The true story of the murder of the Clutter family in The basic facts are presented up front so the main question left is "why? The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid. I liked the style of this book with the reader placed in a restaurant in Lahore while a Pakastini man narrates the story of his assimilation into American society and his alienation subsequent to The final paragraph leaves you hanging for more. May 30, , 6: The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen. However I was very pleasantly surprised with this story of the trials of the Lambert family. Each character has flaws and failures which are described with black humour.
Their fallibility led me to sympathise with each of them. A most entertaining read. Scottish gothic novel about two brothers, a mysterious companion and murder. The story is told from three perspectives, two narratives divided by the handwritten "confession" of the "justified sinner". The air of mystery is maintained throughout, and the consequences of misguided religious extremism are as relevant today. The Lambs of London - Peter Ackroyd. An easy read and an introduction to the Lamb siblings and William Ireland.
However I found the story a bit dull. Not in the same league as Hawksmoor. Time's Arrow - Martin Amis. A narrator follows a man's life backwards to his birth. I enjoyed the novelty of everyday events seen backwards the taxi that is always outside your house when you need it, the meal deconstructed into the fridge, the shops that pay you to bring goods to them There are a few conversations where you are best to start at the bottom of the page and work your way up.
The second earlier part of the story makes for uncomfortable reading, even from a more constructive, backwards perspective. Justine - Marquis de Sade. A virtuous young woman is beset by violence and sexual assault. While the language concerning the misfortunes she experiences has mellowed a little with the centuries, the unremitting assaults are wearing and distasteful. The moral that crime pays continues to the last few pages when she meets an extraordinary almost comical fate. Jun 20, , Walden - Henry David Thoreau. The writer makes observations on his two year experiment, living the "simple life" in a cabin by Walden pond in the s.
This proved to be quite a tedious read. Occasionally there were observations I could relate to re nature and living a less complicated life, but much of the book was either rambling philosphy that was difficult to follow, or dry textbook descriptions of his daily life and surrounds. Jun 23, , 5: An English country house. Jun 25, , 5: A marriage crumbling under obstinancy and jealousy. Very nice writing, but long novel for a relatively uneventful plot dense pages in the reproduction I was reading.
Must look out some of his shorter works. Shroud - John Banville. An old man receives a letter and flies to Turin to meet the person who sent it. Some deep meditations that require concentration. The highlights for me were the beautiful images that Banville creates throughout the book - skillful writing. Sibling rivalry in 18th century Scotland. Mainly psychological drama, with a smattering of adventure on the high seas and in the wilds of North America.
Foundation - Isaac Asimov. A group of scientists form a new colony as a galactic Empire begins to fade. Like I, Robot the book contains a number of episodes seperated by a significant period of time so that few active characters overlap between them. Well constructed, "believable" and fun. I've had Foundation for a little while and never fancied picking it up - think I might give it a go now I have read your review - thank you!
Crash - JG Ballard. The narrator and some associates are sexually aroused by car crash injuries. Graphic language intended to shock. The premise was not inviting and I found the execution mechanical, dull and repetitive. The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing. A woman records aspects of her life in four notebooks. This was a slog - the mood was unrelentingly bitter and negative, with broken and unhealthy relationships and unsympathetic characters. Jul 19, , 6: Complicity - Iain Banks. A journalist investigates a conspiracy theory while a serial killer murders prominent businessmen and politicians.
Having lived near Glasgow in the 70s and 80s I could identify with the locations and "patter" and so got into this book. The journalist's obsessions with sex, drugs and computer games were a distraction but the story comes together neatly by the end. Castle Rackrent - Maria Edgeworth. A family retainer describes the mismanagement of an Irish estate by Anglo-Irish landlords. Published in and a "first" in many categories - first Irish novel, first "big house" novel A short entertaining read in a converstional style.
I saw that this is one of the lowest rated books on the List in LibraryThing at 2. It rambles along without much in the way of paragraphs or chapters, but I quite liked the feeling of listening to this garrulous old retainer. Some reviewers comment that the local dialect and historical context is difficult to follow but I didn't find that at all or maybe I just missed the references! The core story is less than pages, the rest of the book being taken up by lengthy introductions, glossarys and footnotes.
