Despite the fact it had been in my calendar for months, it hadn't really occurred to me that what I had picked up on a whim at library, by which I mean I'd wanted to read it for a while, occasionally forgot about it and this time it happened to be there, could be regarded as a bad omen. Starting to read a book where the first thing that happens is a bride leaves her fiancee just before they're about to get married the day before one your friend's weddings is perhaps not the done thing. Fortunately, there were no parallels between truth and fiction and the wedding went off smoothly and, so far as I can tell, a very good time was had by all.
Which is more than can be said for Pell, deserter and protagonist in Meg Rosoff's The Bride's Farewell. I've been a fan of Rosoff since reading How I Live Now a few years ago and I think she understands the teenage mindset. She challenges her readers and doesn't provide easy answers and there's no shortage of misery to be had in this outing. One thing I've noticed as a recurring theme in her work is the number of mute or very quiet characters. I'm not sure if there's an explanation, but Pell's brother is in that mould.
The writing is compelling and there is a streak of romance throughout, but though there is a happy ending of sorts, there's plenty of tragedy in between and despite being a strong heroine, Pell is faced with the consequences of some of her actions and has to do her best in adverse circumstances. Although fairly slight, it did a great job in capturing the feel of the countryside, the wildness of it and the struggle for survival in the Victorian setting. Rosoff's first foray into historical fiction, it draws obvious (to my mind at least) comparisons with Celia Rees, another young adult author who I admire and who creates strong female characters. Fortunately neither of them have been silly enough to say 'Girl Power' (Miss Steiner, I'm looking at you), but I think this can only be a good thing, for readers of both sexes and all ages.
Book number: 84
Title: The Bride's Farewell
Author: Meg Rosoff
Category: Chris' choice
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Cambridge over troubled water
I've said it before and will no doubt say it again, but having picked up considerably more books this year than I might normally that would come under the category of crime or thrillers, I wonder why I'd not done so much before now. Admittedly this could be quite a broad category and plenty of what I read may loosely come under there and not so much that would be found in the aforementioned section of a bookshop or library. But either way, the results have largely been positive.
Certainly this applies to Kate Atkinson's Case Histories, my debut encounter with this popular novelist. There are obviously various measures of popularity, but there's only so many authors who get posters on the tube or at railway stations, so that's got to be a mark of something. Anyway, it was easy to see why. An interesting, complex detective, several plot strands slowly revealed and interlinked over the course of the novel, and richly imagined and sometimes darkly comic characters.
Set in Cambridge, the familiar setting was pleasant (perhaps I was too harsh on my judgement of The Oxford Murders in this capacity, though overall I still feel it was rather disappointing) and provided a believable backdrop to the tale. It's small enough, indeed feels small enough, to have a rural air about it still, yet not so small that one can't scatter a handful of stones in the street without hitting a murderer or ten.
Jackson Brodie is the hero, somehow finding himself involved in a series of bizarre yet plausible events, and he is tough, rather likeable and has a heart. As well-drawn as he is, it was the rest of the cast that really made the novel and the multiple viewpoints were handled with skill, highlighting what each really thought of the others and using the device to reveal information throughout in order to drive the plot forward and maintain the mysteries. More, please.
Book number: 83
Title: Case Histories
Author: Kate Atkinson
Category: Charlotte's choice
Certainly this applies to Kate Atkinson's Case Histories, my debut encounter with this popular novelist. There are obviously various measures of popularity, but there's only so many authors who get posters on the tube or at railway stations, so that's got to be a mark of something. Anyway, it was easy to see why. An interesting, complex detective, several plot strands slowly revealed and interlinked over the course of the novel, and richly imagined and sometimes darkly comic characters.
Set in Cambridge, the familiar setting was pleasant (perhaps I was too harsh on my judgement of The Oxford Murders in this capacity, though overall I still feel it was rather disappointing) and provided a believable backdrop to the tale. It's small enough, indeed feels small enough, to have a rural air about it still, yet not so small that one can't scatter a handful of stones in the street without hitting a murderer or ten.
