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Book Reviews
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Kathie Pick09 August 2010
This is on the reading list for AS level English Literature in 2010, and I have read this over the holidays in order to be prepared for the new term.
Set in pre-war France - Stephen, an independant minded young Englishman, falls in love with Isabel, a married French woman. Through circumstance, Stephen finds himself without his love on the battlefields and trenches of the Somme, where the conditions push him to the very limits of human endurance.
Sebastian Faulks has created a masterpiece of literature, about an absolutely desolate period, allowing the audience to feel part of the absolute horror and occasionally poignancy of the First World War. -
Editor04 August 2010
I absolutely devoured this story. It is thoughtfully presented in diary entries and letters from Harrison, that cover ordinary matters of daily living and Harrisons development from childhood through to independence; his experiences of love and sexuality; friendships and relationships; employment and cultural influences, within a political landscape that covers American and Mexican political history from the great depression to the beginning of the Cold War. The character of Harrison develops from a self contained undemanding boy who attempts to please his mother by essentially staying out of her way unless she needs him to be there, to a sensitive, warm and witty young man who pleases others by feeding them a diet of good food and good words. His complete lack of political guile makes him such an interesting vessel for steering this story, which is essentially based around the life and passions of others. The intriguing characters are not merely incidental, and the plot is beautifully played out around their colourfully creative and revolutionary leanings. Their involvement within a global class of artistic intellectuals, who are genuine comrades rather than merely useful to each other, is apparent through their shared values, freedom of expression, and respect of the rights of the person who is willing to labour in the service of others.
What I love about Kingsolver's writing is her ability to get so much out through the vessel of one thoroughly absorbing character. She does it with Orleanna Price in the Poisonwood Bible, and again here with Harrison Shepherd . In one sense, they are victims of the decisions of others, but she manages to make them into unassuming heroes, whose own graciousness is aspirational. Others around them can see more of their qualities, than if fact they can see of themselves, and just when you think that life has offered them a cruel fate, she manages to create an ingenious and plausible twist. I want her to come to dinner to discuss how she does this, but I expect to be intimidated by her extraordinary ability.
This review would not be complete by saying something of the ultimate character in this book; an inanimate object that is the ultimate vehicle for this fascinating story (sorry for the vagary - avoiding spoilers). It is to this objects protector that credit for recognising the value of truth must be attributed. She recognised that through care of a seemingly unimportant object, she was preserving history.
I cannot praise this book highly enough. Read it! Additionally, Kingsolver alludes to the paintings of Frida Kahlo; if you get the opportunity to see an exhibition, they are as fascinating as descriptions in the book suggest. -
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet
Editor04 August 2010
Knowing that this book was hotly tipped to win the booker prize, I purchased it for holiday reading. The hard cover is a beautiful cloth bound image of Japanese artisty, and without a slip cover, I dared not take it to the beach, lest I spoil it.
I have to admit that I am struggling with this book. I desperately want to reach that point where I understand why there is such a hype about this novel, but I am about a third of the way in, and keep finding other books that I would rather re-read instead.
The first chapter is thoroughly engaging. The year is 1799, and a Japanese concubine, Miss Kawasema, endures a horrific labour. Her attendants presume the child is dead, and discuss the brutal ways they may remove the dead foetus to prevent the death of the mother.
This initial scene reads as vividly as a film script, and is a fascinating insight into the cultural inhibitions of the time, where the male Dr has been refused permission to attend the birth by the magistrate, and passes messages to the midwife from behind a screen .The relationships are a bit confusing but I assumed this to be my unfamiliarity with both Dutch and Japanese names. However, this was my first observation of an obvious error where clearly the use of a thesaurus has let down the author as he interchanges the terminology of foetus with embryo, which to any A level biology student is an obvious inaccuracy, and illuminates an overly pretentious method of writing.
However, because the characters are so interesting, I was drawn into the story, only to be disappointed to discover that these characters have totally disappeared and some 150 pages later, have failed to return. Now I feel like I am on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean, but without any of the fun, and a mixture of confusing dialects and languages, with very little, other than De Zoets fear of being caught owning a Psalter, to keep me engaged.
As I know I am a long way from the plot, I will try to keep going but I expect it to take me beyond the announcement of the booker prize winner to reach a conclusion. Perhaps it is more suited to a male audience; or is targeted towards a film producer? I suggest you read some of the reviews on Amazon before making your final decision to buy this book, as it may just fail to tickle my personal taste buds.
