willoyd Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming ***** If ever I have indulged in a piece of childhoold nostalgia, this was it! I remember reading CCBB whilst staying with my grandparents soon after it first came out - they had bought it as a special visiting treat. I loved it, and can distinctly remember the cover - one of my very early childhood memories, perhaps even the first book I remember reading for myself. Each year, my school goes to the Christmas production at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. This coming Christmas it is CCBB. In previous years, I've read the original book to my class in the weeks before going (e.g. Wind in the Willows, The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland etc.) and this year is planned no differently. I'm particularly keen to do that this year, as the plot of the play/film is so vastly different to the original, and I like to introduce the children to it (they adored The Jungle Book; one even said it was better than the film - too true!) So I went to buy myself a copy, and was delighted to find that the 50th anniversary book that came out last year has pretty much the cover that I remember! The story itself is simply told, definitely childish, and good fun. I love the drawings, which really do 'make' the book. It's not great literature, not even great children's literature, but there's a straightforwardness to the story's telling that completely appeals to me,whilst I love the quirky touches, like the trip to the Goodwin Sands. To be honest, it's a probably bit young for my class, but given its brevity, and the fact that we'll do it as a leadup to the play, I think they'll enjoy it for what it is. What leaves me a bit mystified is why the story was soooo massively changed: it's pretty much unrecognisable. I can't say the film's plot (which I went to see in the cinema when it first came out) has ever done much for me at all - a minority of one? But then the James Bond are almost as unrecognisable as well! Given the history of my relatioship with the book, 5 stars was probably the minimum I could award! Edited July 14, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 That's a great review! I've not considered reading this in the past as I'm not a fan of the film. Knowing that the plot of the book is different means I'll have to get a copy. I should have expected it really. As you say - I've read all the James Bond novels and the title is pretty much all that survives of the books once they become films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood *** The central conceit of The Penelopiad is an interesting one: the Odyssey as told from Penelope's viewpoint. Maybe not quite as much potential as telling it from Odysseus's point of view - not quite the range of adventures whilst sitting around waiting at home - but Penelope could still tell us a lot. Except she doesn't much. We do get quite a fair proportion of the book on the events in Penelope's life leading up to the Greeks' departure for Troy, but not a lot otherwise. We do get a different perspective on the innocence of the twelve maids put to death by Odyssesus and Telemachus, but that's really about it. In fact, the Penelope who tells the story doesn't seem to be much like the Penelope of the Odyssey. In The Penelopiad she's uber-passive, letting everybody ride competely roughshod over her. For me she's almost unrecognisable, and not in a positive sense either. Did Atwood really intend that? It's not helped by a Greek chorus of the murdered maidens, whose interludes become increasingly obscure as the format of their interludes change from traditional poetry to (for instance) an anthropology lecture and a trial transcript. That all sounds a bit negative, which I suppose reflects my overall tinge of disappointment, which in turn probably reflects my high expectations. There was, in fact, much to enjoy here: the story rattles along (but it couldn't much do otherwise given its brevity), snf Atwood's writing is silky smooth to read. Having said that, and in danger of being overly negative again, it was almost too much so, as there's little depth to any aspect, but particularly the characters, who are all rather cartoonish, not least Odysseus himself. I did enjoy the alternative viewpoint though. I just wish there had been more depth, more body to it all. Where the book did score on this front was Atwood's different take on the story behind the hanged maidens, and what Penelope was really up to - a question that the author makes clear in her introduction was her primary interest in writing the book. I suppose what it comes down to is that, greedy reader that I am, I wanted more - more detail, more texture, more character development, more depth. What was there was thoroughly enjoyable, but all in all, rather than a full blooded story, it felt more like a sketched out draft piece of plotting for a film or TV drama, and I had expected so much more. Edited July 18, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 I've included various challenges/aims into my reading on this board, progress on which I'm listing at the start of the thread (English Counties, 1001 Books to Read, various authors etc.). I've been doing another challenge on another board, which I've really been enjoying, and which I've now added to the others at the start of this thread: a Year Long Challenge. It's listed here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) Divergent by Veronica Roth * I'm not quite sure why I picked this up - curiosity perhaps, having seen the film trailed a while ago? Reading the first few pages, the premise looked interesting, certainly full of possibilities, and I was initially grabbed, so downloaded it on to the Kindle for a rather different holiday read. Hmmmmm. Different was certainly the word. Divergent is in fact rather a good title, because the book pretty much diverged from almost everything that for me makes a good book. It also diverged from the norm because, unlike most books like this, I actually finished it. I was certainly intrigued by the premise that society was divided into factions marked out by their approach to life and others, with youngsters choosing their