The Black Prince - Iris Murdoch. A writer seeks to get away to the country but gets hopelessly entangled with various friends and relatives. The Ghost Road - Pat Barker. Last book in the WW1 trilogy that includes Regeneration also on the list. Concludes the story of psychologist Dr William Rivers and the fate of his patients during the Great War. A Sentimental Journey - Laurence Sterne. Published in , this is the journal of a trip through France, with encounters with various characters. Not a smooth read - the sentence structure and language takes a little getting used to, there are numerous allusions to contemporary literature and personalities so that you are constantly referencing the appendices, and bits of the text are in French which I have a basic grasp of but probably missed the nuances.
A bit of an 18th century Ulysses! To cap it all the author died before finishing the full story. Once you've overcome these difficulties, there are some witty observations but not a great deal going on. Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto. A tale of coping with loss and bereavement, set in modern Japan. This was a sad but gentle story. While the subject wasn't uplifting, the simplicity of the telling was refreshing. The Untouchable - John Banville. An art historian is exposed as a spy and reflects on his life.
Based on the lives of Anthony Blunt and the "Cambridge Five". The thing I loved about this book is Banville's observational skills - the book is peppered with rich, original and apt descriptions of the weather, nature, human behaviour and domestic scenes. This is the sort of writing I read for. Agnes Gray - Anne Bronte.
The trials and tribulations of a nineteenth century nanny, and a happy ending. A predictable but nicely written story. Savage Detectives - Robert Bolano. Describes the activities of a group of Latin American poets called the visceral realists. The book is in three sections. After pages your knowledge of the visceral realists and their elusive leaders has not advanced much!
The Stranger - Albert Camus. The emotionally detached protaganist comes up against a system he doesn't understand and that doesn't understand him. Stark writing with much existential philosophy. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym. Mildred is a sensible spinster who is expected to sort out other peoples problems over a cup of tea while denying her own needs.
Mildly amusing and an short easy read for anyone wanting a break from the heavier tomes on the List. Watchmen - Alan Moore and David Gibbons. The only graphic novel on the List? Costumed vigilantes are being eliminated as the world heads towards nuclear war. A number of dark stories run in parallel. Despite being a "comic" this took some concentration. Sep 4, , 3: The Children's Book - A. Follows the lives of an extended family and friends from to The book gives a good sense of the creative process in various art forms and the political movements that were developing during this period.
However there are too many characters and too much detail about these processes and developments to enable any emotional attachment. As the various family secrets and inevitable tragedies unfold I found I didn't really care about any of the people. Educational but emotionally uninvolving. Falling Man - Don Delillo. An estranged couple find themselves back together in the immediate aftermath of A sombre story and disjointed narrative. However flashes of brilliance, including the clever title, keep you going. The Red and the Black - Stendhal. An ambitious young peasant attempts to advance himself in post-Napoleonic France.
Written in and thus referencing the politics and manners of the day, I found this a suprisingly enjoyable read. The main characters are not really likeable, but the naivety of the self-centred, passionate lead character Julien Sorel led me to have sympathy for him. A difficult book to read: I can appreciate the overall style mixing different methods to tell a story but this is not a story that I would ever want to read again.
I too was glad that it was short! The funniest thing was I picked this up at a jumble sale at our local retirement village. Who would have thought that they would be a hotbed of post-punk feminist pornography?! I have a bunch of stuff to donate to the local thrift store but purposely left that one out of the bag. I don't want to scar anyone in this rather conservative community White teeth - Zadie Smith. The story of three generations of two immigrant families living in London. Nicely written with humorous observations. The story gets a little bogged down with the introduction of a third family of high-achievers and their involvement in the advancement of genetic engineering.
However overall an enjoyable read. The adventures of Peregrine Pickle - Tobias Smollett. Charts the rise, fall and redemption of an extravagant prankster. I really enjoyed the long winded humour in this book and the exaggerated reactions of various players. A couple of lengthy, tedious and irrelevant side stories detracted from the overall enjoyment. Oct 2, , 6: Herzog - Saul Bellow. A man frantically writes letters to relatives, friends, philosophers and politicians, both alive and dead, as he reflects on his life following the break-up of his second marriage.
A book that requires concentration as it moves rapidly from present to past, first person to third person. Masterful writing - a work of literature rather than a great read, but I got into it towards the end. Pere Goriot - Honore de Balzac. A bitter tale of Paris in The story revolves around residents of a boarding house and various aristocracy, and at its heart is the tale of a doting father who sacrifices everything for his ungrateful self-absorbed daughters.
While the story is ultimately sad and cynical, it is told in a very readable style. Oct 10, , 2: Fantomas - Marcel Allain. An early book in the serial-killer genre. A master criminal is pursued by a skillful detective. Some barely credible twists but entertaining. Nemesis - Philip Roth.
