Helen Oyeyemi is someone that I am immensely jealous of, I can't lie. She wrote her first novel when she was supposed to be doing her A-Levels, studied at Cambridge and lives in Prague. She's now published seven books (including plays), five of them novels, and she can still only be about 30 (she graduated Cambridge in 2006). She was a precocious talent who has now established herself in a successful writing career, producing critically acclaimed novels, which I greatly admire. She was on Granta's Top 20 Young Novelists under 30 in 2013. She's not much of a public figure: there aren't that many interviews with her, and I can't find a twitter page for her. This just makes her more enigmatic, I think. Anyway, to her books.
The books I've read:
Boy, Snow, Bird: This is her latest book and most definitely my favourite. Here I think Helen got the balance just right between magical realism and an engaging, could-actually-happen plot. This was the first Oyeyemi I read and where I fell in love with her writing style: it's just beautiful, and I wanted to eat it up. It's the kind of beautiful writing that's easy to read too, and doesn't feel forced or try-hard. I loved the plot of this one too: it is told in three sections (but not in the titular order- it goes Boy, Bird, Snow), and follows a family in New England. Boy is the new wife of a widower, Arturo, who already has a daughter called Snow. When Boy has a baby girl, Bird, and she turns out to be coloured, the family pretty much falls apart, and it's interesting to see the tensions and fairytale elements weaved in. I think multiple perspectives really works here, and I loved to hear from each instrumental character and their dramatically different points of view. The themes are race, appearance and fitting in: very deep, but tackled in such a way that it doesn't feel like you're having an opinion forced on you, rather like you can explore things for yourself. Five stars.
White is for Witching: My second Oyeyemi, and probably my least favourite. It's very experimental: it follows Miranda, who lives in a house on the white cliffs of Dover. However she has a condition called Pica which means that she wants to eat non-edible items, the main one of these being chalk. Aha. It's a novel that really explores Miranda's mental state. And the narrators- Miranda, her twin brother, her best friend, and finally, the house that she lives in. Bonkers, but it does work. I enjoyed it, but didn't feel I really cared for Miranda and it was sometimes a little too disjointed (just for my personal taste), so I gave it three stars.
Mr Fox: I would describe this as a really interesting book. I just finished this one yesterday, and loved it at the beginning, and whilst my love petered off towards the end I did really enjoy it. It's about novelist St John Fox and his imaginary muse, Mary Foxe. One day she appears to him and tells him to stop killing off his female characters, a literary trope that he keeps on repeating. She calls him a serial killer, and then to battle it out the two of them (in his subconscious) start to tell stories which illustrate their side of the argument. Oyeyemi reworks folkloric characters such as Bluebeard and Reynardine, makes up some of her own strange tales (Blue and Brown? Hello?), and re-imagines St John and Mary (real and alive) in different situations. I enjoyed a lot of the pieces, and again they're written so well, but I felt a little like they led away from the original point that is made in the opening about how the killing of women in literature seems to make it okay in life, and about how male desires are so often hidden behind violence, both of which have to stop. The pieces became so obscure and fantastical that I couldn't quite remember what she was saying: although I really did enjoy the closing on the titular fox. I think everything in this book is well done, and well orchestrated: it just felt like a short story collection, rather than a novel. I gave it three stars but it is nudging on four: I'll probably change it.
The books to read:
Icarus Girl and The Opposite House- her two earliest novels. I seem to enjoy her most recent works the most, but I would like to get to these. I'll probably feel even more envious of her when I read what she published so young.
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours- a new collection of interweaved stories, out in 2016.
I think Helen Oyeyemi is a really exciting author: her books might not always be perfect but I really admire what she's trying to do and the themes she is exploring. She's serious, establishing a viewpoint and certain opinions, but she does it in such a light and beautiful way that I feel she has a really important voice. I love seeing her writing progress over her work. And her writing is sublime. I feel like I'm really going to love what she does next.
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 November 2015
Monday, 16 November 2015
Book Review: 'The God of Small Things' by Arundhati Roy
I picked this one up because it's November's reading choice for the ManBookering group on GoodReads. It's a novel I'd heard of before, and seen much praise about, one that I initially went into thinking that it would be fantastic- maybe a Man Booker prize winner that I would love (so far, my only five star winner is last years, Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North).
It follows a family in Ayemenem, India, who consist of Mammachi- the grandmother-, Baby Kochamma- the grand aunt-, Mamachi's children Chacko and Ammu, and Ammu's children Estha and Rahel. There is a great scandal when Sophie Mol, Chacko's daughter comes to visit from England, where she now lives with her Mum and something awful happens, the causes of which are revealed slowly throughout the novel. Everyone has their own heartaches and problems- no-one quite seems to be happy in love: there are affairs and beatings and alcoholics- and everyone is flawed.
However, I gave this one two stars on GoodReads. I feel disappointed in this one because it could have been great. The end fifty pages or so, and the ending itself, were so moving and touching. I have kept on thinking about the ending since finishing the novel and the ingrained injustice made me simmer with anger. It was all just so unfair.
I just didn't like the writing style or the structure. I think when you look back on it, the novel said a lot of important things about India, about the caste system, and about love. It is interesting and educational, but I think that the execution takes away from the message and what Roy is trying to say. I didn't like the disjointed writing style, the odd slips into colloquialisms and odd spellings. I could have dnf-ed this book very easily before I'd hit page 100, because I just wasn't sure what was going on. I'd also have liked events to unfold in a more linear way: I'm all for retrospect, but even looking back events were all over the place. I was often confused, and this kept my interest in this book at bay for a long time.
Overall, this is what I think critics would call an important book. It just wasn't always an enjoyable one. Who knows, it might be one for re-reading, knowing what I do now.
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Book Review: 'The Blind Assassin' by Margaret Atwood
I'm compelled to write a review on this book because it confused me so. The Blind Assassin is a novel within a novel within a novel (did I get them all?): there are many layers of narrative all of which come together to solve on big mystery: what happened to Laura Chase?
What I liked:
Laura is protagonist Iris' little sister, who (you find out on the blurb) died young in a car accident. This mystery element is interesting: you're given a lot of information at the beginning of the novel, almost like a dump, and then for the rest of the novel you're trying to work out why these events happened. It's interesting to act as detective, even when dealing with Iris' own narrative.
Both Laura and Iris are interesting characters, and both are very much mysteries. Whilst you think you know Iris when she gives her first person narrative, it becomes very clear and time goes on that you as the reader really don't know her at all. Iris is much cleverer than she pretends to be: she talks a lot about her lack of education as a child, but her thoughts and prose are quite developed. Laura is similarly enigmatic: she is a character to be figured out, and her motivations are never entirely clear.
I liked that Atwood respects her reader and their intelligence: she doesn't just feed you information, but leaves you to work it out for yourself. A clever aspect is her use of inter-textual bits, such as newspaper articles, for verisimilitude, which aid the reader but aren't over obvious signposts. It is a difficult feat to pull off, and the fact that you are- well, I was- still satisfied by the mystery says a lot for Atwood's writing.
What I disliked:
My problems came from one of the other narratives. Layer number one is Iris' perspective. Layer number two is excerpts from Laura's novel, The Blind Assassin. Layer three is excerpts from a fictional text- I think it's a graphic novel or comic- that a character in The Blind Assassin writes. Layers one and two I found interesting and enthralling: layer two again adds to the mystery element because no characters are named and it is told in the third person. The third layer just confused me: it was a science-fiction narrative, and I had no idea why it was there. Maybe it was because I'm not a particularly huge fan of sci-fi, I just didn't enjoy it. By the end, I flicked over these pages. I thought a synopsis of the text could have sufficed if it had to be included. Because of this extra, I felt that the text was overlong.
Would you recommend?
Yes, I think so. It's a great mystery with a really satisfying ending. But be prepared for a long read, and a bit of effort.