lifestyle at their coming of age (at 16). Equally, the story of individuals choosing to move into another faction and adopt that lifestyle looked promising. Unfortunately, that was about as far as the promise went. After that it was utterly predictable and hopelessly cliched. Tris, the central character of the book, comes of age at the start of the book, and makes a life changing decision to move from the Abnegation faction to the Dauntless faction, from a life of selflessness to one based on bravery. It rapidly becomes apparent that what is deemed 'brave' has become rather distorted, and the new intake's development is all based around fighting each other - brave perhaps if your opponent is bigger and stronger than you, but otherwise? Cue lots of description of students beating each other up, ever more graphic and brutal. I was already being lost - for me brave means something rather less physical and, whilst Roth touches on this possibility, she spends far more time absorbed in the minutiae of what is actually happening tjan on anything so deep and thought-provoking. Without wanting to give too much of the plot away, it becomes apparent that there's something wrong, and the system is being corrupted. Tris, surprise, surprise, finds herself involved. The development and the denouement is all very predictable, and disappointingly dull in spite of the freneticism and obvious emotional appeals that Roth brings to the narrative. Equally dull is the character development. To be honest, the word development is rather generous, as no character really does develop. What you see is what you get from the word go and, just as the plot is excrutiatingly obvious, so is what happens to the characters. And as for the setting - outside the innards of the Dauntless HQ (admittedly the main location), zilch. This novel is meant to be set in the future, but I got no sense of that at all, other than some of the technology when it applies to the plot - usually as deus ex machina devices to keep it moving. So, why did I finish it? It is, after all, over 400 pages long. Well, for starters, those 400 pages must have been written in big print, because it didn't take anything like that long to whip through what happens (although I did skim a few sections) - it's hard to tell on the Kindle what a 'page' actually looks like. But, I was actually intrigued - was this book really going to turn out as badly as it looked? Was it really going to be so predictable? I was convinced that a novel that had sold so many copies and been turned into a film must offer something a bit more than the mindless pap it had seemed to turn into. Well, the answer was no it didn't, and I certainly won't be exploring the sequels to see if Roth manages it then (judging by the reviews it actually gets worse, not better, as almost one-third of the reviews for book 3 are 1/2 stars!). So, in the end, this is the first one-star book of the year. My 'fault' though (actually, I think it's good to get the odd clunker - if nothing else it makes even the three star books look like works of genius, and underlines how difficult it is to actually write well): the one thing that stunned me when I went to look at the Amazon reviews, was that of the near 2400 reviews (at the time of writing) on Amazon, almost 2200 gave it 4 stars or more. But then, on reflection, the book, the blurb and the covers are completely transparent as to what this is about and what you're likely to find within the pages. I'm the one (along with the 70-80 who gave it one or two stars) who got it wrong by thinking it might be anything different. An interesting experience! Edited July 20, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I think this is the first negative review of Divergent I've ever read! It's never appealed to me personally, and it's good to know someone else who feels similarly has given it a go so that I don't have to. The Atwood sounds really interesting. What a shame she didn't flesh it out as much as she could have done. Also: Penelopiad??? That has to be the worst title I can imagine for this book! Makes it sound like a parody or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 It's a shame you didn't enjoy it. It doesn't seem like the type of book you'd enjoy, but it certainly proved for an interesting review to read! I liked the book so it's nice to read a review of someone who didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Divergent is in fact rather a good title, because the book pretty much diverged from almost everything that for me makes a good book. Ouch! Sounds like a contender for Duffer of the Year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) It's a shame you didn't enjoy it. It doesn't seem like the type of book you'd enjoy, but it certainly proved for an interesting review to read! I liked the book so it's nice to read a review of someone who didn't. I don't think it was the type of book that was the problem: I've read and enjoyed plenty of YA books before, and have certainly enjoyed sci-fi. Dystopian fiction is probaly a bit marginal for me, but I've still found some good stuff there too and, as I said, I thought the premise was an interesting one. On this occasion, it was more to do with the quality of both writing and plotting. Sounds like a contender for Duffer of the Year. It does, doesn't it?! Definitely on the short list - of one so far! Having said that, there's a promising one on the horizon, as there's a book club choice for later this year which I've dipped into, and it definitely has duffer potential! Edited July 20, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) Once There Was A War by John Steinbeck ***** Obviously most famous for his fiction, Steinbeck also wrote half a dozen or so non-fiction pieces, the best known of which is probably Travels with Charley, an account of a journey round America by campervan with his dog, Charley. Once There Was A War, rather than being a single entity, is a collection of short pieces written originally for the New York Herald Tribune between June and December 1943, when Steinbeck travelled to Europe as a special war correspondent. The pieces concentrate very much on the activities of the ordinary men and