Any Book by PD James

There were ten members present and the group had chosen to report on and discuss any book by PD James.

As the author was the prolific author of more than 20 novels, it was unsurprising that we had covered six novels between us and several members had chosen books from the Inspector Dalgliesh series. 

On the whole these had been enjoyed, but some readers found them disappointing and slow paced; others, too dated and middle class. This was possibly because the author had died seventeen years ago, at the age of 94, and the Guardian obituary of her described her as the successor to Dorothy L Sayers and Agatha Christie. 

Two readers had greatly enjoyed the books, others found them slow and ponderous, or just disappointing.

Two members had read the dystopian novel The Children of Men, in which, when the book begins in 2027, total human infertility had already led to wars and global depression, the threat of human extinction and refugees were either arrested and imprisoned or deported. There is intense violence, fear and confusion in the plot, but the descriptive language used by the author makes it a compelling read.

Report by Barbara Marsh