The Bad Book Affair is a happy book. There is a mystery in the plot but that seems to be a filler to the various challenges faced by Israel Armstrong in living in the northernmost coast of the north of the north part of Northern Ireland.I have not read other books in the series but it did not seem matter. There are funny ha-ha scenes and funny Ok scenes and some meaning of life scenes. The six month performance appraisal reminded me of the best of Dilbert.This is not a book for those looking for murder and intrigue. This is for those who want to read a book that will cheer you up. Amateur sleuth Israel Armstrong is a Jewish vegetarian mobile librarian from Northern London, now living on the northernmost coast “of the north of the north” of Northern Ireland. He allows a 14-year-old girl to borrow a “bad book” (American Pastoral by Philip Roth). If lending a young girl such a book wasn’t bad enough, the girl, daughter of a prominent Unionist candidate, disappeared the next day. Besides the police, a number of others suspect Israel of not only abducting the girl, but corrupting her to boot: his boss, Linda Wei, a lesbian Chinese single mother; and a nosy newspaper reporter.This book is heavy on satire and light on mystery. A la Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, no murder is committed. Ian Sansom uses Israel for his real purpose of skewering politics, religion, prejudice, censorship, and pretensions of all sorts.I enjoyed this so-called mystery, but not as a mystery. The mystery series produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate offered far more grittiness and nail-biting moments. But as a caustic satire, The Bad Book Affair is a gem. And there is more than one laugh-at-loud passage (I loved the commentary on the car coats).
What do You think about Galeotto Fu Il Libro (2009)?
A good quick read if you like quirky characters. Haven't read the rest of the series.
—Sarahandreozzi
Full of Irish disconnected oddities; a slight tale, mild and mildly entertaining.
—Katchiu
