Dreams from my Father

It was 20 years ago today that my father passed away. I think about my dad often, particularly on birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. Books, movies, news events and politics often trigger thoughts of him. I think of how dad would have enjoyed a film like Argo, or I read a passage by Hitchens that reminds me of my dad’s clever turn of phrase. I would have loved to dissect and debate current events with him – to hear his thoughts on Syria, Thatcher’s death, gun control, same sex marriage, the carbon tax and the recent attacks in Boston. He was always so knowledgeable and as a journalist had a deep interest in the world – and I will always be grateful that he passed on this curiosity and inquisitiveness to me.

The lead up to the anniversary of his death is a time of great reflection for me, and so it is perhaps timely to use this book blog to thank my Dad for the books and authors he introduced me to.

As a young child, my parents read to me and taught me to love books at an early age. Dog-eared books by Richard Scarry and Dr Seuss were constants, as were the Berenstain Bears. Fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm were also often read with Dad acting out parts and putting on voices as he read. Roald Dahl was a regular bedtime read.

A A Milne was a favorite and I remember Dad reading When we were Very Young (1924) with me. I could recite “Disobedience” by heart (and still can – “James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree…”) and still think of “Half-way Down” every time I go up or down my stairs. We moved on to Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), The House at Pooh Corner (1928) and Now we are Six (1927). Dad loved poetry and we both loved the rhythm of Milne's verse.

 

Dad loved books that were a bit subversive, and so Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales for Children (1907) was a delightful bedtime read and was used to remind me of appropriate behavior (Don't tell lies, lest you end up burned to death like Matilda!). Also beloved were Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), JM Barrie’s Peter Pan (1911) and JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937).

As I grew older and read on my own, we would read in tandem and continue to discuss books. I remember a deep-and-meaningful late night chat about religion when I was a pre-teen reading Judy Blume’s Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret. (1970). This continued when I read Anne Frank's Diary and Dad and I would discuss at length the atrocities of the holocaust.  

Dad was delighted when I started reading George Orwell. He was a huge Orwell fan and Dad read my book reports on Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) with interest.  We read Ray Bradbury’s Farhenheit 451 together and discussed it at length - in fact I think the book report I submitted on this book was largely written by my father!

As I entered high school, Dad would review my reading lists and make recommendations to push me to expand my horizons. He would read my papers on Catcher in the Rye, Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, and countless Shakespeare plays. If I enjoyed a novel, Dad would recommend other authors on a similar theme or presenting an opposing point of view.  I find myself playing this role with friends now - getting excited about introducing others to new books and authors. 

Dad introduced me to so many great writers like Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Albert Camus, Joseph Conrad, F Scott Fitzgerald, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, Somerset Maugham, Victor Hugo, Tom Wolfe, Henry Miller and Philip Roth. In turn, as I became more feminist, I introduced many great women writers to my father and sparked many of his "Devil’s Advocate" debates designed to sharpen my wits and dig in my heels.  I only wish he had been here long enough so we could discuss Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, GRR Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series, not to mention the non-fiction works of Christopher Hitchens and so many others.

Dad left us far too soon and we all feel the void left by his absence. I wish he were here and could see my brother and I become adults and meet the family we have created. But he passed on a great gift to me in encouraging my imagination through a love of literature. 

I think of him as I read and thank him for sharing this part of himself with me. Now as I read to the children in my life, I like to think that I am sharing a piece of my Dad with his grandchildren and all the wonder and imagination that he gave me.

Time Bandits

Jennifer Egan’s Pulitzer Prize winning A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010) is a wonderfully quirky novel comprised of thirteen interlinked short stories. The stories in the book dart about around the globe - New York, Naples, Africa, San Francisco and beyond – and cover about 40 years in the lives of various characters.

A character that is marginal in one chapter becomes the protagonist in the next. Just when you are left wondering, “I wonder what happened to…” you find a passing reference to someone at a different point in his or her life. It does take a bit of getting use to and perhaps it is best to just read each chapter as an individual story, then step back when you are finished and marvel at the whole.

