This is a true story of a young midwife working in London’s East End in the 1950s. Back then, midwifery was still a relatively new discipline and of course, it was still unusual for women to work, even though the second world war had helped the cause a lot.

The book is an account of her experience, interlacing general observations about the living conditions in the East End with details of specific families and births. Jennifer Worth is very good at giving a sense of the times, mixing up descriptions with dialogue, narration with action.

However, she goes all religious on the last few pages, implying that the midwives only did such great work because of their religious fervour, as if unreligious people have no ethics and sense of working for the community. While I can't obviously blame her for expressing her opinion on the matter, there is an inherent bigotry in the last few pages which wasn't apparent in the rest of the book and which undermines the whole historical stance of the book.

But with this in mind, this is still a good book and if like me, you're fed up with religious people denying the fact you can be both atheist and a good person, I suggest you read it but skip the last few pages.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=8

The story is about falling in love with others, in love with oneself, and in and out of love with the world. It explores the place of lesbianism in New York in the 1950s, a tale of both hope and tragedy. It’s about self discovery, the fight between the inner and the outer world.

With elements of suspense, this is a cross between a pulp romance and a literary novel about the human existence. Kind of like Paul Auster meeting Ann Bannon. While the style of the writing is quite typical of the pulp fiction movement, the content offers food for thought.

The melange might seem obnoxious but it isn’t - it works, it grips you, you have to know what happens to Carol.

There is also a lot of humour, albeit somewhat dark, and Therese, the narrator, offers a candid view of New York.

This is a classic. Absolutely recommended.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=9

I normally enjoy literary fiction with flourishes and an extensive vocabulary, such as Paul Auster, but I feel that Jonathan Lethem's style is closer to a kid showing off the new words he's learnt at school.

But he redeems himself with a powerful tale of awkward teenagers, racial tensions, inner-city violence, gentrification and creative outcasts in Brooklyn.

While the story touches on many taboo subjects, such as male homosexuality within the black community, racism against white people, violence against your owns and absent mothers, it simple brings another side to the table without judging. The narrative style - the story is narrated in the 1990s but most of it takes place in the 1970s - provides an historical emotional attachment and you almost forget that this is fiction, so poignant and believable the stories are.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=7

His eye for detail turns this novel into a film and this is very exciting. Not only is he good with physical descriptions, but also with inner thoughts.

I recommend this book to those readers who enjoy getting into the head of mature characters, and/or who have a fascination with New York City like I have.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=6

While the constant change of POVs in the same scene is a bit frustrating as it makes it difficult to really empaphise with a given character, the story and the characters are all three dimensional and reveal themselves in unexpected ways.

Graham Greene mixes religion with gang violence and it is particularly interesting that the most religious gangster is the most violent. This is a stern reminder that being religious doesn't mean being ethical and fair.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=5

Fans of Paul Auster's writing will be delighted for this glimpse into his earlier writing. The themes of the plays are very similar to those of his New York Trilogy stories and display his love for the absurd.

The detective novel is written in the first person and throws you into the story. Being him, of course, don't expect a straightforward “whodunnit” story. His style is a bit less flourished than in his later published work but you can already recognise it as Paul Auster, even though the genre requires him to stick to certain conventions (action over thought in most scenes, even though the latter scenes rely on thought over action).

This is highly recommended, for both Paul Auster's die hard fans and those mildly curious as to how a writer can financially survive in New York City.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=2

The book includes interviews with those who played a role in Chris' life, be it his parents or people he met on the road while hitchiking. Almost more important than the interviews is the central chapter during which Jon relates his own experience when he climbed a new route up the Devils Thumb, Alaska. Even though this chapter is about Jon, it feels very much about Chris.

Whether you admire or criticise Chris for what he has done (I'm personally on the fence), this book will help you understand what goes on in the mind of those giving themselves extreme physical challenges, something the film based on the book failed to do.

Link to this post: http://www.cogitas.net/bookworm/search.php?p=1