Details a polio outbreak in Newark in The first half was good, building up the atmosphere of fear in the oppressive heat of summer. I thought the second half was a bit obvious as the main character "escapes" the outbreak into a wilderness summer camp. A start forward read though. A timid and melancholy young lady is employed as a teacher in a school on the continent. Some nice flowery almost poetic passages but I found much of this dull and the main characters annoying and childish.
The Human Stain - Philip Roth. A university dean resigns after being accused of racism. A book about identity, prejudice and hypocrisy. A lot of writing with some paragraphs pages long, but some compelling tension towards the end. The Drowned World - J. Massive solar activity over decades has caused sea levels to cover all major cities in water.
A group of people adapt to these conditions while fending off giant reptiles, pirates and their psychological deterioration. A well constructed world and an enjoyable read. Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery. Two isolated people in a Parisian apartment block narrate this story - Renee, a concierge with a hidden deep knowledge of art and literature, and Paloma, a 12 year oold girl who is bent on documenting her deep thoughts before a planned suicide. I enjoyed this book but feel I should have enjoyed it more - some of the philosphy is too long and deep and distracts from a sweet and at times moving story.
The Jungle - Upton Sinclair. An immigrant family are beaten down by poverty and injustice in turn-of-the-century Chigaco. A heart-breaking story with little respite that leaves you saddened and angry at the injustices. The closing lectures on socialism slow the momentum and mood of the book, but are still interesting in a book that predates the Russian Revolution. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming. The first Bond novel. More brutal and cynical than the playful movies. I enjoyed much of this but the ending while predictable was rather sudden and not entirely believable.
A stranger arrives in a remote village with a proposition for its inhabitants. A fable of good versus evil with some nice observations. Another World - Pat Barker. A family move into a house with a secret past, while their grandfather, a WW1 veteran, approaches death. I enjoyed much of the writing, but the story had too many threads to pull neatly together.
A drifter conspires with a young woman to kill her husband. A raw narrative reflects the physicality of this short story. The Underdogs - Mariano Azuela.
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A group of rebels in the Mexican Revolution become as criminal as the government they seek to overthrow. A well told albeit depressing story. House of Mirth - Edith Wharton. A beautiful well-connected young lady finds her star fading as circumstances and relationships work against her. There are two features that top my list for a good novel.
This book has them in spades. Firstly vivid descriptions of scenes that enable you to see, hear and feel exactly what the characters are experiencing - from drawing rooms in New York and New England, to terraces overlooking the sea at Monte Carlo. Secondly, witty or original observations - "Grace Stepney's mind was a kind of moral fly-paper to which buzzing items of gossip were drawn by fatal attraction, and where they hung fast in the toils of an inexorable memory".
While it became increasingly obvious that Lily Bart was slowly heading towards her doom, I didn't find the book at all gloomy, because of the wonderful story telling. Underworld - Don DeLillo.
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A massive book both in terms of pages and in terms of what it seems to seek to achieve - a meditation on the last half of the twentieth century in America. The events are seen through the eyes of Nick Shay, his family and associates, various historical characters J Edgar Hoover, Lenny Bruce , and a baseball! There is a recurring theme about nuclear weapons and toxic waste but much of it is fairly random.
The writing is skilful, but the narrative leaps around. Felt a bit like watching one of those French New Wave movies - parts are mesmerizing, parts are puzzling, you admire the art but at the end you wonder what it was all about. Great to hear that House of Mirth is a 5 star read because I talked my book club into reading it this year.
I read The Age of Innocence this past summer and loved it. If you haven't read Ethan Frome yet, you still have that one to look forward to! The story of three generations of a Dominican family. The sort of book I generally enjoy - quirky overlapping episodes told in everyday conversational style with some dark humour. Somehow though I didn't fully connect with this one, maybe because the Spanish slang and numerous sci-fi references were a bit distracting. Interesting to learn about yet another brutal Latin American dictatorship, one that I'd never heard of before.
The Golden Asse - Lucius Apuleius. A young man meddling in magic is transformed into an ass. A 15th century retelling of a 3rd century story. The first thing that strikes you is the language; "Olde English" which actually proves to be quite readable. More surprising is the sometimes bawdy language. The young hero is turned into an ass fairly early on in the tale and thereafter the story gets a bit repetitive as he is sold, beaten, hears a story related, is sold, beaten The story ends with rather dull details of various religious observances.
