GWC – 1st November 2023
Book Review Evening
After our Halloween Revels last week, Our President Margaret, gave us a short talk on how to write a Book Review. This week, we all brought our five hundred words Book Review and read them out, in the hope of winning the Puffin Trophy (a recent discovery by our own Helen Heffernan).
And what a delightful mix of Reviews there were – starting off with our Resident Historian Graeme Bowman, we had to guess the book he was reviewing from the description he gave. This book helped him through the tedious process of writing a dissertation in the University Library. It was a wild, naughty, outrageous book called Prick Up your Ears by Joe Orton, a hilarious Review delivered well by Graeme.
Next up was Franziska and her humorous books on cats and their behaviours written by a German Author Ralf Schmitt.
Helen provided us with an exciting travel journal called Dark Star Safari written by Paul Theroux featuring his travels and at times dangerous escapades around Africa.
Christine terrified us with her excellent review of dystopian novel Chrysalis by John Wyndham, featuring a Post Nuclear Holocaust society dominated by a Religious Cult.
Laurie was one of two Reviews of a James Ellroy novel, this one is called Perfidia and is set in the runup to the attack on Pearl Harbour. Lauries’ love of Ellroys’ writing style, prose and storyline is very evident.
Mhairi’s review was of a Golden Age Crime novel called Strong Poison written by Dorothy L Sayer and one from a series of Lord Peter Wimseys’ Detective stories. Will Lord Peter save the protagonist from the gallows ?
Our President Margaret provided and excellent review on a Lisa Jewell Novel called None of this is true. Two women, birthday twins, lives start to intertwine until the main character finds her friend is hiding some very dark secrets.
Cationas’ review is based on a novel that plays with the concept of Time, can the past be revisited? A Japanese novel translated into English it is called Before the Coffee Gets Cold, the premise being several characters can travel back to a point in time, but they must return before their freshly poured coffee gets cold.
Maria treated us to a bone shaker of a review of an Erik Larson novel called The Devil in the White City, about a serial killer who lured victims to their death in his ‘ Murder Castle’.
Roberts review was on another James Ellroy book called American Tabloid, featuring three interconnecting and dodgy characters whos’ story merges at the point of JF Kennedys’ assassination.
Duane gave us a fascinating review of the novel called Fingerprints of the Gods, based around archaeology and history, providing a story of an ancient pre-history civilisation.
Such an entertaining evening , and ended with votes for the best Review, the winner of the Puffin Trophy being Catriona Sherry. Well Done Catriona!
Our Writing Exercise was based on the ‘Worst Lie’ you were ever told and its effects which produced some impressive writing on some shocking effects. Another fabulous evening with equally great writing from the group.