Jackson Brodie is the hero, somehow finding himself involved in a series of bizarre yet plausible events, and he is tough, rather likeable and has a heart. As well-drawn as he is, it was the rest of the cast that really made the novel and the multiple viewpoints were handled with skill, highlighting what each really thought of the others and using the device to reveal information throughout in order to drive the plot forward and maintain the mysteries. More, please.
Book number: 83
Title: Case Histories
Author: Kate Atkinson
Category: Charlotte's choice
Age before beauty
Something that never ceases to amaze me is how The Beatles managed to so completely revolutionise popular music in so many ways. It's like they invented the wheel, then made the next three and the chassis, then decided to pull it apart again and reinvent it from scratch. All in the space of seven years. Some bands go that long between albums. Writers are similar – the length of time between novels can be huge (Franzen, Eugenides) and in other cases startling short (Cartland, the Paterson factory), though perhaps neither of the latter two have much of the hallmark of quality about them. By reputation anyway, having never read anything by either of them, I suppose I shall have to reserve my opnion for a later date.
What did surprise me was the prolific output of some Victorian novelists. Dickens churned out classics like they were going out of style, the majority of them weighty tomes, and he had his fingers in several other pies all the time. Verne apparently wrote about 80(!) novels and my latest victim, Dumas was also pretty quick on the draw. The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, neither what one would classify as slender volumes were both turned out in under two years. Having enjoyed both greatly, I prepared to buckle my swash once more and picked up Twenty Years After, the first of the three sequels featuring the musketeers.
Older, perhaps wiser, though not necessarily any richer or happier, our fab four have gone their separate ways and are all pursuing different ends. Indeed, to begin with they end up split between two different factions. However, they are able to put aside their differences and prove that they had a bond that would stand the test of time. Excellent adventuring stuff, full of twists and turns, plus swordplay, wordplay and a plot set in both France and England against the backdrop of the English Civil War, and it did everything I asked of it. The politicking and fairly extensive cast at times confused, not least because everyone seemed to have several titles or names, but these are minor quibbles that probably reflect more on this reader than the writer. I look forward to the next time I can draw my rapier (or my rapier wit) and send up a hearty cry of "All for one!"
Book number: 82
Title: Twenty Years After
Author: Alexandre Dumas
Category: Pre-20th century literature
What did surprise me was the prolific output of some Victorian novelists. Dickens churned out classics like they were going out of style, the majority of them weighty tomes, and he had his fingers in several other pies all the time. Verne apparently wrote about 80(!) novels and my latest victim, Dumas was also pretty quick on the draw. The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, neither what one would classify as slender volumes were both turned out in under two years. Having enjoyed both greatly, I prepared to buckle my swash once more and picked up Twenty Years After, the first of the three sequels featuring the musketeers.
Older, perhaps wiser, though not necessarily any richer or happier, our fab four have gone their separate ways and are all pursuing different ends. Indeed, to begin with they end up split between two different factions. However, they are able to put aside their differences and prove that they had a bond that would stand the test of time. Excellent adventuring stuff, full of twists and turns, plus swordplay, wordplay and a plot set in both France and England against the backdrop of the English Civil War, and it did everything I asked of it. The politicking and fairly extensive cast at times confused, not least because everyone seemed to have several titles or names, but these are minor quibbles that probably reflect more on this reader than the writer. I look forward to the next time I can draw my rapier (or my rapier wit) and send up a hearty cry of "All for one!"
Book number: 82
Title: Twenty Years After
Author: Alexandre Dumas
Category: Pre-20th century literature
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
The tiger who came to Téa
Balkan fiction is definitely something that I can't claim to have previously dabbled with, at least not that I can recollect. Indeed, Britain has never been great at publishing fiction in translation and only tends to follow non-Anglophone writers as a surge after a breakout success. Post-colonial literature being the main exception, though much of that is written in English. The same is admittedly true of The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht, who is now a nationalised American, but it is refreshing to hear new voices from different corners of the world.
I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it, something about the title put me off – the combination of 'tiger' and 'wife', keywords in various recently successful books, almost sounded a bit artificial. I did like the cover though, bright, eye-catching and with an evocative illustration. As it turned out, my fears were misplaced, it was a good read and an example of how to successfully blend dual narratives (past and present). The writing is very assured for a debut, full of lyrical language.