What I liked:
Laura is protagonist Iris' little sister, who (you find out on the blurb) died young in a car accident. This mystery element is interesting: you're given a lot of information at the beginning of the novel, almost like a dump, and then for the rest of the novel you're trying to work out why these events happened. It's interesting to act as detective, even when dealing with Iris' own narrative.
Both Laura and Iris are interesting characters, and both are very much mysteries. Whilst you think you know Iris when she gives her first person narrative, it becomes very clear and time goes on that you as the reader really don't know her at all. Iris is much cleverer than she pretends to be: she talks a lot about her lack of education as a child, but her thoughts and prose are quite developed. Laura is similarly enigmatic: she is a character to be figured out, and her motivations are never entirely clear.
I liked that Atwood respects her reader and their intelligence: she doesn't just feed you information, but leaves you to work it out for yourself. A clever aspect is her use of inter-textual bits, such as newspaper articles, for verisimilitude, which aid the reader but aren't over obvious signposts. It is a difficult feat to pull off, and the fact that you are- well, I was- still satisfied by the mystery says a lot for Atwood's writing.
What I disliked:
My problems came from one of the other narratives. Layer number one is Iris' perspective. Layer number two is excerpts from Laura's novel, The Blind Assassin. Layer three is excerpts from a fictional text- I think it's a graphic novel or comic- that a character in The Blind Assassin writes. Layers one and two I found interesting and enthralling: layer two again adds to the mystery element because no characters are named and it is told in the third person. The third layer just confused me: it was a science-fiction narrative, and I had no idea why it was there. Maybe it was because I'm not a particularly huge fan of sci-fi, I just didn't enjoy it. By the end, I flicked over these pages. I thought a synopsis of the text could have sufficed if it had to be included. Because of this extra, I felt that the text was overlong.
Would you recommend?
Yes, I think so. It's a great mystery with a really satisfying ending. But be prepared for a long read, and a bit of effort.
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
Series Review: 'The Bone Season' by Samantha Shannon
A spoiler free review of a series that is one of my new favourites- and which I'm not sure of the name of. There doesn't seem to be an overall name for this book series (of which two novels are currently published), so I'm going with 'The Bone Season', the title of the first in the series. I have recently scurried through both 'The Bone Season' and its sequel 'The Mime Order', and found it fascinating. Samantha Shannon (who was born in 1992... yes, 1992! She's only two years older than me. She's an inspiration. And also great to follow on Twitter.) began writing this series when at Oxford, and it's planned as a seven book opus. And I have to say, I haven't enjoyed a fantasy series as much as I enjoyed this one before. Apart from maybe 'Harry Potter'. I've always liked fantasy, and been interested in it, but it often doesn't quite grip me the way I think it should. This definitely did. Here are my thoughts:
- The fantastical system of clairvoyance is so interesting. It's a great change from systems of magic or vampirism or dystopia, which crop up so often in fantasy. I suppose this is a dystopia, but it feels like a very interesting, unique one, and one which could exist in our own world (due to the recognisable landmarks, maybe). Shannon has obviously put a lot of thought into categorising her clairvoyant system, and it really shows. Terms are explained, and there's a diagram in the opening pages. Otherworldly powers are not something I've ever been interested in before, apart from reading the odd horoscope, but I really enjoyed learning here.
-The world building is incredible. I loved Shannon's depictions of London; it really came across as a Victorian-esque, gothic, run-down city. I could picture the slums, the packed streets, the oxygen bars and the coffee houses. I loved the references to older British culture too, such as with the penny dreadfuls or Molly Malone. I think the world building really came into it's own in London: this was where the story thrived, even though Oxford was also well-depicted in the first novel. There's just something about clairvoyant London that makes it kind of... electric? I'd love to go to a Bone Season section in a theme park, or a tour of the Shannon's London like the Harry Potter studios.
- Paige is a great heroine. She's not sappy, not overly emotional, not bogged down by romance. She sacrifices things for the greater good, but not because she's just so nice or because it's the right thing to do, but because she actually wants her world to be better for her kind. She's strong rather than charitable, and a heroine with flaws too. She's physically agile but not on the level of an all action hero, and she's a clever planner too but doesn't see everything that the reader can, such as a few big reveals.
- I love the romance element. It's so well done: there's a forbidden, weird connection between two characters who shall remain nameless, and yet it doesn't overtake the plot, but rather adds to it, creating exciting dynamics and twists.
- Did Samantha Shannon read the 'House of Night' series as a child? The villains in her series really remind me of the arch-villains in that one, who are similar creatures also searching for world dominance. Both are terrifying, and also really interesting at the same time.
- The dedications are the best, always to the writers or the dreamers.
- I would really, really like to go to Oxford.
- Does it count as YA or adult? I picked it up in my local library from the Adult Fantasy section. However I've seen it on 'best YA fiction' lists, and the protagonist is a teenager, and it features tropes of YA fantasy fiction (romance, friendship, growing up).
- I'd love to learn more of the non-Scion world. Is it just like a futuristic version of our world? And I'm also curious about the rest of England- is it inhabitable, are there people there? Do people live outside of the cities? There's some mention of the North, but nothing concrete, to my memory anyway.
- The second book is better than the first, which excites me. I'm looking forward to the third.
- The fantastical system of clairvoyance is so interesting. It's a great change from systems of magic or vampirism or dystopia, which crop up so often in fantasy. I suppose this is a dystopia, but it feels like a very interesting, unique one, and one which could exist in our own world (due to the recognisable landmarks, maybe). Shannon has obviously put a lot of thought into categorising her clairvoyant system, and it really shows. Terms are explained, and there's a diagram in the opening pages. Otherworldly powers are not something I've ever been interested in before, apart from reading the odd horoscope, but I really enjoyed learning here.
-The world building is incredible. I loved Shannon's depictions of London; it really came across as a Victorian-esque, gothic, run-down city. I could picture the slums, the packed streets, the oxygen bars and the coffee houses. I loved the references to older British culture too, such as with the penny dreadfuls or Molly Malone. I think the world building really came into it's own in London: this was where the story thrived, even though Oxford was also well-depicted in the first novel. There's just something about clairvoyant London that makes it kind of... electric? I'd love to go to a Bone Season section in a theme park, or a tour of the Shannon's London like the Harry Potter studios.
- Paige is a great heroine. She's not sappy, not overly emotional, not bogged down by romance. She sacrifices things for the greater good, but not because she's just so nice or because it's the right thing to do, but because she actually wants her world to be better for her kind. She's strong rather than charitable, and a heroine with flaws too. She's physically agile but not on the level of an all action hero, and she's a clever planner too but doesn't see everything that the reader can, such as a few big reveals.
- I love the romance element. It's so well done: there's a forbidden, weird connection between two characters who shall remain nameless, and yet it doesn't overtake the plot, but rather adds to it, creating exciting dynamics and twists.
- Did Samantha Shannon read the 'House of Night' series as a child? The villains in her series really remind me of the arch-villains in that one, who are similar creatures also searching for world dominance. Both are terrifying, and also really interesting at the same time.
- The dedications are the best, always to the writers or the dreamers.
- I would really, really like to go to Oxford.
- Does it count as YA or adult? I picked it up in my local library from the Adult Fantasy section. However I've seen it on 'best YA fiction' lists, and the protagonist is a teenager, and it features tropes of YA fantasy fiction (romance, friendship, growing up).
- I'd love to learn more of the non-Scion world. Is it just like a futuristic version of our world? And I'm also curious about the rest of England- is it inhabitable, are there people there? Do people live outside of the cities? There's some mention of the North, but nothing concrete, to my memory anyway.
- The second book is better than the first, which excites me. I'm looking forward to the third.
Saturday, 15 August 2015
Short Reviews of Short Books
1) The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
I was recommended this book by a university professor for a project that I was writing, but I found myself unable to find it in my uni library, and I currently buy books only sporadically. However now I'm home my curiosity led me to order it to my local library.
