6 Thursday, September 24, 2009 www.whitehaven-news.co.ukCleator Crack
Journey of discovery by
a top American writer-THIS month's reviews
are by Pat Kelly and Luke
Longman:
Indignation, by Philip
Roth: It is 1951 in America,
the second year of the
Korean War.
A studious, law-abiding,
intense youngster from
Newark, New Jersey,
Marcus Messner is
beginning his sophomore
year on the pastoral,
conservative campus of
Ohio's Winesburg College.
He has moved away from
Newark because his father,
a hardworking butcher,
seems to have gone mad �
mad with fear and
apprehension of the
dangers of adult life, the
dangers of the world, the
dangers he sees in every
corner for his beloved boy.
So Marcus has left his
home, and his childhood,
behind to find his way amid
the customs and
constrictions of another
American world.
Indignation, Philip Roth's
29th book, is the story of a
young man's education in
life's terrifying chances, a
realisation of history's
impact on our lives and
ultimately a journey of
discovery.
Full of the inventive
energy, wit and intelligence
that have made Roth one
America's foremost writers,
this is a fascinating and
passionately constructed
novel.
Terrorist by John Updike:
Ahmad Mulloy, the central
character, in John Updike's
newest novel Terrorist, is an
18-year-old man with an
Irish-American mother and
an Egyptian exchange-
student father who
abandoned him when he
was three years old.
During the course of this
intriguing novel we learn of
Ahmad's upbringing, the
discipline he discovers in
the Islamic religion and
how he becomes involved in
a plot to explode four
thousand kilos of
ammonium nitrate in the
Lincoln tunnel between
Manhattan and his home
state of New Jersey.
Terrorist is a fascinating
novel, on one hand it is an
exciting thriller that keeps
you immersed and
interested in the characters,
but it also attempts to
address the extremely
topical subject of religious
fundamentalism and what
it is that drives a young
man towards terrorism.
The Fate Of Katherine
Carr by Thomas H Cook:
This newest suspense novel
centres on a missing
woman but it is also the
story of a man coming to
terms with his son's
murder.
George Gate's eight-year-
old son, Teddy, was
kidnapped and murdered by
a killer who was never
captured.
George a former travel
writer, used to specialise in
writing about places where
people disappeared but
since the murder he has
been writing for the local
town paper, spending his
nights alone, a broken man.
Sitting in the local bar
one evening he meets Arlon
McBride a retired missing
persons' detective who
helped in the search for
Teddy seven years earlier.
He mentions the story of
a woman, Katherine Carr,
who disappeared from a
local park one evening 20
years ago leaving behind a
collection of poems and a
strange story she had
written. Gates is intrigued.
There can't possibly be any
connection between the two
crimes � or could there?
Both men are pulled into
reopening the case.
As he studies her story,
about a man stalking a
woman named Katherine
Carr, he begins to catch
glimpses of a mysterious
woman -- is it Katherine?
Katherine's story is told in
a series of tantalising
instalments of writing she
left behind that might
provide clues to her
disappearance.
As he delves into her
personal thoughts, he finds
purpose to his own life and
closure about his son's
death.
Thomas H Cook is one of
North America's most
respected crime writers and
this latest novel is
wonderfully atmospheric
and the mystery is deep.
Blood Line by Mark
Billingham: This sees the
return of detective
inspector Tom Thorne. He
first appeared in Sleepyhead
in 2001 and Billingham has
developed his character
further book by book.
He has made him
believable but also
unpredictable and each
book reveals something new
and surprising about his
character.
He is stubborn and often
makes mistakes but that
makes him one of the most
interesting cops in British
crime fiction today.
Those that have followed
the series will enjoy this
latest offering but it can
also serve as an
introduction to those who
have not read any of these
novels so far.
When a body is found in a
north London flat it seems
to be a straightforward
domestic murder until the
victim is found clutching a
bloodstained piece of X-ray
in her fist.
When other bodies turn
up with slithers of the same
X-ray upon them a
horrifying link is
discovered �they are all the
children of the seven
victims of the infamous
serial killer Raymond
Garvey.
The hunt to catch Garvey
was one of the biggest in
history and ended with
seven women dead. Now he
must find a deranged
copycat killer and also
protect the remaining
potential victims. Nothing
and nobody are what they
seem when Thorne is
dealing with one of the
most twisted killers he has
ever hunted.