Easily my favourite of the narrative strands was that of the deathless man. The folk story elements of this and its rich imagery were what made the book stand out to me. Similarly, the story of the tiger's wife was entertaining, but took a backseat in my view. I was less keen on the modern narrative, it didn't quite have the suspense I thought it would and was perhaps more of a vehicle to showcase the other narratives. The quality of those more than made up for it though and the modern one was far from bad, it just didn't grab me in the same way and therefore suffers in comparison. Overall though, it was a well-crafted, enjoyable tale and I'll be interested to see what the young Ms Obreht does next.
Book number: 81
Title: The Tiger's Wife
Author: Téa Obreht
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it, something about the title put me off – the combination of 'tiger' and 'wife', keywords in various recently successful books, almost sounded a bit artificial. I did like the cover though, bright, eye-catching and with an evocative illustration. As it turned out, my fears were misplaced, it was a good read and an example of how to successfully blend dual narratives (past and present). The writing is very assured for a debut, full of lyrical language.
Easily my favourite of the narrative strands was that of the deathless man. The folk story elements of this and its rich imagery were what made the book stand out to me. Similarly, the story of the tiger's wife was entertaining, but took a backseat in my view. I was less keen on the modern narrative, it didn't quite have the suspense I thought it would and was perhaps more of a vehicle to showcase the other narratives. The quality of those more than made up for it though and the modern one was far from bad, it just didn't grab me in the same way and therefore suffers in comparison. Overall though, it was a well-crafted, enjoyable tale and I'll be interested to see what the young Ms Obreht does next.
Book number: 81
Title: The Tiger's Wife
Author: Téa Obreht
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Bitter fruit
If one were to gereralise, one would probably say that in great American fictions, there are two time periods and settings that dominate above all others. The first is the civil war, the second the Great Depression. And if one can make such a statement without sounding too weird, I'm a big fan of Depression-era (and Jazz Age) fiction. Steinbeck, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, not to mention Lewis and Warren, who I've added to my repertoire this year. If there's such thing as a Golden Age of American fiction, that may well be it.
Set in Albany, New York, towards the end of the 1930s, William Kennedy's Ironweed is most comparable to Steinbeck from the above list. Though written 50 years later, it certainly evokes the period admirably, chronicling the day-to-day struggles for existence of two hobos. Down on their luck, without homes, jobs, it follows the simple things thay have to do to earn a buck or put a roof over their head for a night.
The realisation of Francis, the protagonist, is the book's main charm. Middle aged and beaten down by circumstances, he maintains a sense of honour and a tender care for his companion Helen. He strives to the best he can, turning a blind eye where he has to, but determining to do his best by her, this sense of purpose perhaps being what drives him on. Without it, without the desire to pay his debts, it would be easy to see how he could simply give up. But his silent resolve, not doing anything amazing, yet with a quiet courage and dignity to it is the heartbeat of the book and one that resonates with every pulse.
Book number: 80
Title: Ironweed
Author: William Kennedy
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
Set in Albany, New York, towards the end of the 1930s, William Kennedy's Ironweed is most comparable to Steinbeck from the above list. Though written 50 years later, it certainly evokes the period admirably, chronicling the day-to-day struggles for existence of two hobos. Down on their luck, without homes, jobs, it follows the simple things thay have to do to earn a buck or put a roof over their head for a night.
The realisation of Francis, the protagonist, is the book's main charm. Middle aged and beaten down by circumstances, he maintains a sense of honour and a tender care for his companion Helen. He strives to the best he can, turning a blind eye where he has to, but determining to do his best by her, this sense of purpose perhaps being what drives him on. Without it, without the desire to pay his debts, it would be easy to see how he could simply give up. But his silent resolve, not doing anything amazing, yet with a quiet courage and dignity to it is the heartbeat of the book and one that resonates with every pulse.
Book number: 80
Title: Ironweed
Author: William Kennedy
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Stranger than fiction
As clichés go, the one about truth being stranger than fiction is both one of the oldest and one of the most apt. "I'm not making this up" may seem at times a little like protesting too much, but while not always stranger, the right story (or even the wrong story) in the hands of a skilled storyteller should always produce an interesting tale. "It's how you tell 'em", so to speak.