This is a book about memory, and how we perceive events changes over time. I liked how short and succinct it was. It seems as if Barnes knew what he wanted to say about getting older, and the flexibility and sporadic nature of memory (especially when young and/or drunk). It was well written and wistful, and I feel like I could read it all over again and gain more from it. However I wasn't totally gripped by the thriller aspect or the actual plot itself. I didn't really click with the characters: they seemed almost otherworldly to me.
This is a Man Booker winner. I'm not sure I myself would crown it, but it would probably make my longlist.
3/5 stars.
2) Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
I saw many readalongs on BookTube, and some favourable, some okay reviews, so I though I would give this one a go. This is a novel that I really enjoyed but did not love. I thought Sagan skillfully presented her character, teenage girl Cecile, who gets involved in her father's love life after her mother dies. I see the comparisons to F Scott Fitzgerald in Sagan's heady description of a time period filled with parties, glamour and heavy drinking, all layered with a certain darkness and corruptness. The plot is quite unpredictable, the ending shocking. Overall this novel was a short and pacy read, nothing mind blowing, but still one that I would recommend.
4/5 stars.
I was recommended this book by a university professor for a project that I was writing, but I found myself unable to find it in my uni library, and I currently buy books only sporadically. However now I'm home my curiosity led me to order it to my local library.
This is a book about memory, and how we perceive events changes over time. I liked how short and succinct it was. It seems as if Barnes knew what he wanted to say about getting older, and the flexibility and sporadic nature of memory (especially when young and/or drunk). It was well written and wistful, and I feel like I could read it all over again and gain more from it. However I wasn't totally gripped by the thriller aspect or the actual plot itself. I didn't really click with the characters: they seemed almost otherworldly to me.
This is a Man Booker winner. I'm not sure I myself would crown it, but it would probably make my longlist.
3/5 stars.
2) Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
I saw many readalongs on BookTube, and some favourable, some okay reviews, so I though I would give this one a go. This is a novel that I really enjoyed but did not love. I thought Sagan skillfully presented her character, teenage girl Cecile, who gets involved in her father's love life after her mother dies. I see the comparisons to F Scott Fitzgerald in Sagan's heady description of a time period filled with parties, glamour and heavy drinking, all layered with a certain darkness and corruptness. The plot is quite unpredictable, the ending shocking. Overall this novel was a short and pacy read, nothing mind blowing, but still one that I would recommend.
4/5 stars.
Tuesday, 11 August 2015
On Reading Diversely
How can you ever understand a
viewpoint outside of your own
if you only ever read those
who are similar to you?
How can you expand your mind
without expanding what you know?
This is why I think reading diversely is important.
I've seen a lot of BookTubers do the 'Reading Diversely' tag, and I think it's great. I love discovering new authors, and of course new books I'd like to read. By the end of these videos, my reading list has extended by the length of arm. I think it's important what we read is not restricted to the literary canon, in that I love to read texts that don't quite fit in and are often sidelined in terms of literary history.
However how is true diversity achieved?
I read quite a balance of male and female; however I do read a lot of American and British authors. Often these are authors of multicultural heritage, but still, my reading is dominated by the English speaking world. This is something I don't necessarily want to change: there are still so many books and authors I want to read which fit into this category. However I also want to read Australian authors, Canadian authors, Indian authors, Japanese authors, Nigerian authors (etc etc etc). I'd love to read a book from every country in the world, to read an assortment of genders and sexualities and identities.
What can be done? Do I expand my TBR so drastically that I'm reading in every spare moment, foregoing sleep? Do I systematically plan my reading to, say, read one book from every continent as a month? Or do I carry on as I am, reading what I like when I like?
I want my reading to be fun. I want to plan, but not a little bit too much. I want to read the world as I see it. I want to read diversely. I want to read as much as I can in my life. So all I can do is try.
Friday, 7 August 2015
Things To Remember
'Hell is the absence of people you long for.'
Emily St John Mandel, Station Eleven.
Sunday, 26 July 2015
Book Review: 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan
“If I had a view like this to
look down on every day, I would
have the energy and inspiration
to conquer the world. The trouble is,
when you most need such a view,
no one gives it to you.”
What was it about?
A Visit from the Goon Squad is sold by the fact that it is controversially called both a novel and short story collection: it contains a series of interlinked stories, with characters that overlap and appear in more than one story, characters which (sometimes unknowingly) have great affects on each others lives. The protagonists who tend to provide the links are music executive Bennie Salazar and his assistant Sasha. This concept greatly intrigues me- how we shape each others lives, how we change over time, how we represent and misrepresent ourselves.
What did I like?
Many of the characters were very distinctive, and extremely interested. From the very first story I wanted to learn more about Sasha, to understand her and both how she became the way she was and what she would do in the future. The characters, in general, were vivid and fantastically painted. It was very clear that they were passionate about something, and devastated when this passion failed, or when real life overtook the dream that they had.
I loved it when a detail from an earlier story shed light on something in a later one. You can't put a price on the feeling when you know something the characters don't, or when you go 'aha!' because you recognise something and suddenly it all makes sense.
It was a pretty depressing novel- we followed these characters for large chunks of their lives, through the ups and inevitable downs. Bad things happened, terrible things. They only seemed fleetingly happy. Everyone settled. Everyone was deprived of their dreams in some way. There was no silver lining or happy ending. But I liked its honesty, and the complicated psychological world that it portrayed. The world isn't, and should never be portrayed as, perfect- this novel felt like a portrait of what is unpleasant, but true.
The chapter made up of a powerpoint presentation. Of course.
What did I dislike?
I almost feel like the novel/short story collection didn't quite achieve what it set out to do, to tell these stories of Bennie and Sasha. Some of the stories were too wide, and whilst interesting, seemed a little pointless. They led the story away from what I wanted to know: who were Sasha and Bennie, why did they make the decisions they did, why did they lead the lives they did? I felt we did get to the bottom of this with Sasha actually, but not Bennie. I wasn't sure I ever understood him.
Overall, I'm not quite sure what Jennifer Egan was trying to say. Her techniques were great and I am awed by how flawlessly she created all the different perspectives and revealed some information by using them. But, I don't know, I felt kind of cheated by the end. Like I didn't find out enough, learn enough. I wanted something more revealing, something like the TV show The Affair, when characters are truly exposed by another's perspective. I didn't quite get that.
It was a little depressing.
Would I recommend?
Yes. But it would be easy to give up on, especially when the perspective changes so often.
View it on Goodreads here.
Tuesday, 21 July 2015
Book Review: 'The History of Love' by Nicole Krauss
“Once upon a time there
was a boy who loved a girl,
and her laughter was a question
he wanted to spend his whole
life answering.”
Warning: this was a five star read for me. I loved it.
What was it about?
Love. This is by all accounts a love story, but unlike any I've ever read before. It's about romantic love, familial love, the loss of love, love of a nation, love of a race. It encompasses so much and yet is so short. It's a simmering fire of emotion packed into 250 pages of adept writing.
It follows the parallel narratives of Leo Gursky and Alma Singer, both living in New York City, exploring the love that they have in their lives. Both protagonists are related in some way to the titular novel, The History of Love, which is also a book in the story. Events unfold and both characters are forced to confront love.
What I liked:
It was so god damn clever. So clever. It was a book within a book within a tale within a life (did that make sense to you? Me neither). I won't spoil it, but as the narrative unfolds there were many points when I said a long 'oh' to myself in realisation. It's very clever, very subtle, sometimes very confusing. But I loved it.
Krauss did well at assimilating the voice of both the old and young. Leo Gursky (80 odd) was funny and witty and frank, and Alma Singer (14, about to turn 15) was a perfectly portrayed curious, unsure teenager.
I liked how frank the book was about old age, from bowel problems to shrivelling bodies. It was slightly disgusting and very realistic. Leo came to life as a real man, not a caricature of what an old, melancholy man might be. There was a great balance of the emotional and the raw reality of life; not everything in this book seemed like a perfectly written, poetic dream.
What I disliked:
Sometimes the switching between narrators bothered me. I'd be loving one particular voice and then it would be taken away. But this didn't bother me enough to reduce my rating; if anything, it made me take much more notice of the story and how Krauss had weaved the plot together.