I promise to update if I do reach the end....watch this space but dont hold your breath! -
Poirot: the War Years: "One,Two Buckle My Shoe", "Five Little Pigs","Taken at the Flood"
Angie Stewart31 July 2010
This is a fantastic easy reading book. If you've seen the film, don't let it stop you reading the book as the book adds a whole new dimension. Telling the story completely through Andreas eyes and adding quite a bit that is not in the film, the book is hilarious and at the same time gets your heart pumping with frustration that Miranda can be just so unreasonable and Andrea has no choice but to put up with the long hours, bullying, constant put downs & public humiliation at work. At the same time other parts of her life get neglected just so she can get through this year of working for Miranda which should then land her, her 'dream job'. In the end of course, she snaps with a hilarious scene resulting in.....I won't ruin it for you.
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Summer on Blossom Street (MIRA)
Kelly Marsh31 July 2010
This is a good book but can't say it inspired me to take up knitting! Here Lydia Goetz owns a wool shop and also runs a knitting group called Knit to Quit. It is not a particularly successful group as there are only four members: Phoebe Rylander whose engagement has recently been called off, Alix Turner who wants to stop smoking before she has a baby, Margaret, and Bryan Hutchinson who is suffering from stress. This book also visits with old characters from the Blossom Street books like Lydia herself and her husband Brad, Anne-Marie and Ellen from the bookshop. I recommend this book.
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Holy Bible: King James Version (KJV) (Bible Kjv)
Danny30 July 2010
This book looks great on my shelf but I think my copy must be broken - I have been praying for weeks for a Porsche but I'm still driving a Ford Cortina :(
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Kelly Marsh30 July 2010
I wasn't going to buy this book straightaway when it came out because I think hardback books are too expensive but then I was browsing in the bookshop on my lunch break and couldn't resist! There were a few pounds off though so it wasn't too bad. I have read all of Katie Fforde's books and have liked then all so far and also like this one although it is not her best. Here we have Sophie Apperly who is a practical woman but is looked down on by her family for not being academic like them although she really is clever in her own way. When her friend Milly invites her to New York Sophie jumps at the chance to leave her family behind. In New York she meets an old lady named Matilda who invites her home for thanksgiving although her grandson Luke doesn't approve. Luke agrees to help Sophie help her family's money troubles but only it she will help him in turn!
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Kelly Marsh30 July 2010
This is the first history/romance book that I have read but I would read more. I found this book to be very funny (I don't know if all her books are the same way) and also liked learning about the time that I didn't know anything about. The hero is named Sebastian Grey and he is the heir of the Earl of Newbury, a man in his 60s. However, the earl is on the lookout for a new wife and if he has a son with her then Sebastian will not be the heir anymore. Annabel Winslow has come to London from the country and catches the eye of the earl. She finds him a bit repulsive but wants to help out her family so agrees to marry him. But this is before she meets Sebastian!
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot)
Joanne Leddington30 July 2010
It's an oldie but a goodie: Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the third of her novels to feature Hercule Poirot, is one of the Grande Dame of crime's best known and most controversial books. Wonderfully written, extremely well plotted and with an innovative twist ending, it is considered to be one of the most influential crime novels ever written.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd takes place in the picturesque village of King's Abbott and is narrated by Doctor James Sheppard, who serves as Poirot's assistant during the course of his investigations (Captain Hastings having popped off to Argentina with his new wife at this point in time). A wealthy widow named Mrs Ferrars who had been dogged by rumours that she had murdered her husband is found dead of what is initially believed to be natural causes. Until, that is, a man named Roger Ackroyd, a widower who had hoped to marry Mrs Ferrars, reveals that the lady had confessed to him that she had indeed murdered her husband and then committed suicide. Shortly after this revelation Roger Ackroyd is murdered.
As Poirot begins his ingenious investigations, the suspects seem to include: Ackroyd's neurotic sister-in-law Mrs Cecil Ackroyd; her daughter Flora; big-game hunter Major Blunt; Ackroyd's personal assistant Geoffrey Raymond; Ackroyd's heavily indebted stepson Ralph Paton; Parker the snooping Butler; and a nervous parlour maid named Ursula Bourne who resigned on the afternoon of the murder.
