the body of Julia Wallace was found in her Liverpool home, her head crushed by violent blows, the identity of her killer has remained a mystery.

Her husband, William, was accused, tried, convicted and sentenced to hang for murder, but he was then acquitted in a sensational appeal court judgement. Yet the police refused to reopen their investigation.

So who did kill Julia? When Roger Wilkes started researching a dramatised radio documentary for Liverpool's Radio City, he uncovered new evidence which suggested a disturbing story - a crucial witness ignored by the police, even a suggestion of a deliberate cover-up.

Finally, he provides compelling evidence as to the identity of the real killer.

I don't think I was convinced by the definite naming of the murderer at the time, if I recall.

Susan wrote: "I absolutely do want to read it. Let me know when you plan to get to it and I will join in."


Is November doable for you Susan?

Otherwise let me know your preference. I'm flexible

Yes, November is doable, although I won't start it until the end of the month at the earliest.

Okay, thanks


I’ll set it up for November 2025 and make a note to aim to start it in late November