Six of the Best

Life by Keith Richards

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer.

Stuart – a life sdrawkcaB by Alexander Masters

True North by Kimberly Kafka

The Shack by Wm Paul Young

Old Filth by Jane Gardam

These are six of the best books I’ve read recently – all recommended to me by fellow bloggers with the exception of Life which was a Christmas present from our French son.

Life by Keith Richards

The great thing about Life – although it was written with James Fox – one could well be sitting in a bar, night after night listening to the man himself telling all that had happened in his rock and roll life in the last four decades. His childhood in Dartford -”Everyone in Dartford is a thief – it runs in the blood”, his obsession with the guitar , meeting Mick Jagger on a railway station and later Brian Jones, and forming a band.

The drug busts, falling in love, a disastrous marriage, addiction, tragedies and confessions – it’s all there. A ‘red mist’ seems to descend if anyone criticises his music and a knife and a gun is always to hand, which he is not afraid to use.

I learned a lot about him and his outlaw life; one of the most fascinating facets of the story is his love- hate relationship with Mick Jagger - “ I love the man.”.

One is thankful that the ‘red mist ‘ didn’t descend during their worst periods. Now in his late sixties he seems to be happily settled with his wife Patti Hanson living in Connecticut and presumably done with ‘the heavy shit’. The book is a hefty tome with fascinating photos taken throughout his life.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

This delightful book was recommended by Nea (side bar).

The writer is an American from West Virginia who became interested in the Channel Island Guernsey whilst visiting London in 1976. She visited the island and was stranded by a heavy fog. She read a book Jersey under the Jack-Boot and became fascinated with the Channel Islands. Many years later she wrote this book – her only novel which was published in thirteen countries.

The book is about a writer Juliet Ashton and the power of friendship, love of books and love. She receives a letter from a Guernsey man who has, by chance acquired a book that once belonged to her. Both admirers of Charles Lamb they start a correspondence and he tells her of the society which is the book’s title. Gradually other members of the society write to her and she learns about life under the German Occupation. The time is about 1946. Intrigued by the stories Juliet makes a trip to Guernsey and her life is changed forever.

I love everything about this book and learned much about the war-time Channel Island experience. It is of particular interest to anyone interested in the writing process. As Kate Long said : “Definitely a book to curl up with and simply enjoy.”

Stuart – a life sdrawkcaB by Alexander Masters.

When I wrote a post about a homeless person in Minehead, Kim( sidebar) told me about this book. Afterwards I told him I found it both gripping and gruelling but I’m glad I read it. Hopefully the more the dark under belly of life is brought into daylight the more it can be dealt with.

It’s the story of a friendship between Stuart a homeless beggar, who is an alcoholic and drug addicted, and Alexander, a reclusive writer who lives in Cambridge. They meet whilst Alexander is working with a homeless charity and their friendship covers the last two years of Stuart’s life. Alexander probes into Stuart’s past life and uncovers a hellish childhood which seemed to have happened under his mother’s nose.

The book is thankfully devoid of do-goodishness and Alexander’s frustration and exasperation with Stuart is often comic.

“Alexander, sort it out- you’re the writer, I just done the living.”

This book is an award winning memoir.

More Later.