If crime is something I'd not previously gone very near, then what could be termed true crime was a truly new experience. Add to the fact it's Victorian, which is a time period that many adore, but i have no great affinity with in either historial or literary terms, and you'd think that The Suspicions of Mr Whicher might not be my cup of tea. Fortunately, Kate Summerscale knows how to tell a story, for it does indeed read like one, rather than, say, a report. The development of the characters is key to this, the details about their pasts and how previous events may have fed into the present. And the continuation past the event, to look at the lives of the individuals afterwards makes it a more complete, if not wholesome, tale that is focused on the people as much as the crime.
I can't say I'd ever heard of the murder, though clearly at it was big news, the Moors murders, Soham murders, Jamie Bulger or Madeleine McCann of its day. The scandalous nature of the crime, the hidden family secrets, the history of detective work all add up to create a far more interesting narrative, with plenty of enlightening facts thrown in than it might otherwise have been. Eminently readable, I can see why it received such wide-ranging and diverse praise, for it successfully ticks all the boxes on what such a title should do.
Book number: 79
Title: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House
Author: Kate Summerscale
Category: Crime
If crime is something I'd not previously gone very near, then what could be termed true crime was a truly new experience. Add to the fact it's Victorian, which is a time period that many adore, but i have no great affinity with in either historial or literary terms, and you'd think that The Suspicions of Mr Whicher might not be my cup of tea. Fortunately, Kate Summerscale knows how to tell a story, for it does indeed read like one, rather than, say, a report. The development of the characters is key to this, the details about their pasts and how previous events may have fed into the present. And the continuation past the event, to look at the lives of the individuals afterwards makes it a more complete, if not wholesome, tale that is focused on the people as much as the crime.
I can't say I'd ever heard of the murder, though clearly at it was big news, the Moors murders, Soham murders, Jamie Bulger or Madeleine McCann of its day. The scandalous nature of the crime, the hidden family secrets, the history of detective work all add up to create a far more interesting narrative, with plenty of enlightening facts thrown in than it might otherwise have been. Eminently readable, I can see why it received such wide-ranging and diverse praise, for it successfully ticks all the boxes on what such a title should do.
Book number: 79
Title: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House
Author: Kate Summerscale
Category: Crime
Saturday, 8 October 2011
A doctor calls
I don't think I would ever describe myself as a man of science – not that I would describe myself as a man of god either, maybe a man of letters, or of ice cream – but I certainly have a healthy (geddit?) respect for science in all walks of life. This includes medicine, despite the slightly mixed treatment I've had lately for a variety of things. I try to avoid taking things unless I need to – I want it to work when I do. Having suffered from a bout of cold/flu/general mehness, I've been dosing up on everything I can and it seems to have been a success.
That success can be attributed to figures like Martin Arrowsmith, fictional scientist and title character in Sinclair Lewis' Arrowsmith. He undoubtedly is a man of science, dedicated to his job at the expense of all else, even his wife, who is in her own quiet and subdued way, his tower of strength. He concentrates on his work, rather than getting dragged into the politics of university departments, finding solace in that above all else. Shedding a lot of light on the scientific establishment, its workings, pressures and culture, it paints an interesting picture of man caught between his work and the rewards it might bring.
One one hand, he is self-absorbed, tireless and dedicated, focusing on his work rather than being tempted by the trappings of fame and wealth when he stumbles upon a major cure for disease. As an insight into this world, it's easy to see why it has been widely admired, it focuses on the pressures put on individuals and the ethical dilemmas they face. It's well crafted and written, though it would say I found it interesting more than truly absorbing or engaging. Lewis actually refused the Pulitzer Prize he won for the novel on the basis that he felt it was awarded on fashion rather than literary merit, but I think it has stood the test of time, which is arguably the only prize worth winning.
Book number: 78
Title: Arrowsmith
Author: Sinclair Lewis
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
That success can be attributed to figures like Martin Arrowsmith, fictional scientist and title character in Sinclair Lewis' Arrowsmith. He undoubtedly is a man of science, dedicated to his job at the expense of all else, even his wife, who is in her own quiet and subdued way, his tower of strength. He concentrates on his work, rather than getting dragged into the politics of university departments, finding solace in that above all else. Shedding a lot of light on the scientific establishment, its workings, pressures and culture, it paints an interesting picture of man caught between his work and the rewards it might bring.
