First thoughts

And The Band Played On, Christopher Ward, Hodder and Stoughton, £20. eBook (not available).

CHRISTOPHER WARD’S book about his grandfather, who died at 21 years of age when the Titanic sank in 1912 with the loss of 1,513 lives, has produced a fascinating tale.

The luxurious ship — then the biggest in the world — hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It had been considered virtually unsinkable and did not carry enough lifeboats for all on board.

This is the moving story of Jock Hume, a member of the Titanic’s band, which played on for as long as possible while the evacuation was underway. Every one of them died.

Back in Scotland, Hume’s fiancee, a glove-maker called Mary Costin, was pregnant with their child, subsequently gave birth to a daughter. Jock’s father, a slippery character called Andrew, had disapproved of the relationship and continued to reject Mary.

This book tells an amazing story of how the disaster affected two families, and of class distinctions surrounding the recovery of bodies from the sea.

Review: Ben Major

American Weather. Charles McLeod. Harvill £12.99, eBook (Kindle) $11.74.

FORMER Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University, Charles McLeod, has had fiction published in the Alaska Quarterly Review among other publications, and his debut novel American Weather is a satirical stab at the country’s corpulent commercialism.

Jim Haskin, the owner of green advertising firm American Weather, dons the guise of eco warrior while at work, but secretly deals in guns, bleach and oil. When his friends and business partners find themselves losing money, Jim is called to remedy their ailing situation, and plans his ultimate sacrifice to commercialism — a live execution, complete with sponsorship deals.

This book is clinical and cold, sometimes taking its obsession with brands and labels too far, but thankfully it is given a heart by Jim’s son, Connor, who writes home to his father about life at boarding school.

A solid debut by an author with a strong, original voice and sharp wit.