Polka Dot Rock

Digging to America by Anne Tyler This really didn't disappoint! A very well written, intelligent and sympathetic account of two very different families both experiencing the unique joys of adopting Korean baby girls: Jin-Ho and Susan. Interestingly, the girls' own stories of living in and adjusting to America are actually secondary to that of Maryam, Susan's grandmother. Maryam came to live in America before the revolution in Iran, and Tyler frequently looks at Maryam's experiences of being an outsider, both as a girl in Iran and as an adult in America. Tyler doesn't just focus on Maryam, however: we also see perspectives from Bitsy (Jin-Ho's mother), Dave (Bitsy's father), Sami and Ziba (Susan's parents) and even Jin-Ho herself, in a very funny chapter. (With regards to this, I thought it was a shame that Susan doesn't have a similar opportunity, as I'd like to have seen things from her point of view). Throughout the novel, I got a real sense of these characters as actual people, with all their flaws that could irritate you, but also the emotional reasons behind their behaviour. That said, it's a very funny novel, as well as moving. I shall definitely be seeking out more Anne Tyler in the future! * * * * * * * * I've now read four of the six Orange Prize nominees, and in my opinion, Half of a Yellow Sun was the most deserving winner, but I think Digging to America is definitely a close second. It's an unusual story that actually feels very familiar, so Tyler addresses a lot of issues whilst keeping you reading: it is a brilliant, yet easy-going, read. The Inheritance of Loss is a beautiful book, but perhaps it was a more obvious Booker winner than an Orange one. I even enjoyed Arlington Park (by Rachel Cusk), but I think Digging to America uses the middle-class family set-up in a more effective way. And I felt more for Tyler's characters, too. I haven't yet read The Observations by Jane Harris but I doubt I'll bother as my mum is currently at her wits end with it! She says it's very predictable, contrived and - oh dear - boring. But I may give it a chance. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo isn't going to be in paperback 'til January 2008(!), so it'll be a while before I embark on that. But I have read the first few pages and it looks very funny, so I shall be keeping it in mind.

As I've done previously, I'm now unofficially 'closing' this thread before it ends up with a ridiculous amount of pages. So please follow the link to see my current blog: Book Blog Part 3 (June 25 onwards) (Book Blog Part 1 (Jan 8 - April 22))

Hmm... That's interesting, Janet. I know what you mean about feeling ambivalent about a book, it's sometimes worse than disliking it! I picked up Regeneration last night, although its far too soon to form an opinion on it, I'll be intrigued how I feel when I finish it.

Thinking about it, I think I'm quite a fan of First-Person Narratives. I would never choose a book just because it was/n't in First-Person, but a lot of my favourite novels are written in First-Person: my absolute favourites are Jane Eyre and Nervous Conditions, which are both written from an individual's perspective. And there are others too: Middlesex, Wise Children, Great Expectations... Actually, it's a quite a majority that are in first person! I never realised before!

It is a strange phenomenon. I believe the Victorians used to print 'A Novel' after the title once the serialised parts were released as a big ol' weighty tome. So for them, it was merely a matter of labelling. But then they were more likely to pretend that fictionalised first-person narratives were autobiographies so stuck 'An Autobiography' after everything. (Such as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography and I think David Copperfield is also the same...?) Gosh, I bet it was confusing to be a Victorian reader at times: "What? You mean it's not true? But my friend told me he actually met Mr Rochester! The lying toad..." But, yes, I agree that it is a rather lazy thing to do these days... Much better to do what A.S Byatt did with Possession: on the cover it actually reads Possession: A Romance, as she wants the reader to question this as they read it. Oh god, I hate that! It's so patronising... If you did want to read the 'Novel-of-the-Film' after seeing it, would you really need a visual aid to help you remember what it was in the first place? "Oh now I know Nicole Kidman was in it...". Actually, I bet that must happen to bookshop assistants: "Well, it might have Sean Connery on the cover".

Same here! I've only just started getting the backbone to dump books if I've well and truly had enough and am ready to beat myself over the head with it, rather than carry on reading! I tend to read a good chunk in case it picks up (but, let's face it, that rarely happens! But it has happened, so I presevere). (Oh, and Fiona, if regards to you saying: Have you considered his short stories? I had to read some for a fiction writing class and they were very good. My friend really likes his short fiction ) The most recent was Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami as I just got to a point and found myself thinking, "Y'know: I just really don't care what happens". Which is never a good thought to find yourself thinking when reading!!

*Phew!* I'm exhausted after typing all that lot out! I started Digging to America by Anne Tyler yesterday: my mum read it on holiday and really enjoyed it so I thought I'd give it a whirl. The blurb from the back cover:

The Apple: Crimson Petal Stories by Michel Faber Hooray! At last! After feeling so utterly bereft at finishing The Crimson Petal & The White, I was avidly waiting to get my mitts on this. And, lo and behold, I got it on its week of (paperback) release at the shiny Exeter Waterstones. I was so excited, I ended up reading half on it on the train back to Barnstaple! Well, it

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl Blimey! I can honestly say I

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai This year

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde I decided to follow Half of a Yellow Sun with a lighter-hearted read! An enjoyable romp through literary crime and an alternative 1985 to the year I was born in: more gadgets and dodos, for a start. I didn’t find it as laugh-out-loud funny I believe others have found it and the slightly ‘wacky’ tone (always a dodgy attribute for me!) was in danger of just being irritating. But to Fforde’s credit, it never did irritate me. The only slight problem I had was with the chase / action scenes, as I always find those quite tedious to read (Eddie Izzard was right: it is hard to write a car chase!). All in all, it was a bright, fun novel that really wears it’s love of literature on its S05 badge (see? An ‘in-book’ reference!). The Jane Eyre sequence was wonderful and made me all smiley (as it’s my favourite novel), especially about the ‘changed’ ending. (One quibble: Mr Ingram isn’t in Jane Eyre – he’s already dead!) I really enjoyed the characters and Thursday was a good mix of gritty and adorable. With returning to full-time literary studying, these may be the perfect books to escape from all that literary criticism! (Started & Finished 27 June. On a Thursday, would you believe?!)

