Drum – 15 August 2019

SWEETSORROW

BYDAVIDNICHOLLS

(HODDER&STOUGHTON)

R329*

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READ

BOOKS THESE

GOOD READS

A page-turner exploring young love,

a gripping thriller and a novel about

triumph after tragedy are this week’s picks

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TAKEALOT.COM.

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54 | 15 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za

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local theatre production of Romeo

and Juliet.

He doesn’t have any acting abi-

lities and he isn’t the slightest bit

interested in Shakespeare but he

agrees to take part in the hope that

it will allow him to get closer to the

delightful Fran, who plays Juliet.

Over the weeks a sweet romance

unfolds – but there are multiple

problems that threaten it, including

Charlie’s suicidal dad, the teen’s

growing sense of dread about his

exam results which are due to be

announced and a fraudu lent

scheme he has going on the side.

Although the theme is first love

this isn’t a whimsical young adult

novel – it’s told from Charlie’s pers-

pective when he’s older, wiser and

getting ready to marry someone

else. What happened between him

and Fran? The answer is funny,

sad, complicated and tinged with

regret – basically, everything fans

would expect from a David

Nicholls novel. – JANE VORSTER

THE NIGHT WINDOW

BY DEAN KOONTZ 

(HARPERCOLLINS)

R299*

This is the final confron-

tation between good and

evil, the climax to Jane

Hawk’s one-woman crusade to rid

the world of the ruthless cabal

known as the Techno Arcadians.

It is the fifth book in the series,

which started off in 2017 with the

Silent Corner, and even if you

haven’t read any of the previous

books, you can still enjoy this

thriller because Dean Koontz

revisits all that has happened

before without annoying fans by

being unnecessarily repetitive.

The baddies who want to control

the world with an army of people

who have been “adjusted” through

the administration of an injection

which makes them subservient.

Jane, a former FBI agent, started

her war against the Arcadians

after her husband was injected

then ordered to commit suicide.

If I have to criticise the author,

it’s that he’s tried to fit too many

storylines into this novel.

And Jane is almost too

good to be true – pretty,

highly intelligent, an

accom p lished piano player

and as moral as can be.

That said, The Night Window is

a gripping thriller that makes the

reader want to turn the pages as

quickly as possible. – ANDRE J BRINK

THE TRUTHS AND TRIUMPHS

OF GRACE ATHERTON

BY ANSTEY HARRIS

(SIMON & SCHUSTER) R330*

Grace is content to live a sheltered

life, making violins and cellos in the

shop she runs.

She lives for David, her partner

of nearly a decade, and all her life

choices revolve around keeping

her man happy.

Very few others get close to

Grace, thanks to the many secrets

she harbours from her past. She

has secrets that haunt her to the

extent that she becomes comp-

letely crippled in certain social

situations.

But then something happens

that rips her world apart and Grace

will never be the same. As she tries

to pick up the pieces of her life, she

discovers new friendships with old

acquaintances with heart-warming

results.

At first Grace can be a bit annoy-

ing but this lessens as you learn

more about her past. It’s the two

supporting characters – a smart,

sassy teenager and a gentle, old

man – who make her shine, though.

I don’t agree that this is on the

level of Eleanor Oliphant is

Completely Fine, but it’s still a

good choice if you like stories

about triumph after tragedy.

• CHARLENE ROLLS