Nicole Krauss was married to Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I dislike how Foer-esque this novel was. The repeated mentioning of The Street of Crocodiles. The narratives separated by headlines and numbered bullet points. The narrative was dominated by a quest. This playfulness, which would come off as original if I hadn't read Foer's work, seemed a little... stolen? This was compounded by the fact that the book is dedicated to Jonathan. However overall I felt it was more successful at portraying it's main theme (love, the loss of it, and it's survival) than any of Foer's works.
Also, Krauss and Foer have since broken up. This gives me little hope for love. If the writer who wrote such a book couldn't make it work, who can?
Would I recommend?
Yes. 100%. It's my favourite read for a while. As I got this out of my local library, I might even buy a copy.
Find it on Goodreads here.
Wednesday, 6 May 2015
Book Review: 'We Are Not Ourselves' by Matthew Thomas
'You are not in this
life to count up victories and defeats.
You are in it to love and be loved.'
Matthew Thomas
Plot:
This debut novel is an epic family drama centering around Eileen, a New Yorker with hard drinking Irish immigrant parents. It follows her throughout her life, through her marriage to Ed and her career. Eileen is fiercely ambitious, and wants to move up in the world from the Queens neighbourhood where she grows up. She wants that universal 'something more', something that she can't define. It's a moving novel that provides a thorough portrait of the life of this particular family, from their successes to their failures.
What I liked:
The portrait of love in this novel is so deep and beautiful it's not something I think that I'd ever be able to do. The central couple Ed and Eileen Leary are vastly different and both have their certain nuances and difficulties. They aren't perfect, but they do seem real. I understood completely why they were together, and why they had the problems they did. I rooted for them, but not just because they were supposed to be together as a fictional cliché. I rooted for them because I thought their lives would be lesser without the other.
The writing was beautiful. Thomas conveyed so much with his words, and it was a long book, but it never felt like he got carried away or rambled. The writing was never too poetic, not too pared back. Just perfect. I saved so many quotes from this book to my favourites on GoodReads.
What I disliked:
I came very close to giving this five stars, but couldn't quite. It was a hefty book, and whilst epic in its scope across generations of a family, I felt it was slightly too long. I loved how the family was fully, expertly portrayed, but I felt the set up for the main storyline (Eileen and Ed's story) was too long. So although I loved it, I think I loved it too late. If I was less of a committed reader, I might have given up after the first 100 pages or so. And in the later sections, I wasn't entirely pulled in with the change of narrator.
Conclusion:
But overall it's a beautiful story, and you're pulled in so closely to the characters and storyline. I won't post any spoilers, but I cried numerous times. It was a book that wrapped tightly around my heart and squeezed on my emotions. I loved that.
What is it about? The importance of drive and ambition- but how overall life is worth it if we have love.
Would I recommend? Yes, definitely.
Find a link to the Goodreads page here.
Follow me on Goodreads here.
Friday, 1 May 2015
Book Review: Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender
This was my first foray into Aimee Bender's work, and one which I enjoyed. It was slightly bonkers, which I realised wholly when I got to the story about a child born with an iron's head. From the first story in, the unusual writing shocked me into concentrating to follow what was going on, and indeed to appreciate its wonderful turns, which I enjoyed. Whilst the writing style was often fun and playful, it was counteracted with the often sad tone of the stories, which I wasn't expecting. I think my favourite story was 'Dearth' . It was a wistful tale about a woman who treated a group of potatoes almost like they were children. It was immeasurably sad, and the plot was intriguing. My second favourite was 'Off'- I loved the messed-up narrator.
I just overall feel like I didn't get them. I couldn't quite work out what she was trying to say. I think that this might be an unwelcome side effect of my degree: I look for the meaning in anything, cutting out some of the joy of storytelling. What if Aimee Bender just wanted to write a story about potato children or kids with irons for heads? What if she just wanted to explore the possibilities. I never even thought of that when reading.
What was it about? I might try and cut out this question from my reviews. The degree's over, do I really need to do this anymore?
Would I recommend? I really couldn't decide on my answer to this question. Some of the stories were for me quite forgettable, in that they were so odd I'm not sure I quite took them in. But I'd read it for the ones that stand out, and I do look forward to reading more of Aimee Bender's work. I think I'd like to tackle The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake next.
Find me on GoodReads here.
Find Wilful Creatures on GoodReads here.
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
'Holy water, let us wander...'
Review: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
This is a book that I've had to read for my degree course. so I didn't go into it expecting to like it. Funny, isn't it, how now I think I won't like a book just because I'm expected to discuss it. There seems to be an irony there. But this one was a surprise- I loved it, and it shocked me, and I loved it.
Oranges is Winterson's coming of age novel-memoir, which recounts her from childhood to early childhood. Through the somewhat bonkers narration, which switches from the story to fables to quotes from other works, Winterson brilliantly portrays the hypocrisies of the church, and also the solace that can be found there. More importantly, she honestly portrays the problems faced by young lesbians, particularly relating to religion.
Nothing about this book is conventional. It's not as crazy as I was expecting due to it's representation- it has a coherent story and a very strong narrative voice- but it's still strange; the narrator has a very specific voice that seems on one hand stilted and on the other thought provoking and funny. It does not explicitly tackle the ideas of lesbianism but rather tackles it through the religious doctrine or the eyes of the religious female; it is mentioned and defined through what the others think rather than what anyone clearly states. It is not a deep psychological excavation into what it means to be a lesbian, so if you're looking for that kind of close analysis, it's not here. But it is honest.
This book was at times hilarious. It had me snorting with laughter on my sofa. The narration combined with the situations at times just seemed so surreal, and I enjoyed this more comedic take on her harsh life. The characters are so vivid and hilarious, creating a wonderful, vibrant cast.
And of course, I agree with this quote:
“In the library I felt better, words you could trust and look at till you understood them, they couldn't change half way through a sentence like people, so it was easier to spot a lie.” Who doesn't prefer books to people?
What is it about? Growing up, becoming yourself, and finding out how this self is accepted in society.
Would I recommend? Yes, definitely. It's a quick, enjoyable read but one with real gravitas.
This is a book that I've had to read for my degree course. so I didn't go into it expecting to like it. Funny, isn't it, how now I think I won't like a book just because I'm expected to discuss it. There seems to be an irony there. But this one was a surprise- I loved it, and it shocked me, and I loved it.
Oranges is Winterson's coming of age novel-memoir, which recounts her from childhood to early childhood. Through the somewhat bonkers narration, which switches from the story to fables to quotes from other works, Winterson brilliantly portrays the hypocrisies of the church, and also the solace that can be found there. More importantly, she honestly portrays the problems faced by young lesbians, particularly relating to religion.
Nothing about this book is conventional. It's not as crazy as I was expecting due to it's representation- it has a coherent story and a very strong narrative voice- but it's still strange; the narrator has a very specific voice that seems on one hand stilted and on the other thought provoking and funny. It does not explicitly tackle the ideas of lesbianism but rather tackles it through the religious doctrine or the eyes of the religious female; it is mentioned and defined through what the others think rather than what anyone clearly states. It is not a deep psychological excavation into what it means to be a lesbian, so if you're looking for that kind of close analysis, it's not here. But it is honest.
This book was at times hilarious. It had me snorting with laughter on my sofa. The narration combined with the situations at times just seemed so surreal, and I enjoyed this more comedic take on her harsh life. The characters are so vivid and hilarious, creating a wonderful, vibrant cast.
And of course, I agree with this quote:
“In the library I felt better, words you could trust and look at till you understood them, they couldn't change half way through a sentence like people, so it was easier to spot a lie.” Who doesn't prefer books to people?
What is it about? Growing up, becoming yourself, and finding out how this self is accepted in society.
Would I recommend? Yes, definitely. It's a quick, enjoyable read but one with real gravitas.
