Deline and Fall- Evelyn Waugh

After a few whoppers of books, I decided to read this, as its thin, and having not read Brideshead, or whatever else Waugh had done, I had no expectations.
Paul Pennyfeather is expelled from Oxford College, and turns to teaching at Llanabba Castle meets a friend Beste-Chetwynde. But Margot, Beste-Chetwynde's mother, introduces him to the questionable delights of high society. and is promptly whisked to jail on white slave trafficking charges.
It reminded me of a Tom Sharpe novel, but without the jokes. Full of satire for the higher classes, and filled with highly improbably events, I found this a nice read, full of humour and comic events, but I'll probably forget it shortly.

The Beat that my heart skipped

Finally got round to watching this, a DVD lent to me ages ago by Hamish. There must be a million films that are 'typically French'- and this is one. Whether its just that a film is shot in France and all the people speak French that makes it this way, or there is something subtler in the way its shot or whatever, being 'typically French' is one of those things that puts a little 'oh that might be good then, because they know how to do stuff like make films' thoughts in your head.

Its pretty good, its not great, but its pretty good. The story actually was a bit shit- a real-estate guy tries to play piano, fails....and thats about it. He shags some women and stabs some blokes along the way, but all in all its about him trying to play the piano, and although unwittingly I did start to care if he could play the piano, its still not an amazing story, and not one I will remember long.

Shantaram

This is another breeze-block of a book this year- at 929 pages, its my third longest to date. It should be as well, because Roberts manages to escape from an Australian prison, become a doctor in a Mumbai slum, go to war in Afghanistan, join the Indian mafia, be a smackhead and fall in love.
I got this as the 'tricky third book' in Waterstones's never-ending 3 for 2 deal (that third book decision always takes 4 times longer than the other two)- I'd recently read Papillion, and it seemed in the same vein- it is, but less focus on trying to escape, more on what Roberts does after his wall-jump.

"you think its ironic they dress us as Where's Wally?"

For a book this size, it races along and doesn't allow you to get bored in any of his activities, because a new activity starts up, and new characters develop, and a whole new adventure is underway. The sections when he lives in a Mumbai slum are the best for me- its pretty much the exact opposite of my life (well, since I moved from Edge Hill, prior to that it was almost identical), and Roberts, a former armed robber becomes a doctor for the poorest people ever. I had to check on his website to see how much was real - apparently most of it is. 

Imagine the Crocodile Dundee guy in Slumdog Millionaire - thats it.