karen.d

Publisher: Fontana Books ISBN: Unfortunately the edition that I have doesn't seem to have an ISBN number. Length: 191 Page What the 'blurb' says: As the priest ended his ministry, the dying woman spoke again. "Stopped...It must be stopped...You will see...?" The priest spoke with reassuring authority. "I will do what is necessary..You can trust me..." A doctor and an ambulance arrived a little later. The landlady received them with gloomy triumph. "Too late as usual!" she said......' Opening line: 'The Espresso machine behind my shoulder hissed like an angry snake.' What's good about this novel? Not being a fan of traditional murder mysteries, I was a little unsure whether I was going to enjoy this novel. However I thought that this was very well written and I was easily absorbed in the story. Whilst I had the impression that Christie's novel focus on one main detective, for example Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, 'The Pale Horse' was a little different. It had not one, but two central characters, Mark Easterbrook and Detective-Inspector Lejeune. I found both characters to work well within the story and I didn't feel a conflict of attention within Christie's writing. In general, I thought that the characters were fully constructed and mostly realistic. At first, I felt that the storyline was a little too far fetched and silly. However, I was relieved to find that the conclusion to the story was logical. I also enjoyed the fact that at no point during the story, was I able to guess 'whodunnit'. What's wrong with this novel? Possibly because I am not familiar with the genre, I felt that even though I enjoyed reading the novel, it didn't grab me. That's not to say that there is anything wrong with the book, it's just that maybe this isn't my preferred genre. I would read more of Christie's novels in future though. Is this worth a read? If you are looking for some escapist reading, then you may enjoy this. I thought that 'The Pale Horse' was a fun read.

The more I hear about 'Small Island', the more I want to read this.I think that it will have to go on my TBR list.

I've Just finished 'The Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie. I'm not generally a reader of murder mysteries, but I really enjoyed this book. I think I might read some more of Christie's novels in the future. Now, I'm about to start on 'Something Dangerous' by Penny Vincenzi. I haven't read anything by this author before, but a friend of mine gave me this book to read, saying that she had enjoyed it.

I have kept a diary on and off since I was a teenager and couldn't imagine divulging its details out loud to an audience. Partly, that's because a lot of the things that I worried about years ago, would just be cringeworthy now. In reference to blogging, the blog I write is of a specific topic (books) so it's quite general. In my opinion, the blogosphere is definitely not the sort of place to be revealing very personal details.

I haven't read any of the book's chosen for this year's 'TV Book Club', but I have been hearing a lot about 'Before I go to Sleep' and so I would like to read that.

Guinea Pig

Hopper

There's only one film I'm looking forward to watching this year and that's 'The Hobbit'. I can't wait!

I totally agree with you. The only good things about the Johnny Depp version, were that it mentioned that Charlie's dad working in a toothpaste factory (whereas in the 1970's version, Charlie didn't have a dad) and Pondicherry and the chocolate palace. Apart from that, I prefer the Gene Wilder version of the book.

Hi Welcome to the boards, I'm quite new here myself and everyone is really nice. I look forward to hearing your views on books!

Garden

Potatoes

Conkers

Well I adored reading Roald Dahl books as a child, particularly 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory'. So I would say that reading any Roald Dahl book, is worth the effort.

I agree that 'Matilda' isn't a bad film, but I hate Burton's version of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. It's far too weird and, even though I think that Johnny Depp is a good actor, I think he's terrible as Willy Wonka.

I'm planning to read Jane Austen books this year, plus a lot fo the classics. I hope 2012 proves a good year of reading for you!

Thanks! I wasn't sure about putting tmy thoughts on this book on the main boards, so I decided to post my review here. I haven't read 'Small Island', but I think that 'The Long Song' is worth persevering with. I'd be interested to read your thoughts on this book.

It now makes sense, that was really bugging me. Thanks!

I had never seen 'Sherlock' until Christmas day, but I loved it! I thought the episode was funny, sharp and the concept of showing the clues that Sherlock was picking up on, really innovative. One thing though, can anyone explain what was going on with the plane? I understood every twist in the story, except that one.

'The Long Song' by Andrea Levy Publisher: Headline Review ISBN: 978-0-7553-5942-4 Length: 398 Page What the 'blurb' says: 'You do not know me yet but I am the narrator of this work. My son Thomas, who is printing this book, tells me it is customary at this place in the novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed. Prehaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves.' Opening line: 'The book you are holding within your hand was born of a craving.' What's good about this novel? On my first attempt at reading this novel, I did find the almost light-hearted nature around the subject of slavery, quite off putting. However having read on, I realised that what Andrea Levy was doing by using this tone of writing, was rather clever. This is because by having light hearted moments within the novel, this created more of an impact, when the novel moved on to graphic and dramatic elements of the story. I found the majority of the novel to be well paced and intensely written. I also thought that the characters within the story to be realistic and well formed. I believed that the characters existed and were part of the era of slavery and subsequent demise. Aside from the story in the past, I loved the voice that Levy gives to the character July in the present day. I could almost picture her in front of me, talking about her life. What's wrong with this novel? Whilst I enjoyed the voice given to July in the past, I found the variation of perspectives within the novel, rather odd. Whilst I knew that July was talking about her life story, the fact that July refers to herself in the third person when she talks of her past, made my reading experience feel disjointed and at times, confusing. Several times during the novel I had to return the start, to affirm who exactly was talking. Also I found that even though the first half of this novel was compelling (I was unable to put the book down) the second half, was a little disappointing. I still wanted to read on, but I didn't feel that the second half of the book kept my attention as firmly as the beginning of the novel. Is this worth a read? Yes I think 'The Long Song' is worth a read. I have read better books set in the times of slavery ('Kindred' by Octavia E.Butler springs to mind), but this is still a well written representation of the events within that era. 'The Long Song' isn't without its flaws, but this book is compelling and in some ways, educational.