Saturday, 31 January 2015
'I walked through the valley of the wilderness in time...'
Review: Elizabeth is Missing, by Emma Healey
This is a book that I was really excited for. I'd heard of it because of the awards it had won (most notably the 2014 Costa First Novel Award) and because it's on a big push in Waterstones, so I've seen piles of it every time I go in. I've picked it up repeatedly, and the reviews on the cover are positively glowing. Also, the subject matter: how often do you see a book written about dementia, from the perspective of a dementia patient?
Elizabeth Is Missing follows 82 year old Maud, who is very forgetful, so much so that she often goes out and forgets where she is going, or wreaks damage upon her house. And Maud has an obsession: she believes that her friend Elizabeth is missing. She relentlessly follows this through, making notes for herself and leaving them in her pockets, going to Elizabeth's house, asking about Elizabeth at places they used to go together.
In this novel I loved Maud's perspective: she is a fantastic character, warm and funny, and one that you really get on board with. It's heartbreaking when she remembers or does something at one point only to forget about it a few paragraphs later. I think that this aspect of the novel was handled very well; it was a very sensitive portrayal of a woman whose mind was falling apart.
However I think it's the whole mystery aspect that bothered me; I didn't find that it was needed. Of course, the Elizabeth storyline shows perfectly the slow destruction of Maud's mind, as she searches for her friend who we can't quite figure out is missing or not. However there are a lot of flashback scenes in the book, which for a while are enjoyable, but then, I think become jarring. There are too many mysteries, too many things Maud cannot solve, and too many coincidences. I was interested in the novel for Maud, not the fate of other inconsequential characters. I didn't need that crime element, just an exploration of her mind.
Overall, this was a good book, but it wasn't as fantastic as the hype around it portrayed it to be. It was very pared back, with a simple writing style. This was effective in portraying Maud's mental state, but for me it just wasn't enough. I wanted to learn more about Maud and not the mysteries surrounding her friends and family. I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads, because I did love Maud, and it was an enjoyable read.
What was it about? The frustrations and sadness of old age. In that, I think the novel is beautiful.
Would I recommend? I would, yes. I've already passed it on to my Mum, who I think is a much less picky and analytical reader than me.
Friday, 31 October 2014
'I need you darling come and set the tone...'
Review: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Now this was a book that had been raved about on BookTube, particularly by Reagan at Peruse Project, and when something is that loved, I feel the peer pressure. Even more, All the Light We Cannot See seemed like the perfect book for me; a historical fiction set in World War Two, in both Germany and France following two young narrators, blind Marie-Laure and mechanical whizz Werner.
I bought the book. I put it on my TBR list. I stroked the cover and waited hopefully for the day when I'd finished all my uni books and could give it a read. But when I started it, I found I wasn't that enthralled! What was wrong with me?
So I put it down... and then the hype got the better of me again and I picked it back up. I sat down and I concentrated, and I suddenly loved it. I think I got more into the novel quickly due to the very short chapters; once I sat down and motored on through a few of them, I was drawn in, I was hooked. As soon as things began to happen to the characters, as soon as they were thrown into times of crisis, I was enthralled. There was something magical about the characters in this novel, how much you lived for them and wanted them to survive and be happy. The historical detail was beautiful too, not overloaded but just perfectly balanced. I also enjoyed the moving back and forward through the years of the novel, from before the war to years after, as this helped build tension and really grip me, especially when you knew something from one section that would impact another later one greatly.
By the ending the tears had started to pool up in my eyes. Werner! Marie-Laure! I loved them both, and hoped against hope that they would survive. I don't think I realised quite how much I cared for them, and even the peripheral characters; Jutta, Werner's sister, and Daniel, Marie-Laure's father, hardly appear in the narrative themselves, but the reader cares deeply for them because of our deep affection for Werner and Marie-Laure, which is quite a skill. I also loved Etienne and Madame Manec, who made Marie-Laure's scenes in Saint-Malo such a joy.
Overall this was a fantastic book that said a lot about human nature; our fallibility, our kindness, and our brutality. It said a lot about times of crisis, how we can change under pressure, and how we can often push aside issues to do what we love, or be with who we love. But underneath it all we all have morals or a conscience that end up pushing through. I don't feel like I could aptly say what I feel about this book, because it was simply fantastic, and explored and said so much. It's hard to sum it up, so my advice is just to read it.
What is it about? How we see the world, in more ways and our senses. And how we act on what we see.
Would I recommend? Obviously, yes. Why did I even ask myself this question?
Now this was a book that had been raved about on BookTube, particularly by Reagan at Peruse Project, and when something is that loved, I feel the peer pressure. Even more, All the Light We Cannot See seemed like the perfect book for me; a historical fiction set in World War Two, in both Germany and France following two young narrators, blind Marie-Laure and mechanical whizz Werner.
I bought the book. I put it on my TBR list. I stroked the cover and waited hopefully for the day when I'd finished all my uni books and could give it a read. But when I started it, I found I wasn't that enthralled! What was wrong with me?
So I put it down... and then the hype got the better of me again and I picked it back up. I sat down and I concentrated, and I suddenly loved it. I think I got more into the novel quickly due to the very short chapters; once I sat down and motored on through a few of them, I was drawn in, I was hooked. As soon as things began to happen to the characters, as soon as they were thrown into times of crisis, I was enthralled. There was something magical about the characters in this novel, how much you lived for them and wanted them to survive and be happy. The historical detail was beautiful too, not overloaded but just perfectly balanced. I also enjoyed the moving back and forward through the years of the novel, from before the war to years after, as this helped build tension and really grip me, especially when you knew something from one section that would impact another later one greatly.
By the ending the tears had started to pool up in my eyes. Werner! Marie-Laure! I loved them both, and hoped against hope that they would survive. I don't think I realised quite how much I cared for them, and even the peripheral characters; Jutta, Werner's sister, and Daniel, Marie-Laure's father, hardly appear in the narrative themselves, but the reader cares deeply for them because of our deep affection for Werner and Marie-Laure, which is quite a skill. I also loved Etienne and Madame Manec, who made Marie-Laure's scenes in Saint-Malo such a joy.
Overall this was a fantastic book that said a lot about human nature; our fallibility, our kindness, and our brutality. It said a lot about times of crisis, how we can change under pressure, and how we can often push aside issues to do what we love, or be with who we love. But underneath it all we all have morals or a conscience that end up pushing through. I don't feel like I could aptly say what I feel about this book, because it was simply fantastic, and explored and said so much. It's hard to sum it up, so my advice is just to read it.
What is it about? How we see the world, in more ways and our senses. And how we act on what we see.
Would I recommend? Obviously, yes. Why did I even ask myself this question?
Thursday, 23 October 2014
'Of course why not, I'll reply...'
Review: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Recently I've been watching a lot of BookTubers who each have favourite authors, whose books they autobuy or whose events they run to attend. I don't really have that; I mean, I love Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but I haven't really read any of his other works, the same with David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas or Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. So what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying to read through the back catalogue of some author's whose work I like. One of these authors is Haruki Murakami, whose works I recently dipped into with his magical realist work After Dark. Norwegian Wood, a more realist tome, is feted as his greatest work and thus this was the one I picked up next.
Norwegian Wood tells the story of Toru Watanabe, a young drama student who lives in a halls of residence in Tokyo. It follows the two key romances in his young life, one with a woman from his home town, Naoko, and one with a student he meets in Tokyo, Midori. Both women, despite their differences- Naoko is beautiful yet troubled, Midori lively and challenging- are equally strong and interesting characters. The tension between past and future in these two characters, especially in relation to Toru, is palpable; Toru has to choose whether to bring Naoko out of his past into his present or whether to bring Midori from not just his present but also into his future. I can't help but think that these two female characters are a metaphor for Japan itself, or at least the reduction of traditional values in favour of modern, technological ones. It is a tale of loss and change, about a tumultuos time not only in the life of Watanabe and countless other 20 year olds but in the that of Japan.