You begin by reading about 30-something kleptomaniac Sasha on a date in New York, and then you don’t see her again until you read a story about teenaged Sasha in Naples. Later you learn more about Sasha through reading the PowerPoint journal of her twelve-year-old daughter Ally. In between you meet: Sasha’s boss, music producer Bennie Salazar struggling to make a connection with his son; philanderer Lou Kline and his string of broken lovers and children; Bennie’s wife Stephanie who hides her friendships; could-have-been actress Kitty Jackson; tragic Rob, Sasha’s close college friend; and many more.

There is great humour in the book and I often found myself laughing out loud. My favourite story features PR Queen La Doll who is attempting a comeback after she accidentally maimed the who’s-who of New York and was knocked from her throne. She then takes on an unlikely client, a genocidal dictator, in an attempt to reinvent his image and revive her career. 

The goon squad is a reference to the thug that is time – it creeps up on us and whacks us when we aren’t looking. All the characters have issues with time – time passing them by, lost youth, aging, and the sense of what could have been had another path been taken.  The other central theme is music and the interconnection characters have with the industry makes for a fascinating soundtrack. In particular, I loved the obsession Lincoln has with great rock and roll pauses.

After reading the book I went online and found that many people had tried to draw flow charts connecting the characters and timelines to put the novel in chronological order.  Just the kind of nerdiness that I would have pursued, had others not done it for me!

Egan is a wonderful writer with a keen eye for human nature. Whether she is writing in first, second and third person narrative, she is able to get under the skin of her characters and bring them to life.  Her writing is fun and clever, but never arrogant. I can see why Egan won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Well deserved for this brilliant book. Highly recommended. 

Update 2022

Egan has written a sequel/companion novel! See my review: The Candy House (2022). 

Things that go bump in the night

While the entire world seems to be reading a Fifty Shades novel, I opted for a different kind of sex book. Mary Roach’s Bonk – The curious coupling of sex and science (2008) is all about sex.

Roach investigates the weird and wonderful world of sex research. She explores the historical attempts at enhancing pleasure and curing various dysfunctions, including those from ancient Greece, medieval times, the early 20^th Century, and the work of Kinsey and Masters & Johnson.  She also shows us the advances made through modern day research using MRIs, exploratory surgeries and even sex-toy R&D labs.

Whether wading though journal articles, or attending a Scandinavian pig farm, or viewing surgical implants, the thoroughness of Roach’s research reveals a degree of commitment that she throws herself into the subject. Literally - Roach and her devoted partner Ed volunteered to participate in research by subjecting themselves to ultrasound scanning while performing to assist researchers to learn more about the internal sexual anatomy.

There is humour throughout, in both the bizarre circumstances and Roach’s vivid descriptions. I will never look at a gooseneck lamp again without thinking of a certain Taiwanese surgical procedure. She makes science fun and you can’t help but laugh out loud at some of the nonsensical absurdities that have been presented as medical research.

Roach inserts herself in the book with witty asides and footnotes. This worked well in her book Stiff – The curious lives of human cadavers (2003), but occasionally works less well here. Sometimes these are distracting or obvious smirks, that could have been removed allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.

This book should come with a warning. Roach is not shy about asking the questions we are curious about but would be too embarrassed to ask. Her descriptions of certain procedures and tests will leave you crossed-legged and shuddering. There is creepiness and ickiness. So beware, once you know it you can never un-know it.

My review of Roach’s equally fascinating, hilarious and enlightening book Stiff – The curious lives of human cadavers is also on this blog. 

Back to the Burg

Catastrophe-courting bounty hunter Stephanie Plum returns in Notorious Nineteen (2012), the latest addition to the best-selling series by Janet Evanovich.

Steph is in need of some cash after a fairly lean summer in the bail bonds business. When embezzler Geoffrey Cubbin skips bail, the opportunity to catch him and earn a percentage of his large bond is just what Stephanie needs. Unfortunately Cubbin disappeared late one night from a local hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Did he flee the country alone with his millions or did someone else assist him to escape? With the help of Lula and Grandma Mazur, Steph is on his trail. But so is Cubbin's ex-wife and the residents of Cranberry manor, the assisted living facility from which he allegedly stole.

In the meantime, Steph accepts another job - serving as a bodyguard working alongside Ranger. She has to protect the bride of Ranger's Special Forces buddy, even if it means wearing a ridiculous pink bridesmaid dress.