Dec 15, , 5: A story that follows the lives of a family as they move between London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. After the oft quoted first line "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" , I found the book a little hard to get into, mainly due to the sometimes obscure prose. However as the book progresses you get into Dickens' groove and the book builds to a dramatic and moving conclusion. The footnotes in the Penguin Classics version were helpful in putting the story into the context of major events during the French Revolution. Slaughter-house Five - Kurt Vonnegut.
The story of Billy Pilgrim, a witness to the bombing of Dresden. I enjoyed the writing - short episodes in a deadpan style as Billy drifts backwards and forwards in time. He has a detached fatalistic view of death, every reference to death being followed by "So it goes". The sci-fi element involving his abduction by aliens seemed more about his rationalizing the deaths he witnesses, rather than a "real" experience. A failed cleric is elected Pope. A curious rambling book.
Occasional flashes of humour but it gets bogged down in The late nineteenth century politics of Europe and the Catholic church and overall is a dull read. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? A young man recalls the circumstances that resulted him being sentenced for murder. Much of this short novel is taken up by a dance marathon, raising further issues of morality, this time in relation to show biz. Jan 9, , 5: In a Free State - V. A collection of short stories involving individuals in foreign cultures.
The main story involves expats dealing with a military coup in an African country, with other stories involving Indians dealing with unfamiliar cultures in USA and UK. Best summed up in the quote: They are still beating me". The stories varied enough to maintain interest.
Sister Carrie - Theodore Dreiser. Charts the rise from poverty to fame of a young lady at the turn of the last century. Noteably she feels little remorse for the men she discards on her way to the top, even at the end as she reads Pere Goriot while her partner dies in poverty. I was also interested in her early life in Chicago - poverty, but not in the extremes described in The Jungle only six years later.
A nice straightforward read. Testament of Youth - Vera Brittain. A memoir of the First World War and its effect on the generation who lived through and beyond it. The book contains some wonderful prose and you get an honest, angry and weary sense of the "catastrophe that descended just in time to deprive us of that youthful happiness to which we believed ourselves entitled".
At pages the book is a bit stretched and the post-war progress of the Women's Movement and work of the League of Nations were of less interest to me. Coming up on a bit of a milestone there puckers! Any particular plans for which book will be the big , or do these milestones get a bit meaningless after the first hundred? I enjoy a milestone so thought I'd go for something large and old to mark the occasion. Was tempted to wait for the Group Read of Les Miserables but I think I might have to mix that one up with a few shorter reads. Yes, it was tough to choose what book to read for my !
I ended up with advice from the list with A Fine Balance , which was a pretty good one. I haven't read Bleak House but it sounds like another good choice for a milestone. I've pencilled in Anna Karenina for my based on my current reading plan for my local public library - but there's a lot of reading to do before I start thinking about that too seriously!! Come back to this conversation in late to see if my choice has changed! Bleak House - Charles Dickens. Charts the lives of various people connected to the seemingly interminable case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
In my job I am involved in a legal case that has been running for 5 years now and little seems to have changed in the years since Dickens described the processes that result in cases being bogged down in arguments that have little to do with the fundamental issues. I therefore empathised with the characters caught up in Jarndyce and Jarndyce. However the book is more about the relationships of numerous characters that Dickens creates, and in this book we get a full array of "Dickensian" characters, from the poverty-stricken orphans Charley to rich baronets Sir Leicester Dedlock , from miserable old misers Mr Smallweed to generous guardians John Jarndyce.
Inevitabley in a book this long nearly pages there are extraneous characters who do little to advance the plot, but Dickens keeps the story moving with both drama and comedy and, while some of the coincidences are a stretch, the various threads are drawn neatly to a close. Ficciones - Jorge Luis Borges. A collection of short stories from the master of magic realism. As I read the table of contents I realized a number of the stories were also in Borges' Labyrinths - in fact no less than 13 of the 17 stories are in the latter book, leaving just 4 stories totaling 20 pages to complete this book!
The 4 additional stories are grounded a bit more in a recognisable world but on the strength of the 13 fantastic stories I'd read earlier I'll give this the same score as Labyrinths 4. A morose, disenchanted student strives for his inner poet. Apparently largely autobiographical, the student is not presented in flattering light, and there are no real high points in the story that is presented.