One one hand, he is self-absorbed, tireless and dedicated, focusing on his work rather than being tempted by the trappings of fame and wealth when he stumbles upon a major cure for disease. As an insight into this world, it's easy to see why it has been widely admired, it focuses on the pressures put on individuals and the ethical dilemmas they face. It's well crafted and written, though it would say I found it interesting more than truly absorbing or engaging. Lewis actually refused the Pulitzer Prize he won for the novel on the basis that he felt it was awarded on fashion rather than literary merit, but I think it has stood the test of time, which is arguably the only prize worth winning.
Book number: 78
Title: Arrowsmith
Author: Sinclair Lewis
Category: Pulitzer Prize winners
Thursday, 6 October 2011
He gets everywhere, that bloke
And following on in very similar fashion in terms of category, genre (sort of), and relevance to work was the next one. I hadn't planned this to be the next, having a stack of books (actually and virtually) to work through to take me most of the way to the end of the year, but with a library recall and only two days to finish it, needs must. And while I don't know a vast amount about the French Revolution, I can't seem to escape the moustachioed former dictator of Germany at work and sometimes that can get you down. After all, there's only so many days of reading about eugenics or Nazi war atrocities that a man can deal with before going slightly mad.
Fortunately, although the run-up World War II is the setting for Judith Kerr's children's classic When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, it's not really set in the Third Reich and those nasty Nazis don't really feature. Which given it's about a family of Jewish emigrants in Switzerland, France and ultimately Britain makes sense when you think about it. The rise of the Nazis is constantly in the background and moments of anti-Semitism rear their ugly head at times, but this is largely a book concerned with childhood and growing up.
It's not a coming of age tale as such, young Anna is a bit young for that really, but it's a story of adapting, changing and forging an identity in foreign settings. All of which are beautifully conveyed through deceptively simple prose and a real feeling for what life must have been like. The sheltered element to the tale and the maintenance of innocence in spite of the very real dangers lends it a degree of fragile beauty and it's a finely constructed book, with largely as happy an ending as is possible given the circumstances. That it's very strongly based on true events makes it all the more powerful and I've since done a bit of reading around the story and can see how fine some of the margins were. If I did read this as a child, I can't remember it, but I certainly wish I had – it's a classic for a reason and something deserving of being read by as wide an audience as possible.
Book number: 77
Title: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Author: Judith Kerr
Category: Books with colours in the title
Fortunately, although the run-up World War II is the setting for Judith Kerr's children's classic When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, it's not really set in the Third Reich and those nasty Nazis don't really feature. Which given it's about a family of Jewish emigrants in Switzerland, France and ultimately Britain makes sense when you think about it. The rise of the Nazis is constantly in the background and moments of anti-Semitism rear their ugly head at times, but this is largely a book concerned with childhood and growing up.
It's not a coming of age tale as such, young Anna is a bit young for that really, but it's a story of adapting, changing and forging an identity in foreign settings. All of which are beautifully conveyed through deceptively simple prose and a real feeling for what life must have been like. The sheltered element to the tale and the maintenance of innocence in spite of the very real dangers lends it a degree of fragile beauty and it's a finely constructed book, with largely as happy an ending as is possible given the circumstances. That it's very strongly based on true events makes it all the more powerful and I've since done a bit of reading around the story and can see how fine some of the margins were. If I did read this as a child, I can't remember it, but I certainly wish I had – it's a classic for a reason and something deserving of being read by as wide an audience as possible.
Book number: 77
Title: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Author: Judith Kerr
Category: Books with colours in the title
Children of the Revolution
Throughout the course of the year it does seem at times that what I've been doing at work has been reflected in what I read. Partly this is coincidence and a result of working a reasonably varied number of topics (largely history-based for some time now), though it is also partly due to choice. My Yankophilia from earlier in the year seems to have faded a bit, but as one project ends, another begins and while my knowledge of the French Revolution was pretty much non-existent a couple of months ago (and it's far from encyclopaedic now), it happens to be something I've worked on recently. Oh, and also the backdrop for my latest read.
