I read avidly and my taste
is eclectic, “chick lit” being one of the genres I read
for a bit of light relief (and all too often boredom). That
is exactly why I picked this book and I have to say I got
a bit of a surprise. Far from being a predictable modern-day
romance this book is funny and clever, and at times quite
moving, with characters that are well developed and a plot
that crosses over into the realms of fantasy – well, why
not?!
The book centres round a group of unlikely people teaming
up to bid for an unlikely city to be the European city of
culture. Generally the central male characters grow more
engaging as the book progresses, although the female characters
had less of an impact on me. I really like the main male
character Arthur, however my favourite is Sven with his
droll sense of humour and attachment to his dog Sandwiches,
who goes everywhere with him and becomes an integral part
of the team. I love the way the team comes up with wacky
ideas to win the bid, which aren’t necessarily based on
commercial value or kudos, but are purely designed to raise
the spirits of a city long maligned. I realise that in today’s
world they are completely unrealistic but that’s part of
the beauty of this book, we can dream can’t we? Far too
often we just accept the constraints the oppressive world
we live places on us, and this book is refreshing in that
it disregards many of them. The lengths to which the team
go to make their ideas happen are both admirable and hilarious,
my favourite being the trip to the far north of Denmark
to meet with ice making experts, where fantasy scenes of
the frozen north abound and Arthur and Sandwiches take on
heroic roles. |
