One Hand Clapping is a short, bitterly humorous look at a British working-class couple who strive to win a fortune on a TV quiz show, then spend their fortune in a rather peculiar fashion. Although Once Hand Clapping was written in the early 1960s it's satiric message still rings true. I loved it.

However this novel is not for everyone. Firstly, the book has a very British feel about it. Much of the wording is not used in America, and is even distinctly old-fashioned here in England. But otherwise One Hand Clapping is an excellent introduction to the brilliant world of Anthony Burgess.

A female colleague gave me Bridget Jones's Diary, insisting that it isn't a "girlie book" but rather a funny book even men could like. Well, she is both wrong and right. It is most definitely a book about and for women, but it is so light hearted and funny that even men can enjoy it (assuming they can get over the embarassment of being seen with such a book!).

Bridget Jones is a story of one year in the life on a 30-ish, single London girl. She is constantly in panic mode, unbelievably obsessive about her weight, looks, and what people think of her. No, the story is hardly original. But Ms. Fielding takes these female stereotypes and blows them out of such hilarious proportions that, well, it's hard not to laugh with (and at) Bridget's problems. And men will find Bridget Jones generally likeable because, fortunately, the story doesn't take its "man bashing" very seriously.

Being a middle-aged (American) male in London, I thought the world was looking at me when I read this "girlie" book on the Underground. But this didn't bother me in the least; it's their loss for not reading it themselves.

And for those who might think my female colleague is some sort of Bridget Jones herself, guess again. The previous book she loaned me was Crime and Punishment (..fat chance Bridget would buy let alone read that!).

This second installment of the Danzig Trilogy was an overall disappointment. While Gunter Grass's flair for story-telling is all here, Cat and Mouse does not stretch into the varied themes touched by Tin Drum (..the first book of the trilogy). Cat and Mouse reads more like an early John Irving novel (..with a German/Polish twist) rather than profound literature (with all due respect to Mr. Irving, who has written some wonderful stuff in recent years).

Cat and Mouse is a story growing up (..mostly high school years) in German occupied Poland during WW II. The characters are quirky (..especially the boy with a protruding Adam's apple) and amusing. But this coming-of-age tale has been told better elsewhere.

Bottom line: read Tin Drum. Cat and Mouse will seem stale (and hastily written) by comparison, but fans of Gunter Grass probably won't complain much.

Birdsong was given to me by a colleague who said it was "a GREAT book". Judging by its subject matter (World War I) I wouldn't have normally touched it let alone read it (..war novels/films are either too depressing or a thin excuse for some flag-waving). Well I am delighted to have read Birdsong. It's not a great book (in my judgement); it doesn't cover new ground in re-telling the horrors of war. But it is well-structured, moving, and keeps focused on finite (and often forgotten) aspects of the Great War - specifically, trench warfare. Mr. Faulks leaves out nothing in describing the unspeakable horrors our forefathers (..from both sides) have suffered. Absolutely shocking and nausating, yet it's really compulsive reading.

While Faulks succeeds in telling the human anguish of those who suffered during the war, he fails in one minor aspect of the novel when he "fast forwards" to scenes of the late 1970s where the granddaughter of a soldier feels compelled suddenly to learn more of her departed grandfather. While the author's heart was in the right place, this minor aspect of Birdsong comes off a bit contrived.

Nonetheless I fully recommend Birdsong. It makes for gruesome reading, so it's not for the squeamish. But I hope others will give it a try and, like me, feel as though they learned something new by it.

For those who've seen the film, and especially for those who haven't, Fight Club is a terrifically told story in only 200 pages. Fight Club is such a complex story which, surprisingly, isn't all about fighting. It would be useless, as other reviewers have tried to before me, to try to explain the story. But the story does raise questions about American life, especially frustrations of men coping with constrained masculinity (..constraints imposed by society).

The novel deviates from the film (..actually, vica-versa). The novel is tighter, with the stunning revelation of the main characters towards the end of the story being smoothly explained in the novel but comes off jarring in the film.

It's a shame the film did not reflect the novel exactly since it would have made the film more successful. The novel has both the leading characters, portrayed in the film by Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, meeting initially on a nude beach. Surely such a scene would helped at the box office. :-)

I believe Fight Club will become a classic, along the lines of A Clockwork Orange. I am looking forward to reading other works by Palahniuk.