The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner is a young adult novel set in late eighteenth-century Paris and largely has everything you'd want from such a book. A pinch of magic, a swirl of romance, a healthy dose of swashbuckling, a fine cast of heroes and villains – all of the ingredients are there. The story rattles along, doing a successful job of painting the city, though would perhaps have benefitted at times with some explanations of things – I feel that someone with no knowledge of the period would be a bit lost amongst some of the terms and that a lot was assumed. Similarly, the workings of the magical powers wielded by the protagonist and antagonist, how they acquired and controlled them, what their limits were, etc. were all a bit vague and I would have appreciated some further knowledge of these. Admittedly in hindsight it seems this was a sequel to a previous story, in which some of these issues were addressed, but a little recap or first-time information wouldn't have gone amiss.
I enjoyed the fact that the villains were both sinister and blunt and not overly clichéd. Likewise, the heroes were interesting enough and while not finely sculpted creations, they were not caricatures. The real strength of the book though was in the narrative and drive, which told a tale for the most part very well. My biggest complaint is that the climax was, well, somewhat anticlimactic and seemed a little hurried, but all loose ends were tied up in true adventure style and I can't complain too much about that.
Book number: 76
Title: The Silver Blade
Author: Sally Gardner
Category: Books with colours in the title
The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner is a young adult novel set in late eighteenth-century Paris and largely has everything you'd want from such a book. A pinch of magic, a swirl of romance, a healthy dose of swashbuckling, a fine cast of heroes and villains – all of the ingredients are there. The story rattles along, doing a successful job of painting the city, though would perhaps have benefitted at times with some explanations of things – I feel that someone with no knowledge of the period would be a bit lost amongst some of the terms and that a lot was assumed. Similarly, the workings of the magical powers wielded by the protagonist and antagonist, how they acquired and controlled them, what their limits were, etc. were all a bit vague and I would have appreciated some further knowledge of these. Admittedly in hindsight it seems this was a sequel to a previous story, in which some of these issues were addressed, but a little recap or first-time information wouldn't have gone amiss.
I enjoyed the fact that the villains were both sinister and blunt and not overly clichéd. Likewise, the heroes were interesting enough and while not finely sculpted creations, they were not caricatures. The real strength of the book though was in the narrative and drive, which told a tale for the most part very well. My biggest complaint is that the climax was, well, somewhat anticlimactic and seemed a little hurried, but all loose ends were tied up in true adventure style and I can't complain too much about that.
Book number: 76
Title: The Silver Blade
Author: Sally Gardner
Category: Books with colours in the title
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Circus envy
And so on to the other word-of-mouth-recommendation-on-the-cover book. Funny how these random patterns crop up. This is no doubt a mere coincidence, as is the fact that two books in a row that I've read happen to have been about circuses. That's largely where the similarities end though. As I mentioned previously, I'd never heard of this book and it's a very different and much more straightforward tale than anything I can imagine coming from the pen of Angela Carter.
Set in the early years of Depression-era America, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is the story of Jacob, a veterinary student hit by sudden tragedy, who runs away to join the circus. No, really. His joining of the circus is accidental, but his training soon makes him valuable to his new employers. What follows is two love stories, a conventional one, as Jacob falls for an already-married performer, and also one of his relationships with his charges, particularly the elephant Rosie.
It highlights the hardships of the Depression well, showing how ruthless people could survive, while others were simpl glad to be fed, if not paid, and how bonds can be quickly forged and fall apart just as easily. The brief distraction from the suffering of life brought by the circus also works well. It is told by Jacob looking back on past events as a very old man in a nursing home. Although I didn't feel this added much to the story, neither did it detract from it. I also felt that until quite a way into it, I was never wholly convinced that the narrator was male, something about it just didn't sit right with me. That said, it was an enjoyable enough, easy read with a solid plot, likeable characters and that is no bad thing in my book.
Book number: 75
Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Set in the early years of Depression-era America, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is the story of Jacob, a veterinary student hit by sudden tragedy, who runs away to join the circus. No, really. His joining of the circus is accidental, but his training soon makes him valuable to his new employers. What follows is two love stories, a conventional one, as Jacob falls for an already-married performer, and also one of his relationships with his charges, particularly the elephant Rosie.