Silas Marner - George Eliot. An isolated embittered man loses everything he covets only to find redemption when an orphaned baby girl wanders into his life. A simple plot with a straightforward moral, told beautifully. I was moved by this story more than any book I've read recently. Must be getting soft in my old age. Feb 15, , 5: Richard Hannay is pursued round Britain by police and foreign agents after a spy is murdered in his apartment. You can see how it appealed to Alfred Hitchcock who directed the movie based on this book which is in the Movies You Must See Before You Die - there is the innocent man drawn unwittingly into a big scheme he doesn't fully understand, pursued by people who may be friends or enemies.
The film incidentally is only loosely based on the book with major characters that do not appear in the latter. The coincidences and chance encounters stretch credibility to the limit, but Buchan recognised this in his dedication where he notes that the book will "defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible". If you can suspend your disbelief, you end up with a good short thriller. Charts the various schemes and adventures that Augie March finds himself embroiled in from childhood to post-WW2.
Bellow packs a lot into his sentences. If you are fully awake and concentrating on every word there is much to enjoy here. However if, like me, you allow your eyes to scan over paragraphs you often find yourself realising at the end of the paragraph that you've missed what Bellow is trying to say, and you have to go back to the start. This made the book, which is already pages, seem longer than it is. An intriging story following the lives of three institutionalised children into adulthood.
What do the Carers do, and why is the narrator Kathy kept as a Carer rather than a Donor for so long? What is the significance of "the boat"? Why do they seem to have different recollections of the physical features of Hailsham? The holes in this picture are left to the readers imagination which is both stimulating and frustrating. The story is narrated in a fairly detached way, with an acceptance of what awaits them which makes it hard to get emotionally involved compare this with My Sisters Keeper which I read this month also - covers some similar ground but is highly emotional and covers the ethics from all angles.
Hope you missed the 45 degree day! Mar 3, , Saw the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition so that was a few weeks before your temps soared, yes. Veronika Decides to Die - Paul Coelho. Veronika makes a failed suicide attempt, is confined to a mental hospital where she discovers meaning in her life. I didn't connect with this book at all. This wasn't helped by Veronikas reason for suicide being so trite boredom.
The book didn't have anything new to say beyond the obvious that trying something new can give purpose to your life. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo. Jean Valjean, an escaped convict, sets out to do what is right and good, even if it means potentially losing his liberty and the one person he loves more than anything in the world. At its heart is the reformed convict Jean Valjean, his relentless pursuer Javert, and the orphaned girl he nutures to adulthood, Cossette - but no brief summary can do justice to the depth of this book.
A noteable feature of the book is its pacing. There are passages of excitement and adventure, and then lengthy diversions on historical and cultural matters. Thus for example you are in the thick of brutal hand-to-hand combat in the barricades of Paris, and suddenly on the next page entering a four chapter history of the sewers under the city! These passages add depth and context to the story and enable you to catch your breath, elevating what could have been an exciting but straightforward cat-and-mouse pursuit story into something majestic. One of THE books you must read before you die.
A woman's husband commits suicide, and on returning to their home discovers a strange man with the ability to mimic both her and her late partner. My third DeLillo in six months, and all have proven a bit of a challenge. This short story has the advantage of a lineal story told through the eyes of one person. However the line between reality and imagination is constantly blurred, not really resolved, and I got to the end feeling dissatisfied.
Reilly, an obese flatulent lay-about, rails against modern society. A farcical story populated with various eccentrics.
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The Twins - Tessa de Loo. Twin sisters, seperated at six, meet unexpectedly and recall their life stories. I found the overarching story a bit unrealistic - the chance encounter, the antipathy and the chronological narration of their stories over several days of meetings. The underlying story of their war experiences was well told even if there was nothing remarkable in the conclusion both German and Dutch civilians suffered in the war Life and Times of Michael K - J. A simple man caught up in a civil war in South Africa seeks to get away from the conflict and get back to nature.
A difficult book to say I "enjoyed" as it is full of despair and sadness, and Michael rarely achieves any sense of happiness. However Coetzee creates a rich and believable atmosphere from the strife-torn towns to the dry veld.
Interestingly for an apartheid era novel in South Africa, race is never raised and it is never explicitly stated whether the people who aid and abet Michael are black or white South Africans. Spring - Anthony Powell. Follows the fortunes of four upper-middle class men from the last years at school to their 30s. It is perhaps unfair to review this volume alone, but the individual books were initially published over 20 years and therefore should stand on their own merits.