To further complicate matters Steph is concerned that the wooden tiki she confiscated from another skip is talking to her. If the tiki can compel her to buy donuts and fried chicken, what other bad choices might he lead her to make?

I have reviewed other Evanovich books on this blog (see Explosive Eighteen and Smokin' Seventeen) and have been critical of the formulaic writing and the lack of character evolution over the last twenty years. Loyalty compelled me to read them but I always ended up frustrated by the lack of character development and the boring love triangle that never goes anywhere.

There was something different in Nineteen, however. Characters were more reflective somehow - Morelli had mellowed, Steph was thinking about how her life could have been different if she'd made different choices, she ponders about what makes a good home. She even seems to be leaning towards one side of her love triangle. So perhaps the series is finally making a move in the right direction and growing up.

I would love for the next book to be bold and force Stephanie to wake up to herself. This could happen if Morelli moves on to another relationship and she is forced to decide what she wants out of her life. (For the record, she should decide on Ranger). Notorious Nineteen is in someways a return to the earlier Evanovich novels. I enjoyed Nineteen and I look forward to adventure number twenty.

A truth universally acknowledged

Two hundred years ago this week, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813) was published. In the intervening years this classic has gone on to be a one of the most popular and enduring novels in English literature. Film and television adaptations, spin-off novels and sequels have helped to keep this story at the top of lists of popular fiction for many years. But Ms Austen's novel is still beloved after so many years because the story tells a familiar tale of romance, marriage and social mobility through wonderfully drawn characters.

The opening line of the book sets the scene: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife'. The search for such a man is a prime concern for Mrs Bennett, as she and her husband have five daughters and no sons. The eldest daughter Jane is beautiful and kind, next is Elizabeth with her quick wit and intelligence. Then there are Kitty, Lydia and Mary, each with their own personality traits.

Mr Bingley, a handsome young bachelor, has taken up residence at nearby Netherfield Park, and he sets his sights on the lovely Jane when they meet at a ball held in his honour. Bingley's best friend, Mr Darcy of Pemberley, is unimpressed by the local talent at the ball and is seen as condescending by the Bennett sisters. The pairing has begun, with Bingley and Jane as the romantic lovebirds, and Darcy and Elizabeth as the couple who dislike each other and are yet drawn together.

Along the way some of the most delightfully crafted characters in English literature are presented to add sub-plots and drama. Among them are my favourites: the pompous and condescending Bennett heir, Mr Collins; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy's aunt, who is disrespectful of the lower classes and confronts Elizabeth in a wonderful scene; practical Charlotte Lucas who is fearful of spinsterhood and burdening her family so choses a loveless marriage; and, the dastardly George Wickham, Darcy's childhood friend, who infiltrates the Bennett family nearly causing great scandal.

Pride and Prejudice is a novel I have returned to every few years since my teens. Each time I find new ways to enjoy it and my admiration of Austen grows. Many people will only know of Pride and Prejudice through its various adaptations. In the 1940 film version Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier took on the lead roles. More recently it was Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfayden (2005). For me, the best is the BBC six-part mini-series version (1995) starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth - as it has so many wonderful performances and the series length allows time for all of the sub-plots to play out fully.

The novel has also been the subject of hundreds of sequels and spinoffs. Many of these are regency romance novels exploring the lives of Darcy and Elizabeth, the Bingleys and other characters, after the events of Pride and Prejudice take place. Then there is the re-imagining of the story with zombies thrown in for added adventure in Steven Hockensmith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2010).


The only 'sequel' I have read is the sequel with a crime/mystery twist in Death Comes to Pemberley (2011) by PD James. However there are other books that cleverly use the story as a springboard such as Bridget Jones' Diary (2001) by Helen Fielding about a single woman in London with many modern parallels to Pride and Prejudice, which is  delightfully funny and well worth a read.


After 200 years the story of Lizzie Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy remains as current and fresh as ever. In honour of the anniversary, perhaps it is time to read Pride and Prejudice again...

Crowns do queer things to the heads beneath them

A Clash of Kings (1999) is the second book in George R. R. Martin’s epic ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series, following on from Game of Thrones (1996).  