It highlights the hardships of the Depression well, showing how ruthless people could survive, while others were simpl glad to be fed, if not paid, and how bonds can be quickly forged and fall apart just as easily. The brief distraction from the suffering of life brought by the circus also works well. It is told by Jacob looking back on past events as a very old man in a nursing home. Although I didn't feel this added much to the story, neither did it detract from it. I also felt that until quite a way into it, I was never wholly convinced that the narrator was male, something about it just didn't sit right with me. That said, it was an enjoyable enough, easy read with a solid plot, likeable characters and that is no bad thing in my book.
Book number: 75
Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Category: Books by authors I've never heard of
Birds of a feather
When you're stuck in A&E at 1am, having already been there for three hours, I can assure you that you are very glad of something to read once your companion and I-spy partner has left for the comforts of home and bed. Ideally that something should require little brain power and not have a ridiculously small font, but frankly any distraction from the pain in your kneecap is a good one. My accomplice kindly left me her copy of Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus, one of her favourite novels. No pressure then.
My previous experience of Carter was The Magic Toyshop, which I generally liked as a bit of a fairy tale kitchen sink drama. This was not dissimilar in blending together elements of the fantastic with personal tales, but on a much larger scale. Both the Russian setting and the circus backdrop gave the story plenty of zest and life and worked well for the biggest freak of them all, the protagonist Fevvers, a Cockney girl with wings. It also serves as a vehicle to express ideas on women's rights, class and social outcasts and misfits. The almost anachronistic placing of more modern ideas onto traditionally Victorian characters highlights the problems of society both then and now and adds a layer of complexity to the cast and the novel as a whole.
The blurring of reality and the constant need for questioning of what we're told works to create a tale that delights in playing with conventions. And the language is fantastic. Carter is clearly a top drawer writer as the prose oozes with splendid turns of phrase or memorable descriptions, building up further layers of perception and deception. So perhaps not the ideal material for the circumstances, but certainly well-written and gripping enough to hold the interest and certainly a novel worthy of praise and study.
Book number: 74
Title: Nights at the Circus
Author: Angela Carter
Category: Book club/recommendations
My previous experience of Carter was The Magic Toyshop, which I generally liked as a bit of a fairy tale kitchen sink drama. This was not dissimilar in blending together elements of the fantastic with personal tales, but on a much larger scale. Both the Russian setting and the circus backdrop gave the story plenty of zest and life and worked well for the biggest freak of them all, the protagonist Fevvers, a Cockney girl with wings. It also serves as a vehicle to express ideas on women's rights, class and social outcasts and misfits. The almost anachronistic placing of more modern ideas onto traditionally Victorian characters highlights the problems of society both then and now and adds a layer of complexity to the cast and the novel as a whole.
The blurring of reality and the constant need for questioning of what we're told works to create a tale that delights in playing with conventions. And the language is fantastic. Carter is clearly a top drawer writer as the prose oozes with splendid turns of phrase or memorable descriptions, building up further layers of perception and deception. So perhaps not the ideal material for the circumstances, but certainly well-written and gripping enough to hold the interest and certainly a novel worthy of praise and study.
Book number: 74
Title: Nights at the Circus
Author: Angela Carter
Category: Book club/recommendations
Death has a shadow
They say that word of mouth is the best kind of publicity and marketing, the kind that according to the cliché money simply can't buy. While this is probably true, it amuses me in a small way to then see something being marketed as a word of mouth sensation. Such a ploy has actually been used on two books I've read recently (the other to follow soon), though presumably to good effect in the case of the former, as I'd heard lots about it and been looking forward to it, and considerably less so with the latter, which I'd never heard of (though maybe I wouldn't be regarded as it's target market).
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the first of those titles and I liked it a lot. It's always satisfying when a book does live up to the billing, the hype and everything else, as this can often raise expectations to places that cannot reasonably be attained and one can come away not feeling as fulfilled as perhaps one would have been otherwise. Set in Franco's Spain in the aftermath of the Civil War, the book ticks every box that one could hope for. Young love, missing persons, false identities, sinister antagonists, bloody deaths and more are all mixed together with skill.
