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Book Reviews
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A Christmas Carol (Vintage Classics)
Billie Johnstone31 December 2010
It might well seem that there is no escape from A Christmas Carol during the festive season, just about every popular television series has featured an episode adapted from this classic story and there are numerous film versions regularly being screened too, but none of these equal the brilliance of Charles Dickens' original story and that is why I make sure to read it every year.
A Christmas Carol chronicles sour and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological and emotional transformation after he receives Christmas Eve visitations from his deceased former business partner Jacob Marley and from the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge to visit scenes from his boyhood and youth which remind the old Scrooge of his youthful innocence and of his previous capacity for love and joy. The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to visit in turn a Christmas market, the family dinner of Scrooge's impoverished clerk Bob Cratchit, a miner's cottage and a lighthouse, so that he might gain deeper insight into other people and develop a sense of responsibility for his fellow man. The final spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, devastates Scrooge with visions of what will occur in the future to himself and to those he knows if he fails to heed the spirits' warnings and does not change his ways. Fortunately, the final spirit only shows shadows of things that might come to pass and so, when he awakes on Christmas morning, Scrooge is able to begin to change his life and personality, help those who are less fortunate than himself, and try to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in his heart every day of the year.
A Christmas Carol is my favourite of all Dickens' great books and is a story that always manages to make me both laugh and cry. While I have heard the story described dismissively as being heart-warming, I have always found the sentimental elements of the plot to be well-balanced so that they are effective and ring true without ever becoming sickly. It is after all a story about a man undergoing a radical change in personality and outlook and so some depiction of sentiment is arguably necessary. The story behind A Christmas Carol is so well known and well loved nowadays that there is a risk it might become passé and it is for that reason that I believe more people should read the original text and so recognise how innovative and important Dickens' story was both at the time of publication and now. The supernatural element of the story is clear, but it is certainly no terrifying tale and so can be read and enjoyed by both children and adults. I would recommend getting, if possible, an edition that includes reproductions of the original illustrations since they are a lovely accompaniment to the text and really capture the images and characters that Dickens describes.
While A Christmas Carol does conjure unforgettable images of darkness, despair and death, at its heart its pages are filled with images of light, joy, warmth and redemption and so it is no surprise that Dickens' work is often cited as being one of the greatest influences in rejuvenating the old Christmas traditions of England. A great book at any time of the year, A Christmas Carol is a real treat during the festive season and is a book that I make sure to read again year after year. -
Chris M31 December 2010
A few years ago I experienced a terrible panic following an epiphany that I simply had not read enough books for someone of my age. The realisation that I was at a stage in my life where I should have read so many 'must read' books left me in a state of shocked meltdown and I swiftly started devouring classics to make amends for my life of literary abstinence. A few years down the line and I am feeling a little better having read many great books and classic reads but I still have a long way to go before I fulfil my OCD book reading ambitions. In light of the considerable classic literary journey I still have left to travel, the odd sneaky indulgence in paperback pop fiction is all the more guilt inducing. Let the Right One In is my most recent guilty pleasure and I shamefully confess that I enjoyed it from start to finish. Take that conscience!
Fans of the original 2008 Swedish film based on the novel will recognise the story, but in addition the book treats the reader to a great deal more detail and background character information than the movie ever could. For those who have not seen the film Let the Right One In is vampire fiction BUT with a difference. In a method popular with Hollywood film directors in recent times, the tale follows the interweaving lives of a number of characters, although the book focuses on the interactions and effects of two main ones in particular: Oskar and Eli. Set in the snowy sinkhole suburbs of 1980s Stockholm, Sweden, Eli is a two hundred year old vampire trapped for all eternity in the child's body she was 'changed' in. Oskar is a shy and timid 12 year old mommy's boy, bullied at school, with a morbid interest in serial killers. Eli moves in next door to Oskar with a man posing as her father. In reality the man is her servant...a servant of darkness mwahahahahaha!!!!!! Despite her age Eli remains a child at heart and when she and Oskar meet one night the pair gladly leaves their desperate loneliness behind them to become friends. As the pair's friendship blossoms, a spate of 'ritual' killings rock the suburbs, the victims looking slightly anaemic to put it mildly...but the killer might not be who you think...The film has been described as a modern day fairy tale ...You may think this an odd description for a vampire movie but it sort of fits. The same label applies to the book. There is something about the cold, snowy dreamlike setting, the innocence of childhood and the blooming friendship against the odds that lends this story a fairy tale quality. It really is different.
I like Scandinavian films and literature. They put me in mind of warm fires, thick coats and snowy vistas. I know what you're thinking...we've had enough of our own snow and Scandinavian style weather these past few weeks to last a lifetime...and yes...you're absolutely right...but forget the book's wintry setting...these pages encapsulate romance and emanate the heart (and snow) melting warmth of the purest of innocent friendships, and despite the tale's chilling nature, will leave you glowing with satisfaction for having read something truly special. Enjoy. -
dave majors28 December 2010
Very handy for looking up bits and bobs of information when you want a trustworthy source rather than the highly dubious Wikipedia. I'm sure there used to be more facts and less pictures though.