I read The Woman in White with some trepidation. I feared that it might contain the starchy language often used in mid-19th century novels, or be some sugar-coated romantic drivel (eg, damesels in distress looking for Mr. Darcy or Heathcliff). I am relieved to report The Woman in White, as other reviewers before me have reported, is actually a very tight, unpredictable suspense novel. It's story is a bit complex, but Collins unravels it rather nicely. And its language is very easy to follow, without archaic local expressions found in other novels (eg, by Hardy or Eliott) of that time.

I found most of The Woman in White to be utterly delightful. The story is fascinating, and I found myself continually trying to read just a few extra pages to see what happens next. However the book eventually runs out of steam, to the extent it only becomes fairly interesting (versus thoroughly engaging). Part of this is due simply to its length (600+ pages, which is long for a suspense novel).

Bottom line: The Woman in White is a fine read for most readers (> 16 years of age). And it should appeal equally to both men and women. I will certainly look to read other novels by Wilkie Collins.

Being Dead is a very unusual novel. On the surface it tells of the senseless death of two academics/scientests (..a married couple), then it proceeds backwards to explain the lives of this couple and their daughter. But there is really nothing exceptional about any them, and so one can easily say Being Dead is a book which describes the deaths of some boring people. Big deal.

Ah, but that would be an incorrect assessment. Jim Crace's story of brutal deaths of uneventful lives really brings across the sense of how short life is, and how it can be snuffed out at a moment. It leaves you with a cold sense of loss, the same feeling one experiences with the death of a loved one.

Being Dead is a well-written, absorbing novel. Recommended.

Like Coetzee's other novels (Waiting for the Barbarians, Life and Times of Michael K.), Disgrace is a short yet intense study on individuals challenged by society/environment. However unlike his other novels, the story and characters in Disgrace are easily identifiable - and hence, it is perhaps the most moving novel of the lot.

Disgrace overviews the life of a disgraced university professor who, upon forced to leave his post, moves in with his estranged lesbian daughter on her rural "farm" (actually, a kennel out in the wilds of South Africa). While at the farm an incident occurs which makes the professor and his daughter re-evaluate their lives (..sorry, I really want to avoid divulging the story). The story is painfully plausible, and the complex characters and their interactions make this to be a fine read. And the modern South African setting only adds to the complexity and intrigue.

My only grumble with Disgrace is Coetzee's usage of symbolism at various points. I found such symbolism to be too obvious and utterly gratuitous. Otherwise I think most everyone over 18 would enjoy this book.

I have avoided "gay literature" because I felt it would either be too depressing, or it would be all sex and no meat (..sorry for the pun), or it would take another tact and be very saccharine (ie, you're gay but we love you anyway). A Boy's Own Story manages to avoid stereotypes and tells, in autobiographical fashion, the simple story of a gay teenager in 1950s America. The boy isn't a hero, nor is he particularly interesting. But he does survive, albeit somewhat emotionally scarred by the experience.

I was hoping the story would dig deeper and have an inspirational message, or in some way be memorable. But rather, it does not challenge conventional wisdom or break new ground. Yet I was satisfied by the seemingly honest, well-written story.

I would generally recommend this book to a wide audience (gay or straight). It does not exploit gay sexual antics, and it's description of teenage angst is rather universal. However struggling gay teenagers might not be pleased with the book; it's overall message is somewhat bleak, or at least it doesn't view gay life through rose-colored glasses.

After reading the initial Flashman novel, which I enjoyed, I jumped ahead in the Flashman series and tackled Flashman at the Charge (fortunately the loss of continuity is scarcely noticable). Unlike the reviewers before me, I found this Flashman book to be disappointing.

Compared to the original Flashman novel, Flashman at the Charge has much more in the way of male adolescent humour. While funny at times, it does wear thin. And the history lesson (Charge of the Light Brigade) is relatively brief. Too much time is devoted to Flashman's escapade as a prisoner of war which offers modest entertainment and an excuse for more sexual exploits.

Fraser has "dumbed down" his Flashman character into someone like Al Bundy from the Married with Children sitcom. I wish Fraser would spend a bit more time on giving us an enjoyable history lesson.

However I will give the Flashman series one more try, and hopefully my opinion will reflect those of the other, more enthusiastic reviewers.