The coincidences and the many plot strands that tie the characters together could in other circumstances have seemed contrived and unbelievable, but the story is unfolded carefully and told well, keeping me glued to it. Indeed, it had that page-turning quality to it that not every author or book can have. The central idea is a good one and then spreads out in many directions before being carefully brought back together. A solid cast is maintained over the course of the novel and has a good mix of intriguing characters. For me top of the list was Fermin, a splendid mix of wisdom, loyalty and joy that should serve as an inspiration to us all. And while there is plenty of tragedy throughout, it has a fitting ending that few could argue with.
Book number: 73
Title: The Shadow of the Wind
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Category: Charlotte's choice
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the first of those titles and I liked it a lot. It's always satisfying when a book does live up to the billing, the hype and everything else, as this can often raise expectations to places that cannot reasonably be attained and one can come away not feeling as fulfilled as perhaps one would have been otherwise. Set in Franco's Spain in the aftermath of the Civil War, the book ticks every box that one could hope for. Young love, missing persons, false identities, sinister antagonists, bloody deaths and more are all mixed together with skill.
The coincidences and the many plot strands that tie the characters together could in other circumstances have seemed contrived and unbelievable, but the story is unfolded carefully and told well, keeping me glued to it. Indeed, it had that page-turning quality to it that not every author or book can have. The central idea is a good one and then spreads out in many directions before being carefully brought back together. A solid cast is maintained over the course of the novel and has a good mix of intriguing characters. For me top of the list was Fermin, a splendid mix of wisdom, loyalty and joy that should serve as an inspiration to us all. And while there is plenty of tragedy throughout, it has a fitting ending that few could argue with.
Book number: 73
Title: The Shadow of the Wind
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Category: Charlotte's choice
Double act
And somehow another couple of weeks have fallen by the wayside with no updates. On the plus side, I have been reading and have got through a couple of chunky tomes – sheer laziness has been the major obstacle at the moment. Actually, that's probably not being entirely fair on myself, life seems to have been pretty darn busy recently (or it's just taking a lot out of me). But either way, I've come way too far to quit now (I'd like to think I'm not a quitter anyway) and it's now time to correct the silence of the last little while.
Specimen A, Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, one of the aforementioned chunky tomes has been waiting to be read for a while now (can you see where I'm going with this one?) and a long return journey to York and back seemed like the perfect opportunity to get stuck into and make a bit of a dent in something lengthy. One of a series of classic fantasy that I've been slowly making my way through, this is pulp of the first class from some of the genres best-loved characters. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are archetypes of the barbarian and the thief and this collection of tales, ranging in length from a few pages to novellas follows them from their first meeting throughout numerous adventures and capers.
It's easy to see why many have tried to emulate this – it rattles along at a fair crack, with plenty of action and a good dose of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Yet it is the development of the characters, who are well-formed, good but not invincible, and (naturally) emotionally damaged early on that elevates Leiber above so many pretenders to the throne. Small-scale capers rather than epic clashes is the order of the day here, but the combined tales weave together to form something much bigger than the individual scrapes and what would in the city of Lankhmar probably be regarded as a legend.
Book number: 72
Title: Lankhmar
Author: Fritz Leiber
Category: Books that have been sat on my bookshelf for too long
Specimen A, Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, one of the aforementioned chunky tomes has been waiting to be read for a while now (can you see where I'm going with this one?) and a long return journey to York and back seemed like the perfect opportunity to get stuck into and make a bit of a dent in something lengthy. One of a series of classic fantasy that I've been slowly making my way through, this is pulp of the first class from some of the genres best-loved characters. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are archetypes of the barbarian and the thief and this collection of tales, ranging in length from a few pages to novellas follows them from their first meeting throughout numerous adventures and capers.
It's easy to see why many have tried to emulate this – it rattles along at a fair crack, with plenty of action and a good dose of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Yet it is the development of the characters, who are well-formed, good but not invincible, and (naturally) emotionally damaged early on that elevates Leiber above so many pretenders to the throne. Small-scale capers rather than epic clashes is the order of the day here, but the combined tales weave together to form something much bigger than the individual scrapes and what would in the city of Lankhmar probably be regarded as a legend.
Book number: 72
Title: Lankhmar
Author: Fritz Leiber
Category: Books that have been sat on my bookshelf for too long
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