Civil War has broken out in Westeros. Lord Eddard Stark’s eldest son Robb has declared himself ‘King in the North’ and seeks to avenge his father and reclaim his sisters by going to war with the house of Lannister/Baratheon. The vile boy King Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne but rules in name only - taking his queues from his mother Queen Cersei and his uncle Tyrion, now Hand of the King. Meanwhile, former King Robert Baratheon’s brothers, Stannis and Renly, have both claimed the Iron Throne for themselves and are heading to wage war on King’s Landing.

Like its predecessor, the story is told from the perspective of various characters. At Winterfell crippled Bran Stark is puzzled by wolf dreams. Beyond the Wall Jon Snow of the Night’s Watch searches for his uncle and fends off wildlings. In Kings Landing, Sansa Stark tries to remain in brutal Joffrey’s good favour while plotting escape. Tyrion Lannister prepares for war. Meanwhile Catelyn Stark journeys across Westeros as an envoy of her son Robb, and resourceful Arya Stark tries to make her way back to Winterfell. Self-obsessed Theon Greyjoy seeks his father’s favour by claiming territory for himself. Meanwhile, across the narrow sea Daenerys Targaryen tends to her dragons and tries to muster a force that can take back her crown.

There were some new characters in this book that I really enjoyed. Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight in the service of Stannis Baratheon, brings a fresh perspective to the action. Brienne of Tarth is also fascinating addition, as a female knight in the service of Lord Renly and later Catelyn Stark. Each character is believable and moves the story along.

Martin has achieved something incredible in balancing so many characters, locations and subplots in an 800+ page novel. Overall I found this book exciting and could not wait to get back to it whenever I had a spare moment to read. Some characters I found less interesting than others (Bran, Daenerys) but for the most part I looked forward to returning to my favourites (Tyrion, Theon) to see how they were progressing. If I have one criticism it is that I have spent so much time in Westeros that I haven’t had time for other reading…  My only problem now is weaning myself off this series, as I desperately want to start A Storm of Swords (2000) but need to get a few other books read first!

A Clash of Kings was the basis for the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones. It is an amazing adaptation of the books and I am looking forward to season three starting in March 2013.

My review of Game of Thrones is also available on this blog. 

New year, new list

I am a sucker for book lists. Every time a list is published of the best books of the year, or the books you must read, award shortlists, or even bestseller lists - I analyse my own reading against the list to contrast and compare. These lists frequently point me in the direction of books that have been in my 'to be read' pile for way too long. But more often they introduce me to new authors that I have not tried - making my pile even higher!

Over the Christmas holidays I perused the 'Best books of 2012' lists to compile a reading list for 2013.  The Washington Post list cites: Arcadia by Lauren Groff, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain, Bring up the Bodies by Hillary Mantel, Broken Harbor by Tana French and Canada by Richard Ford.

The New York Times list notes all of the above (except Broken Harbor) and adds many more that I would like to read including: Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro, HHhH by Laurent Binet, Home by Toni Morrison, A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers, In One Person by John Irving, NW by Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan's Sweet Tooth, and so many more.

The Guardian list of course mentions 2012 releases by Hillary Mantel, Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan and Richard Ford, but includes other books I want to read such as Skagboys by Irvine Welsh and JK Rowling's Casual Vacancy. The Guardian also has a list of books recommended by other writers which  include some weird and wonderful offerings of both fiction and non-fiction.

Over the holidays I had a chance to reflect on my own reading over the past year. It was a mixed bag. I read and blogged considerably less than I normally do largely because I spent most of the year travelling around the world.  In 2012 I read classics (Steinbeck's East of Eden), prize winning literature (Anna Funder's All that I am, Paul Harding's Tinkers), childhood favourites (Tolkien's The Hobbit), guilty pleasures (Evanovich's Explosive Eighteen, Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series), popular young adult fiction (The Hunger Games trilogy), non-fiction (Chloe Hooper's The Tall Man and the compelling  Spirit Level) and my current obsession (George RR Martin Song of Fire and Ice series) - and a handful of others here and there. Perhaps a better indicator of the quality of my reading is that I didn't read the Fifty Shades... series!

So now it is 2013 and it is time to plan out my reading for the year. I am almost finished George RR Martin's A Clash of Kings (book two) and while I am tempted to immediately jump in and read the next book in the series, A Storm of Swords, I need to leave Westeros behind for a while and try some others. Although, with the third season of Game of Thrones starting in March, chances are I will be sucked back in!