Before this I had read Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides- which I disliked as I really didn't get the point of it- and this was also a book littered with characters with suicidal dependencies. I did not realise this when I picked up the book, I wasn't aiming for a reading theme for the month. Murakami does indeed deal with serious topics here, however he does it so well and with such tact. I think it helps that he explores all of these troubled personalities through the relatively calm and serene narrator Watanabe.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, it had the perfect mix of beautiful writing, strong underlying themes and an engaging plot which did twist and turn. I was left shocked several times whilst reading.
What is it about? Loss, loneliness, growing up.
Would I recommend? Yes, definitely. I'm looking forward to reading some of Murakami's more wildly imaginative works.
Recently I've been watching a lot of BookTubers who each have favourite authors, whose books they autobuy or whose events they run to attend. I don't really have that; I mean, I love Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but I haven't really read any of his other works, the same with David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas or Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. So what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying to read through the back catalogue of some author's whose work I like. One of these authors is Haruki Murakami, whose works I recently dipped into with his magical realist work After Dark. Norwegian Wood, a more realist tome, is feted as his greatest work and thus this was the one I picked up next.
Norwegian Wood tells the story of Toru Watanabe, a young drama student who lives in a halls of residence in Tokyo. It follows the two key romances in his young life, one with a woman from his home town, Naoko, and one with a student he meets in Tokyo, Midori. Both women, despite their differences- Naoko is beautiful yet troubled, Midori lively and challenging- are equally strong and interesting characters. The tension between past and future in these two characters, especially in relation to Toru, is palpable; Toru has to choose whether to bring Naoko out of his past into his present or whether to bring Midori from not just his present but also into his future. I can't help but think that these two female characters are a metaphor for Japan itself, or at least the reduction of traditional values in favour of modern, technological ones. It is a tale of loss and change, about a tumultuos time not only in the life of Watanabe and countless other 20 year olds but in the that of Japan.
Before this I had read Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides- which I disliked as I really didn't get the point of it- and this was also a book littered with characters with suicidal dependencies. I did not realise this when I picked up the book, I wasn't aiming for a reading theme for the month. Murakami does indeed deal with serious topics here, however he does it so well and with such tact. I think it helps that he explores all of these troubled personalities through the relatively calm and serene narrator Watanabe.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, it had the perfect mix of beautiful writing, strong underlying themes and an engaging plot which did twist and turn. I was left shocked several times whilst reading.
What is it about? Loss, loneliness, growing up.
Would I recommend? Yes, definitely. I'm looking forward to reading some of Murakami's more wildly imaginative works.
Saturday, 11 October 2014
'You say I'm crazy...'
Review: The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness
This was an odd book; I liked it, but it was odd. It follows George, an American in London (with uncanny similarities to Ness himself) who is has pretty much checked out of life. It hasn't gone well for him; he runs a small printing shop, is divorced and is all too often told that he is too nice for women and let go. In the opening chapter (which is beautifully written and provides an instant hook, which unfortunately is not replicated again in the novel), George wakes up in the middle of the night to find a crane in his back garden, a crane which has an unusual arrow through its wing. George goes outside and proceeds to remove the arrow, saving the life of the bird. The bird flies away, and George goes back to bed.
He then meets a beautiful woman named Kumiko, who walks into his shop asking for some printing help. George and Kumiko inevitably fall in love, and over the course of the novel it is increasingly implied that Kumiko is the crane in human form. It is implied that George saved Kumiko and thus she is now here to do the same for him, yet emotionally rather than physically. George and Kumiko work together on artwork and have a remarkably quick romance yet George feels that Kumiko holds something back, which he is throughout the novel trying to figure out, before the dramatic ending.
Interweaved in this narrative is the story of George's daughter, Amanda, who again needs to be emotionally saved. Amanda is also divorced, a single mother and finds it hard to connect to people and thus has no friends. Kumiko provides a connection that she finds it hard to understand, but proves to Amanda that she is not inherently damaged.
I felt some aspects didn't quite work; I was confused by the entire storyline with Rachel. Why was she affected so strongly by Kumiko- just because everyone else was? I don't understand why her character needed a resolution; for me, her only purpose was her failed liason with George. I also couldn't quite understand the relationship of George and Kumiko; I think they needed more standalone scenes together, just conversations, to show their real chemistry, and just getting to know each other. Although their relationship is supposed to be a whirlwind romance, one based on fate and sheer happiness, so maybe that is not actually needed. I also felt like the inclusion of the myths weren't needed; they halted the narrative and didn't always make much sense, so it felt like Ness was trying to hard to include a sophisticated metaphor. I like the idea of the parallel tale and the source material, however I think it would have been better to summarise this at the beginning or weave it in in a more subtle, less chunky way.
The opening was definitely the strongest part of the novel, as was the relationship between George, Amanda and Jean-Pierre, which I found so endearing. JP was hands down the best character; I found myself laughing out loud at some of his lines, surprising for a small child. He's the kind of kid who cheers up every page he's on, and I'd like to know him in real life. George was also likeable, which I think helped with the story; it would have been hard to read this novel if its protagonist was a grumpy old man. His inherent cheerfulness and strive for happiness makes him a good character who you in turn want to achieve his goals, and feel sorry for when he makes a mistake. Overall I think Ness did a good job with his source material and created an intriguing and endearing novel. It wasn't 100% perfect or clear, however I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
What was it about?
Would I recommend? Yes, I think so.
This was an odd book; I liked it, but it was odd. It follows George, an American in London (with uncanny similarities to Ness himself) who is has pretty much checked out of life. It hasn't gone well for him; he runs a small printing shop, is divorced and is all too often told that he is too nice for women and let go. In the opening chapter (which is beautifully written and provides an instant hook, which unfortunately is not replicated again in the novel), George wakes up in the middle of the night to find a crane in his back garden, a crane which has an unusual arrow through its wing. George goes outside and proceeds to remove the arrow, saving the life of the bird. The bird flies away, and George goes back to bed.
He then meets a beautiful woman named Kumiko, who walks into his shop asking for some printing help. George and Kumiko inevitably fall in love, and over the course of the novel it is increasingly implied that Kumiko is the crane in human form. It is implied that George saved Kumiko and thus she is now here to do the same for him, yet emotionally rather than physically. George and Kumiko work together on artwork and have a remarkably quick romance yet George feels that Kumiko holds something back, which he is throughout the novel trying to figure out, before the dramatic ending.
Interweaved in this narrative is the story of George's daughter, Amanda, who again needs to be emotionally saved. Amanda is also divorced, a single mother and finds it hard to connect to people and thus has no friends. Kumiko provides a connection that she finds it hard to understand, but proves to Amanda that she is not inherently damaged.
I felt some aspects didn't quite work; I was confused by the entire storyline with Rachel. Why was she affected so strongly by Kumiko- just because everyone else was? I don't understand why her character needed a resolution; for me, her only purpose was her failed liason with George. I also couldn't quite understand the relationship of George and Kumiko; I think they needed more standalone scenes together, just conversations, to show their real chemistry, and just getting to know each other. Although their relationship is supposed to be a whirlwind romance, one based on fate and sheer happiness, so maybe that is not actually needed. I also felt like the inclusion of the myths weren't needed; they halted the narrative and didn't always make much sense, so it felt like Ness was trying to hard to include a sophisticated metaphor. I like the idea of the parallel tale and the source material, however I think it would have been better to summarise this at the beginning or weave it in in a more subtle, less chunky way.
The opening was definitely the strongest part of the novel, as was the relationship between George, Amanda and Jean-Pierre, which I found so endearing. JP was hands down the best character; I found myself laughing out loud at some of his lines, surprising for a small child. He's the kind of kid who cheers up every page he's on, and I'd like to know him in real life. George was also likeable, which I think helped with the story; it would have been hard to read this novel if its protagonist was a grumpy old man. His inherent cheerfulness and strive for happiness makes him a good character who you in turn want to achieve his goals, and feel sorry for when he makes a mistake. Overall I think Ness did a good job with his source material and created an intriguing and endearing novel. It wasn't 100% perfect or clear, however I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
What was it about?