Missing You Already, by
Pauline McLynn:
This is the seventh novel
from Pauline McLynn (the
Father Ted actress) and its
subject matter is
Alzheimer's disease and the
toll it takes on family and
friends is very timely.
Kitty Fulton is a ticket
clerk at a rural railway
station whose favourite jobs
are reuniting people with
their lost property and
helping elderly customers
catch the right train.
Sadly her home life is a
lot more demanding as her
mother's growing
forgetfulness and loss of
independence start to take
over the family.
Just when Kitty feels her
life can't get more
complicated a series of
extraordinary events
challenges her notions of
duty and fidelity.
When a new librarian
arrives and calls on Kitty in
embarrassment to retrieve
his father's ashes from her
lost and found box, and
when a mysterious package
is unearthed from the
ground on her allotment,
life will take a dramatic
turn and will never be the
same again.
In struggling to find the
answers Kitty embarks on a
journey that questions the
importance of life and the
way we must all live.
The story of how Kitty
and her mother May deal
with the tragic practical
and even humorous aspects
of this cruel condition is
told with enormous
sensitivity and insight.
There is even a good old-
fashioned love story thrown
in for good measure.
This is a tale of despair,
heartache, new beginnings
but most of all hope. One of
Pauline McLynn's best
novels.
CLEATOR Moor library
is holding one-to-one
internet taster sessions.
Anyone interested should
contact Pat or Luke at the
library on 855030 or pop in
for an appointment.
On The Bookshelf
SUSPENSE: The Fate Of
Katherine Carr
TALE OF HOPE: Missing You
Already, by Pauline McLynn
COPYCAT KILLER:
Bloodline, by Mark Billingham
Find out here if you could
be a Co-op delivery boy
H
ERE are the answers
to the Cleator Moor
delivery boy test. If
you think I've made a
mistake in the answers,
email
alan.cleaver@whitehaven-
news.co.uk.
1. What is the cost of 148
articles at �1.23 each? -
�182.04
2. If 95 articles cost �11.40,
what is the cost of one? - 12p
3. How much change will
you receive out of �20 after
paying for 138 articles at 8p
each? - �8.96 ?
4. State the correct spelling
in each of these sentences...
a) The secretary ordered
some more stationery
b) To be good at sport, they
practise regularly
c) He is a man of principle
d) That red jacket
complements your white
shirt
5. Give an antonym to the
following words:
a) gentle - rough
b) amateur - professional
c) temporary - permanent
d) public - private
6. How many inches are
there in 3/4 of a mile - 47520
ins in 3/4 mile
7. �3.18
8. Groceries: 1.72; Drapery
88p; Cafe 2.75. Row 1 = 1.23;
Row 2 = 1.77; Row 3 = 1.04;
Row 4 = 1.31. Grand total:
5.35
9. What is 89,544 x 13?
1,164,072.
10. What is the cost of...
a) 6lbs of butter at 45p per
lb - �2.70
b) Three and a half pounds
of lard at 82p per lb - �2.87
c) Five and a quarter
pounds of bacon at 44p per
lb - �2.31
d) 21lbs of potatoes at �2 a
stone - �3
11. 120 miles (hint 36 mins
is 3/5ths of an hour)
Parish council takes over
Christmas lights fundingCOMMUNITY activities are
set to continue in Frizington
to raise funds for the vil-
lage's Christmas lights.
Although Frizington
Parish Council has agreed to
foot the annual �4,000 bill for
the lights, villagers still
want to do their bit towards
the fundraising effort.
"People in the village want
to carry on raising money, by
baking and having events
like coffee mornings and
bingo," said council chair-
man Peter Connolly.
"Whatever people raise
will be added to the money
we have already set aside for
the lights and their fundrais-
ing activities are to be en-
couraged." Spirit of Frizing-
ton fundraised for the lights
to be put up for many years,
but due to falling numbers,
asked the parish council to
take over the reins.
FASCINATING: Terrorist, by
John Updike
Art critic at Cleator Moor church
THE art critic of the Church
Times is coming to St John's
Church, Cleator Moor.
The Rev Dr Nicholas Cran-
field, vicar of All Saints,
Blackheath, will be giving an
illustrated talk entitled Art
and Spirituality.
The event takes place on
Monday, October 12, at 7pm.
There will be an art ex-
hibition/sale of work of local
artists. Telephone the
vicarage if you would like to
attend on 01946 810510.

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