Almost every list recommends the Hillary Mantel Booker prize winner Bring up the Bodies (2012) - which I have on my e-reader but haven't started because I haven't read Wolf Hall (2009). So while both are on my 2013 reading list I will definitely read Wolf Hall and will likely start it once I have finished Clash of Kings. (Update - Twelve years later... I finally read Wolf Hall in September 2025)

I have also started reading Christopher Hitchen's Mortality (2012) which is a collection of his essays about his terminal cancer. He is probably my favourite writer and I have read many of these writings in his Vanity Fair column, but the collection itself is incredible.

For Christmas I received The Slap (2008) by Christos Tsiolkas which tells the tale of a suburban barbeque where a man slaps a three year old child that is not his own. I have wanted to read it for a long time, and I have avoided seeing the television series so that I could enjoy the book - so I am looking forward to jumping into this one.


I also received Henry Handel Richardson's The Getting of Wisdom (1910) which I have long wanted to read. An Australian classic, this novel tells the story of Laura, a clever country girl who is sent to a boarding school in Melbourne when she is twelve. In 1978 Bruce Beresford directed a film version of the tale and I received a copy of the DVD for Christmas as well, so I hope to read the book soon too.


Some books I added to my pile include Canada by Richard Ford, Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro,  Home by Toni Morrison, and Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich.  Plus I need to save room for some not-yet-published titles that I am eagerly awaiting. These include Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam (August 2013), Mary Roach's Gulp (April 2013), Therese Anne Fowler's Z - A novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (March 2013), JM Coetzee's The Childhood of Jesus (April 2013) Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountain's Echoed (May 2013), the new Bridget Jones book by Helen Fielding (October 2013).

There are also some non-fiction books I want to squeeze in such as Maya Angelou's Mom and Me and Mom (April 2013), David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell (October 2013). I just hope I have more time to read this year!

One more thing on lists: A great series of audio playlists are included on the NPR website looking at the best books across various genres for those, like me, who can't get enough of book lists!

Crime and Punishment

In 1959 on a farm in Holcolm, Kansas, the Clutter family was brutally murdered. The death of the farmer, his wife and two of their children, shocked the local residents who were horrified at the violence and perplexed by the motive for the killings. 

When news of the crime reached New York, author Truman Capote - a successful novelist, celebrity darling and bon-vivant - sensed there was more to the story. He travelled with his childhood friend, To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee, to Kansas to investigate.  Over the next few years Capote became engrossed in the mystery. He became close to the men arrested for the crime and to the sheriff determined to see justice done. In 1966 Capote published In Cold Blood, his story of the crime, and in doing so invented a new form of writing -  a merging of journalism and fiction that Capote called the 'nonfiction novel'. 

I have read In Cold Blood twice and each time I marvel at the way the Capote has crafted this book. Describing in minute detail the events on the day of the murder, the trial and the aftermath, Capote draws the reader in to the scene of the crime. He alternates the narrative with the life stories of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock - the men who would convicted of the murders - and the tale of Alvin Dewey, the local policeman who would not rest until they were convicted.  

Capote apparently took no notes as he interviewed people for his research and relied on memory to recreate the dialogue he recalls in the book. So perhaps it is here that a degree of creative license enabled him to shape the tale to fit his vision of a good story. The result is a tightly woven crime thriller, built on unfolding layers which, in the end, also presents the moral dilemma of capital punishment.  For me, In Cold Blood is as close to perfect as a novel can get - a page turner with a fascinating story, interesting characters and beautifully descriptive prose.

It is no wonder that the story garnered the attention of Hollywood. In recent years two films have been made focussing on Capote's time researching and writing about the crime.


The film Capote (2005) stars Philip Seymour Hoffman in an Academy Award winning performance as the author.  Harper Lee is portrayed by Catherine Keener. Chris Cooper plays Alvin Dewey. The film was also nominated for best picture, supporting actress, director and adapted screenplay. The film is excellent and clearly demonstrates how Truman was affected by the murders and his involvement in writing this book. 



The following year, Infamous (2006) was released. In this film English actor Toby Jones plays Capote. He is joined by Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee and Daniel Craig as murderer Perry Smith. The film also features a who's-who of Hollywood with cameos by Jeff Daniels, Peter Bogdanovich, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sigourney Weaver, Isabella Rosellini, Hope David and Juliet Stevenson. 

