Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

A great American immigrant epic in the classic style, with the added twist of a hermaphrodite narrator. It's a great read, with narrative verve and some excellent set pieces, particularly the destruction of Smyrna that precipitates the Greek family's arrival in the US. There are moments of dubious believability, but the book succeeds through fine storytelling and a warm sense of inclusivity.

2 Kings

The usual reprehensible and risible stuff, and 2 more resurrections (4 so far), but there were a couple of particular zingers.

I like this:

18:27 But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?

Nice!

And this brief yet thrilling tale is possibly my favourite bit of the Bibble so far, largely due to my sensitivity re hair loss issues:

2:23 And he (Elisha) went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

42 kids ripped to shreds in return for a bit of gentle teasing! Way to look after bald blokes, oh wise and loving one.

1 Kings

In which we find the dubious wisdom of Solomon and a second Biblical resurrection, alongside the the usual incoherent, murderous mayhem and outright immorality. Do Christians ever actually sit and read this stuff? The OT God is a raving loony.

Absolute Friends - John le Carre

The Cold War era le Carre is peerless stuff, so people got a bit excited when this return his classic mode was published a few years back. The first couple of hundred pages are indeed vintage stuff, a detailed and convincing description of a double-agent sting operation with convincing characters and a plausible storyline.

Sadly, the final third of the book brings us into the post 9/11 world and everything falls apart very badly. Like Richard Flanagan in The Unknown Terrorist, le carre allows his anger to overwhelm his duties as a teller of tales, and the tiresome editorialising spoils the book. It's extremely frustrating.