BOOK OF THE WEEK
Seamus Heaney – Aeneid Book VI, published in hardback by Faber & Faber
VIRGIL’S Aeneid has provided a wealth of inspiration for Seamus Heaney. Seeing Things, the Nobel Laureate’s 1991 collection, opens with a poem, The Golden Bough, which pre-empts Aeneas’s descent into the underworld, while in Human Chain (2010), the poet relives the delight of purchasing a “used copy of Aeneid VI”.
That book has now received a posthumously published full-length translation from Heaney, who breathes fresh life into his source material. Aeneas’s heroic quest to meet his father’s spirit is reimagined with the kind of linguistic panache only Heaney could muster: we encounter Charon the ferryman, “surly, filthy and bedraggled”, are plunged into a realm of “gurgling currents” and “dappling shadows”.
The pivotal reunion between father and son marks the book’s most poignant moment: “Let me take your hand, my father, O let me, and do not/ Hold back from my embrace”.
A Translator’s Note likens the text to a “classics homework”, but this is far from Virgil-by-numbers; a diligent student Heaney may be, but here is a reminder, were it needed, that he is also among the finest poets of recent times.
Tara McEvoy
FICTION
Trading Futures by Jim Powell, published in hardback by Picador
MATTHEW Oxenhay leads a 2.5 kids kind of life. He has a nice house in north London, a devoted wife, two children and a well-earning job in the city. There's just one problem – this isn't the life he wanted.
As a student who dreamed of rebelling against the system, he took a city job as a drunken bet – or did he? Everything has seemed a little hazy since he lost his job and started devoting more time to his favourite pastime – drinking. Indeed, Matthew is feeling pretty lost, until he bumps into a childhood sweetheart and the hopes and dreams of his younger self come flooding back.
Matthew is a selfish and often unlikeable character, but by the end of the book, you feel a great affection for him. That's testament to author Powell – whose previous careers include advertising, pottery and politics. Key to this book though, and the thing that makes it impossible to put down, is its strong and constant dark humour. It's a short read, but entertaining And very witty.
Sophie Herdman
Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben, published in hardback by Century
THE bestselling author of Tell No One returns with a new thriller. Former Special Ops pilot, Maya has just buried her husband. Only a few months ago, her sister was murdered. With her loved ones gone, Maya tries to hold it together for the sake of her young daughter Lily.
As the police investigate the murder of her husband, Maya is told that both her sister and husband were killed with the same gun. How could that be? The former pilot then uses her military skills to investigate the connection.
As she begins to piece it together, the fall-out of her last mission continues to plague her; she learns her sister frequented a strip club prior to her death; and her dead husband is caught on camera playing with Lily. Will Maya discover the truth or is she losing her mind? Gripping.
Julie Cheng
CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK
Beetle Boy by MG Leonard, published by Chicken House Ltd
COMPARISONS with Roald Dahl already abound, and it's understandable: intellectually enhanced creepy crawlies, a bug-hunting villain (whose eyes and legs are not all they seem), a dastardly duo with a penchant for kidnapping (and possibly eating) small children. But Beetle Boy doesn't have quite the same surrealist bite, even if it does have all the thrills.
Darkus's father has gone missing under very suspicious circumstances, so he's been sent to live with his archaeologist uncle, Max. In his new home, filled with dusty papers and with a hammock for a bed, Darkus decides to find his dad himself, enlisting his friends, Bertolt and Virginia, as well as a rather clever beetle called Baxter... what comes next is a topsy-turvy tale of furniture forests (including booby traps), a mouldy mug mountain and a search for the truth, whatever the cost.
Packed with adventure, Beetle Boy is also nuanced. Most refreshing of all is Leonard's total refusal to dumb anything down, be that dark plot points or bug terminology –there's a glossary for all the long, scientific words.
Ella Walker
