Friday, June 08, 2007

What I'm Reading

I'm about halfway through Engleby by Sebastian Faulks and am really enjoying it. Its a real departure from his previous books such as Charlotte Gray and Birdsong, so if you're a fan of his, you might be disappointed. If you're not that keen on him, you might be pleasantly surprised. Its set in the 1970s and 1980s with some great period detail and is written from the point of view of a really intriguing central character - Mike Engleby.

I was reading it on the Tube today and Engleby decided to go for a couple of pints of lager in the basement bar of Bar Oporto on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue- which caused me to sit up. This is the Bar that my brother used to own a few years ago and the basement bar was where we spent the Millenium evening and where I had my 40th birthday party. What was equally surprising was that it was the late 1970s. I didn't realise that Bar Oporto had such a long history. I wonder if Sebastian Faulkes was a regular?

Will Bar Oporto will feature later in the book? I'll let you know.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am absolutely astounded. Weren't those occasions great. And what about the highs and lows of watching England in the world cup.

Tony said...

Remember them well Nick. Tense affairs with the ususal England disappointment. Still enjoying the book. Bar Oporto not reappeared so far.

Anonymous said...

And the football games were pretty tense too.