Book Review - Adam Bede

 

Adam Bede by George Eliot

Having purchased a Kindle, I downloaded a number of free e-books of "classics" including George Eliot's "Adam Bede". It is a delightful read and is a tale of simple country folk in an early nineteenth century rural community. The main character is carpenter Adam Bede a strong, righteous man who cares for his aging mother. He does have a weakness - he's in love with vain but beautiful Hetty Sorrel. Unfortunately for Adam, the young Hetty is deluded into thinking that the flirtatious attentions of Captain Donnithorne may lead to marriage.

It is not just a story about a love triangle featuring seduction, murder, and retribution. It is a leisurely novel featuring many interesting characters that include Adam's brother Seth Bede; Methodist preacher Dinah Morris; Hetty's uncle and aunt, the Poysers and their brood of children; Reverend Irwine, the local Anglican minister and teacher Bartle Massey.

At times, George Eliot diverts the reader from the main plot of the story to describe the activities of the locals in their day-to-day life. The author provides the reader with vivid descriptions of the people; their drinking and harvest parties and particularly the landscapes as the seasons unfold. Occasionally, the novel is difficult to follow when the author slips into the 19th century rural dialect but overall the book is an exceedingly good read.

Robert Bovington

February 2011

Ever wonder why the French are so unpopular?

JFK's Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when DeGaulle decided to pull out of NATO.

DeGaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible. 

Rusk responded: "Does that include those who are buried here?" 

You could have heard a pin drop

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American.  

During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims.  

What does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly:

'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply: -

Emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day,

They can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.  

We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop 

A Royal Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. 

At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. 

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, the English learn only English. He then asked,

'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the British Admiral replied,

'Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's, Kiwi's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop 


AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his hand luggage.
"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."
The Englishman said,
'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."  
"Impossible. You English always have to show your passports on arrival in France!"
The English senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained:
''Well, when I came ashore at Gold Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to."

 
You could have heard a pin drop

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Dead Man's Grip

Robert Bovington's review

Jul 01, 11

bookshelves: peter-james

Read in June, 2011

“Dead Man’s Grip” by Peter James
A Review by Robert Bovington

Location: A balcony in Andalusia

Diane: “Are you going to sit out there reading all day?”

Bob: “No. I’ve nearly finished this chapter.”

Bob finishes the chapter of Peter James’ latest thriller and reluctantly goes indoors to help his wife.

***********************

It is often like this when I read Peter’s Roy Grace novels. It is as though the books are stuck to my hands with superglue, which is most appropriate in the case of “Dead Man’s Grip” because one of the murders in the book involves the ultra strong adhesive.

This book is totally gripping. As usual, most of the action takes place in the vibrant city of Brighton and Hove. Student Tony Revere is killed which is rather unfortunate for the unsuspecting characters who are directly or indirectly involved in the fatal traffic accident. His American parents have Mafia connections and hire “Tooth”, a psychotic hit man to exact terrible revenge on those involved with their son’s death.

As with all the books in the Roy Grace series, the attention to detail is exemplary, especially police procedure – author Peter James’ painstaking research ensures that the police action is believable. His characters, too, are credible. There are the normal suspects – in this sense I mean Roy Grace’s team including sidekick Glenn Branson and the politically incorrect Norman Potting. Also featured are the threads from previous books including Roy’s girlfriend Cleo and his missing wife Sandy.

This is another addictive crime thriller and I particularly like the Brighton connection because I, like Peter James, grew up in the area.

I do, however, sometimes wonder whether the crimes are a bit far fetched. Or are they! I think I'll remain in Spain rather than return to my roots!

Heather Mills vegan restaurant

Vegan cafe at Hove Lagoon

This is the cafe now owned by Heather Mills. It is criminal that she, allegedly, fleeced Paul McCartney for £24 million. It is criminal that she, allegedly, paid owner Nick Short £140,000 for the lease after agreeing a sum of £255,000. It is even more criminal that the seaside cafe I frequented as a young boy is now a vegan restaurant.

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Granada Alhambra

  

Salamanca University

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