trustee from the toolroom by nevil shute

Is Nevil Shute underrated? I kind of feel like that’s the case. When I enthuse about him to other people they usually look blank. Nevil who? His most famous book – A Town Called Alice – is slowly sliding into relative obscurity. Which is a shame, as it’s really good. My fave is On the Beach, a perfect study of bleakness. And this one was rather satisfying too.

He tends to write about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. So in this story, Keith Stewart, a normal man from London, who enjoys a hobby making miniature engines and writing about them for a specialist magazine, is suddenly launched into an international adventure when his sister dies unexpectedly and leaves their daughter in his care. As her trustee, he feels it’s up to him to provide the best possible future for her, which results in a journey most people would balk at.

It’s amazing really, that this is the basis for a thrilling adventure. But it’s totally compelling. Set in the 1950s – without the modern conveniences of technology – it’s sort of fascinating to discover how you’d actually travel to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean on little to no money in your pocket. Of course, things go quite smoothly for Keith, which is convenient for the narrative – and he does have some very handy specialist knowledge which stands him in good stead.

I love Nevil Shute’s writing because there are no frills, no fancy devices – it’s all very straightforward and elegant. It reminds me of Daphne du Maurier in that regard. Substance is everything. Honestly, there is a whole chapter in this book about a yacht sailing into a storm that was the most tense thing I’ve read in a long time. Masterclass.

In short…

If you’ve never read Nevil then you’re missing out. Top writer with top stories. Give him a go – this book is a gentle winner, a solid 8/10

the romantic by william boyd

What a fascinating premise. William Boyd was handed a bundle of notes and papers which turned out to be an autobiography of sorts. He did a bit more digging and found out about the life of Cashell Ross, an orphan brought up by his aunt in County Cork in the early eighteenth century, on the grounds of a stately home. Boyd thought it would be better told as a novel, so he wrote it.

I adored Any Human Heart – a similar sort of story – the life of a man. The Romantic spans almost all of Cashell’s life – and what a life. A man that follows his heart; a romantic. It leads him all over the world, from deepest Africa to rural America. He encounters famous poets, explorers, tricksters, and European aristocracy. He falls in love, loses her, and finds her again many years later. It’s incredibly romantic. It sometimes reads as completely improbable; but then you remember that it’s not; this guy actually existed, and did these things.

I enjoyed this book. I don’t think it’s as compelling as Any Human Heart, but it moves at a good pace and changes direction often enough to keep the narrative interesting.

In short…

Classic Boyd; though not his best. I did enjoy it though, 8/10

the crow road by iain banks

I feel a bit bereft having literally just finished this 500 page book. It wasn’t perfect – some of the jumps back and forth in time were confusing, plus the almost endless descriptions of Scottish landscape, while beautiful, got a bit monotonous – but it was a bloody good read, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Seemingly starting out as an epic foray into an eccentric family history, at some point (quite far in) it also becomes a mystery, and then a murder mystery. By then I was hooked so it could’ve gone full on genre-twist for all I care. There could’ve been spaceships. I’d have still liked it.

Told (mostly) from the point of view of Prentice McHoan – the middle son of Kenneth and Mary, grandson of Margot – we follow him over the course of a year or so, plus flashbacks, as various family/personal crises occur and he tries to deal with them. Death plays a big part, hence the title (‘the Crow Road’ being a euphemism) and there’s a lot of political/religious/spiritual wrangling (the book is set at the end of the 80s/start of the 90s) which could feel dated but somehow doesn’t.

I think I’ve read The Wasp Factory by the same author but can’t remember anything apart from it was weird and a bit gross – i expected the same for this book, but actually it’s very accessible and not challenging at all (unless you’re averse to the occasional Scottish vernacular. Or the fact it’s 500 pages). There is also a slight regret in the fact that everything ties up very nicely at the end (not really a spoiler) but I forgive it because Prentice is flawed and not always likeable and I appreciate a good antihero.

In short…

I’m glad I’ve read it, it’ll stay with me for a while I think. Properly good writing and plotting, makes me want to visit Scotland again, 9/10