Books

Books in brief: From winter blues to Haitian horrors

Plus: the life of Richard Briers, and Rajeev Balasubramanyam’s funny latest novel

Richard Briers. Photograph: Wigglesworth/PA Wire

Sat Feb 16 2019 - 00:00

More Than Just a Good Life

James Hogg

Constable, £20

This authorised biography of Richard Briers explores his 60-year varied and prolific acting career. His modest London upbringing developed in him a strong work ethic to ensure financial security. He was a natural entertainer from a young age and his father's cousin, the already-successful Terry-Thomas, nudged him in the direction of the stage. At 20 he joined Rada, where Albert Finney, Peter O'Toole and Alan Bates were classmates. As an actor, he radiated nervous energy and spoke quickly. TV series such as The Seven Faces of Jim (1961), Brothers-in-Law (1962) and The Marriage Lines (1963) established him in sitcom. He will be for ever associated with The Good Life (1975-78), though he disliked the character he played as "selfish and self-obsessed". Ever Decreasing Circles (1984-89) and Monarch of the Glen (2000-05) were other long-running, hugely popular sitcoms. He had leading Shakespearean and other roles in Kenneth Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company and acted in many Alan Ayckbourn plays. This lively biography reveals a modest, self-deprecating and likeable person.

The Light in the Dark: A Winter Journal

Horatio Clare

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Elliott & Thompson, £12.99

"If it were followed by spring or summer, I would love autumn unreservedly." So we are told at the beginning of Horatio Clare's latest book, a series of diary entries that chart his seasonal affective disorder against the long, damp days of winter in Wales and the north of England. If the season is dank and grim, this book, for Clare, "is to be a torch raised against it". Attuned to the minutiae of the natural world, and with an acute turn of phrase, The Light in the Dark continues Clare's characteristic attention to the world outside. His skill as a prose stylist here is also turned to a personal exploration of the mind, the family, the life of the home and the consolations of nature. If it seems in places evasive, avoiding some of the more "depressing" aspects of depression, that is up to Clare's decision not to drag the reader into despair with him. A journal that finds a light, sometimes flickering and sometimes bright and confident, this is ultimately a moving, sensitive and redemptive work.

Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss

By Rajeev Balasubramanyam

Chatto and Windus, £12.99

Are any of us really all right? This is the driving question of Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss. Entering the third act of his life, divorced Cambridge Economist Chandra re-evaluates his drive for success, and examines his complex relationships with his family, including his estrangement from one of his daughters.

To Professor Chandra, “everything is economics” whereas to his three troubled children, “everything is psychological”. Sceptical, emotionally inarticulate Chandra undergoes days of tough self-exploration in California, where he learns to be honest with himself for perhaps the first time in his life. Here he is forced to spend time with his ex-wife and her lover, which results in some of the most comical moments in an altogether witty book.

Astute on the differences between generations, between lovers and beloved, Balasubramanyam nevertheless demonstrates we are all equal in being “frightened, bewildered, born to die”. For all the novel’s heavy questions, it’s far from weighty, wearing its considerable knowledge like a summer jacket. It is funny from start to finish. Spending time with Professor Chandra feels like you’ve been in therapy, in a good way.

Family Trust

By Kathy Wang

Head of Zeus £18.99

Stanley Huang has terminal cancer; members of his family are each concerned with how much money he is leaving them in his will. The fight over an inheritance is an old story, but is given new life with a setting in the Asian-American community in Silicon Valley. Told from the viewpoint of Stanley, his children Fred and Kate, his ex-wife Linda, and his current wife Mary, it has a big cast, but an intense focus: money, success, and competition.

Cultural as well as material inheritance are explored as Stanley’s relatives from different generations grapple with their relationships and financial ventures, the focus never straying far from what makes their world go round – which arguably isn’t love and certainly does not bring happiness.

This novel, the first ever BuzzFeed Book Club selection, this novel is expert on the business world, its investors and sharks, with astute observations on the ambitions and social currency of one of the wealthiest parts of California. Silky in satire, the writing is biting, bristling, intelligent; this is a detached story of modern family ties, frequently funny but seldom warm.

A Short History of Europe: From Pericles to Putin

By Simon Jenkins

Viking £25

A scan of the contents immediately impresses – the idea of covering European history from the Aegean Dawn to the end of the Cold War and present day in about 300 pages is quite a feat. So how does Jenkins fare? The book’s brevity is both its strength and weakness, something the author concedes right away: “This short book is aimed at those without the time or the inclination for a longer one.” It’s a satisfying read, all the same. Jenkins sets to his task admirably, providing a lucid, enjoyable zip through European history. The reader feels as though you’re in the back seat of a car, with the author driving around various terrains, all the while summarising events, before declaring “Right, next!”

This is a pointed publication in the context of Brexit. Jenkins admits there are significant problems with the EU, which “has sought even more power without consent”, however with the right reforms, we should persist with the idea of European union. Especially considering the Continent’s bloody and tumultuous history, which he deftly sketches here.

Ayiti

By Roxane Gay

Corsair Books, £12.99

The world regards Haiti and Haiti stares back: Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist and Hunger (among others), has written a well-balanced array of stories of varying length, all stripped to the essential and full to the brim with longing and anger. Many return to themes of female autonomy, consumerism and the fraught relationship between a limiting home space and America, a land that is both condemned for its simplistic view of the island and also revered for its promise of jobs and air-conditioning by the Haitians themselves. Her prose is evocative; nauseating and frightening in its rendition of despair and trauma, some of the stories no more than three pages long yet full of power. Gay captures the dreams of her characters and probes them until they squirm. Expect to feel the full spectrum of emotion after launching in to this masterful collection – it shocks and appals and then leaves you somewhat hopeful.