women serving in the armed forces - mainly Americans, but with the occasional piece on British personnel. It includes experiences on a troopship, whilst billeted in Britain, with a squadron of bombers (on the ground, with both flight and ground crews), in North Africa, during the invasion of Italy, with torpedo boats off the Italian coast, and capturing the island of Venento. We rarely, if ever, see the strategic angle, indeed we rarely even see any fighting. This is almost all about the other aspects of war that are rarely reported. Initially, I found this quite hard to get into. I suspect this was mainly because I was reading it in small bursts, no more than one or two articles at a time. Theoretically, this should have been fine, as this was the way it was originally written, and there is an immediacy and completeness about each article that makes this perfectly viable. However, once I settled to reading it as a book, linking articles together one after the other, then, for me, it all really came alive. And that was what made this book a real standout: how much the people being read about came to life. Steinbeck is not a complicated writer in terms of his prose, in fact he's very straightforward, which is part of his appeal, but there is a flow and a vibrancy to it that makes him absolutely compulsive reading - which probably explains why I was so uncomfortable with reading one article at a time: I was missing those very facets that make him such a great read. Interestingly, in all the pieces included, not one sees any actual fighting. It's touched on once or twice, most closely in the closing articles on the capture of Venento, but even there, the engagement is minimal (although the tension is palpable!). Death does not stalk these pages. And yet, I've rarely read a book about war that has so effectively helped me make a connection with those involved - maybe because, having never experienced fighting myself, it's the non-fighting aspects with which I can most closely relate? Whatever the explanation, I certainly do feel that Steinbeck has provided me with an insight that I have rarely felt before, something akin to the first time I watched colour film from the second war. It's certainly a book to which I will return, if nothing else other than to read the early articles more continuously. Edited July 20, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 It does, doesn't it?! Definitely on the short list - of one so far! Having said that, there's a promising one on the horizon, as there's a book club choice for later this year which I've dipped into, and it definitely has duffer potential! What's it called? Or do you like to keep us in suspense until then ? (you are allowed to say yes!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 What's it called? Or do you like to keep us in suspense until then ? (you are allowed to say yes!) It's The Silent Wife - ASA Harrison. Comparisons with Gone Girl don't help - that WAS my Duffer of the Year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 It's The Silent Wife - ASA Harrison. Comparisons with Gone Girl don't help - that WAS my Duffer of the Year! Oooh that doesn't help at all , I hope it won't be too bad . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 A Year Long Reading Challenge - 2015 This is a challenge I've undertaken on another site, that goes alongside the others I'm doing here, so thought I would list it here too. It's proving quite fun! I'm aiming to list a different book in each category, but recognise that there are 50 categories here, and I usually 'only' read 50-60 books a year, so may have to double up - but I definitely can't do more than double up! So, first aim is to complete the list, secondary is to do it with different books in each category. Where I have doubled up, the book is listed in purple, otherwise in blue. This is a great challenge - you're doing very well at it too. I've just ordered Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It's something I've often thought of reading and your review has inspired me to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 This is a great challenge - you're doing very well at it too. I agree - it's a good one, allowing loads of variety, and one that enables me to do others at the same time. I've just ordered Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It's something I've often thought of reading and your review has inspired me to do so. Hope you enjoy it. It's very much a children's book - the 5 stars were probably as much about the nostalgia as any inherent quality! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I've just ordered a copy of it. I'm sure I'll enjoy it and I'm looking forward to the comparison. I do actually like the film (I guess having not read the book first) - my husband videoed it for me one Christmas (either '88 or '89) as I was working and he was off and he knew I liked it. He found an 'old video at the back of the cupboard' which was actually our wedding video! Oops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexi Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Janet!! That has really tickled me. I've never seen the film or read the book but have also been inspired to change that by your review Willoyd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Janet!! That has really tickled me. I've never seen the film or read the book but have also been inspired to change that by your review Willoyd. I'll be very interested to see what you and Janet make of it, and whether my opinion has been clouded by childhood memories or not. Just don't expect great literature! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) Went into Blackwell's in Leeds for the first time in ages yesterday. I like it enormously, but don't often get up there, as it's next to the University, well away from the city centre, but I was at the uni for another reason anyway. Some great offers on, including a small 'Buy One Get One Free' display, which had a host of good reading available (unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I knew that because I'd already read quite a lot of the books!). I Anyway, had a bit of a spending spree, using the BOGOF offer to try out a couple of authors I haven't tasted before. The End of the Affair - Graham Greene Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterton Ragtime - EL Doctorow The Amateur Marriage - Anne Tyler My American - Stella Gibbons All That Is Solid - Danny Dorling The Most Dangerous Book - Kevin Birmingham Islands Beyond The Horizon - Roger Lovegrove Have started the Winterton book, as I've just finished my previous read, Frankenstein. Must get stuck into the rest over this summer, and not just let them fester on the shelves. Edited July 24, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I hope you enjoy your new books. I read some of Greene's Travels With My Aunt a few years ago but I didn't really get into it and I've been meaning to revisit it. I really enjoyed Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (if asked I'd have said you were bound to have already read this!). Sadly our Blackwell's in Bristol is closing down today. I'm not really surprised as it has downsized considerably in the last couple of years, but it's a shame all the same. The one in Oxford is a wonderful store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 Sadly our Blackwell's in Bristol is closing down today. I'm not really surprised as it has downsized considerably in the last couple of years, but it's a shame all the same. The one in Oxford is a wonderful store. The Leeds one is very much a university bookshop, but there's no doubt that students are spending less and less money on books nowadays. I agree about Oxford - it's a real treasure trove. Love the way it looks so small, almost quaint, from the outside, and then when you get inside it goes on for ever (and ever!). It's a bit like the Tardis in fact! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 26, 2015 Author Share Posted July 26, 2015 (edited) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley **** Frankenstein is one of those books that is so embedded in our culture, that we all feel that we are all too familiar with it, until we come to read the book (if we ever do), only to realise that in fact we barely know it at all. One of the first things that took me by surprise is the way the story opens: a series of letters from a failed writer, Robert Walton, who is exploring the Arctic to bolster his writing career, to his sister. In them, he describes the expedition, and how, at one point, he spots a gigantic figure driving a dog sled. A few hours later, the ship's crew rescue another sled driver, who turns out to be Victor Frankenstein. We then turn to his story: Frankenstein recounts how he, as a young Swiss student at Ingolstadt University, becomes obsessed with creating life, which he eventually succeeds in doing. We have little insight into how he achieves this, but what we do know is that the act of creation seems to trigger a reaction, and Frankenstein abandons the creature in horror at what he has done. The rest of the story is taken up in describing the traumatic consequences of this deed, both the creation and the abandonment. One of the interesting aspects of this story is the ambiguous position of both Frankenstein and his creature: our sympathies are not all one way, and in fact I finished the book feeling very much that Frankenstein got pretty much what he deserved, even if other sufferers did not! Certainly, the creature is as much victim as instigator, reflecting one of the major strengths of Shelley's book, that it asks some fairly strong questions on morals and attitudes that are as relevant today as they were then. Indeed, the questions surrounding the rights and wrongs of artificial creation of life are perhaps more relevant today than at the start of the nineteenth century, given the state of the biological and medical sciences today. I was also pleasantly surprised at how modern the writing itself felt. OK, the narrative structure was very eighteenth/nineteenth century, particularly in the epistolary book-ending, but I found the actual language far easier to read than expected, especially given the difficulties that some reviewers had experienced. It seems that this early part of the nineteenth century was something of a turning point: earlier books (e.g. Fielding, Richardson, Defoe etc etc) are to me distinctly harder work, whilst Austen, Shelley, Burney et al are so much easier. What I did find awkward though were the holes and unlikely coincidences that bespeckled the plot: the way the creature describes his acquisition of knowledge and language is so unlikely as to strain the bounds of credibility beyond breaking point, as were the chances of other key events occuring. This is something that modern day writers simply wouldn't (I hope!) get away with (although I do remember a Dan Brown book where.......but that exactly underlines my point - we're talking Dan Brown type plot devices!). And I couldn't see the point of all the travelling: what was Shelley trying to prove? The book is a remarkable achievement in many ways. I find it particularly so given that it's a first book from an 18-year old girl at the start of the nineteenth century, albeit one with Mary Shelley's remarkable background, and I can easily see why it's a classic; I can't imagine many of the subsequent interpretations that it has engendered have lived up to the same standards, particuarly in terms of the deeper questions posed, (although I'd now love to have seen the National Theatre's recent production). But as a novel, it does leave something to be desired in aspects of its development. However, I still found it one that I was loath to put down, and found no difficulty in racing through to the dramatic and, for a book of its time, unusual conclusion. Edited July 26, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Great review! I hope to read this book some day (I do have it on my shelf). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Where's the review of Desolation Island? Did I miss it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Where's the review of Desolation Island? Did I miss it?? Oops - somehow seemed to have skipped past it! Thanks for the reminder Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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