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Mr. Men the Night Before Christmas
Dylan28 December 2010
A special Mr Men book for Christmas. I get a new one of these each Christmas for my brother and we read it together. In this one Little Miss Late has forgotten to post her letter to Santa and is worried that she won't get any presents. This is a good book to read with young kids who enjoy the Mr Men.
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Kelly Marsh28 December 2010
I got this book from my mum for christmas and at first I thought it might be a bit too serious for me but so far I am enjoying it although there are quite a few sad bits early on. This is really a book about racism in america and about how that racism effected the lives of three women - one white woman and two black women. As you would probably expect there are lots of moments that bring tears to your eyes but there are also some funny moments (not as many as I normally like in a book) and also I find that I am really drawn to each of the three woman main characters and that I hope something good will happen. Because of the subject and the time it is set I am not sure if I will like the ending but I am going to keep going with it.
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Kelly Marsh28 December 2010
I prefer fiction myself but I got this book for my dad for christmas - he is a big fan of QI - and he totally loves it. This is an autobiography of the first twenty years of stephen frys life (I don't know if there are further autobiographies available to cover more of his life) and is apparently very funny, especially the stuff to do with his childhood. This was a big hit as a christmas present and my dad has laughed so much reading it that I might actually read this myself even.
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Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics)
Mary Baskerville09 December 2010
Pride and Prejudice is a delightful social comedy and a timelessly affecting love story. It was the first of Jane Austen's novels that I read and it still, after numerous re-readings over the years, remains my favourite. From the very first sentence - "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." - I was hooked on the humour and warmth of the story and still consider Pride and Prejudice to be one of the greatest books ever written.
By way of back-story, the Bennet's own the Longbourn estate in the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire and, although not particularly wealthy, they are very comfortably off. There is a potential problem on the horizon though since if Mr Bennet were to die his wife and daughters would be left without house and home since Longbourn is entailed to a distant male relative of Mr Bennet. While Mr Bennet himself is not particularly concerned, Mrs Bennet is particularly worried about this situation and so wishes to finds husbands for her daughters quickly. Elizabeth Bennet is Mr Bennet's favourite daughter because of her level-headed approach to life when his own wife's greatest concern is getting her daughters married off to well-established gentlemen. Only Jane, Elizabeth's older sister, is nearly as sensible and practical as Elizabeth, but Jane is also the beauty of the family, and therefore, Mrs Bennet's highest hope for a good match.
When Mr Bingley, a wealthy young gentleman from London, takes a country estate near to the Bennet's home, Mrs Bennet begins her match-making schemes without any trace of subtlety or dignity. Despite Mrs Bennet's embarrassing interference, Mr Bingley and Jane become fond of one another. Mr Darcy, who has accompanied Bingley to the country, begins his acquaintance with Elizabeth, her family, and their neighbours with smug condescension and proud distaste for the all of the country people. Elizabeth, learning of his dislike, makes it a point to match his disgust with her own venom. She also hears from a soldier that she has a fondness for that Darcy has treated him poorly and is a villain. Without thinking through the story, Elizabeth immediately seizes upon it as another, more concrete reason to hate Mr Darcy. She contradicts and argues with Darcy each time they meet, but somewhere along the way he begins to like Elizabeth.
While all the characters in Pride and Prejudice are excellent, with Mrs Bennet and Mr Collins being my favourite 'comedy relief', my absolute favourite from amongst them are the central couple of Elizabeth and Darcy. Elizabeth Bennet is the headstrong young woman whom no man seems capable of taming; Mr Darcy is the arrogant landowner who disdains to think it would be worth his trying to do so. Jane Austen's poised narrative shows how these two apparently incompatible characters learn to overcome their initial feelings of mutual dislike. A tour de force of wit and sparkling dialogue, Pride and Prejudice is also a sumptuously detailed picture of 19th century society which, in its exploration of manners and motives has a great deal to say about society today.
Pride and Prejudice is a memorable story about the inaccuracy of first impressions, about the power of reason, and above all about the strange dynamics of human relationships and emotions. It is a wonderful novel that I heartily recommend. -
Anonymous01 December 2010
Kathryn Stockett has crafted a beautiful and fascinating first novel that I just couldn't put down and managed to read in one weekend. The story is told through the voices of three of the main characters.
Skeeter has a strong bond with Constantine, the maid who raised her prior to being educated at Ole Miss University, and she had naive ambitions to leave the South for a editors role at one of New York's publishing houses. Guided by advice to look for opportunities to write closer to home first, and by a curiosity to find out what has happened to Constantine, Skeeter becomes inspired by the lives of the maids who serve her and her affluent white friends. Recognising the power imbalances that occur within the relationships and the problems of segregation, she experiences for herself the effects of being ostracised from within her own community.