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Winner of this year’s Orange Prize and I can see why: a readable yet intense and often disturbing novel set just before, during and hardly after the Biafra war in Nigeria. I thought the characters were well conceived and believable (at times, they are all too human). Orlanna was a good choice as a narrative ‘pivot’ and I liked that Richard’s occasionally naïve ways (such as his over-compensatory ‘Biafran-ness’) were frequently used throughout. One of the most memorable scenes in the novel has to be the horrific attack in Kano, when one character discovers the corpses of close family, before narrowly escaping a similar fate. Yet, for all backdrop of war, this novel uses the emotional and domestic lives of its characters to really heighten a sense of what was going on in Nigeria at the time. Half of a Yellow Sun has been compared to many classic, Victorian-era novels, and it’s Adichie’s use of letting the reader into the everyday lives and minds of her characters that enables us to care so much for them. Thus, when the war does occur, you fear for their lives. I was also interested that Adichie used mainly middle-class Nigerian characters and also explored this social group: it isn’t a perspective of African life that readers frequently stumble across. An utterly human and sobering account of a war I knew little about. Half of a Yellow Sun has rekindled my interest in contemporary African literature and I will definitely be reading more of Adichie in the future. (Started 25 June – Finished 27 June)

I thought it was time to start a new thread for my blog so that the page numbers spiral out of control! I normally polish off quite a few books during my holidays, so I thought I

From June 25 (Previous Blogs are here: Part 1 and Part Two ) Colour Key Classics Modern Classics Short Stories Recent/New Releases (2006/2007) Doorsteps (Chunky monsters of a novel, approx. 400 pages +) Currently Reading Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell August Just In Case - Meg Rosoff (7/10) Possession - A.S. Byatt (8/10) Mister Pip - Lloyd Jones (9/10) Oscar & Lucinda

Before I went on my holidays, I finished Small Island so I thought I'd try my best to post some thoughts At least, what I can remember! It's certainly a powerful book, it's still making me think about it even after a few weeks: it's a very enjoyable novel, but as I said before the portrayal of racism is very disturbing. It was also really interesting to find out about Jamaica itself, in terms of its use of class and its attitudes to Britain before WWII (and then after, particularly for the men posted to Britain). Perhaps naively, I was really shocked by the scenes involving white American GI's in Britain: I didn't realise that there were segregated camps!! It's certainly provided me with a new perspective when watching such things as Band of Brothers. It certainly gave me cause to ponder and I'm now considering taking the course on Caribbean Women's Writing, as I'd like to discover more about the Caribbean's history and literature.

Thanks Judy! I managed to get hold of the brand new paperback on holiday - and Jules, it is great. I nearly read it all on the train from Exeter to Barnstaple, but I managed to restrain myself in order to 'savour' it. Still read it really quickly, 'tho! (It's VERY slim compared to The Crimson Petal) I shall be posting my thoughts on it, along with my other holiday reads, very soon: I'll stick the link up when I post it

Slightly nerdy question but why do they do that? Is it so people can't firk them out of the rubbish and sell them as new?

Aww I love The Buzzcocks! I was really into punk (the good stuff from the '70s, I hasten to add ) when I was 15/16 and they were one of my favourites. I had quite a few penfriends too! We'd all end up meeting each other at gigs. Ah, happy days...

Ah brilliant! Have you also read How I Live Now DWMG?

Hooray! The lovely and talented Meg Rosoff has been awarded the Carnegie Medal (the prestigious award for children's fiction, "the Booker of the playground") for Just In Case. The full details can be found in this Guardian article. (I never realised that librarians actually draw up the long- and short-lists, then choose the winner. How cool is that?!) I haven't read Just In Case, but I did read How I Live Now two years ago and absolutely loved it. So I'll definitely be getting hold of this book when I can

Ah, that's a great story! And I picked up on this... ...Enthusiastic teachers are sooooo important - I pretty much owe everything I've achieved to two of mine (both English teachers, naturally ).

You're welcome I'm just glad it hasn't put you off reading her!!

Thanks Em I'll have a think over what you said

Sounds like you've had a bad introduction to the world of Kate Atkinson. Now, I haven't read Emotionally Weird but I do know that even huge fans of Atkinson don't like that particular book. So, I would recommend abandoning that one and going with Behind the Scenes at the Museum (which is many people's favourite book) or One Good Turn which is one of only two books that I've given a 10/10 to this year So please don't give up on her yet, she's a wonderful writer (but perhaps give up Emotionally Weird).

I didn't know that, Janet! Is that how you ended up studying for your A Level, because of how your reading changed after joining the forum? That's really interesting! Oh no, I don't think your reading choices are low brow at all... I also tried Murukami but was just bored by it. I felt like I just didn't care about what was going on and that I'd read it all before. So you're not alone there! Good. Just as long as you know that But don't let those stickers put you off! I've been really surprised by some of the books they've picked (especially ones I've read before the list has been announced).