The style reminds me of Virginia Woolf's The Years where the detailed scenes have little dramatic action, and the major events births, marriages, divorces etc are revealed mainly in conversation between the characters. I found most of the characters rather dull and superficial including the narrator, Nicholas Jenkins, who comes across as a "decent chap" but little is revealed of his life but Powell includes some dry wit that I enjoyed.
This is an insular society largely unaffected by wider considerations. However having said this I increasingly got in to their world and look forward to the next pages! The lives of two sisters, Constance and Sophia, are followed from childhood to death. Nothing terribly dramatic happens during this long tale, despite Sophia living through the seige of Paris, but it is a pleasant, very readable story. Enjoying your reviews and on the whole we agree on ratings of books we have both read, leading me to want to read more of your highly-rated books and avoid the low ones.
Only exception is The Body Artist which somehow appealed to me. Both quite good to watch after reading the books. NLMG was wonderful as a movie and somehow more moving than the book while capturing it very well -- I wept buckets at the end. Les Mis is, as a musical, of course wildly different from the book yet in other ways strangely right, and made me think more about some aspects of the book.
I should watch the movie of Never Let Me Go as this was another book that left me with too many unanswered questions. Unfortunately, with a 14 month old daughter we don't have much time to watch anything these days, let alone a movie, so that might have to wait a while. Apr 9, , 7: The Black Dahlia - James Ellroy. A police investigation following the discovery of a woman's mutilated body reveals a dark and seedy world in s LA. This is very black noir as it were filled with sleaze, violence and corruption - and that's just the cops! The language and imagery are graphic so this isn't for everyone, but the suspense hooked me.
You need to just tune into the narrators voice and go along for the ride. Apr 20, , Two people in Tokyo in realize they have drifted into an altered version of this world, one with two moons.
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A lengthy book pages but very readable and felt shorter than some books half this size. The pace throughout is slow but Murakami drip-feeds enough new information to keep you interested.
I found there was a fair bit of repetition particularly in the third book where an investigator is seeking information you've known since early in the story. However the book is far from a chore and has a special calm atmosphere of its own. Apr 20, , 7: My husband read DeLillo's White Noise and had similar problems; he didn't like it at all and couldn't get into the writing hence it didn't stick with him. Adam Bede - George Eliot. Set in in rural England, this tale involved honest, hard-working Adam Bede, vain romantic Hetty Sorrel his love interest and Dinah Morris, Hetty's cousin and a rousing Methodist preacher.
One of my main objectives in reading from the List is to discover authors I probably wouldn't have read and George Eliot is one of my favourite "discoveries". Her characters are varied and real, and her prose flows beautifully across the page - a joy to read. If I had any quibbles with this book it would be the heavy use of dialect which slowed the reading process, and at times the tone can get a bit "preachy", but nevertheless I enjoyed this moral tale told in a wonderful atmospheric way.
Faces in the Water - Janet Frame. A patient describes her experiences in "mental hospitals" in the s and s. The author herself spent eight years on and off in institutions so I assume that much of this is from first-hand experience. The "treatments" inflicted or lack thereof for many were primitive and ineffective and there is little hope in this book. However it is interesting to read of the hierarchies amongst the groups of patients and the rituals that many clung to as their new reality.
Summer - Anthony Powell. Nicholas Jenkins continues his reminiscences through the s. Much of my comments at If I might borrow amaryann21s food motif, this is one for the cheese plate, muscadelle grapes and an aged claret. You're at a black-tie reunion dinner and an old friend is telling you entertaining stories about people you barely know or care about, but you are amused and enjoying the rambling tales with a smile on your face. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter searching out androids in post nuclear war San Francisco. On one level this is a sci-fi novel revolving around the ability of Rick Deckard to identify and eliminate androids; on another level it explores what it means to be human, and the blurring of artificial and "real" life. A Room with a View - E. Lucy Honeychurch finds her emotions awakened by a trip to Italy. I had thought this might revolve around the clash of cultures between the Edwardian English abroad and their Italian hosts, but the clashes are between the English, as the staid Miss Bartlett who could only be played by Maggie Smith seeks to shield Lucy from the emotional and unconventional Emersons.
A wonderful variety of characters, and unexpected but delightful turns of phrase. Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy. A young woman arrives in a rural community to run a farm, and is courted by three very different men. I found the heroine, Bathsheba, somewhat shallow and petulant, and consequently aroused little empathy.