Abilieen is 56 and has been looking after white people's homes and families all her life. She has learned how to keep her head down and avoid conflict with her employers. Abilieen is an observer, and spends some time every evening, writing down her prayers; her friends all believe that there is a profound effect of being on Abilieen's prayer list. Abilieen is looking after a two year old girl and she witnesses the lack of emotional bond the child has with her mother and is disturbed by this more than than her boss's friends insisting that they should have provided a separate toilet for their coloured maid to avoid spreading diseases from blacks to whites.
Minnie is a coloured maid who is raising a family and has a husband who regularly gets drunk and aggressive. Minnie has reputation for amazing food and a loud mouth but she loses her job when the Hilly, the chairwoman of the local benefits committee, puts her own mother into care and Minnie's prospects are damaged by a vicious lie suggesting that she was dismissed because of stealing.
These three women are drawn together by the prospect of bringing about change at a time in history when it was enormously risky for whites and blacks to be so intimately involved with each other. Kathryn Stockett is able to portray a real sense of empathy with the characters and their situation and the story is both fascinating and very exciting.
The Help is a brilliant page turner and I would recommend it to anyone! -
Chris M30 November 2010
Pride of Baghdad is a graphic novel based on the true story of the four lions who escaped Baghdad Zoo during American bombardment in 2003. Somewhere between 'The Lion King' and 'Turtles Can Fly', Pride of Baghdad poignantly expresses the realities and consequences of war through the experiences of animals. Following in the tradition of Orwell's allegory of Communism and workers' revolution in 'Animal Farm', the novel hauntingly conveys the senseless destruction caused by conflict and ironically portrays an incredibly human narrative, despite its distinct absence of "two leggers" (as a wise old River Tigris turtle aptly describes us).
Baghdad Zoo: Zill, the alpha male lion of the pride is venting his annoyance at a bird high up in a tree who repeatedly squawks "the sky is falling!" The bird is swiftly proved correct however (in a way) as American fighter jets scream overhead just metres above the enclosure walls. After much discussion over the jets and some reminiscent flashbacks to the wild (which introduce a little of the main characters back stories) the planes return and a series of explosions shake the zoo, reducing the walls of many of the animal enclosures to rubble. Queue a mass exodus of captive animals reminiscent of the stampede scene in Jumanji, featuring zebras, elephants, rhinos, giraffes and antelopes. Zill, Safa (the old lioness), Noor (the young lioness) and Ali (Noor's young cub) taste freedom as their journey outside the confines of the zoo and through the decimated streets of war torn Baghdad begins. The lions' experiences on their journey through the city highlight the collapse of Iraqi culture after the fall of Saddam's dictatorial regime and the less obvious destruction that war and conflict can cause, specifically to innocent victims caught in the crossfire.
This beautifully drawn and astutely written graphic novel is an eye opening war commentary which is all the more affecting for its use of animals, whose exploits tug at the heart strings in a way no human protagonist could. The novel is almost childlike in its bright, colourful style but its topic and explicit content is distinctly adult in nature, which would restrict my recommendations to people above the age of sixteen. The story is heart warming at times, distressing at others but will undoubtedly haunt you and keep you thinking for weeks. My only criticism is that the book is not long enough to fully develop the four main characters as deeply as I would have liked. However, this is a minor problem in what is an outstanding piece of fiction and art. Pride of Baghdad is a must for any graphic novel fan and should be essential reading for any book lover who fancies a slight change of medium. This would make a really great stocking filler for teenagers this Christmas. I implore you...give it a try. -
Sense and Sensibility (Penguin Classics)
Mary Baskerville30 November 2010
Sense and Sensibility, the first of Jane Austen's major novels, revolves around Elinor and Marianne, two daughters of Mr Dashwood by his second wife. They have a younger sister, Margaret, and an older half-brother named John. When their father dies, the family estate passes to John, and the Dashwood women are left in reduced circumstances. The novel follows the Dashwood sisters to their new home, a cottage on a distant relative's property, where they experience both romance and heartbreak. The contrast between the sisters' characters is eventually resolved as they each find love and lasting happiness. Through the events in the novel, Elinor and Marianne encounter the sense and sensibility of life and love.
I love the sharp insight that Jane Austen can provide into the character and motivations of her creations. Sense and Sensibility is the portrait of two very different sisters: Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Elinor is practical and disciplined, Marianne is capricious and emotional, yet they share a troubled and impoverished family background, and both must struggle to achieve the happiness they deserve. Ranged against them are the forces of a society where men and masculinity dominate; Elinor and Marianne have to balance their emotional needs against the harsh financial realities of the world at large.
Sense and Sensibility is vintage Jane Austen; a chronicle of romantic misfortunes, narrated with irony and a sharp eye for hypocrisy. A powerful drama of family life and growing up, the novel is at once a subtle comedy of manners and a striking critique of early 19th century society. Austen's subtle wit and her masterful observation of her characters have rendered a novel that is, at heart at least, a romance into a real page-turner. No one does romantic twists and turns as well as Jane Austen and some of the twists in Sense and Sensibility will make your jaw drop. Although perhaps not quite so sublime as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility is still highly recommended.