Would I recommend? Yes, I think so.
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
'Are we an item?'
Review: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Woah. This was a book that had me sitting staring at its closed back cover for minutes after I'd finished it, just so I could truly take it in. It was a book I seemed to have trouble swallowing. For something so slow paced, I am shocked at how many times I had to ask myself did that really happen?
This novel, Tartt's first, follows Richard Papen, a new student at the fictional Hampden College in Vermont. He is a Californian transfer, originally studying English Literature, who switches to the exclusive study of Classics when he is enthralled by and later taken under the wing of enigmatic, fatherly professor Julian. In these classes he meets five other students; Bunny, Henry, Francis and twins Camilla and Charles. It is when he is eventually invited into their confidences that he is introduced into a world of debauchery and magic usually left to the Ancient Greek texts that they study, and this is where Tartt's novel really begins to twist and turn, to dually surprise and enthrall the reader. It becomes a tragedy of the highest degree, worthy of the time period with which its characters are so obsessed.
It opens with a murder. First woah. The first half of the novel is then told in retrospect, so you spend the entire time reading on edge, looking for signs and half hoping that it won't happen.
The reasons behind the murder. Second woah. Too many woahs. This is shocking and very imaginative on Tartt's part; she perfectly orchestrates both characters and acts to make every event seem plausible even if it is inherently shocking. However the power of Tartt's prose is that you keep turning the page even without a shocking event; there are chunks of pages without any remarkable event, and yet I could not put the book down.
The characters are despicable at times, and certainly not likeable, and yet again I kept reading, which I think is certainly a good thing. I wanted to learn more about them despite not liking them, and thus saw the world through different viewpoints that I did not even think were possible. Their disparity with modern life is intriguing, and they seem to exist in their own world created of history and books and their own discussions.
The outside world is one that has been tread many times in fiction, that of the East Coast liberal arts college, or just an American college in general, however Tartt manages to make the world interesting and vivid. She perfectly portrays the sense of isolation in the town and the bubble that the main characters live in.
Tartt's prose is phenomenal, and I think it's the kind of thing that simply can't be taught, which sucks for all of us wannabe writers out there. She spends so much time on her novels (10 years apiece) that of course, her work is very much crafted and edited, yet when you read her work its impossible to think that Tartt has anything other than a beautiful way with words. Her novels don't seem ridiculously edited; they probably take so much time for her to write due to their epic length and depth.
Overall I did enjoy this book mainly for the prose, and the way that Tartt has obviously thought about every single little detail in the backstory of both her characters and her actual plot. The detail and the control over words is very impressive, as is the page turning yet often absent plot. This is a fantastic novel which I think I can learn a lot from.
What was it about? I found this question tricky, I really had to think hard. I suppose it's about how you deal with change in life; how we retreat from reality when life gets hard or boring and choose to prefer to live in our own heads or worlds of our own making. Or possibly the vacuous nature of modern life? How nothing means anything anymore? I don't know, it's going to take some thinking.
Would I recommend? Yes, definitely.
P.S The Little Friend is the only Tartt novel that I have not read and thus it is next on my list. I saw a great copy of it in a used book market the other day but realised that I actually had no way to carry such a chunky book home, which of course disappointed me. Reading this book also has me itching to learn more about Classics, so that's another thing to add to the to-do list.
Woah. This was a book that had me sitting staring at its closed back cover for minutes after I'd finished it, just so I could truly take it in. It was a book I seemed to have trouble swallowing. For something so slow paced, I am shocked at how many times I had to ask myself did that really happen?
This novel, Tartt's first, follows Richard Papen, a new student at the fictional Hampden College in Vermont. He is a Californian transfer, originally studying English Literature, who switches to the exclusive study of Classics when he is enthralled by and later taken under the wing of enigmatic, fatherly professor Julian. In these classes he meets five other students; Bunny, Henry, Francis and twins Camilla and Charles. It is when he is eventually invited into their confidences that he is introduced into a world of debauchery and magic usually left to the Ancient Greek texts that they study, and this is where Tartt's novel really begins to twist and turn, to dually surprise and enthrall the reader. It becomes a tragedy of the highest degree, worthy of the time period with which its characters are so obsessed.
It opens with a murder. First woah. The first half of the novel is then told in retrospect, so you spend the entire time reading on edge, looking for signs and half hoping that it won't happen.
The reasons behind the murder. Second woah. Too many woahs. This is shocking and very imaginative on Tartt's part; she perfectly orchestrates both characters and acts to make every event seem plausible even if it is inherently shocking. However the power of Tartt's prose is that you keep turning the page even without a shocking event; there are chunks of pages without any remarkable event, and yet I could not put the book down.
The characters are despicable at times, and certainly not likeable, and yet again I kept reading, which I think is certainly a good thing. I wanted to learn more about them despite not liking them, and thus saw the world through different viewpoints that I did not even think were possible. Their disparity with modern life is intriguing, and they seem to exist in their own world created of history and books and their own discussions.
The outside world is one that has been tread many times in fiction, that of the East Coast liberal arts college, or just an American college in general, however Tartt manages to make the world interesting and vivid. She perfectly portrays the sense of isolation in the town and the bubble that the main characters live in.
Tartt's prose is phenomenal, and I think it's the kind of thing that simply can't be taught, which sucks for all of us wannabe writers out there. She spends so much time on her novels (10 years apiece) that of course, her work is very much crafted and edited, yet when you read her work its impossible to think that Tartt has anything other than a beautiful way with words. Her novels don't seem ridiculously edited; they probably take so much time for her to write due to their epic length and depth.
Overall I did enjoy this book mainly for the prose, and the way that Tartt has obviously thought about every single little detail in the backstory of both her characters and her actual plot. The detail and the control over words is very impressive, as is the page turning yet often absent plot. This is a fantastic novel which I think I can learn a lot from.
What was it about? I found this question tricky, I really had to think hard. I suppose it's about how you deal with change in life; how we retreat from reality when life gets hard or boring and choose to prefer to live in our own heads or worlds of our own making. Or possibly the vacuous nature of modern life? How nothing means anything anymore? I don't know, it's going to take some thinking.
Would I recommend? Yes, definitely.
P.S The Little Friend is the only Tartt novel that I have not read and thus it is next on my list. I saw a great copy of it in a used book market the other day but realised that I actually had no way to carry such a chunky book home, which of course disappointed me. Reading this book also has me itching to learn more about Classics, so that's another thing to add to the to-do list.
Friday, 3 October 2014
'When I'm down and feeling blue...'
Review: After Dark by Haruki Murakami
This will most likely be a short review for a short book, but my God, this one was magical. After Dark was my first Murakami novel, and despite mixed reviews on Goodreads, it did not disappoint.
I was thoroughly hooked by the lyrical, beautiful description of the Japanese city from the opening pages, and whilst this did not continue throughout the whole novel, it's a description that will come to haunt me as it haunted the whole book.
The novel follows a young girl, Mari, and what happens to both her and her sister over one night in the Tokyo. Here Mari meets people who exist only at night, who have secrets that draw on her own. All of the characters are so well drawn and unique, and could all have been main characters in their own, expanded novel. I enjoyed the un-cliche (is that a word?) portrayal of clever Mari who always wants to better herself, and the full of chatter yet slightly serious Takahashi, a boy she meets on her way. The storyline with Mari's sister Eri is the strange one, and it is the big mystery in the novel which is never quite figured out, however the multiple weaving storylines are so gripping, and I'm not sure how.Although this piece did not make sense a hundred percent, I found it to be so inherently beautiful and enthralling that I couldn't put it down. It opened my eyes up to the Japanese culture which is completely different from anything that I have experienced, and yet the characters and the situation seemed to identifiable. The depiction of the night and the dark was chilling, but also so real and honest. Murakami seemed to do something so hard for a novelist, and condense such a huge theme into such a small work. It is a work that was so broad and yet so condensed I cannot really explain it, and feel that I am just rambling on. It is a work that will stick with me.