There are plenty of false clues, irrelevances and red herrings in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd so that even the most committed mystery buff may have difficulty unravelling the plot. This is a great book (it would serve well as an introduction to Hercule Poirot even though it is the third book to feature him) with all the secret liaisons, large country houses, clandestine marriages, poisoners, murders, suicides, unacknowledged children, mysterious pasts and torn scraps of clothing that fans of Agatha Christie have come to expect and love. The Murder is Roger Ackroyd is a clear contender for the crown of perfect murder mysterious, I recommend it highly. -
Dracula (Penguin Popular Classics)
Vega B.29 July 2010
Vampire literature - Love it or hate it, in recent years the prevalence of contemporary vampire literature has been established the world over. This follows the genre's phenomenal ascension and sustained dominance at the zenith of many countries best sellers lists. This is in no small part due to a certain saga, the name of which can currently be found on the lips of readers and cinema goers alike. Yes, of course I refer to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. The Twilight saga has sent shock waves through the literary world, grabbing publishers by the scruff of their necks, shaking them violently and screaming in their ears "VAMPIRES EQUALS MONEY!?!?!?!". Naturally, in the wake of Twilight's success capitalism did as capitalism does, with a multitude of publishers following suit by printing every vampire novel they could find in their in-tray and waste paper basket. As a result the genre of late has become heavily diluted in a sea of poor quality novels. And so rather perturbed I decided to travel back in time to 1897, to sample vampire literature in arguably its purest and most unadulterated form...Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Thoughts - I expected Dickensian style prose. I worried it might be outdated and inaccessible to a young 21st century reader like myself. I expected an elderly man of a book but instead found a spritely young teenager, full of life and youthful exuberance. For most intents and purposes Dracula could have been written yesterday. It retains freshness and exudes a modernity that belies its one-hundred and thirteen years. Bram Stoker's novel appears to share in the immortality of the authors own terrifying un-dead creation. A more comical person than me might insert some further double entendre here, but this is a serious review after all... The only signs of its age are apparent in the relationships between male and female characters and the differences to be found in the characteristics of the two sexes. Some may find the prose chauvinistic or sexist, but considering the views of the period in which Dracula was written, the attitudes within the book are representative of the time. I found this aspect to be rather comical in a quaint, innocent, old fashioned kind of way. The men are stereotypically brave and dauntless and daren't shed a tear in front of another man for fear that their masculinity may be called into question. This coupled with women who faint at the slightest alarm or whiff of danger leads to an unexpected element of humour from this gothic horror.
Plot - Count Dracula is a Transylvanian aristocrat and secret vampire. He is rich and powerful beyond measure in his homeland, but craves the buzzing metropolis of 19th century London and all the human spoils within. In London he can feed on the life blood of the countless inhabitants and create legions of 'undead' in his own image. Many English professionals are hired in London to handle the Count's affairs and various purchases of property in preparation for his arrival in England. Jonathan Harker, a solicitor at a London firm is responsible for the purchase of Dracula's Carfax mansion and travels to Dracula's Transylvanian castle in order to complete the deal. Upon arrival Harker soon discovers the Count's terrifying secret and is imprisoned under promise of death while Dracula sails for English shores. Harker must escape! His fiancé awaits him back home in England. But will the Count come into her life much sooner than Harker can return...
Verdict - Dracula is an epistolary novel, which means that structurally the story is delivered as a chronological series of mixed sources, i.e. diary entries, private letters, telegrams and newspaper reports etc. I loved this style and felt it added an air of realism to the story whilst allowing the author to develop the characters much further than would be traditionally possible with other styles of writing. Providing access to many character's private thoughts, especially through diary entries, made me feel like I knew them all inside out. I felt like I was truly enveloped in the Dracula universe.
Dracula is a classic horror novel of unfathomable importance to so many modern books, TV shows, theatre and films etc. Its importance is so often overlooked and I fear its very existence is forgotten by many. It is a tale of horror, love, adventure and human endurance with elements of superstition, history and religion all thrown in. It makes for a compellingly chilling read if you can stop yourself cringing over the numerous stereotypes! I recommend this book for all fans of vampires, and horror but more importantly, all fans of literature. I would be especially interested to hear what fans of the Twilight saga make of the 'daddy' of vampire literature! Happy reading!