Both films are excellent and it is hard to compare and contrast. Hoffman and Jones give different, equally excellent, portrayals of Capote. There is a lot to admire in both films, and they are well worth seeing, but on balance I think Capote is the better film.  

The Sting in the Tale

The final instalment of Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2007), brings Lisbeth Salander's tale to an end. This review may contain spoilers for the handful of people who have not read the bestselling books or seen the films.

Part three begins where the previous book, The Girl Who Played with Fire, finished. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is back at his desk as editor of Millennium magazine. Lisbeth Salander is in hospital fighting for her life. As she recovers, she must fight for her freedom when she is charged with murder. Blomkvist has always believed in Lisbeth and is committed to proving her innocence. Along the way, Lisbeth confronts her past and seeks vengeance on those who done her wrong. Former spies, corrupt cops, and a whole range dodgy crims populate the story with a complex web of interwoven sub-plots adding to the adventure.

Lisbeth remains such an interesting character - complex, mysterious and utterly unforgettable. Unlike anyone I know, Lisbeth drives this series on and makes it so exciting. I would have liked to have more of her in this book and unravel more of her mystery.

The book is not perfect - it could have been shortened with some of the subplots whittled down. But having read the three books in rapid succession, my feeling at the end was one of relief and sadness. I was delighted to have read the series and enjoyed my time with the fascinating Lisbeth, but I was saddened that it was all over and that Larsson would not have any more novels to come. 

Daniel Alfredson returns to direct the Swedish version of this film, reuniting Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace. The film requires viewers to have seen the previous movies, or to have read the books, to understand what is taking place. Lacking the action of the previous instalments, much of this film takes place in court rooms and hospitals. There is a great deal of suspense and tension that will keep you engaged to the end, but as is often the case, the book is so much better. 

My reviews of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire are also on this blog.

To have and have not

The proverb 'the rich get richer and the poor get poorer' neatly sums up the gulf that has been growing between the classes in most Western societies. Inequalities of wealth are causing health and social problems that impact on society as a whole.

In The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better (2009), epidemiologists Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett explore the ill effects of the class divide and argue that greater equality is better for everyone. Tackling topics such as mental health, obesity, education, imprisonment, drug use, teen pregnancy, trust, violence, child wellbeing, social mobility and physical health, the authors show that outcomes in these areas are far worse in societies where there is less equality. Looking at 23 countries, they draw on a huge evidence bank - including data from the UN, World Health Organisation, Census, and elsewhere - to build a compelling case for a more equal society.

Unsurprisingly,  Scandinavian countries and Japan are at the more equal end of the scale, while the UK, USA and Portugal are on the complete opposite side of the divide. The rest of the countries explored fall somewhere in between. For America the researchers have broken down the data even further on a state by state basis.

In early 2010, shortly after the book was released,  I was at a conference focussed on outcomes for children. Many of the esteemed presenters cited this book during their sessions, stating that Wilkinson and Pickett's findings had matched their own research on child health, education and wellbeing.

I read this book in between Presidential debates of the recent US elections which provided an interesting backdrop to my reading as the gap between rich and poor is greatest there. While the politicians debated tax cuts, government intervention, 'Obamacare' and the like, there was a missed opportunity to really talk about the vast social inequities that have grown in recent decades.

It is clear that the weight of the evidence Wilkinson and Pickett have unearthed was compelling, but it was less clear what could be done about it other then fixing the taxation system that allows loopholes to the super-rich. There is a lack of political will to make the changes necessary to bring about a more equal society, so this book should be compulsory reading for every politician at all levels of government. The cumulative impact of the evidence was overwhelming but it is easy to despair at the prospects of any change.

I am glad that I have read The Spirit Level, but I cannot say it was a particularly enjoyable read. It requires the right frame of mind to absorb the detail. It was repetitive in parts and the scatter graphs illustrating the prose were dull. Overall, however, I think it is an important book which provides a compelling case for equality and I would recommend it.  The book was re-released in 2010 with an improved subheading - "Why Equality is Better for Everyone" - and a chapter responding to critics. There is also an Equality Trust website which summarises the research and provides other resources.