This was a book that I got from the library but would love to buy in paperback, it was so good. I've never really been that into magical realism, but I am most certainly into Murakami, so I would certainly like to give his works a try. Norwegian Wood is number one on my list for now, one that I will definitely have to purchase in the near future.
What is it about? I don't know, and I think it will take me a while to process. Right now I'm thinking secrets, and what of ourselves we choose to reveal to the world and what we hide.
Would I recommend? Yes, 100%.
This will most likely be a short review for a short book, but my God, this one was magical. After Dark was my first Murakami novel, and despite mixed reviews on Goodreads, it did not disappoint.
I was thoroughly hooked by the lyrical, beautiful description of the Japanese city from the opening pages, and whilst this did not continue throughout the whole novel, it's a description that will come to haunt me as it haunted the whole book.
The novel follows a young girl, Mari, and what happens to both her and her sister over one night in the Tokyo. Here Mari meets people who exist only at night, who have secrets that draw on her own. All of the characters are so well drawn and unique, and could all have been main characters in their own, expanded novel. I enjoyed the un-cliche (is that a word?) portrayal of clever Mari who always wants to better herself, and the full of chatter yet slightly serious Takahashi, a boy she meets on her way. The storyline with Mari's sister Eri is the strange one, and it is the big mystery in the novel which is never quite figured out, however the multiple weaving storylines are so gripping, and I'm not sure how.Although this piece did not make sense a hundred percent, I found it to be so inherently beautiful and enthralling that I couldn't put it down. It opened my eyes up to the Japanese culture which is completely different from anything that I have experienced, and yet the characters and the situation seemed to identifiable. The depiction of the night and the dark was chilling, but also so real and honest. Murakami seemed to do something so hard for a novelist, and condense such a huge theme into such a small work. It is a work that was so broad and yet so condensed I cannot really explain it, and feel that I am just rambling on. It is a work that will stick with me.
This was a book that I got from the library but would love to buy in paperback, it was so good. I've never really been that into magical realism, but I am most certainly into Murakami, so I would certainly like to give his works a try. Norwegian Wood is number one on my list for now, one that I will definitely have to purchase in the near future.
What is it about? I don't know, and I think it will take me a while to process. Right now I'm thinking secrets, and what of ourselves we choose to reveal to the world and what we hide.
Would I recommend? Yes, 100%.
Monday, 29 September 2014
'Some folks like to get away for a holiday from the neighbourhood...'
Review: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
It took me quite a while to review this book because it was honestly fantastic. It's the best book I've read this year so far, without a doubt. I don't know how else to describe it following those words, so here are some reasons why I loved it so much:
- The setting- so beautifully realised. The book is set in Iceland in the early 1800s, following the life of orphan servant Agnes Magnusdottir, who was the last woman to be executed in Iceland in 1829. Icelandic culture is not one I know much about, and I felt like I learnt a lot whilst reading this, which I love. The landscape beautifully reflected the bleakness of the story, so much that it slightly scared me.
- The character of Agnes. I loved that she was not a perfect, well behaved heroine. She was not She was intelligent enough to scare other women because of what she could do or say, and intelligent enough to realise that this made her an outcast. She was a character so disliked in her environment that it pains me to think of how much I would love her if I met her in the everyday.
- The historical period- so beautifully executed. Hannah Kent had obviously done so much research (2 years to be exact) that the time period was so vivid and came across perfectly. None of the dialogue or plotting seemed false for the time, and I felt transported every time I picked up the book to read.
- The use of other media- letters, poems etc. I always love this when an author tries their hand at putting in other pieces of information into their novel, sometimes written by themselves, sometimes factual. It always manages to sketch out the background so well and flesh out a tale.
- The ending. It's proved inevitable just by reading the back cover of the book, but I still felt myself wanting to scream out nooooo when it happened. I just wanted Toti to run off with Agnes on his back, saving her.
What was it about? The difference between who you are and what people see you as, and how this can affect your life.
Would I recommend? Absolutely, yes, I don't know how it even took me this long. I loved it. Read it, everyone.
P.S. There was also a very inspirational interview with Hannah Kent in the back of my copy, talking about how she got around to writing the book and her writing practices once she started. She wrote 1000 words a day to get her manuscript done, come hell or highwater, and it took her I believe around three months. This seems like a good structure to me, one I'd like to emulate. Anyway, I would definitely recommend reading the interview in the back of the paperback copy, very interesting even if you're not into writing.
It took me quite a while to review this book because it was honestly fantastic. It's the best book I've read this year so far, without a doubt. I don't know how else to describe it following those words, so here are some reasons why I loved it so much:
- The setting- so beautifully realised. The book is set in Iceland in the early 1800s, following the life of orphan servant Agnes Magnusdottir, who was the last woman to be executed in Iceland in 1829. Icelandic culture is not one I know much about, and I felt like I learnt a lot whilst reading this, which I love. The landscape beautifully reflected the bleakness of the story, so much that it slightly scared me.
- The character of Agnes. I loved that she was not a perfect, well behaved heroine. She was not She was intelligent enough to scare other women because of what she could do or say, and intelligent enough to realise that this made her an outcast. She was a character so disliked in her environment that it pains me to think of how much I would love her if I met her in the everyday.
- The historical period- so beautifully executed. Hannah Kent had obviously done so much research (2 years to be exact) that the time period was so vivid and came across perfectly. None of the dialogue or plotting seemed false for the time, and I felt transported every time I picked up the book to read.
- The use of other media- letters, poems etc. I always love this when an author tries their hand at putting in other pieces of information into their novel, sometimes written by themselves, sometimes factual. It always manages to sketch out the background so well and flesh out a tale.
- The ending. It's proved inevitable just by reading the back cover of the book, but I still felt myself wanting to scream out nooooo when it happened. I just wanted Toti to run off with Agnes on his back, saving her.
What was it about? The difference between who you are and what people see you as, and how this can affect your life.
Would I recommend? Absolutely, yes, I don't know how it even took me this long. I loved it. Read it, everyone.
P.S. There was also a very inspirational interview with Hannah Kent in the back of my copy, talking about how she got around to writing the book and her writing practices once she started. She wrote 1000 words a day to get her manuscript done, come hell or highwater, and it took her I believe around three months. This seems like a good structure to me, one I'd like to emulate. Anyway, I would definitely recommend reading the interview in the back of the paperback copy, very interesting even if you're not into writing.
Thursday, 25 September 2014
'Pretending he's beside me...'
Books that I want to read before the end of the year that have been sitting on my shelf forever.
1) A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R Martin- I love the TV show and I have read the first book but it just didn't hook me so I didn't pick up the rest. But now all my friends seem to have read them and want to talk about them so I really do have to finish them; I'm hoping that once I start I'll be drawn in and will hurtle through the remaining six books.
2) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy- this is a classic that I've had on my shelves for years, after finding a free copy in a book recycling shop. It always looks a bit daunting on the shelf but it sounds like a beautiful story.
3) Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez- because I still haven't started my quest to read some Gabo.
4) The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne- this is one I bought when I was still a teen and pretty much obsessed with the Pretty Little Liars books and wanted to read anything referenced in them, but I never actually got around to it. Another classic I'd like to read.
1) A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R Martin- I love the TV show and I have read the first book but it just didn't hook me so I didn't pick up the rest. But now all my friends seem to have read them and want to talk about them so I really do have to finish them; I'm hoping that once I start I'll be drawn in and will hurtle through the remaining six books.
2) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy- this is a classic that I've had on my shelves for years, after finding a free copy in a book recycling shop. It always looks a bit daunting on the shelf but it sounds like a beautiful story.
3) Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez- because I still haven't started my quest to read some Gabo.
4) The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne- this is one I bought when I was still a teen and pretty much obsessed with the Pretty Little Liars books and wanted to read anything referenced in them, but I never actually got around to it. Another classic I'd like to read.
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