There were some rambling passages heaven forbid I should ever get trapped in conversation at Warren's Malthouse! May 27, , 7: Clarissa - Samuel Richardson. A young lady, besieged by her family, flees into the clutches of the vengeful and scheming Robert Lovelace. Listed by Wikipedia as the longest novel written in English, my experience would support that assertion!
The book takes the form of hundreds of letters, mainly between Clarissa and her friend Anne Howe, and Lovelace and fellow rake Belford. There are hundreds of pages where nothing much happens other than endless repetition of arguments. However the epistolary format is the book's saving grace; as you sit there late at night you are tempted to read "just one more" and before you know it five months of your life has passed and the book is finished!
A Dance to the Music of Time: Autumn - Anthony Powell. Books 7 to 9 take Nicholas Jenkins reminiscences through the war years. Great writing again with some dry wit. In these books a few of the key players fall victim to the war and leave the Dance - "As in musical chairs, the piano stops suddenly, someone is left without a seat, petrified for all time in the attitude of that particular moment".
Some great reviews here. I missed that Faces in the Water was on the list. I saw it on the shelf of a friend who is a psychiatrist and she recommended it, so I'm now adding it to my TBR list. Jun 2, , 6: Carry Me Down - M. An 11 year old boy believes he has the gift for detecting lies and is determined to get his parents to tell the truth. The characters in his book lacked redeeming features and for much of the story nothing much happens. Things get a little more interesting and disturbing later but by then I didn't care.
Triggered some cringe-worthy recollections of adolescent angst! The Heart of the Matter - Graham Greene. Major Scobie is a police officer in WW2 West Africa, dealing with endemic corruption, small-minded expats and a frustrated wife. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - great writing with many observations on human behaviour as Scobie's incorruptible reputation is compromised by the arrival of a young female refugee.
Under Fire - Henri Barbusse. Describes the life of a squad of French soldiers during WW1. Published during the war, the author served in the trenches and presents a grim picture not only of the carnage and mud that are familiar images of the Great War, but also the routine and tedium. The title chapter late in the book seems horribly realistic, and the book ends with a plea for an end to war. Brave New World -Aldous Huxley.
A world where manufactured reproduction and constant conditioning has resulted in a stable and satisfied population, but one where individuality and progress is discouraged - where "truth and beauty" are replaced by "comfort and happiness".
The scenario presented is quite believable. More entertaining than I'd expected. Simon and the Oaks - Marianne Fredriksson. I wasn't really convinced by this book. Virtually every character has sudden rages and hatreds, and there are mystical passages that I didn't get in to. A bit disjointed and cold. A man inherits a house formerly occupied by the 16th century alchemist and astronomer Doctor Dee. This book is similar in structure to Hawksmoor - two overlapping stories from centuries apart that gradually coincide and merge.
The scenario sounded promising, however I found there was way too much detail in this, and as the realities in both stories gradually fell apart things got rather obscure. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe. Describes life in a West African village prior to and following the arrival of missionaries. A straightforward read with interesting insights into tribal customs. Jun 27, , 6: A house on land dishonestly obtained carries a curse on generations of a family. LT links this book to Silas Marner and there are close similarities in this tale of isolated misunderstood old people who's lives are revitalized by the arrival of a young lady.
Hawthorne is a little wordy, rarely using one syllable where four will suffice! However there is much to enjoy here, and I was particularly entertained by the chapter where the author urges a deceased character to wake up and get on with his day. I was in Salem last year and wandered by Seven Gables too cheap to enter and wondered about the book. I hated Scarlet Letter although was forced to read it so perhaps I would like it better nowadays.
He is really wordy! Jun 29, , 9: Catching up with your thread -- glad that you liked Under Fire -- I'd never heard of it before the list but I was incredibly moved and impressed by that book. Your reviews are always so useful to me, since you have read many books I have not. And I can't believe what great progress you are making when you have a toddler in the house! The only way I can get through books with a toddler in the house is to get out of the house! I have a two hour daily commute to work so enjoy 10 hours uninterrupted List reading each week that way, and then a couple of hours a week on coffee breaks.
My tbr books around are in a shed in the garden and Olivia my 17 month old daughter likes to follow me there and grab a book to leaf through. I think she likes this because it has a picture of Nicole Kidman on the spine - who she calls "dolly"! I'm sure she'll start her own thread before too long - and we do have the Children's Books you must Read Before you Grow Up to help her on her way!
The Successor - Ismail Kadare. The President-Elect of Albania suffers a violent death - but is it murder or suicide? This short, very readable book tells the story from the point of view of various characters, concluding with the views of the deceased himself! Everyone is paranoid and uncertain as to what happened, while political fortunes rise and fall for both the living and the dead. This book tells a tense and at times horrific story of fear, bravery and compromise in the face of a brutal regime that lasted 30 years in the Dominican republic. A gripping page-turner, but also clever writing as conversations move seamlessly across the decades.
Possibly my best read of the year so far. Jul 15, , 8: Baltasar and Blimunda - Jose Saramago. Three interwoven stories - a passionate love affair, the world's first flying machine, and the early stages of construction of what is apparently still the largest palace in Europe. This looks an intimidating book, with sentences that run a full page or more, but thanks to three engaging stories and generous use of commas, these sentences flow, tumbling along. A surprisingly enjoyable read. It seems we are in agreement in our reactions to Baltasar and Blimunda , so I hope I will also like The Feast of the Goat as much as you did.
I'll be starting it very soon. The Red Room - August Strindberg. A satirical look at Swedish society in the late 19th century. Few institutions are left unscathed in this book - business, government, journalism and the arts are viewed as corrupt or ineffective. It is all done with a light touch and there are occasional bits I found amusing. The Shining - Stephen King. Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic with a violent temper, takes his wife and clairvoyant son to the isolated Overlook Hotel where he has agreed to be caretaker for the winter. What could possibly go wrong??!
King constantly winds up the tension in this very effective and scary novel. Not one for a lonely winters night if you are of a nervous disposition.
Touchstones
Just wanted to pop in and say that I love your reviews! Short and to the point, letting me know just what I most want to know about each book. Kieron Smith, Boy - James Kelman. Kieron Smith describes his childhood in Glasgow. I grew up near Glasgow in the s, and had friends who lived in the sort of places that Kieron describes, so I should have been able to relate to this story. It was fun to come across many words I hadn't heard in decades e.
Kelman vividly captures the "stream of consciousness" thoughts of a pre-teen boy. However my problem with the book was that it was too long. As I might have said at the time "Hod yer wheesht son"! Vathek - William Beckford. An eighteenth century gothic fantasy set somewhere in an imagined Middle East. This is short straightforward read - you should disengage your brain before reading this OTT tale. Jul 28, , 2: Winter - Anthony Powell. The concluding three books in Powell's epic series through the s to s.
His narrator Nicholas Jenkins, usually a detached almost colourless character, becomes a bit more opinionated towards the end of the series, and his wife Isobel who has been practically invisible so far takes a part in the last books. A slight change in style, but still an enjoyable read. As for the series as a whole, I very much enjoyed the nature of the reminiscences.
Jenkins has a gentle, dry wit in his retelling of his friends, relatives and acquaintances, and is sympathetic to them all, even the more monstrous of them. I must admit that I found many of the characters blending in to one another and by the end I couldn't tell you how they fitted in to the dance - rather like your partner bringing work colleagues to dinner and listening to tales of people who's names ring a bell but you don't really know at all. He does create some memorable characters though - Uncle Giles, Trapnel, Pamela Flitton and of course Kenneth Widmerpool - and the Dance, while pages long, seems to fly by.
Oroonoko - Aphra Behn. Oroonoko, a prince in his own country, is transported as a slave to Surinam where he is reunited with Imoinda, his lover. A short and very readable story, notable for its historical significance written in by Britain's first professional female author. Jul 31, , 6: A Void - Georges Perec. Anton Vowl goes missing - can his friends work out what happened before they too are eliminated? This is one of those books you have to admire, even if you don't love it - a page novel written in French without using the letter "e", which has been translated into English without using the letter "e" - and it has a plot!
Parts of this novel were brilliant in terms of having flowing text without the missing vowel being apparent the retelling of "Moby Dick" was one such passage. However large parts of it are verbose and seem more an exercise by the author or his translator to show off how many words he knows that don't contain "e". The book seems particularly forced where it compiles lists. Thus for example we have composers such as Bach, Brahms, Mozart, but no Beethoven.
Wow - congrats on finishing! Glad you enjoyed it too. A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway. Fredric Henry, an American volunteer with the Italian army, falls in love with an English nurse. The Forsyte Saga - John Galsworthy. The story of three generations of the Forsyte family from around to Makes for an overall enjoyable if slightly melodramatic read. Aug 19, , 7: Three short stories involving an investigator and a missing person, where the investigator finds out more about himself than the person he is tracking.
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